KI Media: “The Vipassana Learning Program at Wat Kirivongsa Bopharam Pagoda” plus 24 more

Wat Kirivongsa Bopharam
Leverett, Massachusetts United States of America

Thurday the 5th Waxing Moon of Sāvana B.E.2555, August 4, A.D.2011 Year of the Rabbit

YORK —— A local survivor of the murderous Pol Pot regime in 1970s Cambodia has made her family's story available to everybody.

Sovannara Ky Glass self-published "The Sieve of Angkar" in December and the book is available on amazon.com.

The brutality of the Khmer Rouge started in 1975 when Communist dictator Pol Pot decided to drive citizens into the countryside and remake Cambodia into a self-sufficient farming society. It's estimated that around 2 million people died during the starvation and murder that followed.

Sovannara, who is called "Ra," started recounting her story to her husband, Carl Glass, in 2007. The Yorktown couple is easing into retirement, and Ra, 52, said it was important for her to finally record her story.

"I thought about it the minute I came to the states, but it was so difficult for me to get it down," Ra said. "It was like reliving the nightmare all over again."

She has had difficulty revisiting those awful years since arriving in the United States in 1980. But despite stopping and starting on the book because of sadness and depression caused by recounting her story, she said she and her husband were finally able to finish it.

Carl's brother, Howard Glass, did the final polishing and editing.

Ra lost both parents and seven siblings as well as extended family members, during four years of slave labor for the Khmer Rouge. She and her two sisters survived.

After the Communists were driven from power in 1979, Ra reached a Thailand refugee camp. She was sponsored by a local relative and church to come to Newport News in 1980, and graduated from Denbigh High School in 1983 at age 23. After taking classes at Christopher Newport University for a couple of years, she opened restaurants in the area.

Ra was 15 in April, 1975, when the Ky family was driven from its home in the Cambodian capital city of Phnom Penh. She picks up the story there, and recounts the vivid details of how quickly and dramatically her life changed.

The fast-moving story recounts how one family was displaced and affected by the much larger political events of the country.

Ra's voice takes the reader into the daily life of those forced to work at cultivating rice fields, felling trees and moving dirt while subsisting on a diet of next to nothing.

Executions and deaths became grim reality.

The emotions and depth of despair experienced by a teenage girl put in a situation of trying to survive are deftly conveyed.

""I think it's a story that needs to be told," Ra said. "It's important to honor my family, and the millions of other people who didn't make it. I know God saved me for a reason, and he wanted me to spread the word.

"I just feel honored to be the person representing those people who couldn't speak for themselves."

Want to read it?

"The Sieve of Angkar" by Yorktown resident Sovannara Ky Glass is available from amazon.com.

The House of Representatives has now convened. His Majesty has granted a royal command, graciously appointing the Speaker and the deputies. Soon the House will be meeting to select the new prime minister and a new Cabinet will be formed.

I would like to take this opportunity to reassure the Thai people that during this transitional period, my government is doing everything to ensure a smooth hand-over. There are important tasks that need to be carried out in the coming days, including the royal cremation of HRH Princess Bejaratana. Also, there are several provinces experiencing floods. For this, my government has already initiated the process of closely monitoring the situation and preparing the information needed by the new government. Again, I would like to assure you that all the work will continue smoothly during this period.

Given that a new government has the right to formulate policies it deems suitable for the country, before handing over the administration, I would like to inform you that my government has made it conducive for the incoming administration to continue addressing ongoing problems for the Thai people.

Given the rise in price of consumer goods, cost of living, the continued economic uncertainty in the US and Europe, the fluctuation in oil price and other economic concerns, I would like to assure you that our country's economic situation and financial foundation is very stable and sound.

Our foreign reserve now stands at US$180 billion, which is large and represents an increase of $70 billion. This is also the 13th largest foreign reserve in the world, which underscores the fact that our government's financial standing is strong. This is because our exports, tourism and income-generating activities allowed the economy to grow in a robust manner. So far this year we have collected Bt200 billion more in income tax than we aimed for. As for the national reserve, we now have Bt300 billion - about Bt50 billion more than when I first took office. This is another good financial foundation upon which the new government can base their financial policies.

For the overall economic figures, the debt-to-GDP ratio has continuously dropped under my administration, and now stands at about 40 per cent. This is a very low ratio compared to other countries - another guarantee that we will have financial flexibility in the coming years. Our employment situation is also encouraging, with the unemployment rate at a historic low. Regarding the oil price, my government has put in effective mechanisms to handle the fluctuations. The current status of the Oil Fund together with the continuation in pegging the diesel price at no more than Bt30 per litre will allow the oil fund to continuously receive income, and the fund level will not be in a minus zone in the next two months or so.

All this is a guarantee that the new government will have flexibility, financial and fiscal tools and mechanisms that can be utilised to address various economic situations in an efficient and appropriate manner.

When I first came into office, I used to say that our economic situation was like a "house on fire". Now, we have put out this fire, made progress in looking after people living in the house and also made our house stronger. As far as looking after the people is concerned, we have laid down a system to provide assistance and care in the form of social welfare. My government had set 2016 as a target date to have in place a comprehensive social welfare system. As we can see, free education, free healthcare and the provision of care for various groups, such as the disabled and the elderly, have already been implemented. Yet we still have to accept the disparity in our society, which is a structural problem. We have set up several independent committees that have provided many recommendations, which are now being considered by various government agencies. I hope the new government will consider these recommendations so we can move toward a fairer and more equitable society.

On the international and security front, it is clear that the international community has more confidence in our country. After a peaceful general election, Thailand will be able to accomplish important tasks. I hope the new government will continue this momentum and lead our country to successful bids in hosting global events.

As for the neighbours, our relations have been smooth, except for the dispute with Cambodia. On this particular issue, I think we share the same goal - preserving good relations while at the same time we have to stand ready to protect our country's rights and sovereignty. The standing issue is the case that Cambodia has taken to the International Court of Justice. My government has already fought the request Cambodia filed with the court for Thailand to unilaterally withdraw its troops. It is hoped that the next government will continue to fight this case and successfully protect Thailand's national interest.

Besides these problems, issues that affect our security also need to be addressed. On the unrest in the South, we have passed a new law on the restructuring of the Southern Border Provinces Administration Centre, which has been accepted both at the domestic and international fronts. Of course, violence still persists and it is incumbent on the new government to continue working on this and implementing policies aimed at long-lasting peace.

The other issues that the new MPs have to address include drugs and long-standing social problems. The general election is a step toward democracy and I fervently hope that the new government will work to promote unity. My government has always respected the judicial process, which has the final say in our system. I hope the new government will continue with this principle, and leaving political conflicts to be dealt with through the parliamentary process. As for other institutions not involved in politics, they should be kept above conflicts.

In closing, I would like to once again thank each of you for your assistance and cooperation in carrying out the work of my government and overcoming various crises, even though there are some problems that cannot be resolved at this time. I hope that what I have done will provide a firm foundation upon which the incoming government can continue to work in order to bring happiness and prosperity to us all. Thank you very much.

Please find attached LICADHO's brief analysis, in Khmer and English, on the proposed 3rd draft Association & NGO Law, released Friday July 29, which is currently at the Council of Ministers. Let me know if you also need a copy of the original 3rd draft law in Khmer or an English translation.

For more information or comments, please contact:

Mr Ham Sunrith, Deputy Director of Monitoring & Protection, 012 988 959 (Khmer)

Mr. Am Sam Ath, Monitoring Supervisor, 012 327 770 (Khmer)

Dr. Pung Chhiv Kek, President, 012 802 506 (Khmer/English)

Ms. Naly Pilorge, Director, 012 803 650 (English)

States Parties shall take all appropriate national, bilateral and multilateral measures to prevent the abduction of, the sale of or traffic in children for any purpose or in any form.

In true dialogue, both sides are willing to change

- Thich Nhat Hanh

 

Several provisions specify how cooperation and assistance will be rendered. In particular, in the case of embezzlement of public funds, the confiscated property would be returned to the state requesting it; in the case of proceeds of any other offence covered by the Convention, the property would be returned providing the proof of ownership or recognition of the damage caused to a requesting state; in all other cases, priority consideration would be given to the return of confiscated property to the requesting state, to the return of such property to the prior legitimate owners or to compensation of the victims.

A short vacation turned into a nightmare for a 30-year-old Filipino tourist who lost her right leg in a bus collision in Cambodia.

Nina Kristine Abad, a senior operations manager of a well-renowned contact center in Makati, was with other foreign tourists on board the Kampuchea Angkor Express, a double-decker bus, when it careened and collided with a truck filled with corn early Monday morning in Prey Veng, Cambodia.

Nina, a travel enthusiast, was in Cambodia to see the Angkor Wat, an item in her bucket list.

"The first thing I did, I checked my teeth, my collarbone, and my eyes." She was lucid and while she wished she were unconscious, she felt assured that she will be fine. She even did a few multiplications and recited the alphabet in her head to check for any brain injury from the impact.

It took over an hour before the passengers were rescued from the wreckage, with about seven of them suffering major injuries, two of whom did not survive.

The first hospital Nina was brought to was only about 20 minutes away but it did not have complete facilities, so Nina was taken to Calmette Hospital in Phnom Penh, where she is now confined.

There were 34 passengers on the bus. Other foreign tourists came from South Korea, Spain, Indonesia and Ireland.

The road accident is still under investigation while the driver, who reportedly fled the scene, is still at large. An online news article quoted Peam Ro district police chief Seng Ponlok as saying, "(W)e think that it was caused by the driver being sleepy."

The Philippine Consulate in Cambodia, represented by lawyer Norman Corneros, was quick to offer assistance to Nina.

"I already had a feeling since the accident that I may have to lose a leg," Nina said. When she was pulled from the bus wreckage, Nina saw that her left leg looked broken, but her right leg had it worse, and the X-rays confirmed her suspicion. Nina's left femur bone was repaired, but her right leg was amputated Tuesday morning.

"They cut below the knee and I know there are prosthetics available so I know I'll be all right," Nina said, full of hope, not sounding upset at all. Her doctor said she could be ready for a skin grafting in 10 days, after which her wound will be closed up and she could be ready to travel via an air ambulance.

Filipinos living in Cambodia who read about the accident on The Cambodian Daily have flocked to visit Nina and to wish her well.

More than 30 beer promoters have been striking since Monday July 25, accusing Angkor brewer Cambrew of refusing to pay overtime despite a July 7 ruling by the Arbitration Council that it was legally required to do so, according to The Phnom Penh Post

Carlsberg has said it is investigating a strike by Angkor beer promoters, who yesterday vowed to continue in their bid for fair treatment.

"We've had no response from the company so the strike will continue," Ou Tep Phally, vice-president of Cambodian Food and Service Workers' Federation, said to newspaper on July 31.

The women, who usually promote the brand in restaurants and nightspots, have been handing out leaflets calling for the public to boycott it instead. Beer promoter Sim Phan said strikers planned to burn tyres in front of the company's headquarters on Norodom Boulevard today.

Cambrew has repeatedly declined to comment, but Carlsberg, which owns half of Cambrew, said it was investigating. "The current situation is under investigation by the local management team and Carlsberg Indochina," Carlsberg's vice-president for communications in Asia, David Fang, said in an email last week.

The Hong Kong-based executive referred further questions to staff at the company's Hanoi office, but they were on vacation.

Ian Lubek, a Canadian academic who has researched "beer girls" in Cambodia for 12 years, said: "Company directors are often oblivious to what is going on in the field.

"Headquarters set quotas for how much beer should be sold in the region and rarely consider employees' issues."

He also said companies paid low wages to beer promoters because their resulting vulnerability made them more attractive to customers.

"They knowingly create an economically coercive situation because they know that male customers will be more likely to drink their brand if it is served by women who are perceived as economically vulnerable targets," he said.

Ou Tep Phally said she was looking forward to the opportunity to tell Carlsberg about the working conditions of its female beer promoters in Cambodia.

She said she also wanted to tell the company that its partner here has cheated its employees out of overtime wages for 14 years.

Carlsberg's investigation has yet to include interviews with the women who promote its brands here, she said.

The Cambodian Government touts its country as the Kingdom of Wonder, a slogan that is more appropriate than perhaps it intended. You wonder what to expect on a visit to Cambodia and when you leave, you wonder exactly what you've experienced.

It confronts and confounds, disturbs and excites. A thinking tourist will surely experience every colour of the emotional rainbow. In many places, like the floating villages, there's barely a pot of food and in others, such as the Royal Palace, much more than a pot of gold.

The buzzing capital city, Phnom Penh, is an immediate assault on the senses. The roads are semi-organised chaos (we saw a motorbike accident within our first few hundred metres of travel) and the streets are teeming with people.


Shops and stalls are right on the roadside and they're sectioned into quirky little enclaves - motorcycle tyres on one block, denim jeans on another; for hats you can cross the Chruoy Changvar Bridge. Otherwise you can go to the striking "yellow market" in an enormous domed Art Deco building frequented by the locals.

The food market here is a fascinating highlight and the selection of jewellery as well as clothes, homewares, electronics - even an unreleased iPhone 5 - is mind-boggling.

Phnom Penh is a curious combination of traditional architecture (like the ornate Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda) and French, with a bit of Art Deco thrown in, reflecting its past. And you can't get away from Cambodia's past. From the early ninth century, the Khmer Empire was a South-East Asian superpower.

In the 19th century it was colonised by the French. It became independent in the 1950s but the Vietnam War crossed its borders, giving rise to the notorious Pol Pot's Mao-inspired Khmer Rouge.

The legacy of Pot's vision for an agrarian utopia is that about 80 per cent of people live in the countryside without power or running water under long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has been recently criticised for allegedly squandering international aid.

In Phnom Penh, the National Museum's collection of Khmer art is stunning, but being a tourist draw has made it a magnet for beggars. Outside there's a vivid example of the poverty in Cambodia as a young mother begs while she and her tiny baby share sips from a raw egg. Nearby is Mith Samlanh, or Friends, a restaurant helping keep kids off the street. The food in Cambodia is full of fresh flavours, fish and fruit with only mild chilli and plenty of lime.

The muddy Mekong River remains the heart of Phnom Penh. People flock to its banks to dine, drink, socialise, dance, play sport, fish and bathe. Boatloads of tourists cruise to the intersection of four rivers known as Chattomukh (four faces).

The faces, though, that a visitor will recall long after a visit to Phnom Penh are those of the hundreds of victims on display at Pol Pot's secret prison Tuol Sleng.

What was once a school full of happy children became a classroom of unspeakable terror. The manner in which the brutal torture and murder of its victims is displayed could almost be described as gratuitous if it weren't such a deliberately confronting reminder of a shameful period of history many young Cambodians refuse to believe even happened.

Likewise with the Killing Fields, a 20km journey out of the city where hundreds of thousands of people were slaughtered and tossed into pits. The stupa full of skulls arranged in age order - "female Kampuchean from 15-20 years old" - is not nearly as confronting as what at first glance appears to be a pretty grassed area but is actually full of deep depressions that are mass graves.

Even now, clothing pokes up through the dirt, so too pieces of bone; the chilling result of recent rain. Inside the museum are photographs of victims, including those of Australian David Lloyd Scott.

The 300km drive north to the country's other main centre of Siem Reap (literally Siamese Defeat) is a white-knuckle ride but gives a look at everyday Cambodian life.

The countryside is dotted with rice paddies and stilted homes, skinny white cows and mud-stained water buffalo. Along the way, the town of Skun is famous for deep-fried spiders (I flatly refused to eat one but apparently they actually do taste like chicken).

The ornate stone 12th century Kampong Kdei bridge, too, is worth visiting. Like many places popular with tourists, you face an onslaught of wily, persistent young salespeople and desperate beggars.

Just outside Siem Reap is a floating village, where hundreds of poor families, often Vietnamese refugees, live on the banks of the Tonle Sap Lake. Travellers can pay to go on one of the clunky boats and ogle this reluctant tourist attraction.

I thought it felt like "peasant porn" and was uncomfortable, though undeniably fascinating. At a stop along the way, women plead for money and children wearing docile serpents around their necks pose for photos with gawping foreigners who often refuse to hand over a few thousand riel (50 cents) for their time.

But the real attractions of Siem Reap, known as the gateway to Angkor, the seat of the Khmer Empire, are the temples. Spread across 300sqkm, there are hundreds, from Ta Prohm, where Angelina Jolie's Tomb Raider was filmed among the webs of silk cotton tree roots, to the 12th century Preah Khan and the splendour of Angkor Wat.

It truly has to be seen to be believed, though I have to concede that the only downside of these magnificent structures is that the sheer number of tourists leaves you longing to experience them alone, in quiet meditation.

Cambodia is exhilarating and devastating, beautiful and challenging, poor yet thriving. It's a country that honours its history but is still coming to terms with its past, and which is still realising the extent of its tourism potential. Don't be left wondering how incredible it is.

At the session with the delegation, Vice Chairman of the Municipal People's Committee Truong Van Bay introduced the history, culture, tradition and socio-economic situation.

Hoi An, a locality recognised as a world cultural heritage site, is actively engaged in promoting its traditional values to successfully build a model cultural-tourism-ecological city by 2030.

The city is willing to share its experience and cooperate with domestic and foreign partners in preserving, maintaining and upholding these values, Bay said.

Ouk Kimseng praised the efforts of the city in developing the fields of trade and tourism, saying that AKP would make further efforts in promoting Hoi An's image to Cambodian people.

The Thai government is preparing to revive talks with Cambodia on overlapping petroleum claims, which have been stalled for the last five years.

The Department of Mineral Fuels is preparing information for talks for the new energy minister, said Songpop Polachan, the department's director-general.

Agreements on overlapping claims were almost resolved before the 2006 coup that toppled Thaksin Shinawatra.

Bangkok cancelled this agreement in 2009, however, in protest over Thaksin's appointment as an economic adviser to the Cambodian government.

The overlapping claims area is thought to contain up to 11 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, according to the market intelligence firm CLC Asia, along with unknown quantities of oil.

Dr Songpop said the Thai government had no idea about the volume of gas reserves because the field had never been explored.

Nonetheless, he expected the development of offshore petroleum fields would take another eight years should the new talks reach an agreement.

He said the agreements could follow the model of the Joint Development Area (JDA) between Thailand and Malaysia whereby the two countries agree to allocate a balance of gas supply from the overlapping areas.

Mr Songpop said a successful conclusion would be good for both countries.

"Cambodia would be entitled to have more income to finance its development, while Thailand would have access to secure gas reserves for another 30-50 years, as gas supply in the Gulf of Thailand is likely to be enough for only the next 10 years," he said.

Thailand currently consumes an average of 4.4 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas. Gas supply from the Gulf of Thailand represents 3.4 billion cubic feet per day and supply from Burma 1 billion.

Vice Admiral Scott Van Buskirk, the commander of the U.S. Seventh Fleet, arrived in Phnom Penh Wednesday for a two-day visit. A Cambodian military spokesman says Van Buskirk met with deputy naval commander Vice Admiral Soa Sarin and Lieutenant General Noun Samnang to discuss bilateral and regional issues. Samnang is deputy for the ministry's foreign affairs office.

The U.S. military says the two sides discussed Phnom Penh's participation in readiness training later this year. They also discussed training in maritime security, search and rescue, and humanitarian and disaster relief.

Vice Admiral Van Buskirk will also visit a naval base to observe Cambodian naval training exercises.

The U.S. and Cambodian held their first joint naval exercise earlier this year.

Yale Law School's Allard K. Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic has released a report on the widespread use of short-term employment contracts in the Cambodian garment industry to deny workers statutory benefits and to restrict their exercise of rights under international and Cambodian law. The report details how the spread of short-term labor contracts threatens to roll back the historic progress Cambodia's garment industry has made in promoting labor rights over the past decade. The report suggests that the country's reputation as a role model for other developing countries in protecting workers in export-apparel manufacturing may be at risk. The release of the report comes at an opportune time. Following last September's nationwide strike over wages in the Cambodian garment sector, key players in that industry signed a memorandum of understanding recognizing the need to study the use of short-term employment contracts in Cambodia.

The Yale team's report, Tearing Apart at the Seams: How Widespread Use of Fixed-Duration Contracts Threatens Cambodian Workers and the Cambodian Garment Industry, describes the way Cambodian garment manufacturers have adopted the practice of employing their regular, full-time workforce almost exclusively on temporary, fixed-duration contracts (FDCs) that are repeatedly renewed. The report examines both the human rights consequences of factories categorizing permanent workers as temporary and the potential impact of this practice on the Cambodian garment industry, which, in the last decade, has aggressively competed with other developing countries by promoting its reputation for implementing international labor standards.

According to Professor James Silk, the director of the Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic at Yale Law School: "The Cambodian government has been considering amending the Labor Law to ease restrictions on fixed-duration contracts. The country's apparel industry is already facing heightened international scrutiny because of the mass firings of workers who participated in a strike last year over low wages. One of the main competitive advantages of the Cambodian garment industry is its reputation for progress on protecting workers' rights, so it is important to understand the human rights consequences of using FDCs and the impact that permitting their expansion could have on Cambodia's competitiveness." Nearly half of all Cambodians working in the manufacturing sector are employed by the garment industry—an industry that accounts for more than 80% of Cambodia's total exports.

The Yale team interviewed more than 70 stakeholders in Cambodia, including government officials, factory management, labor union officials, local human rights organizations, and garment workers. Based on these interviews and an analysis of both international and Cambodian law, the Yale team concluded: "The shift toward FDCs: (1) results in increased worker insecurity; (2) threatens the enforcement of workers' rights under domestic and international law; (3) presents obstacles to increased labor productivity; (4) jeopardizes Cambodia's reputation as a country committed to improving conditions for workers; and (5) introduces the threat of a major breakdown of industrial relations, including the potential for massive strikes."

The report details how FDCs afford workers less protection from exploitation than permanent contracts would afford. It also shows how using FDCs reduces the set of benefits that workers might enjoy if they were properly categorized as permanent employees. The Yale team found evidence that factories use FDCs to: suppress freedom of association and retaliate against union leaders; deny workers benefits to which they are legally entitled, including maternity leave; coerce workers into forced overtime; and deny workers the full salary and bonuses to which Cambodian law entitles them.

The report also concludes that the widespread use of FDCs could damage the competitiveness of the Cambodian garment industry. The industry could sustain reputational harm if it is thought by international buyers to be backsliding in the area of workers' rights, and the widespread use of FDCs raises the risk of strikes in the future. A number of international brands, including Gap, Nike, and Wal-Mart, have already expressed concern over the use of FDCs. The Yale team concluded: "The widespread shift . . . to FDCs has resulted in tremendous worker insecurity, heightened antagonism between unions and factory management, and a threat to peaceful industrial relations."

The Lowenstein Clinic's report urges the Cambodian government not to amend the Labor Law to ease restrictions on the use of FDCs and recommends that multinational apparel buyers require their suppliers to avoid using FDCs for their regular workforce. The report calls upon the Cambodian government, garment manufacturers, factory workers, labor unions, and major multinational corporations to work together toward the common goals of strengthening workers' rights and protecting the health of the Cambodian garment industry. 

For more information, contact:

Clark Gard (in South Africa), +27-82-361-1869 or clark.gard@gmail.com

Arthur Plews (in United States), +01 317-752-6580 or arthur.plews@gmail.com

James Silk (in United States), +01-203-432-1729 or james.silk@yale.edu

We often think of peace as the absence of war, that if powerful countries would reduce their weapon arsenals, we could have peace. But if we look deeply into the weapons, we see our own minds- our own prejudices, fears and ignorance. Even if we transport all the bombs to the moon, the roots of war and the roots of bombs are still there, in our hearts and minds, and sooner or later we will make new bombs. To work for peace is to uproot war from ourselves and from the hearts of men and women. To prepare for war, to give millions of men and women the opportunity to practice killing day and night in their hearts, is to plant millions of seeds of violence, anger, frustration, and fear that will be passed on for generations to come.

- Thich Nhat Hanh