KI Media: “"Smoke, Choke, Croak ជក់,ឈ្លក់,នរកស៊ីសួត" a Poem in Khmer by Sam Vichea” plus 24 more |
- "Smoke, Choke, Croak ជក់,ឈ្លក់,នរកស៊ីសួត" a Poem in Khmer by Sam Vichea
- "Mesa Proat Snaeh" a Poem in Khmer by Heng Thal Savuth
- Hun Sen Has Lung Cancer
- CAMBODIA: When actions convergence, change can't be stopped
- Singer close to her Khmer roots
- Long Beach Cambodians Hope Stories Heal Lasting Wounds From Khmer Rouge's Terror
- New year makes nod to past
- Kicked off the streets
- Small-scale farmers increasingly at risk from 'global land grabbing'
- "The A.K.47 Stars លោកផ្កាយ អា.កា." a Poem in Khmer by Acha Touch
- Looking for KHMER translation of "Seven Candidates for Prosecution" by Steve Heder and Brian Tittemore
- "Victims" and Confidentiality
- Sacrava's Political Cartoon: My Victory Day
- ECCC Contortionists at work
- Evicted People in Sihanouk Province Continue to Live Desperately
- Do not try this at home or on the road!
- Cambodians Welcome Year of the Rabbit, 2555
- Belief on Yeay Yat's spirit in Pailin
- Trot performance and Khmer belief
- Learn how to dance Ramvong
- Sumner M. Redstone Charitable Foundation Donates $500,000 To The Cambodian Children's Fund
- Khmer New Year Wishes from Ms. Peang Phansy of Khmer M'chas Srok Movement
- Vietnam: Montagnards Harshly Persecuted
- US senator opposes planned dam on the Mekong River
- US department defends human trafficking report
| "Smoke, Choke, Croak ជក់,ឈ្លក់,នរកស៊ីសួត" a Poem in Khmer by Sam Vichea Posted: 15 Apr 2011 05:04 PM PDT   | ||||
| "Mesa Proat Snaeh" a Poem in Khmer by Heng Thal Savuth Posted: 15 Apr 2011 04:02 PM PDT   | ||||
| Posted: 15 Apr 2011 09:30 AM PDT
 Reliable sources in Beijing, Singapore and Phnom Penh indicate that Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, a heavy smoker, is suffering from fast-evolving lung cancer. The information comes from medical, diplomatic and private sources based in the three capital cities. Hun Sen has been recently seen in hospitals in Singapore and Beijing at a time when there was no announcement of any trip abroad in the prime minister's schedule. In the second half of June 2010 Hun Sen disappeared for ten days, which prevented him from receiving UN envoy Surya Subedi, attending a meeting of the Council of Ministers and, more importantly, taking part in the ceremony commemorating the 59th anniversary of the ruling CPP on June 28 in Phnom Penh. The reason clumsily invoked for Hun Sen's disappearance was "swine flu" but nobody in Cambodia believes in the official explanation. Five other Cabinet members, who had allegedly also caught the strange disease, knew nothing about it. More recently, Hun Sen was not present in Cambodia when Thai troops started a strong border attack in the vicinity of Preah Vihear temple on February 4, 2011. He precipitously returned home and gave a confused explanation. Hun Sen's physical appearance and his way of speaking and gesturing have changed over the last few months. He seems to be in a hurry to promote his son Hun Manet to a top position, notably in the Army, so as to replace him as the country leader in the near future. Preemptive moves – in the form of arrests of army and police officers belonging to a different clan – have been recently made to prevent any possible resistance to this replacement plan.  | ||||
| CAMBODIA: When actions convergence, change can't be stopped Posted: 15 Apr 2011 09:29 AM PDT FOR PUBLICATION AHRC-ETC-009-2011 April 15, 2011 An article by Dr. Gaffar Peang-Meth published by the Asian Human Rights Commission CAMBODIA: When actions convergence, change can't be stopped April 15, 2011  Happy Khmer New Year of the Rabbit to all my Cambodian and non-Cambodian Buddhist readers! May you be blessed in this New Year with new thoughts and a new soul as you face the challenges of the 21st century! In my first article for the Asian Human Rights Commission in the Year 2555 of the Buddhist era, I'd like to begin with Buddha's "To be idle is a short road to death and to be diligent is a way of life; foolish people are idle, wise people are diligent." I believe problems, personal or communal, can be solved through sustained creative and innovative efforts, and predicaments can be addressed as one develops a capacity to cope. Don't stay idle; do something, do many things, to respond to the inevitable pain of personal loss(es). Quality thinking and positive thinking can catalyze personal and social change. Buddha on Responsibility "I do believe in a fate that falls on [men] unless they act," preached Gautama Buddha 2,500 years ago. We act to change, to improve situations from what they are to what we would like them to be. Passive behavior assures that our destiny becomes our fate. Man is responsible for what he is. As Buddha said, "Work out your own salvation … No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path." Many Khmer Buddhists seem to cling to a notion that fate, "karma," makes them what they are, thereby dumping responsibility for their lot in life on a supernatural cause. However, Buddha warned, "However many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do if you do not act upon them?" The same concept is found in other cultures. In Africa, some learn to "talk little and listen much," and Swedes say, "Whine less, breathe more; Talk less, say more." So, learn and apply: Think positively, dream big, imagine the world we want to see, demonstrate a can-do attitude, and take the first step, no matter how small. As the great Chinese teacher Confucius said, "It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop." And civil rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr., echoed, "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." Learning from the American Civil War April 12, 2011, was the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the American Civil War, the bloodiest conflict in United States history, fought from 1861-1865. At the end of that conflict, 630,000 lives had been lost and more than one million had been injured in war. Cities and towns in the South where battles had been fought were in ruin; slavery was abolished; the Union was preserved. The United States with its motto, E pluribus unum – Out of many, one – was again one nation. For most, the animosities borne of war quickly were subsumed by the relief of peace and reunification. Over time, the nation became stronger and more united under a central government than it had been before that devastating conflict. Recently, I was enthralled, as I had been in the past, watching filmmaker Ken Burns' 1990 series "The Civil War" on public television, in which the point was made that at the end of the war, the United States referred to itself in the singular – as the United States "is" – rather than in the plural – as the United States "are." This was an important outcome of the civil conflict, a conflict that made citizens appreciate the value of being one nation, not a collection of states. E pluribus unum. Out of many, one. The War that began on April 12, 1861 with the firing of cannons by the Confederates on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, ended on April 9, 1865 with the surrender of Gen. Robert E. Lee, Commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, and nearly 28,000 troops in the field, to Union Army Commander Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, at Appomattox Court House in Virginia, where surrender papers were signed at Wilmer McClean's home. Two Foes, Two Gentlemen Having studied how Cambodia's Khmer Rouge victors executed vanquished leaders and turned the country into the killing fields, I was spellbound by the Appomattox surrender story that instilled the image of good men whose integrity and humanity was evident even in very difficult circumstances. Ulysses Grant was 43 years old, and Lee, 59 when the surrender took place. Both had served in the Mexican War, when Lee was chief of staff. Grant remembered Lee well; Lee did not recall Grant from those years. In 1861, Lee had declined President Lincoln's invitation to take command of the Union Army. Though Lee was considered the finest military commander in the country, his personal allegiance was to his home state of Virginia, a state that would soon secede from the union. Lee stayed with "his country," which in pre-Civil War America he identified as Virginia. In April 1865, Grant's army had surrounded Lee's. On April 7, Grant dispatched a message to Lee about Lee's Army's "hopelessness of further resistance", and said Grant wanted to avoid "any further effusion of blood by asking of you the surrender of … the Army of Northern Virginia." Lee responded immediately that he was "not entertaining the opinion … of the hopelessness of further resistance," but "I reciprocate your desire to avoid useless effusion of blood, and therefore, before considering your proposition, ask the terms you will offer on condition of its surrender." Grant wrote back, "Peace being my great desire, there is but one condition … the men and officers surrendered shall be disqualified for taking up arms against the Government of the United States until properly exchanged." In the afternoon of April 9, the two Commanders met at McClean's house near Appomattox Courthouse, first in the front yard and then in the front parlor. In Grant's own words, Lee was "so handsomely dressed, six feet high and of faultless form" and "was wearing a sword," while Grant was in "rough garb ... the uniform of a private" because he came directly from the field. Grant said he could not tell how Lee was feeling inside, but Grant's own feelings were "sad and depressed. I felt like anything rather than rejoicing at the downfall of a foe who had fought so long and valiantly, and had suffered so much for a cause, though that cause was, I believe, one of the worst for which a people ever fought, and one for which there was the least excuse. I do not question, however, the sincerity of the great mass of those who were opposed to us." The conversation of the two adversaries was "so pleasant" that Grant almost forgot why they were meeting until Lee reminded him Lee came to secure Grant's terms for Lee's Army. Before the meeting was over, to Lee's remarks that his 28,000 men were "in a very bad condition for want to food," Grant offered "all the provisions wanted." "Lee and I … separated as cordially as we had met, he returning to his own lines" according to Grant, "and all went into bivouac for the night at Appomattox." When news of Lee's surrender reached Union lines, men fired guns at the news of victory. But Grant stopped that: "The Confederates were our prisoners, and we did not want to exult over their downfall." The next morning, Grant rode to see Lee, with some staff and officers, who asked Lee's permission to visit old Confederate army friends, and they "had a pleasant time … and brought some of them back with them when they returned." "Honor answering honor" In a moving tribute to the April 12 formal ceremony disbanding the Army of the Northern Virginia, and paroling its officers and men, Union Brig. Gen. Joshua L. Chamberlain, wrote: "The momentous meaning of his occasion impressed me deeply . . . Before us in proud humiliation stood the embodiment of manhood: men whom neither toils and sufferings, nor the fact of death, nor disaster, nor hopelessness could bend from their resolve; standing before us now, thin, worn, and famished, but erect, and with eyes looking level into ours, waking memories that bound us together as no other bond; was not such manhood to be welcomed back into a Union so tested and assured? Instructions had been given; and when the head of each division column comes opposite our group, our bugle sounds the signal and instantly our whole line from right to left, regiment by regiment in succession, gives the soldier's salutation, from the 'order arms' to the old 'carry' the marching salute. "Gordon at the head of the column, riding with heavy spirit and downcast face, catches the sound of shifting arms, looks up, and, taking the meaning, wheels superbly, making with himself and his horse one uplifted figure, with profound salutation as he drops the point of his sword to the boot toe; then facing to his own command, gives word for his successive brigades to pass us with the same position of the manual – honor answering honor. On our part not a sound of trumpet more, nor roll of drum; not a cheer, nor word nor whisper of vain-glorying, nor motion of man standing again at the order, but an awed stillness rather, and breath-holding, as if it were the passing of the dead!" On that day, 27,805 Confederate soldiers passed by and stacked their arms. Learn and Become It takes two to make war or to make peace. Pro-democracy Cambodians are united in their hatred for Vietnam's expansionism into Cambodia, and in their opposition to the autocracy of Premier Hun Sen and his ruling Cambodian People's Party, backed by the King Father and his son, the current king. All four have allowed illegal Vietnamese settlements in Cambodia while the country's underprivileged are evicted from their land, their homes bulldozed, and they are beaten by the police. Unfortunately for Cambodians, unity in a great cause is generally subordinated to attachment to clans, cliques, parties, as members profess unquestioned obedience to competing leaders, turning a potential strength into an actual weakness, while Hun Sen and the CPP transform Cambodia into a police state reigned by fear. When Cambodians call for unity, they mean others should fall in line behind one's leadership or one's party. They see things as black and white; humility and compromise are signs of weakness; a general attitude of my way or the highway is common; and inflexibility is a roadblock to a multitude of productive possibilities. While Vietnamese illegals in Cambodia voted to determine the Khmer Nation's future, the opposition parties – Sam Rainsy party, Human Rights party, the splintered royalists – fought between and amongst themselves and provided a weak and ineffective counterpoint. In election after election, this disparate collection of political parties participated and were allowed to win enough seats to keep them quiet and, more importantly, to legitimize dictators as democratically elected leaders. But nothing is permanent, change is inevitable, and people learn and change, too. Encourage Efforts When Cambodian expatriates set aside their differences and joined forces on March 18, 2011 under the banner of the "Lotus Revolution" to oppose Vietnam's presence in Cambodia and demand that Premier Hun Sen step down, I shared my respect for the participants. It was their first major rally. Now on the 36th anniversary of the Khmer Rouge takeover of Phnom Penh on April 17, 1975, the Lotus Movement has called on Khmers to make offerings to Buddhist monks and light candles in memory of the 2 million dead. It has been announced that the members of the Lotus movement will demonstrate in front of the Vietnamese Embassy in Paris on June 8. My hat is again off to the expatriates. The Vietnamese are not going to leave Cambodia nor is Hun Sen going to step down in the face of the Lotus Movement. But, as long as the pressure is kept up, a real revolution will ignite. Man can accept oppression only so long. Many other Khmers have not been idle. The Free Press Magazine Online, in the Khmer language, in Denmark, under editorial manager Lem Piseth, a former reporter who was threatened in Cambodia and had to flee with his family to asylum in Europe, has not stopped speaking out against the Vietnam's dark design in Cambodia and against the Hun Sen autocracy. To his organization too, I express gratitude. Leading other Khmer Websites in disseminating news and information about Cambodia is the KI-Media. Like a magnet, it draws people from different walks of life, supporters and critics, its staff menaced endlessly. I have never met anyone from KI-Media, or from the FPM Online, but I never hesitate to express my heartfelt congratulations to both for their stubborn defense of a responsible free press and free expression. An offshoot organization that was born into the Khmer People Power Movement in 2010 is led by the young activist, Sourn Serey Ratha, who was on a trip abroad when an arrest warrant was issued by the Hun Sen government. Suorn requested political asylum in the US. He is a grassroots democracy activist who believes only the power of the people can bring change to Cambodia. Some of his critics may dislike Sourn's style, and some of his cadres in Cambodia have been arrested, but Suorn has refused to bend or bow. The KPPM has its own website, and finally its own radio program in the Khmer language, broadcast via satellite to Cambodia. I am in the process of securing a KPPM DVD titled "Dei Khmer Thao Kae Yuorn" – Khmer soil, Vietnamese patrons – to study photographs from the Neak Leurng area and the regions around the Tonle Sap Great Lake populated by Vietnamese whose school "Truong Hoc Tinh Thuong Nuoi Day Tre Em Nghao" floats in the water there. Many other Khmer groups are operating, I know, but I am not informed enough about their work to mention them here. On this occasion of the Khmer New Year 2555 I wish all the groups continued success. I close here with a reference to U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, who observed, "The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything." When actions converge, a change cannot be stopped. ------------------- The views shared in this article do not necessarily reflect those of the AHRC, and the AHRC takes no responsibility for them. About the Author: Dr. Gaffar Peang-Meth is retired from the University of Guam, where he taught political science for 13 years. He currently lives in the United States. He can be contacted at peangmeth@gmail.com.  | ||||
| Singer close to her Khmer roots Posted: 15 Apr 2011 09:22 AM PDT
MUSIC: Voice of Dengue Fever prepares for release of latest album, band tour. 04/14/2011 By Greg Mellen, Staff Writer Long Beach Press Telegram (California, USA) LONG BEACH - As Chhom Nimol sits at Sophy's Restaurant, it's a rare slow day for the Cambodian lead singer of Dengue Fever, a unique band with an ever-growing fan base. The Signal Hill resident has been in a whir of activity as her band prepares to release of its latest album, "Cannibal Courtship," which hits the shelves Tuesday, the same day the band begins a West Coast tour at the Troubadour in Los Angeles. "My schedule with Dengue Fever is so full," says Chhom, who brings along a friend to interpret but rarely needs help. "Today is my day to relax." It being the first day of the three-day Cambodian New Year, it's a good time for reflection, something she has little time for with her band's growing popularity and hectic tour schedule. "I'm very happy with the band," Chhom says. "We travel around the world. Dengue Fever has helped me see the world." Which is something for the woman who for much of her life was better known as Chhom Chorvinn's little sister. And in many ways, she still sees herself as that. "I don't know about being famous or making money," she says with a laugh. The ascent of Chhom and Dengue Fever is an unlikely tale. Chhom was born in Battambang province in the wake of the Khmer Rouge's regime that left 2 million Cambodians dead. The Chhom family was split up, and Nimol and her parents fled to a refugee camp. It was there she learned to sing, taught by her brother Monychot. "There was really nothing else to do in the camp," Chhom recalls. Chhom's parents, Ou Sarin and Chon, also had been renowned as ayai singers, a popular, playful rural folk style of music. It was also in camp the Chhoms heard Chorvinn on the radio and learned that not only was she still alive, but had earned fame as a singer. The Chhom family later returned to Cambodia, and Nimol gained her own renown, winning a national singing contest. "Everyone knows our family in Cambodia," Chhom says. In 2000, the singer made her way to the U.S. to ply her trade in the Cambodian music circuit. Meanwhile, brothers Zac and Ethan Holtzman became enamored of the 1960s rock music that came out of Cambodia prior to the rise of Pol Pot. In 2001, they chanced across Chhom, who was singing Cambodian songs and karaoke at the Dragon House in Long Beach. At the time, Chhom spoke virtually no English, and one can only imagine the confusion as the brothers tried to describe the odd idea they had of doing covers of psychedelic retrorock of Cambodia. "It was crazy, that's what I'm thinking," Chhom recalls. "What are these guys trying to do, playing Cambodian songs?" Although it was a gamble, Chhom went in with Dengue Fever and hasn't looked back. Since inception, the band has earned critical raves for its eclectic blend of Cambodian, Afro, garage, surf and psychedelic styles. With Cannibal Courtship, the band refines its style, while incorporating more English. Although Chhom jokes she would sometimes have to spend a week to record one line of English lyrics, the music sounds seamless, natural and unique to Dengue Fever. As the Americanized Chhom prepares to get her nails done and later go to the gym, she hasn't forgotten her Khmer roots. Chhom and the band still do charity work for Cambodian causes, such as Cambodian Living Arts, the Wildlife Alliance. Despite a crowded schedule the next day, Chhom said she planned to find time to go to the Cambodian Buddhist temple of Long Beach and receive a water blessing before embarking on tour. greg.mellen@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1291  | ||||
| Long Beach Cambodians Hope Stories Heal Lasting Wounds From Khmer Rouge's Terror Posted: 15 Apr 2011 09:17 AM PDT
April 15, 2011 Dan Watson Senior Staff Reporter NeonTommmy.com (USC Annenberg, School of Communication & Journalism) Over the course of four years in Cambodia, Saoran Pol La Tour learned that three of her sons, and her husband, had starved to death. During the Khmer Rouge's horrific reign, she never mourned their deaths. "You had to be strong," she said, because "crying wasn't allowed." Otherwise, "You were killed." Today, she mourns them in a different way: Saoran Pol La Tour and her daughter, Sara Pol-Lim, share their story to others. In Long Beach, home to the word's largest Cambodian community outside of Cambodia, it is the story of many — but few are telling it. Many Cambodians in Long Beach escaped the horrors of the Killing Fields — a genocide of torture, murder and starvation perpetrated by the Communist-following government regime known as the Khmer Rouge; one that, by some estimates, killed 2 million people in a country of 8 million from 1975 to 1979. But most still suffer in silence, Saoran said. On Monday night, the story of the Killing Fields was told onstage; a free staged reading of "Sweet Karma" to coincide with the Cambodian New Year at Long Beach's International City Theatre. Few Cambodians attended the event, but Sara and Saoran saw hope in the two-hour reading, which they hope is added to the new theatre season. Monday's event was only an evaluation. "Imagine if we have a lot more community members come to see it," Sara said. "If they see it and recall back to their own story, that would be so powerful. That could have a gigantic community of healing going on." A 2005 study by the National Institute of Mental Health found that 62 percent of Cambodian refugees who have resettled in America suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and 51 percent from depression. "You're suppose to just forget about it," Sara said. "And hope all your memory and pain will supposedly just go away. And that doesn't happen. When you have such anger and pain, it creates an exhaustion in your body. It's like your body has no immune system." At the age of 7, Sara was separated from her mother when the Khmer Rouge took control of the country. Viewed as pure and uncontaminated by capitalism, children were torn away from their families, forced into labor camps and brainwashed with fanatical communist ideas. "By the end of the regime, something in my head said that I HAD to have her back," Saoran said. By chance, a co-worker spotted Sara in a passing camp. They stole her away from the group. One year later, Saoran had saved enough money to come to America, where she could ensure her daughter "an education." Today, Sara is executive director of United Cambodian Community, a group trying to help Cambodians reconcile with the past. Some still fear retaliation. "If you talk about it or bring up awareness, the government will do something over there, or hire a hit on you," Sara said about many Cambodians' fear. For others, the language barrier keeps them from talking. "They don't go anywhere, they don't do anything, contribute anything, and that needs to change," Sara said. Her mother found healing in writing. Nine years ago, she published "Vantha's Whisper," a memoir of her time spent surviving the Killing Fields. "At least my grandchildren have proof, and can read and know," Saoran said. "It's taken me a little too long to finish it, but I had to sometimes put all my strength into writing it down." Henry Ong wrote "Sweet Karma" with the Cambodian community in mind. The play is based on the life of Haing Ngor, who survived the Khmer Rouge before coming to America. Once in America, it was by chance that he earned an audition for a part in the film titled "The Killing Fields." Despite having no former acting experience, Ngor won the part, and later, the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. But a little more than 10 years after that astonishing win, Ngor was murdered outside his home in Chinatown. Ong hopes the Buddhist theme of "karma" — meaning "destiny or fate" — will connect with Cambodians. That connection, and support from Saoran and Sara, might "galvanize the community," he said. He too recognizes the need for Cambodians to talk about their past. "I wondered why people are so reticent about discussing the topic, and it's because a lot were perpetrators too," Ong said. "They were forced into that. So it's a shameful thing." In the play, the main character, Dr. Lam, is modeled on Ngor and played by Francois Chau. Dr. Lam must re-examine his life in the after-life, and deal with the death of his wife. Fearful that he will be killed if it is revealed he is a doctor (the Khmer Rouge killed most intellectuals), Dr. Lam remains silent while his wife dies in childbirth. She needed the aid of a doctor for a C-section. The guilt eats at him for the rest of his life. "It was something that was deep, and buried inside of him, and it was hard for him to express it," Ong said. "So, I was hoping this play was a vehicle for him to express it." He hopes it's a vehicle for many Cambodians to express how they feel. "If this play prompts people to re-examine what happened during the Khmer Rouge, I will consider my job as done," he said. The star of Monday's staged reading was Chau — who is widely acclaimed in the Cambodian community for his role on the TV show "Lost". Chau was just a kid when he left Cambodia in 1965. "Sometimes, I think about it, and wonder — if I hadn't left at that age, at that time, I either would have been killed, or worse, I would have been one of those Khmer Rouge kids," he said. "So whatever karma, or destiny is out there, it's a lot to think about."  | ||||
| Posted: 15 Apr 2011 09:12 AM PDT
Cambodian heritage a large part of traditional celebration April 15, 2011 By Jennifer Torres Record Staff Writer
STOCKTON - Around her neck, 20-year-old Narry Hoeung wears a locket with photos of her grandparents - her grandmother, who fled Cambodia when Khmer Rouge forces took hold of the country, and her grandfather, who did not escape but died in the campaign of killing that followed. "In California, they tried to celebrate all the Cambodian customs that they can," Hoeung said of the Cambodian refugees who eventually settled in Stockton, "so that we, as a second generation, won't lose it." On Thursday, Hoeung was with her sister at the Wat Dhammararam Buddhist Temple for the Cambodian New Year festival she has attended every year since her childhood. "My parents and my grandparents worry: Will we do the things that they do? Will we understand?" Hoeung said. Held every year in early spring, the Cambodian New Year celebration draws thousands of people to Stockton for an event that blends traditional dances, foods and rituals with modern entertainment. "They bring in famous singers from Cambodia," Hoeung said. The event continues through Sunday. It is open to the public. On Thursday, Buddhist nuns and other volunteers adorned the temple's colossal statues with bright silk flowers. Vendors set out cups full of sugar cane juice and Thai iced coffee. Bowls of oranges and bunches of bananas were piled on altars . "Everyone gets together and celebrates," Oeun Chin, one of the temple's monks, said as dancing began. "When the people come to the temple, the monks bless the people." As part of the celebration, a large mound of sand - called a stupa - has been built on a corner of the temple's grounds. Surrounded by four smaller mounds, it represents a spiritual monument to the Buddha. The smaller mounds represent four of his disciples. Throughout the afternoon, temple visitors stuck bundles of incense and flowers into the sand in memory of relatives and friends who have died. The sand, Chin said, is a reminder of the ephemeral nature of life. "There is nothing stable for us as human beings," he said. "It's only sand. It's where we are from. It's where we will go. It's the dirt." Over the course of the year, the stupas will gradually be disassembled as monks carry away the sand for other projects, he said. Contact reporter Jennifer Torres at (209) 546-8252 or jtorres@recordnet.com. Visit her blog at recordnet.com/parentingblog.  | ||||
| Posted: 15 Apr 2011 09:06 AM PDT
FIFA World A group of young women sporting laced-up football boots and yellow training tops stands at the roadside. It is not yet six in the morning as they await the old pick-up truck that will take them to the wooden huts on the muddy streets of the city's edge, stopping off at many children's homes and orphanages en route. The setting is Battambang, a city of 200,000 people situated some 300 kilometres west of the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh. The driver, Sina, knows the way to the wooden huts on the boundaries of the city and is undaunted by the bumpy side roads. Each time he stops, another group of girls jumps onto the truck and before long it is precariously overloaded and buzzing ever louder with the lively chatter of its passengers. In Cambodia, it is not only the streets that are diffi cult to navigate. Everyday life is also a struggle for many of the country's 14.3 million inhabitants. Although the province of Battambang is known as the 'Rice Bowl' of Cambodia on account of its fertile land, its inhabitants still have to survive on an average wage of 1,800 Riel per day, or half a US dollar. While improvements have certainly been seen during the politically stable 23-year reign of Prime Minister Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party, regions such as Battambang still bear the lasting scars of the Khmer Rouge regime, which saw the destruction of schools, communities and families. The average age in Cambodia is 22 and more than 50 per cent of the population is under 21. School attendance is scarce, above all in provincial areas, and there is scant support for education. Girl labourers Girls in particular are forced to bear the brunt of these difficult circumstances. The lack of work and parents' struggles to provide for their families mean that girls have to earn a wage, whether as field labourers, travelling vendors, casual workers or beggars. It is believed that there are more orphans and street children in Cambodia than anywhere else in the world, with the organisation Street Children estimating that 20,000 children scrape together a living on the street. Many families barter their daughters off to unscrupulous employers in good faith, turning young women into easy prey for human traffickers and leading them straight into a life of slavery and forced prostitution. Shipped across the border illegally by smugglers, they end up in the brothels of Thailand and Vietnam and are moved from one place to another, becoming lost without trace to their families. It is a situation well known to the girls in the pick-up truck, almost all of whom come from homes and organisations that offer shelter to homeless children. Many of them have found their way back home after long periods of enforced labour, an escape which might not have been possible had a young Swiss primary school teacher not made a name for himself in the country's top football division before stumbling into the world of the street children following the theft of a motorbike helmet… Traveling teacher The story began around ten years ago when Sam Schweingruber arrived in Cambodia as a recently trained 24-yea rold teacher who wanted to broaden his horizons a little before his expected return to start working life in his homeland. "I wanted to travel and see the world," recalls Schweingruber of that first trip, which started with a stay in India, followed by a visit to the 2002 FIFA World Cup™ in Korea and Japan, before winding up in Cambodia. Already a keen hobby footballer, with experience of coaching children back home in Switzerland and a 'B' coaching license from the Swiss Football Association, Schweingruber decided to stay on longer in Cambodia because, in his words, "there was a lot going on here from the very start". Before long he had graduated from kicking a ball around in the park to starring as a midfielder in the country's Premier League. Thanks to a considerable height advantage over his opponents, he never lost an aerial encounter. By way of a monthly salary, his club Mild Seven paid him a box of cigarettes and USD 30 in cash. With his methodical approach and know-how, Schweingruber was soon promoted to coach. However, football in Cambodia was all about the Premier League and not much else. The Cambodia men's national team was ranked 178th in the World Ranking and only one coach in the whole country held an 'A' coaching licence. Street football was rough and unstructured, and there was no system of youth development nor any junior leagues. A chance theft It was a couple of years after his arrival in the country that an incident happened which was to change the course of Schweingruber's life – and eventually the lives of many Cambodian youngsters. "I used to ride around Phnom Penh on my motorbike, and I was chatting to a friend once when I turned around and saw that my helmet had been stolen," Schweingruber recalls. "I confronted the thief, who was trying to sell the helmet and saw that he was high on drugs. Nobody was looking after him or cared what happened to him." The encounter opened Schweingruber's eyes, as he realised that he could help a lot more people in Cambodia than he could at home: "When I returned to Switzerland, I kept asking myself why there was no youth football in Cambodia." He soon realised that he had to go back to offer the street children an alternative. In June 2004, Schweingruber formed his first team of street children on a random street corner in Phnom Penh where he had almost run one of them over on his scooter. He held his training sessions late in the evening and it took him a long time to gain the acceptance and appreciation of local footballing officials. Then, in 2006, he was offered a contract with the association to develop youth football. Healing with SALT This project fell by the wayside due to a change in the association's management on the day Schweingruber was due to sign the contract, so instead he took matters into his own hands, moving to Battambang to found an academy which he named SALT – standing for Sport and Leadership Training. He reached into his own pocket to buy caps, balls and training tops, and quickly set up his own weekend league. Fifteen U-17 teams started the season in the autumn of 2006, and a year later the girls also got on board. Nowadays, over 2,000 boys and girls from three provinces take part in more than 500 matches per season. Before each match, voluntary support workers hold leadership lessons in which they teach the children life skills and how to avoid alcohol abuse, drug addiction and petty crime. Schweingruber had his work cut out convincing people of the benefits of his work: "I wanted to show that the role of football goes beyond training but it is difficult to change people's way of thinking. Many parents still believed that sport was a waste of time and that it didn't teach you any life skills." Since women continue to have a low status in Cambodian society, Schweingruber created training groups specifically for girls. "Many young women are prevented from developing independently and making their own way in life like us. Through our work, we can show that girls also deserve respect." Schweingruber's patience was eventually rewarded. SALT went on to have U-11, U-13 and U-16 teams for boys and a men's senior team that takes part in national tournaments, as well as U-13 and U-16 girls' teams. By now trained as a FIFA Grassroots Instructor, Schweingruber had also become an expert in women's football across the country and when Cambodia were invited to play their first international women's match in Laos in spring 2009, it was only logical that Schweingruber be appointed coach of the women's national team. It is a position which he holds to this day, although he is quick to point out that the ad hoc nature of the team's schedule means his role cannot be compared to that of a full-time national trainer. Personal successes Nevertheless, there have been a number of personal successes that have gone far beyond the individual results of the team's sporadic matches. During that inaugural FIFA-sponsored trip to Laos, for example, the Cambodian line-up included Nin and Vesna, two young sisters who had begun to play football in the SALT Academy after returning from a life of exploitation and abuse in Thailand. The pair were such good players that they quickly clinched a regular place in the team, and, nowadays, Nin even wears the captain's armband. What is more, she has been trained as a course instructor in Schweingruber's coaching workshops and now earns her money as a coach. "Before I discovered SALT, I rarely laughed," Nin points out. "Now I've been playing football for three years and I've been laughing a great deal during that time." Such stories provide a fitting tribute to the work carried out by SALT and by the academy's Swiss founder in the seven years since his almost accidental stumbling into the world of the street children. "Ironically, my own parents never wanted me to play football, because they thought it would be a bad influence, particularly on my education," says Schweingruber with a smile. "Now, though, I have been able to prove here in Cambodia that football and education can complement each other. "As a teacher in Switzerland I was already interested in the educational role of football and how it could be about much more than just kicking a ball. But my experiences since coming to Cambodia have taken that to a whole new level. It has shown me how it is possible for football to make a real difference in children's lives, starting with just a few simple kick-arounds. The leagues that the kids now play in and the educational elements that the academy has introduced are, of course, a lot more advanced than any of us could have dreamt of in the early days, but the principle remains the same: changing the perspectives of disadvantaged children just by making it possible for them to play."  | ||||
| Small-scale farmers increasingly at risk from 'global land grabbing' Posted: 15 Apr 2011 08:27 AM PDT
While investment is critical for agriculture, the rush into long-term land leases is a dramatic step with many risks and substantial social and environmental costs Friday 15 April 2011 Jun Borras, Ian Scoones and David Hughes The Guardian (UK) New research on the global rush for agricultural land shows small-scale farmers increasingly at risk as land deals ignore local tenure rights. Fresh evidence from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the former Soviet Union was presented last week at an international conference on "global land grabbing" convened by the Land Deal Politics Initiative and hosted by the Future Agricultures Consortium at the University of Sussex, where researchers revealed documentation of land deals amounting to over 80m hectares – almost twice what was previously estimated. The stakes are high for displaced small farmers, women and children, as well as national governments where land is being leased in large amounts. With land deals accelerating, particularly in Africa, it is essential that the fine print of such deals is subject to careful scrutiny, and that transparent and accountable governance mechanisms are put in place. And securing land rights is central to ensuring equitable agricultural development. The rush to acquire land is driven by four factors: food price volatility and unreliable markets; the energy crisis and interest in agro-energy/biofuels; the global financial crisis; and a new market for carbon trading. Proponents of these deals say they are competitive, that they economise on labour, and that they produce food for export at prices low enough for poor consumers. But, as research from Cambodia to Cameroon to Colombia shows, the social and environmental costs of such deals are rarely taken into account. "Small-scale family agriculture, on which most of the world's rural poor still depend, is threatened by large-scale plantations, export-led agriculture and the production not of food but commodities," said Olivier de Schutter, the UN rapporteur on the right to food, in his opening speech at the conference. Policies that can curb the power of investors while securing rights for farmers must precede land deal negotiations. "The establishment of regulations and norms at multilateral levels is critical," said Ruth Hall of the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies in South Africa. "Small-scale farmers need national level regulations and institutions – the African Union's Land Policy Guidelines can help in this regard." These policies must also deliver on human rights, said Sofía Monsalve from Fian International, as "forced evictions, the foreclosure of land, the denial of information about deals and the prevention of local participation in political decisions" violate land users human rights. Last week's conference highlighted ways to increase the options of smallholder farmers. One strategy is to reorient agricultural investment away from land deals for large plantations or estates and towards highly productive and efficient small-scale family agriculture and markets, supported by stronger farmer voices. Land grabs, either through economic or physical means, are, as Teo Ballvé from University of California, Berkeley put it, actually the "last step in a long chain of violent events" perpetrated against small farmers and pastoralists. The commodification and privatisation of land and the dispossession of farmers and herders is seldom taken into account in the boardrooms of corporations or in high-level meetings with governments. Yet, some researchers at the conference argued that with the right international regulatory mechanisms, national government commitment to land rights, and stronger farmer voices holding governments and investors to account, there are ways that local food security and responsible land deals can coexist. However, this will only happen if the deals are effectively negotiated; something that rarely happens today. Mahnaz Malik from the International Institute for Sustainable Development pointed out that "the fine print – no matter how boring – has major implications". This applies to specific land deal contracts, but also wider investment treaties. For example, certain clauses are highly restrictive, meaning that states are locked in to particular agreements over long periods. New laws to protect the environment or labour rights, for instance, cannot be implemented, as they may be subject to disputes and prohibitive compensation payments. Bilateral treaties meant to attract much-needed investment to developing countries are particularly problematic, Malik argued. Globally, there are over 3,000 of these treaties across 183 counties, with many emerging from European countries, including Germany, Netherlands and the UK. These treaties allow private individuals or companies to bring claims against governments in international tribunals, where the scales are balanced very much in favour of the investor. By contrast, the rights of landholders affected by land deals are currently governed only by voluntary agreements and overarching principles, with no legally binding requirements. Governments and communities must negotiate land deals with extreme caution. The track record to date has been poor, and while investment is critical for agriculture, the rush into long-term land leases is a dramatic step with numerous risks and often substantial costs.
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| "The A.K.47 Stars លោកផ្កាយ អា.កា." a Poem in Khmer by Acha Touch Posted: 15 Apr 2011 08:17 AM PDT   | ||||
| Posted: 15 Apr 2011 07:43 AM PDT Dear KI Media readers and/or ECCC personnel: It is our understanding that the June 2001 report by Professor/Khmer expert Stephen Heder and international lawyer Brian Tittermore "Seven Candidates for Prosecution: Accountability for Crimes of the Khmer Rouge" has been translated into Khmer. We would like to post this Khmer translation for the benefit of the larger Khmer-reading public. If you have access to this Khmer translation, would you please send it to us with credit or anonymously at kiletters@gmail.com. Thank you and Happy New Year! KI-Media team  | ||||
| Posted: 15 Apr 2011 06:38 AM PDT 2. CONFIDENTIALITY The names I mentioned have already been widely circulated and it is ridiculous to say that I am revealing "confidential" information. It is not confidential, I did not get access to it as a result of being a party to the court proceeding, and I am under no obligation to keep silent about who I think is responsible for a crime. In this light, the ECCC is deliberately hiding behind the all-encompassing, impenetrable veil of confidentiality and imperialistically abusing its power of transparency and accountability. The Office of Co-Investigating Judges (CIJs) has been sitting idly on Cases 003/004 for the last 19 months (!) with no meaningful activity. For the last seven months since the Closing Order of Case 002, its 40-member staff have been collecting salaries in the conservative range of US$250,000 per month for doing absolutely nothing, as the investigations of Cases 001 and 002 are completed and there is no discernable activity for Cases 003/004. The stalling from overt political interference has been so outrageous, sustained and deep that one can hear the CIJs snoring under their cloak of secrecy against the backdrop of the deafening silence of the donor community. By attempting to shut me up, the ECCC is furthering its abuse of the rights of victims and covering up its failure to follow the law and investigate Cases 003/004 with integrity. - Theary C. Seng, civil party applicant to cases 003 and 004 ECCC/UN Asleep, Hiding behind Veil of Confidentiality
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| Sacrava's Political Cartoon: My Victory Day Posted: 15 Apr 2011 01:31 AM PDT
Translated excerpt from French Magazine Paris Match, no. 1353, May 3,1975:   | ||||
| Posted: 15 Apr 2011 01:15 AM PDT Opinion by P.T.
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| Evicted People in Sihanouk Province Continue to Live Desperately Posted: 15 Apr 2011 12:28 AM PDT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9GSdZ8N84U&feature=channel_video_title  | ||||
| Do not try this at home or on the road! Posted: 15 Apr 2011 12:14 AM PDT
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| Cambodians Welcome Year of the Rabbit, 2555 Posted: 15 Apr 2011 12:11 AM PDT Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer Phnom Penh Thursday, 14 April 2011
Cambodians nationwide rung in the Buddhist year 2555 on Thursday afternoon, ushering in the Year of the Rabbit at 1:12 pm. The age old tradition of the new year celebration follows a Buddhist calendar and is observed in the fifth month, Khe Chet, when farming is typically finished and before the rainy season begins. Phnom Penh's increasingly busy streets quieted by the afternoon, as shops shuttered, families gathered and pagodas opened their gates to receive well-wishers. Police stood by to prevent holiday crimes. "We will not allow trouble from gangsters or thieves or robbers," Khieu Sopheak, a spokesman for the Ministry of Interior said Tuesday. "And each police post around the country is standing by to prevent these bad activities in Buddhist pagodas, entertainment sites and along the roads." Young men and women, boys and girls, gathered for traditional games, including a scarf toss, tug-of-war and leaf snatching. Revelers prepared for performances of music, comedy, dancing and other traditional celebrations in pagodas, public spaces or entertainment venues. "All the popular games show the abilities, close relationships and wisdom of youth," said Meach Pon, an adviser for Khmer traditions at the Buddhist Institute. "The meaning of the popular games is for fun."  | ||||
| Belief on Yeay Yat's spirit in Pailin Posted: 15 Apr 2011 12:06 AM PDT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbdG_4jxnKU&feature=related [Where was she during the KR era when we all suffered?]  | ||||
| Trot performance and Khmer belief Posted: 15 Apr 2011 12:02 AM PDT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU0gIqI2tJ4&feature=related  | ||||
| Posted: 14 Apr 2011 11:52 PM PDT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URronFQ9UE0&feature=player_embedded [Now, I can sympathize with some men dancing! - HS]  | ||||
| Sumner M. Redstone Charitable Foundation Donates $500,000 To The Cambodian Children's Fund Posted: 14 Apr 2011 11:46 PM PDT New Gift To Provide Long-Term Support To The Child Rescue Center Launched In 2007 With A Grant From The Redstone Foundation BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., April 14, 2011 — /PRNewswire/ -- Sumner M. Redstone today announced a second grant of $500,000 to the Cambodian Children's Fund (CCF), a non-profit program that provides a wide range of critical health and educational services to impoverished and abused children in Cambodia's capital city of Phnom Penh. This most recent gift brings Mr. Redstone's total commitment to CCF to $1 million. Mr. Redstone's initial $500,000 grant in 2007 established CCF's child rescue center, now a thriving community facility providing the most at-risk children with education, health care, nutrition and play area, all within a secure environment. The center cares for children of all ages, from newborns in the CCF Nursery program and three- to six-year-olds in its daycare, to those in their teens wanting the opportunity to study. A maternal care program ensures that each child enters the world as healthy as possible and into a family that understands childcare, nutrition and basic child development. The additional $500,000 grant from Mr. Redstone will help fund the continued operations of the center. Mr. Redstone said, "The Cambodian Children's Fund is bringing lifesaving services to innocent children who live in a world of poverty, sickness and ignorance. In 2007, I was pleased to establish a rescue center that brought critical services to thousands of young lives. With this additional funding, the CCF can grow their programs to serve a wider range of children and to help sustain its operations for the long term. Through the consistency and expansion of its health care and education services, the CCF can provide hope and a path to a new life for thousands of young lives. "I hope this gift will encourage others to join me in supporting the amazing work of the Cambodian Children's Fund." Scott Neeson, the founder and executive director of CCF, said, "Mr. Redstone has been so generous in helping the CCF establish a sustainable program that lifts up the neediest and most vulnerable. His latest donation allows CCF to provide long term care to those who have come to rely on our services. On any given day, our center provides food and health care to over 300 of the country's most vulnerable population. As the demand on our services has increased, so have the costs. It is only through Mr. Redstone's remarkable gift that we can ensure that each child receives the consistency of care that they deserve." The Cambodian Children's Fund was founded in 2004 by Mr. Neeson to aid the most impoverished of Cambodia's children. The CCF's Phnom Penh facility was initially established as a safe house for Cambodia's orphaned, abandoned or abused children, providing secure shelter and nutritional meals within a caring environment. Since then, the CCF has grown to include full education, medical care, vocational training and community outreach services for Cambodia's most impoverished children and their families. With six facilities now operating, CCF's services include maternal care, clean water, a food program, a nursery for the most at-risk newborns and infants, a day care center, a garment training facility and a bakery. CCF also provides a comprehensive educational program for over 900 children, including local language reading and writing, multi-level English classes, social studies and math. More information on the Cambodian Children's Fund can be found at: SOURCE: Sumner M. Redstone Charitable Foundation  | ||||
| Khmer New Year Wishes from Ms. Peang Phansy of Khmer M'chas Srok Movement Posted: 14 Apr 2011 11:17 PM PDT   | ||||
| Vietnam: Montagnards Harshly Persecuted Posted: 14 Apr 2011 11:12 PM PDT
Forced Renunciation of Faith, Harassment, Violence, and Arrests Thursday April 14, 2011 By Dan WoodingVIETNAM (ANS) -- The Vietnamese government has intensified repression of indigenous minority Christians from the country's Central Highland provinces who are pressing for religious freedom and land rights, Human Rights Watch (www.hrw.org) has said in a just released report. The 46-page report, "Montagnard Christians in Vietnam: A Case Study in Religious Repression," details the latest government crackdowns on these indigenous peoples, known collectively as Montagnards. The report documents police sweeps to root out Montagnards in hiding. It details how the authorities have dissolved house church gatherings, orchestrated coerced renunciations of faith, and sealed off the border to prevent asylum seekers from fleeing to Cambodia. Human Rights Watch found that special "political security" (PA43) units conduct operations with provincial police to capture, detain, and interrogate people they identify as political activists or leaders of unregistered house churches. More than 70 Montagnards have been detained or arrested in 2010 alone, and more than 250 are known to be imprisoned on national security charges. "Montagnards face harsh persecution in Vietnam, particularly those who worship in independent house churches, because the authorities don't tolerate religious activity outside their sight or control," said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch. "The Vietnamese government has been steadily tightening the screws on independent Montagnards religious groups, claiming they are using religion to incite unrest." Human Rights Watch documented the abuses in the Central Highlands, which is off-limits to independent, international rights groups, through interviews with Montagnards who have fled Vietnam and reports in Vietnam's government-controlled media. In an interview with Human Rights Watch, one Montagnard described his treatment at T-20, the provincial prison in Gia Lai, after he was arrested for participating in a protest calling for religious freedom and land rights: He said, "They questioned me at any time, even midnight. The police would get drunk, wake me up, and question me and beat me. They put me in handcuffs when they took me out for questioning. The handcuffs were like wire - very tight. They used electric shock on me every time they interrogated me. They would shock me on my knees, saying, 'You used these legs to walk to the demonstration.'" Sentenced to five years in prison for "violating national solidarity," he remains partially deaf from repeatedly being boxed on both ears: "They would stand facing me and shout: 'One, two, three!' and then use both hands to box both of my ears at the same time. They would do this three times, the last time putting strong pressure on the ears," he went on to say. "Blood came out of my ears and my nose. I went crazy from this. It was so painful, and also the build-up made me very afraid and tense." The government says that Montagnards, who belong to unregistered house churches outside the control of the official Southern Evangelical Church of Vietnam, are "Dega Protestants," which authorities allege is not a legitimate religious group but a cover for a Montagnard independence movement. Vietnamese law requires all religious groups to register with the government and operate under government-approved religious organizations. Human Rights Watch called on the Vietnamese government to immediately end its systematic repression of Montagnards, allow independent religious organizations to conduct religious activities freely, and release all Montagnards imprisoned for peaceful religious or political activities. Until Vietnam improves its record on religious freedom, Human Rights Watch calls on the US government to reinstate Vietnam's designation as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for violations of religious freedom. Using official Vietnamese media sources, Human Rights Watch documented the controversial practice of forced recantations of faith. Government officials have forced hundreds of Montagnard Catholics and Protestants to renounce their religion in public criticism sessions, violating internationally protected rights to freedom of religion and conscience. Those who resist and insist on their right to independent worship facing beatings, arrest, and imprisonment. Provincial courts often hold "mobile trials" of people charged with national security crimes before hundreds of people, reinforcing the message not to follow unsanctioned religious groups. "Freedom of religion does not mean freedom for state-sanctioned religions only," Robertson said. "Vietnam should immediately recognize independent religious groups and let them practice their beliefs." While Protestant Montagnards have faced repression for many years, Catholic Montagnards have more recently become a target, particularly the "Ha Mon" Catholic sect, which started in Kon Tum in 1999. During 2010, officials charged that Montagnard exiles in the United States were manipulating the popular sect to undermine national unity. Forced renunciation ceremonies and public criticism meetings have been conducted in recent months in Kon Tum, Gia Lai, and Dak Lak provinces for Ha Mon followers, in which they are forced to confess to wrongdoings and to sign pledges to abandon the so-called "false religion." "People in the Central Highlands who wish to worship in independent house churches risk public humiliation, violent reprisals, arrest, and even prison time," Robertson said. The more than 250 Montagnards in prison or awaiting trial are charged with national security crimes such as "undermining national solidarity." Many former Montagnard political prisoners and detainees report that they were severely beaten or tortured in police custody and pre-trial detention. Since 2001, at least 25 Montagnards have died in prisons, jails, or police lock-ups after beatings or illnesses sustained while in custody, or shortly after being prematurely released by prison authorities to a hospital or home. Examples of forced renunciations of faith and harassment of peaceful activists at public criticism meetings in the Central Highlands covered by Vietnamese state media in recent months include:
Since 2001, thousands of Montagnards in Vietnam have fled harsh government crackdowns to Cambodia, where most have been recognized as refugees and resettled to the United States, Sweden, Finland, and Canada. In December 2010, the Cambodian government ordered the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to close the Montagnard refugee center in Phnom Penh. With the center's closure on February 15, 2011, Montagnards seeking to escape repression in Vietnam are left with fewer options. "Montagnards will continue to try to flee Vietnam as long as the Vietnamese government systematically violates their basic rights," said Robertson. "The Vietnamese government needs to end this repression immediately."  | ||||
| US senator opposes planned dam on the Mekong River Posted: 14 Apr 2011 10:43 PM PDT
DPA A leading US senator has added his voice to a growing chorus of international opposition to a proposed dam on the mekong River in Laos. Democrat Senator Jim Webb, chair of the Committee on Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Thursday issued a statement raising concerns over the Xayaburi dam project, which could get the go-ahead next week. Officials from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, through which the lower mekong flows, are to decide on April 22 whether the project is to proceed. The Xayaburi hydropower dam is the first of 11 planned on the lower mekong mainstream. "This is a dangerously harmful precedent as it relates to the environmental health of South-East Asia," Webb warned. "Numerous scientific studies have concluded that construction of the Xayaburi dam and other proposed mainstream dams will have devastating environmental, economic, and social consequences for the entire mekong sub-region," he said.  | ||||
| US department defends human trafficking report Posted: 14 Apr 2011 10:14 PM PDT April 15, 2011 ABC Radio Australia CDEBACA: One of the problems that we have in the entire region, whether it's in Cambodia or in other countries is that the good work of police forces, prosecutors, national coordinators who work with the non-government organisations to come up with ways to attack human trafficking are then undercut by official corruption. We have a high ranking police official who owns the bar where the women are being held as slaves, when you have a government official who owns the plantation where the people are being made to cut down the palm oil and things like that. It totally undercuts what we're trying to accomplish, so not just in Cambodia, but in other areas of the region we see corruption as being an anchor that drags behind the effort. Each year the US State Department puts out a report detailing the human trafficking situation around the world and grading countries on how well they are addressing the problem. The report separates nations into categories or tiers, and the rankings can cause diplomatic friction. For example Singapore was furious last year when it was placed on the Tier Two Watch List for countries that don't meet the standards of a US law, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, and are not doing enough in the eyes of the State Department to reform. US Senator Jim Webb has recently criticised the rankings, saying the method for compiling it lacked clarity and that it caused "confusion and resentment" among Asian nations. Tier One lists countries that meet the standards of US legislation called the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. Tier Two is for countries that don't meet the US standards but are trying. The Tier Two Watch List is for those that aren't considered to be trying hard enough. In Asia that includes Bangladesh, China, India, the Philippines and Sri Lanka plus newcomers Afghanistan, Brunei, Laos, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. And Tier Three, the worst perfomers on combating human trafficking, includes Papua New Guinea, North Korea and Burma. Presenter: Liam Cochrane Speaker: Luis CdeBaca, Ambassador-at-Large, State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking In Persons CDEBACA: Well the United States has been issuing the anti-trafficking report now for ten years, the passage of how anti-trafficking law in the year 2000. Our anti-trafficking law passed about a month before the United Nations acted in Palermo in the modern updating of the slavery conventions and what that did was it focused not on the movement of people around the world, but rather on the slavery and exploitation. And so the United States rather than waiting for the United Nations or any other multilateral organisations to an assessment or an evaluation, again 200 taken evaluation. It guides our diplomacy, it guides our programs and it guides the training and technical assistance that we're able to give countries around the world to fight modern slavery. COCHRANE: And that diplomacy is ruffled at times with the release of the report and the various tiers of the list. Do you think that the trafficking report should be balanced against wider diplomatic sensitivities? CDEBACA: Well, we think that the trafficking report actually is balanced against wider sensitivities and that it is naming the problem and then working both as a diagnostic and to the degree that there's the shame factor that moves governments in to work on this and that's something that again comes into the diplomatic world. Secretary Clinton said that countries come very forcefully and talk about not wanting to be dropped in their category and report and we hear them out and we talk to them and we then work with them to make a difference and if you don't have results that speak for themselves at the end of the year, then the ranking can be something that a country doesn't want to see. We don't get very many complaints from the countries that get upgraded or they get ranked highly on the report as to how the report works. So we think that it's working, because a number of countries are moving up on the report. COCHRANE: One of those countries that went in the opposite direction, Singapore, was apparently not too happy about being placed in the Tier Two watch list last year. What were they doing wrong and have they taken steps to improve in the interim? CDEBACA: One of the issues that was reported in the annual trafficking persons report about Singapore last year was the problem of labour trafficking as many people in the Pacific region know Singapore has a very large number of guest workers. There's been very high profile cases in which they've been abused by their employers as well as a host of women in prostitution. The report in 2010 was very concerned about, for instance, the notion that 7500 women were arrested and deported for prostitution and only a handful were identified as trafficking victims and we're also very concerned that this issue of domestic servants, this issue of foreign guest workers, that the Singaporean government would not even accept the notion that these people could be abused or whether they could be covered under the international norms of the UN protocol. COCHRANE: Did the shock of being placed into the watch list make them more ready to address the reality of the situation? CDEBACA: Well, we've had a lot of dialogue with the Singaporeans. This year I was in the region, in the Fall, I was in Malaysia and then Singapore and one of the things that we've seen with both countries. The reason I've lumped them together is not because they're next to each other. It's because you will recall in the 2009 report, Malaysia was put on Tier Three and it was equally unhappy with that. In both cases, we've had the months after the report, after the initial shock and the initial discomfort with this ranking, we then have increased engagement. I've been to Singapore, I meet regularly with the Singapore ambassador to the United States. We've seen increased dialogue between the Singaporean government and US law enforcement with what is a what we think is an open and serious desire to learn more about the cutting edge techniques of fighting modern slavery. No longer do we see Singapore simply refusing to admit that there is a problem of enforced labour on the island. COCHRANE: One of our major audiences is Indonesia. How are their efforts going in terms of human trafficking? We know there's a massive people smuggling operation that goes on. What about in terms of human trafficking? CDEBACA: Well, Indonesia is a country that we've seen historically as having a big problem as an offending country in many ways, but there's also problems of people enslaved in Indonesia itself, whether it's in the eastern part of the country on New Guinea or some of the eastern islands, on Borneo itself. We've got a problem with agriculture, mining, fishing, forestry as well as sexual slavery. But what we've seen is and again they were historically very low on the report. They take a look at that and worked to improve their law. They worked to improve their structures and as a result, we've now seen I think last year there was more than 80 traffickers who were convicted, which is, when you compare it to their neighbours, which is a very serious number of cases being brought. So we've seen Indonesia as a success story in the region. It doesn't mean that there's no trafficking in Indonesia anymore. It simply means that the government is actually acting against it. COCHRANE: And Cambodia has also been seen as making positive moves in passing a 2008 law against human trafficking and sexual exploitation. There are still things that need to be done though and a long way to go in Cambodia. The report last year detailed with some very specific references corruption amongst police and amongst government officials. Would you like to see more done to stamp out corruption amongst the government and police? CDEBACA: One of the problems that we have in the entire region, whether it's in Cambodia or in other countries is that the good work of police forces, prosecutors, national coordinators who work with the non-government organisations to come up with ways to attack human trafficking are then undercut by official corruption. We have a high ranking police official who owns the bar where the women are being held as slaves, when you have a government official who owns the plantation where the people are being made to cut down the palm oil and things like that. It totally undercuts what we're trying to accomplish, so not just in Cambodia, but in other areas of the region we see corruption as being an anchor that drags behind the effort. COCHRANE: The new report is out is due out mid-year. Are there any new trends in the movement of human trafficking within Asia that are concerning you? CDEBACA: Well, one of the big trends that we see and it's not necessarily new for 2010 is that the feminisation of modern slavery that we pointed out in last year's report. Indonesia, for instance, has within five years gone from having a majority of men as the economic migrants who leave Indonesia, to having a majority of women as the economic migrants and it's a big swing and I think it was 20 or 25 per cent of the migrants historically were women and now it's more than 70 per cent. Those women are going into more exploitable situations. They're travelling to be maids, working by themselves in a home in countries with very few worker protections and so this national of the feminisation of modern slavery, not just in the sex industry is something that I think is of great concern. The other trend that we see frankly is when you look at jurisdictions like Taiwan or the Philippines or even in Malaysia is that some of the work that we saw five years ago in Indonesia is spreading throughout the region. COCHRANE: What sort of work are you referring to? CDEBACA: Well Taiwan for instance, now has victim care. The Taiwan authorities are letting victims not locking them up in shelter. They're letting them leave, go work during the day when they're in Taiwan, even if they had come illegally, even if they had engaged in prostitution. Once they're rescuing them, they're actually trying to rehabilitate them. In the Philippines, we're seeing a willingness of the Philippine government to prosecute the labour brokers who are sending people overseas to be abused and the supreme court has issued a ruling that is going to clear the back log of trafficking cases by having a certain number of days. I think it's 180 days in which trafficking cases have to go to trial. These are things much like Malaysia where you see a new willingness of the government to work with the non-governmental organisations that really give us hope in the region and these are problems that were first pointed out in public in the trafficking in persons report. So we think that we're not going to take credit for what these governments did. But the first time these inconvenient facts were talked about in public were in the American report and we want to make sure that we work with these governments to address the recommendations, address those concerns. We don't want to just accuse countries of things then run away. We want to be in there with those countries working on the solution.  |
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