The Phnom Penh Post - ENGLISH: “Not have the money” plus 9 more

We may have taught for more than 10 years and still not have the money to build a house.

A mong the producers of millions of phone apps around the world is a young Cambodian, Yok Chivalry, 27, the creator of the popular game Asva.

Chivalry is an animator, art director and co-founder at Osja Game Studio. He says the biggest achievement for himself and his team is recognition in foreign countries such as South Korea, China and Brazil.

"Foreign countries recognise our accomplishments and value our graphic design," Chivalry says. "They give us 4.5 out of 5 . . . and Asva ranked fifth at the DEMO ASEAN showcase."

Asva achieved fame because of its excellent design and logical gameplay. Behind the success was much effort and teamwork, requiring team members to share the same goals. Their biggest hurdle was injecting the game with new concepts and design ideas.

"We have never produced this kind of game before, so we had to explore new things and spend a lot of time doing research," Chivalry says, adding that a lack of human resources in 2D and 3D animation was the main challenge in creating Asva.

Chivalry and his team are also behind the games Santa Adventure and Good Man. If you check his Facebook page, you will see many examples of his 3D animation and video tutorials.

Chivalry enjoys the role of animator the most, because it can entertain and satisfy people.

Realising that he loves animation, Chivalry decided to grab the opportunity to explore the world of 3D gaming. He and his team took six months to complete Asva.

"When I was young, I watched cartoons on TV and VCD." These cartoons interested Chivalry so much that he decided he wanted to become an animator.

After five years at school learning traditional and modern art, Chivalry realised that he possessed above-average skills in drawing and painting.

He wanted to get a bachelor's degree in animation, but at that time there was no animation school in the country. "In 2004, I was told by a friend there was a company that worked in animation, so I applied and luckily passed. I was trained in how to make 3D animation for three months."

Chivalry ​​ started working professionally in animation in 2009 and is now experienced in both 2D and 3D animation. He became involved as an art director on Asva the Monkey, the first Cambodian mobile puzzle game, in May 2012.

Globally, 3D is regularly used in game and film, but in Cambodia 3D film and animation are not widely produced.

Compared to neighbouring countries, animation made locally is still rare in Cambodia, he says. "I hope in 2015 when ASEAN fully integrates Cambodia's 3D technology sector can move forward."

The combination of his love for animation and his computer skills seem certain to ensure that Chivalry achieves his long-term goal of making a 3D animated film.​

A Nigerian national sentenced to 11 years on robbery and drug-use convictions in two separate cases appealed the verdicts yesterday, asking for a reduced sentence and not to be deported.

In addition to drug use and robbery, a Phnom Penh Municipal judge convicted Nwaty Chales Ugo Chukwu, 28, of illegal immigration and violent theft in March of 2011, said presiding Appeal Court Judge Khun Leangmeng.

Convictions stem from two 2010 incidents. On February 6 that year, Chukwu reportedly threatened another Nigerian national he knew with a meat cleaver, demanding money, Leangmeng said.

Chukwu was arrested on March 2, 2010, a day after Nigerian national Adebe Franksis reported to police that he and a friend were beaten and robbed of a phone by Chukwu.

Chukwu was found by police to have arrived in Cambodia illegally and allegedly confessed to using drugs. A verdict will be handed down on January 8.

Luiz Suarez made is an unbelievable four in a row as star gameweek performer of the Cellcard Fantasy League, with just under half of all managers making the most of the Uruguayan hotshot.

Having inked a new long-term contract last week with Liverpool, Suarez took the club to the top of the table with two stunning strikes and an assist in a dazzling first half against Cardiff. His 16 points was easily the best of the Dream team and he'll celebrate Christmas with a 35-point advantage over his nearest rival in the overall charts, Sergio Aguero of Man City.

Meanwhile, Tottenham's Emmanuel Adebayor returned to favour in the first team with a match-winning brace for 13 points.

The weekly competition was another high scoring battle, with quite a few managing to pass the century mark. However, with numerous unregistered members, the Cellcard goodies of a US$20 phone voucher and T-shirt fell to Nak Puthea with his team Heaven FC on 103 points.

Puthea had Suarez as captain for 32 points, but also fielded Stoke's Peter Crouch and Southampton Adam Lallana for 12 each.

Gameweek 18 encompasses the traditional Boxing Day fixtures, with 10 ties scheduled for tomorrow.

While the European Union Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht never told the Ministry of Commerce that Cambodian rice was "30 per cent" mixed with the same product from Vietnam, he did say Cambodia had to better ensure that its harvest was homegrown and not from another country, a spokesman for the commissioner said yesterday.

"Rice exports from Cambodia have been rising very fast in recent years," said John Clancy, spokesman for the trade commissioner, in an email.

The original comments date to an article last week in industry publication Oryza. In the report, the commissioner also says that Cambodia risks losing its Everything But Arms (EBA) status with the EU.

Cambodia's rice exports for the first 11 months of the year totalled more than 332,000 tonnes, almost doubling from the 171,000 tonnes during the same period last year, and dwarfing the 2009 total.

Cambodia, unlike Vietnam, benefits from an EBA agreement with the EU, which gives developing nations duty-free and quota-free shipping on products excluding armaments to all European countries.

European Union nations accounted for more than 60 per cent, or 200,000 tonnes, of Cambodia's total rice exports as of November 2013. Poland, France, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom and Germany imported more than 47 per cent of the total figure.

The EU's ambassador to Cambodia, Jean-Francois Cautain, said the dramatic rise will be closely monitored as the sector and rice-producing EU countries are sensitive to increased imports and potential market disturbances.

"In that respect the origin of the Cambodian rice should be fully ensured. The EU is in contact with the Cambodian authorities on this matter," he said.

Mey Kalyan, senior adviser to Cambodia's Supreme National Economic Council, called on the government to investigate the issue of rice origin contamination amid fears that changes to the country's EBA status could have consequences.

"We need to get to the bottom of the issue, find hard evidence and take corrective measures," he said. "Removing Cambodia's EBA status could have disastrous effects on the whole rice sector, future exports to the EU, our pride as an emerging exporter, our trust in doing business, our branding as a world-class rice exporter, and we may not reach the one-million-tonne rice export target of 2015."

In response to the trade commissioner's concerns, the Alliance of Rice Producers and Exporters of Cambodia (ARPEC) will form a Code of Conduct in a bid to protect the country's rice exports.

ARPEC said in a statement released yesterday that all Cambodian rice exporters had taken note of the views and would sign the Code of Conduct with the Ministry of Commerce to self-regulate exports.

ARPEC deputy secretary David Van said the issues raised in the Oryza article were informal and emanated from rumours within "EU circles".

"As far as the rice exporters are concerned, we maintain that until clear evidence is produced by the EU, we do not condone their claims," he said.

In response to suggestions that some Cambodian rice could be contaminated during transit to Vietnam-based milling facilities, Van said the external process does not mean the two rice origins are mixed. He added that the low supply of Cambodian milling facilities producing the country's rapidly increasing harvest forces farmers to send their rice to Vietnam for milling.

"But all rice grown, harvested, milled and exported in Cambodia is 100 per cent our product," Van said.

According to a report by the Australian National Council on Drugs, injecting methamphetamines among young addicts is on the rise in Cambodia, as users have begun to switch from smoking to injecting.
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime has also expressed concern, as more than half the population is under the age of 25. The government has estimated that up to 75,000 Cambodians, mostly young people, use illegal drugs.

Who are drug users and why do they want to get involved in illegal drugs?
We normally say only rich young people use drugs, but any youth can use drugs. Some think that drugs can help solve problems. Some think when they use drugs, they are charismatic, while others think drugs can reduce stress and help them study harder.

If compared to the previous year, is the number of drug users increasing or decreasing?
We are doing a survey on the number of drug users in Cambodia. Recently, we have been cooperating with the Global Fund for support to hire professional experts, at the same time we also work with the Ministry of Health and anti-drug police. We lead the action to collect and get exact data on drug users. We already have the data and are waiting for the right day to spread the information. It is in between 12,000 and 28,000.

In the previous survey, the number of drug users was around 7,000. Some people said this figure should be multiplied by five or 10. In order to respond to the challenges we face, we have to take action to find the real figure of drug use so that everyone can use the figure.

Where do all the drugs come from?
Cambodia is not a place where drugs are produced. In contrast, this country is the victim of drug trafficking. The main countries that drugs here are produced in are Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran. The second set of countries includes Myanmar, Thailand and Laos​. The drugs are being trafficked through Cambodia to other destinations.

If compared to the neighbouring countries, how big is drug trafficking in Cambodia?
Thailand ranks first and Laos and Vietnam rank second. The amount of drug trafficking and drug use is less than that in those countries. In 2012, we made arrests over drugs which were worth about $1 million, but this year the number is down because we use good strategies to control the situation.

What kinds of drugs are being used among youth in Cambodia?
Young people are the target of drug sellers because they are easily fooled. Amphetamines, in pill and crystal form called methamphetamine, are being used by the young people.

How bad is it if people use these illegal drugs?
Drug use can affect your health. Even though some drugs cannot cause death, more or less they will give users some bad effects. Drug users will find it difficult to get away from drug use. It was found that drug users can be controlled by drugs and they commit crimes at least nine times a month. Using drugs by smoking or injecting is risky. It can cause death because of heart attacks when using non-pure drugs with poisonous chemical products added if they are injected. Also, drug users can also face some diseases such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C.

What is your strategy to tackle the problem?
We have five strategies. First is to reduce the need of drugs. We will take action that make people understand and say no to drugs. Second is to reduce the supply of drugs. The police will take action against the production and trafficking of illegal drugs. Third is to reduce the danger caused by drugs. We will raise awareness of the protection of any disease and provide them medical care. Fourth is to strengthen the ability of the police. They have to improve their skills so they can be flexible to solve problem. ​Fifth is to have good international cooperation because no country in the world can solve the drug problem alone.

Christmas has arrived around the world, and in Cambodia the festive season hasn't gone unnoticed as many Cambodians celebrate Christmas in their homes, at their churches or with their families.

As a result, from the start of December, Christmas decorations and Christmas trees have been seen almost everywhere – in coffee shops, book stores, supermarkets and other businesses.

Cambodian Christian Ung Vicheka, 20, who is working at ALIS, says he celebrated Christmas at home with his family last year.

"We invited about 30 neighbours to come to our house. We decorated a Xmas tree, but the tree did not represent anything. It was just for decoration," he said. "Christmas is about the birth of Jesus Christ, and we gave gifts to children.

"We packed books, clothes, toys and chocolates as gifts," he added.

There are 10 members of his family and they are all Christians. Besides going to the church, he also made a party for his family.

"We had chicken, rice, drinks and bread for the party," said Vicheka, adding that this year he could not celebrate Christmas at home because his brother is busy and he also has to celebrate two Christmas parties at church.

However, Vicheka expects to celebrate with a Christmas party at his house again next year.

Sam Dara, a Cambodian Christian who teaches at Sovannaphumi School, also celebrates Christmas in church with his mother, siblings and his friends.

"We normally start with praying. After that we have performances by children and youths. Children perform a song for Christmas and the youths perform the story of Jesus Christ," said Dara, who added that everyone also read the Bible at the event.

There is no exchange of gifts in the church, but gifts are given to the staff at the church. A common meal is also served at the party.

"We have curry, hamburgers and bread after the end of the show," said Dara, explaining that the food did not represent anything in a religious way.

The celebration for Cambodian Christians is a bit different from that in other countries.

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On the other hand, in some countries many people set up a Christmas tree, decorate their houses and visit family and friends because in the northern hemisphere it's a winter celebration and a holiday when they can gather together and have parties.

Dennis Drenner, a photographer who is living in Florida in the US, said: "I usually go to my parents' house for Christmas. This year I will be alone with my wife at a rented house in Florida, but my parents will come and celebrate with me a few weeks later.

"I can tell you that my family typically gets together for breakfast and exchanges gifts, which are typically stored under the Christmas tree. Most of the excitement centres around the children, who get the most gifts and are most excited about them.

"Some years we will go to another relative's house and repeat the process over lunch or dinner. In sum, lots of food and lots of presents."

Similarly, Francois Henric, 55, a mathematics teacher who is living in Toulouse in the south of France, said: "Normally, people celebrate Christmas with their family. They have dinner together, on the evening of the 24th or on 25th at midday, at home, rarely in restaurants, because it's too expensive.

"Of course, they offer gifts, mainly to the children. If they have dinner on the 24th, they offer them just before or after eating. If they have lunch on 25th, they offer them to their children early in the morning.

"Usually, people make decorations (for the Christmas tree, for example) when they have children. Some Christians make also a 'crèche' near the Christmas tree which represents the birth of Jésus-Christ in a cowshed."

Asked what Christmas is a celebration of, Henric defines it as "a special time to meet friends and mainly family, to be happy with them".

However, he celebrates Christmas with friends and their families because he "has nearly no more family", and this is the reason why he does not decorate his house.

"The main activity that I shall do with my friends is eating. We shall meet together on the 24th," he said.

Likewise Alfonso Rodriguez, who is from Dallas, Texas. He said his entire family likes to gather at his grandparents' house the day before Christmas, on Christmas Eve.

"We have dinner and enjoy the time together. After dinner, most of us go to church," said Rodriguez.

"Many people go to church the day before Christmas and the day of Christmas. Once we come back from church, we stay up till midnight.

"It is kind of like New Year. When it turns midnight, it is officially Christmas day. We celebrate the birth of Jesus and then open gifts."

The special food for him on Christmas day is tamales, a Mexican dish which is wrapped with corn husk, dough and meat.

A South Korean Catholic, Woo Kyong Jung, celebrates her Christmas in church and spends the holiday with her family.

"I do not buy a Christmas tree and usually Christmas trees are bought by families who have a child or children or some people who love decorating," she said, adding that couples in their 20s love spending their time mostly exchanging gifts.

Most Cambodians are Buddhist, but they still celebrate Christmas with their friends. They start giving gifts to their friends or lovers in the middle of December or sometimes have a game of exchanging gifts in which they do a lucky draw to pick up the gifts.

Christmas cards are also exchanged among young people and children. For the most part, they have their celebrations on the 23rd, 24th and 25th.

Also, private schools and institutes and super malls erect their Christmas trees inside the buildings and put presents all around.

"The police are coming!" his friend shouted. Two of his friends had already been arrested. Now it was time for him to decide how to run. It was clear that if he got caught, $1,000 would be needed.

"I then jumped from the house into the sewage water. It was high, I thought I would break my neck, but I did not want to get caught," said the former drug addict, who calls himself Seng.

That was in 2010 when Seng was enjoying a day high on drugs somewhere near the Tuol Kork antenna. But that afternoon police were unexpectedly onto him. "I had no choice but to jump."

Curiosity, peer pressure
Seng, 18, began taking the drug "ice" in grade seven, and by grade nine he was addicted to it. First he consumed just a small amount, but as time passed he took more and more. Asked why, he says he saw his friend doing it and "he looked happy" so he wanted to try it himself. Seng says no one forced him to use it. It was his own decision.

"In the morning, my mother gave me $5 for school but I spent it on drugs, and then spent another $5 on ice in the afternoon. Some nights I would spend around $200 on the drug with my friends." His parents soon realised what was happening and asked him to stop. "My parents got really angry and I didn't want to stay at home anymore."

The Phnom Penh Post recently reported on research from the Australian National Council on Drugs, saying that injecting methamphetamines is rising in Cambodia and meth has become a drug of choice among young Cambodians. The government has estimated that up to 75,000 people, mostly young, take drugs in Cambodia. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime has said this is of particular concern, as more than half the Cambodian population is under the age of 25.

Keo Kim Dara, deputy secretary-general of the National Authority for Combating Drugs, told the Post that he was not aware of meth being a significant problem among students.

Committing crime for money
Along with some of his friends, Seng decided to leave home and only return to his parents if he became critically ill. When he had money, he would sleep in a guesthouse and, if not, he and his friends would spend the night in a market. To earn money for drugs and living, he resorted to crime.

"I sometimes went to snatch bags with my friends." To grab a bag, the moto driver had to have the ability to control the balance of the bike while keeping its speed high. Seng says he never failed in his "missions". IPhones and Samsung Galaxies were what Seng expected to see when he opened the "fish's stomach". Asked if he chose to do this because of drugs, he replies that he needed money, but there was nothing he could do to earn it, so crime was among the things he would do to get cash.

When he had money to spend, most of it went to buying drugs, he said.

Seng was once contacted by his "big brother" to do a job. He would be paid $20 if he could "chop" a university student who was flirting with his big brother's girlfriend. Seng sharpened a samurai sword and he and two friends on a motorbike waited in front of a university one night for the target to leave.

"I did not know him but I knew the licence plate on his motorbike," Seng recalled. "When I found him alone, I rode slowly behind him before I took out my sword, stabbing him in the back really quickly." But the attempt to snatch the student's laptop and mobile phone failed because too many other students were leaving the university and the devices did not fall out from his bag.

Destiny vs rehabilitation
Seng was supposed to have spent his last year in high school and prepared for the national exam, but he failed to do so. He admits he became bored with his lifestyle and he wanted to move on from this terrible downturn. One day his grandma contacted him. "She tricked me to go to the pagoda with her to get a water-blessing from the monks. As we got nearer, I knew she was going to take me to a rehab centre." When he arrived there, he says he walked in by himself.

His grandmother, Kong Yin, 70, could not sleep well when she realised her grandson did not study, spending most of his time outside, playing games, and she assumed he consumed drugs too. "I watched too and saw some people being beaten. I was afraid that my grandson had become one of them," Kong said.

"I had planned to send him to the rehab centre but I had no money. After five or six months, when my children had lent me some money and other grandmothers [her friends] started pitying my grandson, I prepared some food and called my grandson to the pagoda. But, actually, we went to the rehab centre." Kong said that she sent her grandson to the centre without letting his mother know.

According to Yin, she spent $500 to send her grandchild to the centre. Some of the money would be spent on the accommodation. According to the centre, Seng was only mildly addicted.

"His father is busy with his work and I am sick, I have no money and cannot follow my son when he goes out," Seng's mother told the grandmother. "Let's just follow destiny."

Seng has now been receiving post-rehab centre social rehabilitation services for two weeks from the Drug Addict Relief Association of Cambodia (DARAC), which aims to provide drug addicts with psychological support, education and skills.

Regret
Nhik Yilay, the assistant to the director and a teacher, told LIFT that the best way to cure drug addicts is to teach them through their "mind". "It's not about being 'fine' but about their mind. If we can cure their mind, they are healed."

For minor cases, a patient will spend three months there, while those in a critical condition will stay for more than a year. Seng was there for six months.

Seng used to ask himself why he was the odd one out among his relatives. "Sometimes, I wonder why I am so different from my siblings and my relatives. They all are into their studies but I'm into drugs and being a gangster," he said.

"I began to miss my parents and grandmother. I realised that I should not speak rude words to my parents. My mother is sick, and my father is old and sick too," Seng said, his eyes glistening. "When I go back, I will go back home, make friends with those who study, and get a high school diploma for my parents."

Duong Leakena, 23, a senior student at Asian University for Women (AUW) majoring in philosophy, politics and economics, shared her life experience in Bangladesh with us.

By the young age of 18, Leakena won a scholarship to study her degree at AUWwith 500 female students from more than 12 different countries around Asia.

Going to study there wasn't what she expected, but she wanted to experience life there. "Moving to Bangladesh was not my will, but it was an experiment on myself," she said. Culture shock is her first impression upon arriving in Bangladesh. Women are rarely seen walking on the street or even shopping. Women mostly work inside their homes doing their household chores. "The first day that I got to Bangladesh, I was shocked by the crowds of men on the street. I was wondering where the women had gone."

The first three months were the most difficult for her because she didn't know how to interact with people there. With no choice left, she had to adapt herself to a totally different society. "I really appreciate what I faced because it taught me how to respect and value cultures that are different from mine."

Arriving young and innocent, Bangladesh was where Leakena grew and learned to be independent. "If a little thing upset me, I got homesick easily," she said. To deal with this, she chose to cope with her problems and stress by listening to music or playing sport.

Of course, aside from her academic activities, she has several favorite activities at her school including Japanese club, Yoni Kiban club (organising for the one billion rising event), guitar, and basketball. Leakena is also working part-time as a research assistant.

Because her university aims to cultivate successive generations of women leaders who possess the skills and resources to address the challenges of social and economic advancement of their communities, only female students are studying there. "It is the first time in my life to enroll in single-sex education, so the education environment is totally different. However, I am really comfortable being surrounded by women."

Right now, Leakena is preparing for her final exam with the expectation that she will do well. She doesn't really have any exact plan after her graduate, but she would like to spend some time working to apply what she has learned in fieldwork and to explore professional life.

Leakena has never regretted studying in Bangladesh, or at AUW, which she described as "amazing". She said that through an amazing curriculum and amazing professors from many different places around the world, she has learned about not only the lecture topics but also the amazing leadership of her professors.

Time flies, and it is almost time for her to come back to Cambodia, with only one more semester to go. Spending several years at AUW, Leakena found that she is now more open and is a better critical thinker. "It gave me a special opportunity to meet and interact with many young talented women from different nationalities and backgrounds. I have learned many different aspects of life," she said.

It is fun to see yourselves as dancing elves with nice music and in a Christmas suit.

Install Elf Yourself on your smartphone to create such happiness with your sweetheart, friends or family.

Just click on one of three categories to choose a photo from your camera, Facebook or even take a new photo and follow the simple instructions.

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This app allows you to 'elf yourself' and become the star of a personalised video featuring your photos on holiday with dancing elves.

Simply upload up to five photos of yourself, your friends, and family from your camera and select a dance theme. The app will generate and customise a video that you can post on Facebook or share via email.

For certain options including places or melodies, however, you are required to buy the full version of the app.

Enjoy your funny dancing elves videos with family, friends and your sweetheart over Christmas and the New Year.