Villagers in ‘Vanishing Forests’ are Losing Hope
July 3, 2010, 2:11 am
Filed under: Land Grabbing by the Rich & Powerful

Villagers in ‘Vanishing Forests’ are Losing Hope

by Moeun Chhean Nariddh

 

Once upon a time during the French colonial rule more than 100 years ago, it is said that two outlawed families were on the run after being hunted down by the French for a crime the husbands had committed in Kampot town.

 They ended up at a remote mountain on the edge of Kampot province, where elephants, tigers and other wild animals were still roaming around in the dense forests. As time went by, more people settled in the area and paved the way for the creation of a village near the foot of the mountain. (more…)



Homeless children run away from poverty only to try to survive
July 3, 2010, 1:52 am
Filed under: Social Issues

“Going into the water, there are crocodiles,

Going up on land, there are tigers”

 Homeless children run away from poverty only to try to survive

the urban Big Brother’s exploitation

by Tum Chita, Kiss Magazine

 

            When a 13-year old teenage boy called Kea deserted his mother and relatives in Prasith village, north of Phnom Penh, to live in the city as a homeless beggar, he hoped that he would free himself from his rural poverty, but he was absolutely wrong.

            Life as a homeless boy in the city not only does not relieve him of poverty, but also causes him to confront exploitation from big Brothers and use of drugs. (more…)



Two Teenage Sisters Recollect Their Lives As Child Servants
June 12, 2010, 9:19 am
Filed under: Social Issues

Two Teenage Sisters Recollect Their Lives As Child Servants

By Chea Kimsan and Chin Sopheak

             Under the heat from the sun in a vast paddy field, Reaksmei and her younger sister, Somaly, wearing red and white scarves around their heads and holding sickles in their hands, are harvesting rice, sweating profusely, behind their house in Leak Anloung village, Rolaing Chak commune, Somraong Torng district, Kompong Speu province. But they do not complain about this tiring work if compared to the hard work they used to do during their childhood.

            Sixteen-year-old Reaksmei, whose complexion is as slightly dark yellow as her younger sister, said she and her younger sister had been sent to work as child servants for many years by her mother during which she and her younger sister had also been tortured. Reaksmei said she had 6 brothers and sisters, but she and her younger sister were not lucky to warmly live with their parents, grandparents and other brothers and sisters as her mother sent her and her younger sister to work as child servants successively. (more…)



“If There Is Really A Next Life, I Want To Marry a Khmer Man”
June 12, 2010, 9:10 am
Filed under: Uncategorized

“If There Is Really A Next Life, I Want To Marry a Khmer Man”

Around 2,800 Cambodian Women Married to Taiwanese

Denied Taiwanese Citizenship

By Yim Kimse and Chea Kimsan

——

 More than 10 years ago, Samnang decided to free herself from being hired to transplant rice seedlings and harvest rice under the burning sun in Sdao commune, Kang Meas district, Kompong Cham province, in the hope that she would enjoy a better life when a matchmaker persuaded her to marry a Taiwanese man who they had told her was a wealthy man.

Samnang hoped that after the marriage, she would get some money to support her aged parents after she had gone to live in Taiwan. However, all her hopes were dashed when she eventually became the one who earned money to support her husband’s family in Taiwan.

However, Samnang is not the only Khmer girl who has turned out to be victims due to her cross-border marriage with the Taiwanese or Korean men. (more…)



Cambodians are not just for McCain
November 5, 2008, 3:52 am
Filed under: International Issues

Opinion

Cambodians are not just for McCain

The Phnom Penh Post, Wednesday, November 5, 2008

 

I

t’s interesting to read about the different schools of thought regarding the future president of the United State of America in Kay Kimsong’s story, “McCain comes out on top in Cambodia,” Monday, 3 November 2008.

 

For Cambodians, we would support any US president who can help us build our democracy and free economy.

 

However, like many other Cambodians, I would prefer Senator Barack Obama to Senator John McCain for his own history and the history of Cambodia. (more…)



Neither Side Has Advantage In Border Conflict
October 25, 2008, 6:03 am
Filed under: International Issues

Comment

 

 Neither Side Has Advantage In Border Conflict

by Moeun Chhean Nariddh

The Cambodia Daily, Tuesday, October 21, 2008

 

I

t’s interesting to read about observers’ comments on the border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia in article “Defense Analysts: Thais in Advantage at Temple,” October 17, page 29.

 

Regardless of advantage or disadvantage for Cambodia or Thailand, we can say that both sides will be the great losers unless this conflict ends soon.

 

During the past several decades, Cambodia has experienced an immense tragedy: from a harsh civil war to genocide and to another civil war. Almost two million people have lost their lives as a result. (more…)



Buddhism is the basis of the rule of law
October 12, 2008, 3:48 am
Filed under: Social Issues

Opinion

 

Buddhism is the basis of the rule of law

by Moeun Chhean Nariddh

The Phnom Penh Post, Tuesday, 07 October, 2008

 

A

s Cambodian people are returning from P’Chum Ben, they might have fulfilled their traditional obligation to appease the ghosts of their ancestors who have been roaming different pagodas in search of food offered by their living relatives during the two-week-long festival.

However, probably very few people apart from the Buddhist monks and lay people have been able to please the gods by fully following the panca-sila, or the Five Precepts, they have repeatedly chanted during the ceremonies. (more…)



Cambodia’s Magic War With Thailand
August 19, 2008, 2:51 am
Filed under: Culture, International Issues

Comment

Cambodia’s Magic War With Thailand

by Moeun Chhean Nariddh

Phnom Penh Post, Tuesday, 12 August, 2008

E

arly this month, The Nation newspaper in Bangkok reported that many Thai residents in Si Sa Ket province which borders Cambodia wore yellow to help protect Thailand from black-magic spells cast by Khmer “wizards” who met at Preah Vihear Temple during the solar eclipse early this month.

On August 1, Bun Rany, the wife of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, led Buddhist monks and soldiers to the ancient Hindu temple to call upon their ancestors to protect the temple.

The Nation wrote that Thai media reports said that the mysterious black-magic spells by Khmer wizards would not only protect the temple but also weaken Thailand. Meanwhile, some Thai astrologers were reported to have urged local people to wear yellow to deflect the spells.

Whether the Thai astrologers considered the solemnly organized prayer at the temple Cambodia’s cast of magic spells on Thailand, the use of magic by Cambodians has prevailed for centuries. (more…)



Cambodian altruism in the face of poverty
July 14, 2008, 2:54 am
Filed under: Corruption

Comment

Cambodian altruism in the face of poverty

By Kurt A. MacLeod

The Cambodia Daily, July 10, 2008

O

n the streets of the capital of Phnom Penh, I recently passed a shiny new black Rolls Royce Phantom with a sparkling silver grill. The US$400,000 vehicle was absolutely beautiful as it coasted down the streets cluttered with small entrepreneurs eking out a living on a per capita GDP of just over US$550 per year.

The previous week I had seen a 2007 Bentley with leather interior, and which sells for a quarter of a million, plying the chaotic streets of the city. As the Rolls Royce rumbled by, I thought not only about the value of the car but also about the wealth of the family that bought the car as a show of opulence in face of poverty.

I was on my way to a meeting called by a Cambodian youth organization (YRDP) that had been collecting donations for the survivors of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar. Soon after the cyclone hit the southern Delta of Myanmar and left more than 135,000 dead or missing, 15 members of the youth group wanted to show their solidarity with the people of Myanmar. When the devastating earthquake hit China, they added the plight of those families affected. (more…)



Gods go hungry
July 14, 2008, 2:46 am
Filed under: Social Issues

Comment

Gods go hungry

The Phnom Penh Post, Friday, 27 June 2008

A

couple of nights ago, I had a nightmare that my house was on fire and everything was burned to ashes. I woke up in the middle of the night and told my wife my strange dream.

Deemed a bad omen for the family, my wife spontaneously warned me not to forget to light three incense sticks and throw away a handful of rice in the morning. As believed by many Cambodians, people think that this practice will get rid of bad luck after a nightmare.

With a lackadaisical belief in superstitions, I told my wife that I was not going to throw away more rice just because of a nightmare anymore. (more…)




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