By Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer
Video Editor: Manilene Ek
18 March 2009
A message from Ms. Tat Marina's family:
Sure you can attack anyone you desire, but you must pay for what you had done. If the government cannot provide justice to the people throughout the country, then domestic violence and revenge will occur daily.
I myself always blame my sister for having an affair with Svay Sitha. This matter should be solved peacefully without violence. If you take matter into your own hand then you must face the law. If the law is protecting the CPP only then I assume that I should take matter into my own hand [as well].
Next time LOCK your husband in your bedroom. So that he won't go around lying to other people that he was this and that. I don't know what your husband did to you. Perhaps he is just like Svay Sitha, who physically divorced his wife, but still have some emotions for her. He considered his wife more like a sister than a sex partner.
People have different quality of life, opportunity and different level of education. There are people who can't be a star, and there some people who can only find work in the factory, but we all can respects each others as the same quality, because we are human.
"An investigating judge who once told reporters an arrest warrant had been issued for Khun Sophal now says he can’t remember whether he handled the case."A new documentary exploring the impact of acid attacks premiered Wednesday, March 11, 2009, at a film festival and human rights forum in Geneva, raising questions of impunity that persist in Cambodia.
“Finding Face” investigates acid attacks through the story of victim Tat Marina, a karaoke star who was doused with a liter of nitric acid allegedly by the jealous wife of a senior government official.
Tat Marina was attacked on December 5, 1999, while she was having porridge with her niece at a Phnom Penh market.
Nearly 10 years have passed, but her older brother, Tat Sequndo, continues to encourage his sister to seek justice for the attack.
“I asked her to come forward to find justice for herself, because she is the victim, not me. I always told her to find justice for the country, the people, and for herself," Tat Sequndo says in the documentary.
Tat Marina appears more calm and mature in the film, a contrast to the mischievous face she put on in her performances some 10 years ago. Despite several reconstructive surgeries, scars are visible on her face and chest. These are what she has to live with for the rest of her life.
In the documentary, Tat Marina’s family expressed disappointment when they saw video footage shown to them by Tat Sequndo. It is the first time they have seen her picture in the more than eight years since Tat Marina was given asylum and received treatment in the US.
The footage left her older sister, Srey Pou, speechless and in shock. Meanwhile, Tat Marina's mother believes that beauty is a curse.
“She was a beautiful girl. She was too beautiful. It’s a burden. Mom feels so sorry for you, it’s breaking my heart,” she said.
Tat Marina says in the documentary she is coming to terms with what happened to her.
“My family, I don't want anything to happen to them. Right now, I’m not scared no more, because she already got what she wanted,” she says.
The film features Tat Marina and her child at about four years of age, though the identity of the father is not revealed.
“If I could make it, we will have a family life. The mummy and the son together in a happy family. Everyone wish for (a) happy ending. I know that it is only a dream, but sometime dreams do come true,” she says.
The acid attack topic caught producer Skye Fitzgerald’s attention while he worked on another film in Cambodia. When he and his team started working on the movie, he saw a mixture of fear and reluctance. For instance, it took Tat Marina and her brother a while before they agreed to participate, fearing reprisal.
In the documentary, Tat Sequndo is heard telling family members to watch for their safety, and he gives them phone numbers of international organizations in case of possible threats.
“This is who we met with. When there is a problem, contact these places: UN Center for Human Rights, the US Embassy, the Cambodia Daily and LICADHO. When there is a problem with threats, because they may know what we are doing,” he says.
Tat Marina’s former lover, Svay Sitha, has now been promoted from the rank of undersecretary of state at the Council of Ministers. He could not be reached for comment on the film.
Tat Marina with her son, says he givers her courage to move on with her life.
His two telephone numbers were answered by two different females saying they did not know him; a third number went unanswered.
Svay Sitha’s wife, Khun Sophal, identified by witnesses at the scene of the 1999 attack, remains at large, despite police affirmation that the case is not yet closed.
An investigating judge who once told reporters an arrest warrant had been issued for Khun Sophal now says he can’t remember whether he handled the case.
This documentary, "Finding Face", confronts us with injustice, despair, and sympathetic to Tat Marina's, who is now just beginning to pick up the broken pieces, while trying to leave her history behind, and moving forward into the future of her life with her son.
38 comments:
only in cambodia, i guess! cambodia has to reform more and more. there are a lot of unethical people or ignorant people there, a lot of evil people, i guess. until they change their way, people are continue to face injustice.
No comment! Everyone knows about Khmer society.
Just want to wish her good luck and happy in her new life.
Life continues...
This Child raper Svai SHIT THA and his Bitch have to go to Jail .. arrest htis dog now..
what's come around goes around. Tat marina must not different from her family or brother ah tat somnang, utter individual with no human feeling or conscience, let only by wide instinct. But of course no one merit this kind of sort not even prostitute or animal. chhnang na krob ning, sangkom thaork thieb som ning mnuos thaork thieb because everyone seem to be fine with viets and khmer rouge ruling no matter
sad for her mom
YOUR GRIEF IS MY GRIEF. YOUR TEARS ARE MY TEARS. I CRY WITH YOU AND I FEEL PAIN FOR YOU. DO NOT LOSE ALL THE HOPE.
THERE IS AN ALMIGHTY GOD. AND THERE IS A TRUE HOPE. YOUR BEAUTY, AND ALL OTHER'S, WILL BE DIVINELY RESTORED, PERHAPS MUCH-MUCH BETTER THAN BEFORE. GUARANTEED.
PLEASE BE PATIENT. BAD CREATURES WILL HAVE NO PLACE ANYWHERE IN THE EXISTENCE, BUT HELL. YES, THEY WILL BE TORMENTED IN HELL IN DUE TIME. BELIEVE IN GOD AND SMILE, MEANWHILE.
Stop whining, bitch. You mess with the Khmer culture, you'll pay for it, period. Move on!
I feel for Tat (the victim). But it takes two to dance, etc..etc.. I don't condon what what happen to her and the perpetrator must face justice. That said, Tat should have know who she was with (the guy) and never should have gone with him or communicate with him one minute more at there first meeting.
Cambodia must not allowed a disease such as Tat Marina to spread all over the place.
Keep up the good work, People Power!
Bury Chau & Bopha Angkor quit your foolishness. You attacked my family by accusing us as Vietnamese. You also accused my sister as a vietnamese girl who used Cambodian identity to enter the US, and all I did was to enlightened YOUR derichan to quit insulting us. We are not Vietnamese, if you keep on attacking me and my family, I'll be sending you to a nursing home where all those lazy nurses let you eat up your own shit.
Look at the vdo, do we look Vietnamese to you?
Who will be the next Saddam Hussein? I would have to predict the PEOPLE POWER of Scambodia.
Tat Somnang/Tat Segundo
I have had clarified this message to you on CAMDISC already.
Tat
Most Lady stars/Dara(Singers/actors such as Tat Marina..Soeur Sotheara.. Piseth Pelika..and others need money from men without shame/or shiness ..they use those money to Make-up.. luxury cars..gambling.. finding other guys... Those DARA do not want to work hard and fairly as other Women do.. like factory workers /employers...govt. employers... and grabbed other women's husbands...that makes our society more trouble/family affairs...
The Men also have some faults 50%men +50%women...
So that they should be attacked ....
Dear Anonymous who posted above.
Sure you can attacked anyone that you desired, but you must pay for what you had done. If the government cannot provide justice to the people throughout the country, then domestic violents and revenge will occur daily.
I myself always blame my sister for having an affair with Svay Sitha. Matter should be solve peacefully withou violent. If you take matter into your own hand then you must face the law. If the Law protecting the CPP only then I assumed that I should take matter into my own hand.
Next time LOCKED your husband in your bedroom. So that he won't go around and lying to other people that he was this and that. I don't know what your husband did to you. Perhaps he is just like Svay Sitha. Who physically divorced his wife, but still have some emotions for her. He considered his wife more like a sister than a sex partner.
People have different quality of life,opportunity and different level of education. There are people who can't be a star, and there some people who can only find work in the factory, but we all can respects each others as the same quality, becasue we are human.
No one should committed any crime and get away with it.
"Anonymous said...
Stop whining, bitch. You mess with the Khmer culture, you'll pay for it, period. Move on!"
ACID ATTACK WAS NEVER PART OF KHMER CULTURE NOR ANYBODY CULTURE IN THIS WORLD. IT IS THE BRUTAL ACT OF INDIVIDUAL, AND THEY SHOULD PAY FOR THIS. YOU HEAR ME KHUN SOPHAL? YOU,YOUR SISTER,YOUR NEPHEW AND YOUR OTHER ACCOMPLICE WILL HAVE ACID SPLASH BACK. HOW WAS THAT ACID MELT THROUGH YOUR SKIRT FELT? HOW IS YOUR NEPHEW PENIS? YOU BOTH GOT SOME TASTE OF ACID ON YOU, DO YOU WANT MORE? IT WILL BE WORST THAN MARINA, I SWEAR.
TAT,SEQUNDO
It is like son like father, it is like broth like sister, it is like like top leader like below leader...CPP is breeding full of crooks, criminals and guilty people. Starting from Hun Sen to his cronies including Svay Sitha...those have no moral, shame and humanity.
In Cambodia, the evils continue to glorify while the weak and victim such as Marina have been living injustice.
CPP is the head of this gangster clan. CPP needs to change its current behavior.
I hope justice will be serve! This is an inhumane act.
there are other ways to educate people, and throwing acid or hurting them physically is not one of them. if everyone were to recipricate or retaliate, then we would see a lot of people die, maim etc... in a civil society, people don't do this kind of cruel, evil thing to another human, only in a chaotic, injustice society that one sees this kind. so, i hope people will think twice next time before they try to hurt someone else, whether they think is right to do in terms of revenge or whatever. to stop this cycle of violence, we must think twice how it will affect others. i mean, neither was right to have an affairs or to throw acid at the people they think did it. it boils down to karma, because what you did to others will always come back to bite you from behind. khmer people are a true believer in karma, so, we all try to do the right thing to others and even to animals etc... please be educated not to do this kind of violence again to anyone. why not strengthen the rule of laws to punish those who did this like they do in the western society. otherwise, the cycle of violence will never end. i know when people are mad, they can't think straight, however, if there is no consequences, people will never learn either. so, i hope the law will be used to bring justice to the victim in the court of law, always! thank you and god bless cambodia.
no parents has to go through like this. the lady raised her children and now she has to continue taking care of her disabled child from acid attack! it is really sad for this woman where is the justice for her family?
First my sympathy to the victims.
"lock your husband in your bedroom"? one way of doing it. castration is also an option.
I think if you pour acid over Bun Rany's (Hun Sen's wife) face, she would actually look much better than she looks right now.
A lot of the CPP officials' wives are ugly as hell. There's reason why these CPP officials and generals end up having mistresses and cheating on their wives with karaoke actresses, beer hostess, and female students. As a result of instant rage and jealousy, these wives resort to hiring willing individual(s) to perpetrate acid attacks. The police all know of this and because the people who do commit these crimes are wives of wealthy businessmen, high government officials and generals, the wives somehow possess a sense of immunity from investigations and charges. Money as well as their [cheating] husbands' high status allows them to get away from everything.
Kind of fucked up but that's how it is in Cambodia. If these wives cannot be stopped, next best thing to do is castrate these horny idiotic cheating husbands. Hell, Hun Sen is one of them!
There is no moral and respect for our partner in our now a day's society. None
With make up on, there are a lot of pretty faces in Cambodia and those pretty faces are very young and innocent. It's sad.
We need to teach our kids to stay away from people that are older than their own ages. Those older men without knowing what they are doing or mean anything to anyone, they cause hell of problem. They are the one that should be nailed as hard as their mean and nasty wives. They are as dumb and stupid as a little kid.
kids don't have values because their parents have no values themselves. in khmer society anything goes. lie cheat steal kill all the while that everyone smile to each other as if we all "kann sel pram cham sel prambey". we are all hypocrites. if you can get away with it do it. who's gonna know? who's gonna judge? i look into my own heart and i see it black. yours happen to be pure gold and lily white hey? ha ha. get real whose standards are we talking about. not my standards, not your standards. Like old khmer prophecy said, we are waiting for "preah batt thoammik", the righteous one riding a white horse with marks on his hands who will deliver us all from our own evil.
Dear brother Tat Soqundo,
Why you dicided to allow the documentary team to film the history of your sister? The authority said that your family did not give enough and clear comment on her case since 1999 so that they cannot investigate well in her case, what is your reaction to this?
Hope you kind to reply my question
cambodian girl
Kal
What I like to know is who brought in the stupid Karaoke from the west?
Dear sister Kal,
The nature of this film is to spread out the news throughout the world of how much these barbaric practice of acid attacks can ruin the victims life and the impacts it caused to the other people,such as friends and family. The higly practice of the culture of impunity in Cambodia must end by bringing anyone who dare to hurt others must pay for the act.
This film is to find justice for all victims in the world. Not just Marina alone. There are so many unfortunate victims in Cambodia, such as Minh Rina, who was one of a mistress to one of the colonel.After she was attacked,her baby was also been taken away from her. This crueltiness in khmer society need to stop.
Right after the acid attacks, Svay Sitha had threatened everyone in the family not to presscharge against his wife or else he will have to protect his wife all the way though, and he will be against everyone of us.Anyone who wanted to file complaint against his wife they will have to face the consequences.
In 2000, I wrote complaint letters to Somdaj Hun Sen,Phnom Penh Municipal Court, through the Royal Khmer Embassy in WA. I asked for the arrest of Khun Sophal and her newphew, but my complaint went into blind eyes. Svay Sitha had also call to threatened me in the US that I must be aware the next time I go to Cambodia.
Do you believe the authority in Cambodia? They say whatever they wanted,but they should know what their duties are. These people are just like your palm flipping back and forth.
Please read these simple statement from one of the senile judge.
"An investigating judge who once told reporters an arrest warrant had been issued for Khun Sophal now says he can’t remember whether he handled the case."
If you can't remember things, how can you have a position to work to serve the people? There are too much corruptions and favoritism in the government. These people are working for their friends and family only.
Tat,Sequndo
12:44pm wrong. You set your own standard. If you decide to just set it low and mix up, then that is that. By the way, Lord Buddha didn't teach us to do all these things and don't you think that you can only save by being truthful to him??? It's the result of not knowing who are and who's willing to get lost and that is just too bad.
If it is wrong! what about those children who also became the victim of acid attack. I don't think they set up their own destiny or fate.
where can i find the documentary film "Finding Face"?
Don't worry; it will find you whether or not you want it.
To 8:15am
No need to be locked...
We have to know some time/most times those ladies need easy-money
this case every one knows it can be avoidable... If there is any supression we can find ways step by step.. BUT TAT MARINA.. SOEUR SOTHEARA.. PHALLA RANARITH.. PELIKA.and others under-ground Prostites used their Sexy Behavior/Beatity to earn EAsy money withour Labor(physical/mental) That is why they should receive Attack..
Attack is illegal .. attackers shall be punished BUT as Lady NO NEED TO FIND EASY-MONEY(From SEX) Tat Marina is really Under-Ground ProstitutesAnd other DARA also... this can be avoid pls earn money legally/fairly... DO NOT TAKE BIG MONEY....just small& small step by step...
Tat Marina case could be avoidable.. But she need Big COCK BIG MONEY from Svay Sitha...
using her mother's heritage only no need to work hard and be educated like other ladies worldwide..
and Svay Sitha and his wife also shall be sntenced... later or longer.. soon or ...
Please be careful ALL STARS/DARA do not steal or robb other's husband I know you need money but be fairly...
Many women can normally live without Job /business as your business...
Dear all anonymous friends,
I tried to analysed thouroughly every comment about "acid attack", and I realize that some comments show the maturity and high-moral thought, some reveal the legal system awareness and some indicate sypathy and compassion on human being. However, there are few friends here who seem to show their violent tendency and brutal words on the each other. Please comment with respect. We should love our nation and our people. Finally, I support legal means to reduce violence in our society and hopefully the government love their people equally.
No way, Jose (10:17), not until Pouk Ah Khmer Killer (Scam Rainxy) vanished from our holy soil.
7:33PM - i respect your high moral standards, but will anyone else do the same? suppose you and i "Kann sel pram cham sel prambey" and the rest of the country "kann sel zero cham sel pram" don't you think you and i will still see things that are bad in society while everyone else think it's ok? and why would everyone else think that "kann sel pram.." is a great idea, and for what?
lie cheat steal kill. don't worry be happy. lie cheat steal kill. don't worry be happy. the story of my beloved cambodia
7:33p.m,Thank you
You have to decide for yourself. The country is free. The sky is blue. You choose what you want to live your life, however you want. At the end of the day, it's you that will be smiled or cried. At the end of this life time, it's you that will be chosen by Lord Buddha to go up or down. All yours.
Cambodian cannot help Cambodian, but bickering and inflicting more pain over the wound that occured. This is the reason why I lost my sense of faith in my own fellow khmer people. It is the reason that I pushed myself forward to cooperate with foreigners to find justice.
Tat
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