Below is a response from the principal of Don Bosco Technical School in Sihanoukville to KJE's article about "Life in Cambodia". For those who don't know who KJE is, he is an American who is an ardent supporter of Mr. Hun Sen's leadership and policies. This article is also published at Khmerization here. Please have a read.
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Dear friend, I share with you my reflection on the article "Life in Cambodia" by ALL ABOUT CAMBODIA.
Dear friend, thank you for visiting the rural areas of Cambodia. I wish that more foreigners from NGOs, companies and other offices in busy Phnom Penh will do it.
Statistics are statistics and they help us to understand the results of any particular reality. First, they cannot be assumed as a total vision of the reality, but at the same time, they cannot be dismissed as an relative tool. Relative is of course the reactions of those who find statistics in favor or against their particular interests. Therefore, statistics are object of manipulation. Monitoring must come always from very neutral sources.
As educator of children and youth from farm communities since 1999, I am at the side of the farmers everyday and I know very well what is to live in a Cambodian farm. We know that 90 % of the Cambodians who live under poverty, are in rural areas. It is true, even if we want to underline the romantic point of view of a country life. Then, we have to meet the concept of poverty and how relative it could be.
Children from most rural areas have not access to education. Many of them walked for kilometers to attend a school that is rather not well furnished for education (have you studied in the classroom of a tropical country without a fan?) Then at midday children should walked kilometers back to look for that food you are suggesting is everywhere.
Farmers depend also from the jumping of prices in the market. They are particularly susceptible to harvest production (floods, dry season, typhoons like the last one of Kompong Thom, etc. can let them without that abundance of food.) It is enough you do a visit for farmer families in Kompong Thom now, the ones that suffer the consequences of the last typhoon.
Even if they live a peaceful rural life at the side of their pagodas (it is not true either in many other rural areas,) farmers are cut from the stream of telecommunications and then living in ignorance of what happens in their own country and world. You know that ignorance makes a population at the mercy of ambitions from rural powers.
Health is out of reach of farmers. Even if you suggest that the villagers you knew go to the nearest big town (Kratie?) there are villages too far and without proper roads, where a doctor is a very strain, far and expensive guy. Natural medicine is their health service and - with the due respect to ancient traditions - several natural practices are the main cause of death tolls, including that of the friendly mid-wife.
If Cambodia wants to reduce poverty, it has to attend urgently the rural areas: infrastructures, telecommunications, electricity, running water, schools and agricultural projects. In Phnom Penh there are enough funds to do so. However, to do so, we need that the air-conditioning-office officials and private employees from departments, NGOs (most of them settled in Phnom Penh) and companies, bring their so expensive (?) cars to the dirty roads of the villages of their country in order to proof how true statistics can be.
Greetings in the name of my children and young people from farms.
--
Don Bosco Technical School Sihanoukville
Secretary: 034 933 764 - Salesian Community: 034 63 63 551 - Communication Department: 097 96 75 042
management@donboscosihanoukville.org
www.donboscosihanoukville.org http://www.google.com/profiles/albeiror24 .
http://person.yasni.com/----------------------------------------------
Dear friend, I share with you my reflection on the article "Life in Cambodia" by ALL ABOUT CAMBODIA.
Dear friend, thank you for visiting the rural areas of Cambodia. I wish that more foreigners from NGOs, companies and other offices in busy Phnom Penh will do it.
Statistics are statistics and they help us to understand the results of any particular reality. First, they cannot be assumed as a total vision of the reality, but at the same time, they cannot be dismissed as an relative tool. Relative is of course the reactions of those who find statistics in favor or against their particular interests. Therefore, statistics are object of manipulation. Monitoring must come always from very neutral sources.
As educator of children and youth from farm communities since 1999, I am at the side of the farmers everyday and I know very well what is to live in a Cambodian farm. We know that 90 % of the Cambodians who live under poverty, are in rural areas. It is true, even if we want to underline the romantic point of view of a country life. Then, we have to meet the concept of poverty and how relative it could be.
Children from most rural areas have not access to education. Many of them walked for kilometers to attend a school that is rather not well furnished for education (have you studied in the classroom of a tropical country without a fan?) Then at midday children should walked kilometers back to look for that food you are suggesting is everywhere.
Farmers depend also from the jumping of prices in the market. They are particularly susceptible to harvest production (floods, dry season, typhoons like the last one of Kompong Thom, etc. can let them without that abundance of food.) It is enough you do a visit for farmer families in Kompong Thom now, the ones that suffer the consequences of the last typhoon.
Even if they live a peaceful rural life at the side of their pagodas (it is not true either in many other rural areas,) farmers are cut from the stream of telecommunications and then living in ignorance of what happens in their own country and world. You know that ignorance makes a population at the mercy of ambitions from rural powers.
Health is out of reach of farmers. Even if you suggest that the villagers you knew go to the nearest big town (Kratie?) there are villages too far and without proper roads, where a doctor is a very strain, far and expensive guy. Natural medicine is their health service and - with the due respect to ancient traditions - several natural practices are the main cause of death tolls, including that of the friendly mid-wife.
If Cambodia wants to reduce poverty, it has to attend urgently the rural areas: infrastructures, telecommunications, electricity, running water, schools and agricultural projects. In Phnom Penh there are enough funds to do so. However, to do so, we need that the air-conditioning-office officials and private employees from departments, NGOs (most of them settled in Phnom Penh) and companies, bring their so expensive (?) cars to the dirty roads of the villages of their country in order to proof how true statistics can be.
Greetings in the name of my children and young people from farms.
--
Don Bosco Technical School Sihanoukville
Secretary: 034 933 764 - Salesian Community: 034 63 63 551 - Communication Department: 097 96 75 042
management@
www.donboscosihanoukville.org http://www.google.com/
Join donbosco1.ning.com
5 comments:
Why Hun Sen and Heng Samrin went to the jungle in 1970 ? they were poor.
What they did to Khmers Lon Nol ? they killed.
Now, they already forget, your turn will come. If not you, your children, if not your children, your grand children. They will pay the prices of your bad will.
Why Cambodian rural people are so poor ?
Because Hun Sen and his family members steal too much money from Cambodia, from Cambodian government.
Hun Xen owned and stole!
People are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. This is the heart of the article. Why should Hun Sen care about the welfare of the poor rural Cambodians? If they are able to learn and know about what is going on in the country--that would put his position in danger. By keeping the people poor is a tool to have a strong hand in the political arena.
When I read of people gloating how Cambodia is 'booming', I cringe. The glitter of lights can only shine so far from it posts that they are hanging from. It's what is beyond the shadow I'm trying to see. In this case, the rural areas beyond Phnom Penh.
Wisconsin
Democratic Kampuchea Pol Pot Khmer Rouge Regime
Members:
Pol Pot
Nuon Chea
Ieng Sary
Ta Mok
Khieu Samphan
Son Sen
Ieng Thearith
Kaing Kek Iev
Hun Sen
Chea Sim
Heng Samrin
Hor Namhong
Keat Chhon
Ouk Bunchhoeun
Sim Ka...
Committed:
Tortures
Brutality
Executions
Massacres
Mass Murder
Genocide
Atrocities
Crimes Against Humanity
Starvations
Slavery
Force Labour
Overwork to Death
Human Abuses
Persecution
Unlawful Detention
Cambodian People's Party Hun Sen Khmer Rouge Regime
Members:
Hun Sen
Chea Sim
Heng Samrin
Hor Namhong
Keat Chhon
Ouk Bunchhoeun
Sim Ka...
Committed:
Attempted Murders
Attempted Murder on Chea Vichea
Attempted Assassinations
Attempted Assassination on Sam Rainsy
Assassinations
Assassinated Journalists
Assassinated Political Opponents
Assassinated Leaders of the Free Trade Union
Assassinated over 80 members of Sam Rainsy Party.
"But as of today, over eighty members of my party have been assassinated. Countless others have been injured, arrested, jailed, or forced to go into hiding or into exile."
Sam Rainsy LIC 31 October 2009 - Cairo, Egypt
Executions
Executed over 100 members of FUNCINPEC Party
Murders
Murdered 3 Leaders of the Free Trade Union
Murdered Chea Vichea
Murdered Ros Sovannareth
Murdered Hy Vuthy
Murdered Journalists
Murdered Khim Sambo
Murdered Khim Sambo's son
Murdered members of Sam Rainsy Party.
Murdered activists of Sam Rainsy Party
Murdered Innocent Men
Murdered Innocent Women
Murdered Innocent Children
Killed Innocent Khmer Peoples.
Extrajudicial Execution
Grenade Attack
Terrorism
Drive by Shooting
Brutalities
Police Brutality Against Monks
Police Brutality Against Evictees
Tortures
Intimidations
Death Threats
Threatening
Human Abductions
Human Abuses
Human Rights Abuses
Human Trafficking
Drugs Trafficking
Under Age Child Sex
Corruptions
Bribery
Embezzlement
Treason
Border Encroachment, allow Vietnam to encroaching into Cambodia.
Signed away our territories to Vietnam; Koh Tral, almost half of our ocean territory oil field and others.
Illegal Arrest
Illegal Mass Evictions
Illegal Land Grabbing
Illegal Firearms
Illegal Logging
Illegal Deforestation
Illegally use of remote detonation bomb on Sokha Helicopter, while Hok Lundy and other military officials were on board.
Lightning strike many airplanes, but did not fall from the sky. Lightning strike out side of airplane and discharge electricity to ground.
Source: Lightning, Discovery Channel
Illegally Sold State Properties
Illegally Removed Parliamentary Immunity of Parliament Members
Plunder National Resources
Acid Attacks
Turn Cambodia into a Lawless Country.
Oppression
Injustice
Steal Votes
Bring Foreigners from Veitnam to vote in Cambodia for Cambodian People's Party.
Use Dead people's names to vote for Cambodian People's Party.
Disqualified potential Sam Rainsy Party's voters.
Abuse the Court as a tools for CPP to send political opponents and journalists to jail.
Abuse of Power
Abuse the Laws
Abuse the National Election Committee
Abuse the National Assembly
Violate the Laws
Violate the Constitution
Violate the Paris Accords
Impunity
Persecution
Unlawful Detention
Death in custody.
Under the Cambodian People's Party Hun Sen Khmer Rouge Regime, no criminals that has been committed crimes against journalists, political opponents, leaders of the Free Trade Union, innocent men, women and children have ever been brought to justice.
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