No money to save children lives ... but plenty of cash for the party's coffer

រថ​យន្តទំនើប​ចត​​នៅ​​ខាង​​ក្រៅ​​ទី​ស្នាក់​ការ​​​គណ​បក្ស​​ប្រជា​ជន​​កាល​​ពី​ថ្ងៃ​​សៅរ៍​​។ រូប សុប្រាជ្ញ

គ្មាន​លុយ​ជួយ​សង្គ្រោះ​ជីវិត​កុមារ​ទេ​ តែ​លុយ​បក្ស​ចាយ​ហូរ​ហៀរ

Monday, 06 August 2012
តុង សុប្រាជ្ញ
The Phnom Penh Post

«បើ​គ្មាន​មន្ទីរពេទ្យ​កុមារ​ទេ ​កុមារ​តូចៗ​រាប់​ពាន់​នាក់​បាន​ស្លាប់​បាត់​ទៅ​ហើយ​នៅ​ក្នុង​ខែ កក្កដា​កន្លង​ទៅ​នេះ»។ នេះ​គឺជា​ការ​ដង្ហោយ​ហៅ​សុំ​រក​ជំនួយ​ ពី​លោក​វេជ្ជបណ្ឌិត​ប៊ីត​ រីចន័រ​ ស្ថាប​និក​ និង​ជា​ប្រធាន​មន្ទីរ​ពេទ្យ​គន្ធ​បុប្ផា​ កាល​ពី​ដើម​ខែ​សីហា ឆ្នាំ​ ២០១២​ ឲ្យ​ជួយ​សង្គ្រោះ​ជីវិត​កុមារ​ខ្មែរ​ផង​។​

កុមារ​អើយ ​កុមារ!​ ហេតុ​តែ​ឯង​មិន​ចេះ​និយាយ​តវ៉ា​នឹង​គេ ហើយ​ត្រូវ​បាន​គេ​ចាត់​ទុក​ថា​ ជា​មនុស្ស​គ្មាន​ប្រយោជន៍​​ សម្រាប់​គេ​ក្នុង​ការ​ផ្តល់​សំឡេង​ឆ្នោត​ ឲ្យ​គណបក្ស​នយោបាយ​នានា​ និង​ឧកញ៉ាៗ​​ បាន​ជា​គេ​មិន​សូវ​យក​ចិត្ត​ទុក​ដាក់​​ចំពោះ​ពួក​ឯង​ប៉ុន្មាន​នោះ។​ ​ចង់​ឯង​រស់​ក៏​រស់​ទៅ ​ចង់​ឯង​ស្លាប់​ក៏​ស្លាប់​ទៅ ​គេ​មិន​ខ្វល់​ពី​ឯង​នោះ​ទេ​ បើ​ទោះ​បី​ជា​គេ​មាន​លុយ​សម្រាប់​បក្ស​នយោបាយ​របស់​គេ​ដល់​ទៅ ១០០​ឆ្នាំ​ទៀត​ចាយ​មិន​អស់​ក៏​ដោយ។​ ឯ​ចំពោះ​ឧកញ៉ាៗ​ សេដ្ឋីៗ​មួយ​ចំនួន​ធំ​ សល់​លុយ​ចាយ​មិន​អស់​ នំា​គ្នា​ទៅ​ចាញ់​ល្បែង​ស៊ី​សង​នៅ​កាស៊ីណូ​អស់​រាប់​លាន​ដុល្លារ​ ឯ​ខ្លះ​ទៀត​យក​លុយ​ទៅ​ចិញ្ចឹម​ស្រី​ក្មេង​ តារាៗ​ ទាំង​ស្រី ទាំង​ប្រុស​មួយ​ចំនួនធំ​ ទិញ​តាំង​ពី​វិឡា ឡាន​ និង​សម្ភារ​ទំនើបៗ​ឲ្យ​ ក៏​មាន​ដើម្បី​បំប៉ន​តណ្ហា​របស់​ខ្លួន​ម្នាក់​ឯង​រៀង​ខ្លួន​នោះ ​ដោយ​មិន​ស្រណោះ​លុយ​អ្វី​បន្តិច​សោះ​។ ​តែ​គ្មាន​លុយ​ទេ​ សម្រាប់​សង្គ្រោះ​ជីវិត​កុមារ​ខ្មែរ​នោះ​?​ ហេតុ​អ្វី​បាន​ជា​អ្នក​នយោបាយ​ និង​ឧកញ៉ាៗ​ភាគ​ច្រើន​​តែង​តែ​ភ្លេច​ខ្លួន​ កាល​ពី​នៅ​កុមារ​ក្រីក្រ​តោក​យ៉ាក​ ខ្លះ​ហូប​តែ​បាយ​វត្ត​ ខ្លះ​ហូប​តែ​ត្រីឆ្អើរ ​ខោ​អាវ​មួយ​ចង្កេះ​មក​រស់​នៅ​ភ្នំពេញ​ក៏​មាន​ដែរ​នោះ​?​ តើ​ពេល​ណា​ទើប​អ្នក​នយោបាយ ឧកញ៉ាៗ​ទាំង​ឡាយ​នៅ​ស្រុក​ខ្មែរ​យក​ចិត្ត​ទុក​ដាក់​សង្គ្រោះ​ជីវិត​កុមារ​ ខ្មែរ​?​ ឬ​មួយ​ក៏​ចាំ​ស្តាប់​សូរ​ភ្លើង​​ខៀវ​​​ចេញ​ពី​ លោក​នាយ​ ក​រដ្ឋ​មន្ត្រី​ ហ៊ុន​ សែន​ សិន ​សឹម​នាំ​គ្នា​ទៅ​ជួយ​ផ្តល់​មូលនិធិ​ដល់​មន្ទីរ​ពេទ្យ​គន្ធ​បុប្ផា?

Stupid nouveau-riches' superstition?

A vendor sells boar tusks believed to bring goodluck and other items near Kolen Mountain in Siem Reap province. Photo by Seth Kimsoeurn

Boar-tusk trade thriving among political elite

Friday, 16 March 2012
Seth Kimsoeurn
The Phnom Penh Post

High-ranking government officials are paying thousands of dollars for wild boar tusks, and the demand is rising, tusk vendors say. The sacred tusks are believed to offer powerful protection from accidents and ill fortune.

Military leaders had been the major customers for the tusks, which were traditionally sought as lucky charms in battle, but now politicians are snapping them up.

Ly Srey Poch, who has been selling the tusks for 10 years at shop near Kolen Mountain in Siem Reap, says her clients came from Cambodia and some paid thousands of dollars for a single tusk. The tusks are also valued by Thais, she said.

“High-ranking government officials, rich people and business people are my main customers now,” she added.

Cambodian Garment Workers Would Like You To Think Before Going To H&M

In its latest episode, Vice's Fashion Week Internationale series goes to Cambodia, where the country held its first-ever fashion week in Phnom Penh in November. Host Charlet Duboc and the Vice team go to designer runway shows, parties, boutiques that cater to the elites known as the "Khmer Riche," and meet a makeup artist who's inspired by — who else? — Madonna. But they also take an unusual step: they talk to some of Cambodia's hundreds of thousands of over-worked and under-paid garment workers. What does it mean to hold a fashion week for the wealthiest of the wealthy in a country where so much of the world's cheap clothing is made?

Duboc meets garment workers outside a factory at closing time who say that on $2 a day — the legal minimum wage — they are often unable to meet their basic living expenses. These women and girls talk about not being allowed to take bathroom breaks, and having to spend whole shifts on their feet. Duboc rides a bus home from work with a girl named Srey Thom and other garment workers, and Srey introduces her to her family. Her twin sister also works in a garment factory, and her mother says she does a job that "involves spraying air into pockets," which also exposes her to toxic airborne chemicals. And although the minimum age for factory work is 18, Srey admits she was 14 when she started. ("We were very poor and had many children," says Srey Thom's mother, apologetically.) She says many of her friends were children when they started working, too; the factories look the other way. Together, Srey's, her sister's, and her mother's wages support the eight members of their family. On the bus, some workers cover their faces — unsurprising, given Duboc also interviews a union leader who says she's been beaten by police for organizing a demonstration of 5,000 workers — but others share their stories without much hesitation. "Now it can be shown abroad how hard lives are in Cambodia," says one.

Cambodia's Burgeoning Youth Population Increasingly Seduced By The "perfect High" - Report by US Amb. Carol Rodley

Reference id 10PHNOMPENH113
Subject Cambodia's Burgeoning Youth Population Increasingly Seduced By The "perfect High"
Origin Embassy Phnom Penh (Cambodia)
Cable time Wed, 17 Feb 2010 07:29 UTC
Classification UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Source http://wikileaks.org/cable/2010/02/10PHNOMPENH113.html
History First published on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 23:11 UTC

VZCZCXRO5438
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHPF #0113/01 0480729
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 170729Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1675
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHNA/DEA WASHDC 0007
RHHMUNA/USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RHHMUNB/JIATF WESTHide headerUNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 PHNOM PENH 000113

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP, DRL, INL/AAE -- BRANDON NEUKOM
BANGKOK FOR DEA AND TCAO -- SCOTT ROLSTON

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SNAR [Narcotics] PGOV [Internal Governmental Affairs] PREF [Refugees] PREL [External Political Relations] ASEC [Security] EAID [Foreign Economic Assistance] CB [Cambodia]
SUBJECT: CAMBODIA'S BURGEONING YOUTH POPULATION
INCREASINGLY SEDUCED BY THE "PERFECT HIGH"

REF: A. 2009 PHNOM PENH 391 (MINI-DUBLIN)
¶B. 2009 PHNOM PENH 203 (METH BUST)

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION

¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: A recent uptick in drug use, particularly
ice - the crystallized form of methamphetamine preferred by
Cambodia's new urban elite - has resulted in increased
scrutiny of the social triggers and available treatment for
Cambodia's young population. Reported increases in teens

holding "drug parties," domestic violence, rape, and gang

activity have a potential to affect social stability and in

part have been attributed to lack of jobs, inadequate

recreational activities for the youth, the wide availability

of methamphetamines, and absence of effective drug treatment

facilities. Drug treatment centers have long been accused of
human rights abuses, and the Royal Government of Cambodia
(RGC) is just now beginning to grapple with a response. As
the youth population continues to swell and job creation
continues to diminish or stagnate, there is an acute need to
address drug dependence in Cambodia. END SUMMARY.

The Youth Problem
-----------------

¶2. (SBU) A recent Interagency Conflict Assessment revealed
that the growing youth population and low law enforcement
capacity are two of the most significant issues threatening
Cambodia's political, economic and social stability.
Cambodia enjoyed double digit economic growth over the past
decade. High growth rates have created expectations of
continued prosperity among young people in a society where
the median age is 25 and 24% of the population is between the
ages of 15 and 25. As the global economic crisis hit
Cambodia's export-driven economy, a widening gap developed
between expectations and reality. The effect struck

particularly hard on a naive Cambodian youth population who

are slowly realizing that their expectations of easy jobs and

money may be left unfulfilled. As a result, they are overly
susceptible to negative social forces, and rates of drug
abuse and illicit activity are on the rise.

¶3. (SBU) Stories of "spoiled children" running into trouble
with the law litter the local media. These same teens in
rehabilitation centers tell of selling gifts from their
parents, such as motos and jewelry, to buy drugs. One
rehabilitation resident stated he spent $1000 of his parent's

money in one month on drugs, a huge sum in a country where

the average family lives on less than a dollar a day. GDP
per capita has steadily increased over the past decade, with
only a slight drop in 2009 due to the global economic crisis.
While reliable estimates on the size of Cambodia's emerging
middle class do not exist, one of the country's leading think
tank directors believes it to be anywhere from 5-10% of the
population. For the Cambodian youth that is part of this
growing middle class, the new concept of disposable income
appears to be both seductive and dangerous.

The Silk Road to Australian drug treatment: WikiLeaks cable [-Hun Xen's nephews and nieces sent abroad for drug treatment under the guise of study?]

Thursday, 28 July 2011

By freelance writer Luke Miller

Crikey (Australia)

Rich Cambodian parents are secretly sending their drug-addicted children for detox in Australia and China to avoid the social stigma of drug use and the poor quality of rehabilitation centres in Cambodia. The details of a rising drug problem in Cambodia are buried in one of 777 US diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks two weeks ago in a rare large dump of every cable from an American embassy, in this case the embassy in Phnom Penh. The country, which emerged in the 1990s from decades of civil war to become one of the region’s best performing economies, is struggling to deal with an explosion in drug use caused by Cambodia’s porous borders, indigenous drug industry, rapidly expanding young urban population and “ruthless gangster“ business elite. Under the tabloid-style heading “Burgeoning Youth Population increasingly Seduced by the ‘Perfect High’”, US ambassador Carol Rodley details stories of “drug parties”, violence, rape and “spoiled children” who spend as much as $1000 of their “parent’s money in one month on drugs, a huge sum in a country where the average family lives on less than a dollar a day”. With the use of ice, the “party drug of choice”, spreading from gangs into the mainstream community (the UN estimates “as many as half a million” drug users in the country), the medical need for treatment and rehabilitation has collided with cultural taboos over drug use. To most Cambodians, “drug use is unmentionable … and certainly does not happen among ‘good families’.”

Aust backed opposition, anti-corruption in Cambodia: WikiLeaks

Friday, 29 July 2011

by Luke Miller

Crikey (Australia)

rich Cambodian parents are sending their drug-addicted children for detox in Australia and China to avoid the social stigma of drug use and the poor quality of rehabilitation centres in Cambodia

With the recent release of hundreds of cables from the US embassy in Phnom Penh, the WikiLeaks spotlight turns to Cambodia, a fast growing country of 15 million people and number seven on the list of recipient countries of Australian aid. Confidential cables leaked include detailed diplomatic manoeuvring by the international community, especially the US, the UK, France, Japan and Australia, over the UN-sponsored Khmer Rouge Tribunal (KRT). The KRT is tasked with prosecuting former regime leaders responsible for the genocidal “Killing Fields” of the 1970s that saw several million people killed. In 2009, Australia risked a breach of international unity when it sided with the Cambodian government against the United Nations on anti-corruption mechanisms for the KRT. Australia’s main concerns appeared to be mission creep, cost and a desire to let the Cambodian people own the process. One cable suggests Australian ambassador Margaret Adamson had inside knowledge of the court, saying “sources at the court told [Adamson] the Pre-Trial Chamber (PTC) had reached a decision on UN co-prosecutor Robert Petit’s appeal to indict up to six additional suspects in a Case 3 at the KRT. She stated that the decision — which she did not reveal — was not being announced until the judges thought that the time was right.” There are also hints that Australia and the Cambodian expat community living in Australia are heavily involved in trying to bolster the opposition in Cambodia. One opposition MP told the US ambassador he would get more support locally by being a “lesser opposition voice in parliament” but more support from richer expats in Australia and elsewhere “by positioning himself as a strident voice” against the government. In 2007, media freedom was so “fragile”, non-government candidates “had to buy airtime on the state-owned television network with Australian funding”.

Cambodia and Human Trafficking [-Shame on Cambodia's leaders!]

A clan of SPOILT BRAT
(Photo: Koh Santepheap)

January 5, 2011
By Luke Hunt
The Diplomat

Cambodia’s ability to cry poor and use this as an excuse to justify bad behavior has for years been a major source of irritation among this country’s monarchy, offshore donors and anyone who thinks a sense of propriety and fair play should be incorporated into generous foreign aid packages.

Donor fatigue among foreign governments is only exacerbated by the enormous wealth accumulated by the political elite and well-connected—and the sometimes appalling behavior of their precocious, over-indulged offspring, dubbed by headline writers as the 'Khmer Riche.'

The spoilt brats of the capital are a far cry from the kids in the countryside who are increasingly being pushed in unprecedented directions as Phnom Penh winds crying poor into its foreign policy.

This is being felt in Malaysia. A few weeks back, in Kuala Lumpur, I had a chance meeting with a young girl from Sihanoukville. We were in the waiting room at Tenaganita—a human rights organization that focuses on women and migrants, something that often translates into human trafficking and people smuggling.

Lina, who says she is 21-years-old, anglicized her name and traded her home on Cambodia’s southern coast for a job in Malaysia where she worked under contract in a hair salon. She was supposed to be paid 1,000 ringgit ($325) a month, but rarely was. Instead she was forced to take out loans from her employer to cover costs that included accommodation, food and the products for work like shampoo and conditioner she was also told she had to purchase.

After 9 months, she was told she owed 2000 to 3000 ringgit and would have to work it off. The math doesn’t make much sense, but that didn’t seem to bother her employer.

Any regular employee heading into such a position would simply walk out, but Lina is on a two-year deal offered by touts who scour the region looking for cheap labour. So she fled, and on the advice of friends found help at Tenaganita, who have freely housed and fed her.

Meanwhile, the former employers have called the authorities and she isn’t allowed to leave the country until her debts have been repaid, an obviously infuriating position, which Tenaganita is negotiating.

That said, relatively speaking Lina wasn’t badly treated. Aegile Fernandez, who helps run Tenaganita, has a litany of horror stories including girls being stripped naked, strung upside down and their toes plugged into a light socket for perceived slights and misdemeanours.

In one case, a human trafficker spent a year studying psychiatry at a local university so he could better control and manipulate the girls who came under his charge.

Many countries simply ban their women from working abroad in menial jobs. Others, like The Philippines, have well-established and enforced laws that afford some protection and guarantees for its citizens when working abroad.

In Malaysia, the minimum age for a woman to enter the country to work is 21. Fernandez says this is because such a life-changing decision—to leave one’s family and emigrate—requires a mature mind and anything less is simply too young. But she says Cambodian girls often lie about their age and carry fake Cambodian ID cards that they’ve used to obtain passports: ‘Children as young as 14, 15, 16 have passports saying they are 21, 22 and 23.’

The Cambodian response, however, has been anything but sympathetic. They want the Malaysian Government to lower their age limits and allow more Cambodians access to ‘employment opportunities.’

‘I’m very upset with the Cambodian Government, they have written a letter to the Malaysian government asking them to lower the age requirements,’ Fernandez says. ‘They say things like “we are a poor country” and this “will allow poor people a chance to work.” It’s nonsense, they are still children.’

How many times can you spot the word "Moha" in this video? How many members of the thieves of the nation can you spot?

Cambodia's Human Dump versus Cambodia's Human Dumb

Cambodia's Human Dump

www.Joe.ie

Cambodia has taken its rightful place alongside Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore on the Southeast Asian stop-off trail between Ireland and the land Down Under. Beyond occasional street beggars however, few will witness the full extent of the poverty many Cambodians suffer under.

Steung Meanchey, one of Cambodian capital Phnom Penh’s city dumps, isn’t on the list of attractions most visitors stop off at.

What differentiates Steung Meanchey from other landfill sites around the world is that up until a couple of months ago it had several thousand people living on top of its stinking, smoldering rubbish.
The dump site has, of late, been swamped on all sides by the sprawl of the growing city it serves – largely because of Cambodia's rapidly urbanising population. Competition for space coupled with a government policy of expelling residents and then selling off any piece of land foreign companies or individuals express interest in means there is an ever-increasing number of families forced to live in slums.

Those driven onto or around the periphery of Stueng Meanchey scrape together a living of sorts by sifting through newly arrived truck loads of rubbish for salable recyclables, so the dump acts as both home and workplace. Although Steung Meanhcey has now stopped taking new rubbish, it was still operational when JOE.ie paid a visit.

It stank. The smell makes you want to vomit. It makes you want to tear off your nose and gouge out your sinuses. It’s the sort of smell that makes your eyes water and your breath come in short repulsive gasps and that’s before you even get to the dump itself.
Normally, despite the poverty and hardship seen within its borders, the Cambodian spirit will be writ large across the faces of its people in the form of ever-present, infectious smiles. That optimism-against-the-odds attitude however, looks to have been beaten out of the people of Stueng Meanchey.

The majority of people living in Southeast Asia are close to the poverty line, but Cambodia is at the bottom of the pile by some distance. The dump’s haunted residents are the poorest of the poor – living in a squalor lost to the western world a century ago – and they know it.

Ragged, beaten figures paw hopelessly through the mounds of rubbish in dizzying heat while, bizarrely, herds of long-haired, foul-smelling goats from God knows where scramble bleating through the filth. Sickly, toxic smoke leaking from rumbling underground fires compounds the Dante-esque look of the place.
Living in one of the ramshackle huts perched directly on top of the rubbish heap was a group of young Khmers. The dwelling consisted of a raised platform made out of wooden pallets and posts topped by tattered sheets of blue plastic. It was open at the front and a young woman who looked to be about 18 stood leaning against one of the up-rights.

The shack was tiny – the size of a box-room, and appeared to house four people. A phenomenally scruffy young guy of about 15 popped his head up from the filthy mat he had been napping his day away on and gave a sporadically toothed smile.

The other occupants were two children – one was a small girl who sat staring in clothes which were little more than dirty rags and the other was an infant of less than a year old. The youngest was lying naked on the platform dead to the world. Hundreds of flies crawled undisturbed all over her.
Sandar, the eldest girl, was sister to the teenage guy and mother to the two children. They had been living on Stueng Meanchey for four years. She explained that yes – it was a dangerous place to live and rats sniffed, scratched and nibbled at them while they slept. Yes – disease was, of course, rampant because sanitation was non-existent.

Sandar could have been quite pretty but Stueng Meanchey had left its mark on her. Her face bore a raw looking scar she got when a fellow scavenger accidentally tossed a molten piece of plastic her way. There was little point in wishing the group well before leaving. Their future would be as horrible, debased, and nightmarish as their present.
The authorities have recognised that the dump’s comparatively central location means it could have value for development and as such has started expelling residents and banning scavenging. A new dump has been established further from the centre of Phnom Penh although there too the homeless and the desperate are barred from using it as a means of earning a living.

With their homes and income gone and a total absence of anything resembling a welfare system, the former residents have been left longing after the days when they were permitted to live and work on a filthy, smoldering pile of rubbish that for most of us would look like hell on earth.

To see Cambodia's Human Dumb, please click on "Click to Read More..."

Cambodia's Human Dumb

Sacrava's Political Cartoon: ... a small Bag

Angkar's directive: "A decent property is the size of a small bag"

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

Wealth management for "Dummy" ... a lesson from Hun Sen

From rags to riches: Cambodia's oldest family of "nouveau" rich

Hun Sen reminding the country’s nouveau rich not to be overjoyed

Thursday, March 13, 2008
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

Prime minister Hun Sen reminded the country’s nouveau rich who amassed their fortune from selling lands, not to be overjoyed with the easy money they obtained, but that they have to make this money multiply itself further more. During a speech given at a diploma distribution ceremony in Kandal province, on Wednesday, Hun Sen said that, regardless of whether the lands they sold came from their ancestors, or they were lands distributed to them by the CPP in 1979, they are now turned into a valuable assets, but after the sale of these lands, people should know how to put this money to use to generate more money honestly. Hun Sen’s declaration was aimed at the country’s nouveau rich people from the sale of their lands, he told them to use the money with clear aim, then it will bring in more wealth to them.