2009 Report on International Religious Freedom - Cambodia

Cambodia

Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
International Religious Freedom Report 2009

October 26, 2009

Source: US Department of State
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2009/127267.htm

The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and other laws and policies contributed to the generally free practice of religion. Buddhism is the state religion.

The Government generally respected religious freedom in practice. There was no change in the status of respect for religious freedom by the Government during the reporting period.

There were few reports of societal abuses or discrimination based on religious affiliation, belief, or practice.

The U.S. Government discusses religious freedom with the Government as part of its overall policy to promote human rights.

Section I. Religious Demography

The country has an area of 67,000 square miles and a population of 14.1 million. An estimated 93 percent of the population is Theravada Buddhist. The Theravada Buddhist tradition is widespread and strong in all provinces, with an estimated 4,330 pagodas throughout the country. The vast majority of ethnic Khmer Cambodians are Buddhist, and there is a close association between Buddhism, Khmer cultural traditions, and daily life. Adherence to Buddhism generally is considered intrinsic to the country's ethnic and cultural identity. The Mahayana school of Buddhism claims approximately 31,639 followers and has 88 temples throughout the country.

There are approximately 500,000 to 700,000 Muslims (between 3.5 to 5 percent of the population), predominantly ethnic Cham, who generally are found in towns and rural fishing villages on the banks of the Tonle Sap lake and the Mekong River, as well as in Kampot Province. Some organizations cite lower estimates for the number of Cham Muslims. There are four branches of Islam represented: the Malay-influenced Shafi'i branch, practiced by 88 percent of Cham Muslims; the Saudi-Kuwaiti-influenced Salafi (sometimes called "Wahhabi") branch, which claims 6 percent of the total Muslim population, although this number is increasing; the indigenous Iman-San branch, practiced by 3 percent; and the Kadiani branch, which also accounts for 3 percent. There are 244 mosques of the 4 main branches and 333 small Suravs, which are meeting places that have congregations of up to 40 persons and do not have a minbar from which Friday sermons are given. Suravs may belong to any branch of Islam and are distinct from other types of mosques only in their architectural structure; they are usually much smaller and built in rural areas of the country.

The small but growing Christian community constitutes approximately 2 percent of the population. There are an estimated 100 Christian organizations or denominations that operate freely throughout the country. There are approximately 1,609 churches--1544 Protestant and 65 Roman Catholic. Only an estimated 900 of these churches are officially registered. Other religious groups with small followings include the ethnic Vietnamese Cao Dai and the Baha'i Faith, each with an estimated 2,000 practitioners.

Section II. Status of Religious Freedom

Legal/Policy Framework

The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and other laws and policies contributed to the generally free practice of religion. The Constitution prohibits discrimination based on religion, and the Government does not tolerate abuse of religious freedom, either by governmental or private actors. Buddhism is the state religion, and the Government promotes Buddhist holidays, provides Buddhist training and education to monks and others in pagodas, and modestly supports an institute that performs research and publishes materials on Khmer culture and Buddhist traditions.

The law requires all religious groups, including Buddhist groups, to submit applications to the Ministry of Cults and Religions if they wish to construct places of worship and conduct religious activities. In their applications, groups must state clearly their religious purposes and activities, which must comply with provisions forbidding religious groups from insulting other religious groups, creating disputes, or undermining national security. There is no penalty for failing to register, and in practice some groups do not. Although the Ministry of Cults and Religions attempted to enforce a 2007 regulation requiring all churches to re-register in order to obtain a new operating license, no churches had complied within the reporting period.

The Directive on Controlling External Religions requires registration of places of worship and religious schools, in addition to government approval prior to constructing new places of worship. Places of worship must be located at least two kilometers from each other and may not be used for political purposes or to house criminals or fugitives from the law. The distance requirement applies only to new construction of places of worship and not to offices of religious organizations. There have been no cases documented where the directive was used to bar a church or mosque from constructing a new facility. The directive also requires that religious groups refrain from openly criticizing other groups. During the reporting period, there were no reports that any religious groups encountered significant difficulties in obtaining approval for construction of places of worship.

The Government permits Buddhist religious instruction in public schools. Other forms of religious instruction are prohibited in public schools; however, non-Buddhist religious instruction may be provided by private schools. The Government directed that all Muslim students and government employees be allowed to wear Islamic attire in class and in the office. The decision reflected respect for the beliefs of those other than the Buddhist majority.

All major Theravada Buddhist holidays are observed by the Cambodian Government.

Restrictions on Religious Freedom

The Government generally respected religious freedom in practice. There was no change in the status of respect for religious freedom by the Government during the reporting period.

Unlike in previous years, the Government did not close any madrassahs (Islamic schools). The Government has granted permission for the construction of a new Islamic college which will provide general education and skills training to both Muslims and non-Muslims.

There were no reports of religious detainees or prisoners in the country.

Forced Religious Conversion

There were no reports of forced religious conversion, including of minor U.S. citizens who had been abducted or illegally removed from the United States, or who had not been allowed to be returned to the United States.

Improvements and Positive Developments in Respect for Religious Freedom

Government officials continued to organize meetings for representatives of all religious groups to discuss religious developments and to address problems of concern. The Ministry of Cults and Religion typically hosts two national interfaith meetings annually in preparation for the Asia-Pacific Regional Interfaith Dialogue. During the reporting period, however, no meetings were held. This was in part due to July 2008 elections during which time a new Minister of Cults and Religions was selected.

Section III. Societal Abuses and Discrimination

There were few reports of societal abuses or discrimination based on religious belief or practice.

Minority religious groups experienced little or no societal discrimination during the reporting period; however, Muslims and Christians reported minor conflicts that were personal in nature.

Some Buddhists expressed concern about the Cham Muslim community receiving financial assistance from foreign countries; however Cham Muslims were generally well integrated into society, held prominent positions in business and the Government, and faced no reported acts of discrimination or abuse during the reporting period.

There are ecumenical and interfaith organizations, which are often supported by funding from foreign public or private entities.

Section IV. U.S. Government Policy

The U.S. Government discusses religious freedom with the Government as part of its overall policy to promote human rights. Embassy representatives met with religious leaders on these issues and contacted representatives of religious nongovernmental organizations and other groups representing Buddhist, Muslim, and Christian religious groups.

The Embassy continued its Muslim engagement efforts, which provide for additional channels of information on the status of religious freedom among the Muslim population while also providing material assistance. The Embassy continued to provide financial support for the Voice of Cham radio station, which provides a forum for discussion of religious and other issues and is the only Cham language radio program in the country. The Embassy hosted a Ramadan reception in Phnom Penh, with more than 150 Cham Muslim guests, and hosted an iftar for the Cham community in Kampot, a region approximately three hours south of Phnom Penh. The event attracted more than 100 leaders of the community, including imams, heads of madrassahs, and religious teachers.

The Embassy has worked to maintain close contact with the Buddhist and Christian religious communities through visits to wats (Buddhist temples) and churches and through joint programs. The Embassy hosted a series of seminars to promote a closer relationship between the Cham community and law enforcement officials in an attempt to broaden dialogue and promote community policing.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) continued to work with several Buddhist temples on a faith-based approach to helping people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. Projects with Christian groups included Embassy-hosted events for the "Little Sprouts," a program for AIDS orphans run by the Catholic Maryknoll sisters, and puppet shows presented by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) during U.S. military medical missions. These programs afforded Embassy officers the opportunity to meet with both Buddhist and Christian religious figures on numerous occasions and assess the operating environment for their religious groups in the country.

Buddhism in brief

Dear Readers,

Below is a link to an excerpt on Buddhist philosophy which was written by Professor Sar Sarun that you can download for your own reading.

We would like to thank Lok Chanda Chhay for sending it over.

Thank you!

Click here to download the PDF document in Khmer

Hun Sen, a former communist, tells Buddhist monks to clean up their act ... his message is applicable to Comrade Tep Vong also!

Cambodian PM tells Buddhist monks to clean up their act

PHNOM PENH, Dec 18, 2008 (AFP) - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday said the country's monks should "respect the rule of Buddha" after a series of crimes involving men in orange robes.

"The Buddhist monks have to respect the rule of Buddha and they should not make the religion decline," said Hun Sen in a speech during closing ceremonies for the country's annual Buddhist monk congress.

"If a monk makes a dispute I will not help and I will run away, and the monk should not blame citizens when they lose confidence in Buddhist monks," he added.

Elders at the congress, which began on Wednesday, were concerned that the mostly unregulated clergy was bringing Buddhism into disrepute after a number of monks were charged with robbery, rape and murder during the past year.

Many blamed the problem on "fake monks" who dressed in orange robes to commit crimes.

Minister of cults and religions Min Khin told reporters a rapid increase in the number of monks was making it difficult to regulate the Buddhist clergy.

Although Buddhism is Cambodia's national religion, only seven Buddhist monks remained in the country in 1979, at the end of the Khmer Rouge regime which outlawed religion and killed some 1.7 million people.

There are now over 55,000 Buddhist monks across the country at some 4,300 pagodas, Min Kihn said.

Saved From the Killing Fields

Setan Lee, leader of Kampuchea for Christ, with his wife, Randa.
Photo courtesy Intercede International.

Saved from death, he became an instant evangelist. Six months later he was preaching to a church of 35,000.

by Alan Doerksen
Christianity.ca

Setan Lee, miraculously saved from death in Cambodia’s Killing Fields, launched a church movement that grew to 35,000 in six months. He went on to develop Kampuchea for Christ, an indigenous mission that ministers to the spiritually needy people of Cambodia. In May 2008 Lee will visit seven Canadian cities to share his testimony and the story of Kampuchea for Christ.

In the late 1970s Lee was just 17 years old when the Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, seized control of the government in Cambodia and unleashed a reign of terror. Their rule lasted three years, eight months, but seemed like a thousand years for some who lived through it. Quickly cities were evacuated, and many educated people were killed.

Lee, a young medical student, had been planning to go to Paris to continue his studies. Instead, he and his family had to flee their home in an effort to escape to the border of Thailand.

On the way Lee witnessed people being lined up and shot. He was separated from his family and taken to a youth camp where he and others were forced to work in fields 20 hours a day. Lee saw friends being tortured, and one day was forced to watch a female friend being suffocated by a female Khmer Rouge member. Then Lee was led away and buried in the ground up to his neck and left to be bitten by insects and crabs. Somehow he survived.

Later when the Khmer Rouge found evidence of Lee’s schooling, he was taken blindfolded to be executed. At that critical time says Lee, he believed there had to be someone greater than Communism, so he prayed, “Lord of the universe, whoever you are, please spare my life. One thing I will do is be your witness.”

Suddenly someone asked the killers not kill him, but instead to bring him to his quarters. Because of his education Lee was spared certain death and asked to do agricultural planning work.

In late 1978 the Vietnamese were fighting the Khmer Rouge. Lee again set his sights on Thailand and searched intensely for his scattered family. Some of them were reunited, but not without grief. One of his older brothers had been killed. The family decided to escape Cambodia separately.

A mysterious messenger

As Lee crossed the jungle in search of freedom, he faced danger from landmines and had to step on dead bodies to avoid them. Suddenly a man came out of jungle and said, “I want to tell you about the Lord of the universe. His name is Jesus Christ. Jesus can save you and me now. One false step and our lives will be over. All you have to do is pray and accept Jesus now. Do you want that?”

Right on the spot, Lee prayed to accept Jesus into his life.

He recalls, “I was a totally different person. I had a lot of bitterness in my heart. I was a person with a lot of anger, the spirit of revenge in me. All of a sudden it just cleaned up—washed away.”

Amazingly, within a few hours, Lee found his family at Khao I Dang refugee camp across the border in Thailand. He also met a pastor there who encouraged him to share his faith with others in camp.

Lee became an instant missionary and led people to Christ every day. At the camp, Lee and others started a church with a few believers. The congregation grew to 35,000 in only six months.

One day when Lee was preaching, he got an eerie feeling. He then saw in the crowd the woman who had suffocated his friend. “I wanted to get revenge on her,” he recalls. “Right away I was praying in my spirit, ‘Lord take control of me.’ Instantly I felt compassion for that lady.” Instead of killing her, Lee forgave her. “She came, she cried, she prayed, and she disappeared. I have never seen her since.”

In the camp, Lee met and married Randa, another terrorized escapee.

Reflecting on the Killing Fields, Lee observes, “God allowed that to happen so that He could bring out people like myself as a broken person to come to a saving knowledge. Without that kind of experience, I might have never met the Lord. But because of that experience—through miraculous revelation—somehow He let me know that He is the Lord of the universe.”

Setan and Randa Lee immigrated to the U.S.A. in 1979. Twelve years later, when Cambodia’s borders finally opened, Setan returned to proclaim Christ to his own people. He headed up a Bible school in Phnom Penh before starting Kampuchea for Christ in 1995.

Beginning May 2, 2008, Lee will visit seven Canadian cities – Halifax, Moncton, Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver – to share his testimony and the story of the ministry at Kampuchea for Christ. His itinerary begins at Gateway Cambodia Conference in Fort Erie May 2 and 3. The Canada-wide Mission Cafe Evenings in each city will be hosted by Intercede International. For more details, visit the Intercede website: www.intercedenow.ca/missioncafes.php.

Endnotes

Kampuchea for Christ is an indigenous Christian ministry based in Cambodia that is assisted by Intercede International.

Alan Doerksen is the publications editor and production manager for Intercede International (formerly Christian Aid Mission), based in Fort Erie, Ontario.

Originally published in Mission Gateway, February 2008. The story has been adapted from the original version.

A new church is consecrated in Phnom Penh: the first after the destruction of the Khmer Rouge

01/07/2008
AsiaNews.it (Italy)

It has been defined “defined a sign of hope”. Present, card. Raffaele Martino and more than a thousand Catholics from across the country as well as priests and missionaries.

Phnom Penh (AsiaNews) – Today the feast of the Epiphany, card. Renato Raffaele Martino consecrated the church of “Infant Jesus” in Boeung Tum Pun, Phnom Penh. It is the first church to be consecrated in the capital in the aftermath of the Khmer Rouge regime, its extermination and deportation of millions of people. Priests who took charge of its building, among them Fr. Mario Ghezzi from PIME, have described it as a “sign of hope” and rebirth.

Present at yesterdays ceremony apart from card. Martino – former nuncio in Cambodia and now president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace – the current nuncio to Thailand and Cambodia, msgr. Salvatore Pennacchio; msgr. Emile Destombes, bishop of Phnom Penh; and apostolic prefect of Battambang and Kompong-Cham; bishop emeritus msgr. Yves Ramousse, who was bishop of Phnom Penh before the arrival of Pol Pot.

Circa one thousand faithful from diverse areas across the nation took part in the ceremony, thirty priests, diocesan and religious who work in the Cambodian church. One of the priests present commented: “It was a moment of great enthusiasm and joy, above all for the French missionaries from Mep ( Missions etrangères de Paris), who have been present in this church for some time now and who have witnessed the devastation and persecution of the communist period. There was a youthful climate and an atmosphere of hope, in a community that has chosen to serve charity”.

In fact, the parish area promotes charitable initiatives supported by Cambodian nuns, including a hotel for young female students from across the country; a "sick shelter" for the poor and sick who come from afar to receive hospital treatment; a home for sick children and HIV/AIDS sufferers, all run by Maryknoll missionary sisters.

Many foreigners who work on the ground with NGO’s were also present. The new parish priest is fr. Mario Ghezzi, from PIME, who was chiefly responsible for bringing Msgr. Destombes dream of the Church to fruition.

Christmas in Cambodia is a dangerous, exhilarating time

Saturday, December 29, 2007
By June Seabaugh
Southeast Missourian (USA)

Editor's note: June Seabaugh is an occasional columnist for the Southeast Missourian. She is from the area but is currently teaching English in Cambodia.

It's two days after Christmas, and I think I'd like to tell you about a "cool event" among my holiday memories this year. Then I'll try to share about one of my student's lives so you can understand why I'm so excited to be here.

On Christmas Eve I went caroling with the boys and girls from the Asian Hope orphanages. Since we're in Cambodia, we definitely were not caroling on the streets. So 25 of us squeezed into a school van. We headed to the houses of some of the missionaries whose children attend my school. At each house they unlocked their security gates and we sang our medley of songs with children perched in palm trees in 90-degree heat. At one house the old van's side door wouldn't open, and we all climbed over seats to exit the back hatch door. What a hoot!

That was wonderfully spiritual for me, but I think the highlight of the evening was not so spiritual; it was incredibly patriotic for me. After we finished our house caroling, the girls' orphanage supervisors wanted me to get to see the American embassy since it was lit up for Christmas. We dropped off the boys (who'd already seen the display) and went to the U.S. Embassy.

I really believe that they'd managed to put a light bulb on every blade of grass, every palm leaf, and every edge of every roof. No, there was no manger or Nativity scene, no baby Jesus or anything religious, but America was proud of the holiday enough to have lighted Santas, sleighs, poinsettias, snowmen, reindeer, two-story trees and just plain ol' palm trees lit in myriad colors. Yeah, there were guards in case terrorists took a notion to destroy it, but it was kind of fun to see America enjoying its display of power and wealth.

No other embassy put out a single string of lights, not Canadian, British, European or Australian. But America celebrated Christmas in Cambodia. Our little group found a missionary family from our school and we sang our little hearts out in Christmas carols under the Cambodian sky. I laughed that I ought to be singing "I'm Proud to Be an American," but I still like living on Earth too much to do that here.

My Canadian friends razzed me about my tax dollars being burned. Maybe we're stupid to do something so outlandishly extravagant, but I was proud of us. I would have been happier to see a manger scene, but I still sang myself happy. I didn't have my family around me, but I had America's lights and our group's songs raised to worship our Savior -- and I had fun!

And now for the reason I'm here: It's to share the gospel with people like Srey*, one of my seniors in high school. When Srey was 5, she lived among rice fields with her parents, a younger sister, Kiri*, and a baby brother. Srey's mother had TB. Srey remembers that one day her father came home from gambling again, and her mother cried to him that she would rather be dead. An hour or so later two men came, shot at Srey's dad and missed, but killed her mother. Srey and Kiri were taken to live with their uncle and his family. She has not seen her father or brother since then and doesn't know where they are.

After a year of living with their uncle's family (where they were miserably abused) at the edge of Phnom Penh, the Funcinpec party tried to take over the government. As their house burned, Srey, Kiri and their uncle's family ran to take shelter in a Chinese man's house. Bullets whizzed by and bombs exploded around them. About 50 people hid there for two days, but one night soldiers from the Cambodian People's Party came and ordered them to leave, saying there were spies among them. That's when the miracle happened that changed Srey's life.

A new neighborhood woman from another country had been telling her neighbors about Jesus. Srey prayed to him that night as she listened to the bullets and bombs going off, smelled the smoke of burning buildings and watched the two neighboring gas stations explode. She prayed, and she remembers stepping on a grenade as she walked. She says she saw it, but didn't have time to stop. She felt it under her foot, but it didn't go off. She knows she received a miracle.

Later, the neighbor found the two sisters and adopted them, along with four other Cambodian children, before the adoption laws in Cambodia changed in 2004 and essentially stopped Westerners from adopting Cambodian children. Two days before the law changed, the adoptions were finalized. Because her mom is from another country, Srey will attend college there next year. She will study accounting.

By the way, Srey's hard-praying Christian family sees a lot of miracles. Four years ago the children in the family didn't want their mother to take in a baby whose parents had died of AIDS and who also was dying of AIDS. They just didn't want to face watching another child die. But, in Srey's simple words, "We could not ignore him."

Today he's one of their adopted children, and the tests during 2007 have all come back negative for HIV/AIDS. He's a happy, healthy 4-year-old.

These are the children I teach. And Srey's mother is one of the many missionaries whose children I teach. I get to hear their miracle stories and be a part of their miraculous lives, and I realize each day how miraculous life is for each one of us.

I pray that you are enjoying the blessings of Christmas as you consider the miraculous birth of our Savior. And I pray that you appreciate the love of God who gave you the miracle of life and then offers the miracle of eternal life.

* Names were changed to protect the girls.

This Pilgrimage, Like The Best, Leads Back To Yourself

December 21, 2007
By Perry Garfinkel
The Huffington Post (USA)

Pilgrimage is the time-honored journey to places sacred. Of course, the earnest pilgrim who wisely follows his or her intuitive spiritual compass always arrives at the most sacred of places: one's self. The ultimate pilgrimage, for those willing to leave their personal baggage behind as they travel, is a rite of passage as much as a passage through time and space.

Pilgrimages take many forms and many faces. Going home for the holidays is a pilgrimage. Thoreau took a pilgrimage by the side of a pond. The Buddha took a pilgrimage by the side of a tree and journeyed into the back recesses of his mind, where he came upon a path that leads to happiness.

I took a journey last night in front of my television, watching a trilogy of documentary films by an old friend, John Bush. John is a visionary in the truest sense: he uses his visions and images for the purpose of transformation. In an earlier incarnation, his claim to cultural fame in the transformational times of the mid-1970s was to have started a company called Illuminations with his then wife Mirabai Bush. They silk-screened images of the Buddha and simple Tibetan mandalas onto transparent plastic that could be stuck onto any surface. They called them Dharma Seals. Soon those Buddhas and their most successful product, a rainbow, were ubiquitous -- on the rear windows of VWs, on dormitory billboards, even on the windows of John and Yoko's apartment at the Dakota in Manhattan (I saw them). After he and Mirabai split up, John went on to become a filmmaker.

On an extended pilgrimage throughout Southeast Asia, he traveled with a Sony digital video camera recording his impressions of the iconic Buddhist centers in Laos, Thailand, Burma (now Myanmar), Bali, Cambodia, Java and Central Tibet. He calls the resulting three films he made Journey into Buddhism: The Yatra Trilogy; yatra is the Sanskrit word for pilgrimage.

When I came back from my own first spiritual pilgrimage to India in 1974, only one film I found came anywhere near close to evoking the feeling of being there. It was director Louis Malle's 1968 Phantom India, a black-and-white documentary so realistic you could almost smell the Indian beedie cigarettes in the movie theater. Until seeing John's Yatra Trilogy, it remained, to my mind and my eyes, the only film that captured the attraction-repulsion, the frustration-exhilaration, the enigma-revelation of India or anywhere
else in Asia.

Last night John took me back, back to Asia, back to my own recent pilgrimage in the footsteps of the Buddha for my book Buddha or Bust, back to that place in myself where I know the search for truth, meaning and happiness gratefully will continue.

With unblinking patience, John draws the viewer into his journey. His slow pans across a landscape such as Angkor Wat in Cambodia test our own patience, conditioned as we are to fast cuts and instant gratification. His use of ambient sounds throughout all the films give a sense of presence, of immediacy, and in such a subtle manner as to go almost unnoticed. Almost. At Borobudur Temple, the 9th century mandala monument in Java, the sounds of birds and flies and chanting in your ears bring to life ancient rumblings of spirituality. I knew this was where a vibrant spiritual community existed. John's film reminded me this is where it's still happening for those still enough -- or for a camera quiet enough -- to witness it.

For John, the six years it took to create The Yatra Trilogy was the "realization of a long deferred dream."

"I had always made my living in the more commercial arena," he said. "Now I had the opportunity to take a risk creatively in a medium that had always drawn me. This project allowed me to stretch as an artist and interestingly the art became my spiritual practice in a way it hadn't before."

Along with the personal reward simply of taking the journey, he now is enjoying sharing it with others. It had its American premiere in 2005 at the Rubin Museum of Art in Manhattan. It has since shown in more than 50 cities, including coinciding with His Holiness the Dalai Lama's American itinerary in the fall of 2006. The films are currently screening at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena and at the Museum of Asian Civilizations in Singapore. In February the trilogy will have its Australian premiere at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra and screenings at the Seattle Art Museum. And just recently John teamed up with WGBH Boston, the premiere producer of programming for PBS, which is distributing nationally a special boxed 3-DVD collection, entitled Journey Into Buddhism : The Yatra Trilogy, available for $34.95 (a 10 percent holiday discount).

John next sets his sights on a visual pilgrimage of another sort. He is currently in post-production on a dance art film entitled Shimmer, shot entirely outdoors throughout New York City in collaboration with his partner, the French-born choreographer and dancer Nadine Helstroffer.

If The Yatra Trilogy is a Buddhist video pilgrimage, I am sure Shimmer will be an equally revelatory journey into the heart of a city and a woman he loves.

Khmer Communication – An Eye Opener

Maia Kahlke Lorentzen in front of DCA's office in Phnom Penh

Working in Cambodia has been an eye opener to 26 year old Maia Kahlke Lorentzen. She is currently doing her six month internship for Dan Church Aid in Phnom Pehn. Working in Cambodia has been an eye opener to 26 year old Maia Kahlke Lorentzen. She is currently doing her six month internship for Dan Church Aid in Phnom Penh.

By Signe Damkjaer
ScandAsia.Denmark

Maia Kahlke Lorentzen in front of DCA's office in Phnom Pehn“I have always been interested in doing development work. I want to do something, which makes sense, and then I wanted to come to Asia”, says 26 year old Maia Kahlke Lorentzen. These are some of the reasons why she chose to work for Dan Church Aid (Folkekirkens Nødhjælp) in Phnom Penh.

Crazy differences

“Problems in Denmark can somehow seem very superficial when you compare them to peoples problems here”, says Maia. The internship is the last part of her degree in Film and Media Studies from University of Copenhagen. Among other things she chose DCA for her internship due to their work with gender policies.

“I wrote my master thesis about how Danish men experience their rights being violated because women are taking gaining to much power. And then I come to Cambodia, where woman have no rights, where they are trafficked into prostitution, and there are lobbies that work against the law against domestic violence”, she says. I am not saying that the problems are not relevant in Denmark but it is crazy to see how different things are here. It is a good eye opener and that is why I wanted to come here”.

Lost in translation

An other reason why Maia came to Cambodia was to make use of her theoretical knowledge. She is currently developing a communication strategy for one of DCA’s partner organization, the Lutheran World Federation Cambodia. “This is a huge challenge. You cannot just transfer your knowledge from Denmark. You have to take in to consideration that half of the population here is illiterate and don’t have access to independent medias. So first we have to go and visit the rural areas and identify which problems they have. Then we make posters with cartoons, so everybody can understand the message”, she says.In addition to that Maia has to learn how to operate in the Khmer working culture.

“It is a very authoritative culture, which makes it hard to work independently because everything needs to be approved of on many levels by several people who all need to feel they have a voice. This makes some things go really slow here”, she says.

And then there is the language barrier, which Maia sees as her greatest challenge.

“It is so frustrating to not know whether we understand each other or not. When I am in the villages and want to talk to people everything goes though an interpreter who’s English is not so good either. You hear them talk and talk but when they translate into English they just tell me one or two words. “It’s a bit like the Movie Lost in Translation. I know there are so much more but I just cannot have all the information. This is very frustrating”, she says.

In spite of the differences and difficulties, Maia still feels that she gains more from doing her internship in Cambodia than if she had stayed in Denmark.

“I think it is much more exiting to work here. I think I make better use of my skills and I get the opportunity to follow all the programs very closely. I learn a lot from how organizations work from within”, she says.

Maia is planning to stay in Cambodia until the end of January. And once she finishes her degree maybe even longer. “I would like to do something similar to what I do here. Either development work or with an organisation with a social perspective. I have considered looking for something here. Cambodia is an exiting place to be right now”, Maia finishes.

Trilogy takes viewers along on Buddhist pilgrimage

Saturday, August 11, 2007
By David Yonke
Toledo Blade Religion Editor (Toledo, Ohio, USA)

In this fast-paced world with frenetic media activity and TV shows blitzing viewers with quickly shifting scenes, filmmaker John Bush opted to step back and slow down with his three-part documentary, Journey into Buddhism.

“A pilgrimage is designed to make an inner journey for the participant,” Mr. Bush said in an interview this week. “Basically what we’re doing is using pacing deliberately designed to, and calibrated to, induce an inner journey on the part of the viewer.”

The trilogy, delving deeply into Buddhism in southeast Asia and Tibet, is now available on DVD through Boston PBS station WGBH and will be released to stores Sept. 4.

The series features cameras lingering on Buddhist temples, statues of Buddha large and small, the rugged terrain of the Asian jungles, the golden ripples of the Mekong River, and the majestic peaks of the Himalayas.

Throughout all these scenes we see the spiritual devotion of the people, who are filmed prostrating themselves in prayer, chanting, lighting candles, meditating, and walking in pilgrimages.

The third episode, centering on Tibet, includes the mountainous country’s troubled history since its takeover by Communist China in 1949, and the forced exile of its spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

And yet it dwells more on the people’s resilience and their devotion to faith and tradition than on the political strife.

“It was a fine line,” Mr. Bush said, “because we wanted to preserve this feeling of a pilgrimage and journey with the film, but there was no way of ignoring the political situation. It would have been untruthful. It was a matter of finding a way to balance those two things. And I think it set up a nice tension in the film that tells the story.”

The Dalai Lama gave his blessing to Mr. Bush’s documentary, writing a message that said, “I wish this film every success.”

The Dalai Lama said he believes that “as people become more aware of the reality of the situation in Tibet, they will naturally lend their support to our efforts to resume a dialogue with the Chinese authorities aimed at improving the lot of Tibetans in their homeland.”

Narrating the Tibet episode is Tenzin L. Choegyal, a nephew of the Dalai Lama who was raised within the Tibetan exile community in Dharamsala, India.

“He’s not a professional narrator, but he has a sonorous voice and he obviously has a lot of feeling for the subject,” Mr. Bush said.

The filmmaker did not interview Tibetan monks, for fear that the government would punish them.

The stunning Tibetan scenery features the temples built on rocky Himalayan peaks, with azure skies and cotton-white clouds in the backdrop as robed monks study, pray, and meditate in the monasteries.

“I wanted to show the majesty of this tradition in its environment, and what remains of it,” Mr. Bush said.

A native of Buffalo, N.Y., Mr. Bush runs the independent film company Direct Pictures, based in Greenwich Village, New York City.

The filming for the series began in 2001, Mr. Bush said, with the first two segments filmed simultaneously.

The opening episode, Dharma River is set in Laos, Thailand, and Burma, and follows the Mekong River as Mr. Bush and crew explore the rich history and the current state of Buddhism in that region.

Prajna Earth was filmed in Cambodia and centers on the lost civilization of Angkor, including spectacular images of Angkor Wat, the largest Buddhist temple in the world. That segment is narrated by actress Sharon Stone.

The final film in the trilogy, titled Vajra Sky Over Tibet, was filmed in 2002.

All told, Mr. Bush said, the three 90-minute documentaries in Journey into Buddhism were edited down from more than 80 hours of film.

“You know what you want to do when you set out to make a documentary, you have the idea, but it isn’t until you get back in the studio and see what you have that the story starts to reveal itself,” he said.

Journey into Buddhism was a project of special meaning for Mr. Bush, who has a personal interest in the subject matter.

“I’ve been a practicing Buddhist since I first went to Indian in 1970, so it’s something I’m quite comfortable with,” he said. “But I was interested in making it for people who weren’t interested in becoming Buddhists or who were just curious. My feeling is that we can find the most universal themes and extract those — things that would relate to somebody else’s spiritual life or spiritual practice.”

Vajra Sky Over Tibet has been shown in theaters in limited release, in 30 cities, and the trilogy is being discussed for broadcast by PBS stations next year, Mr. Bush said.

The DVD series includes several bonus features including an “ambient sound mix with music,” eliminating the narration and offering only natural environmental sounds with background music by regional artists.

“When I originally conceived of this piece, I was really anticipating doing it without any voiceover, just a direct experience of the place” Mr. Bush said.

“When I showed the initial cuts to people, I found they were creating their own stories, their own ideas of what was happening. And it was not as interesting as the real thing. So it had to be shown with narration.

“But after you’ve seen the DVD once or twice with narration, you’ve probably got it. And it’s a whole different experience when you can watch it with the music and ambient sound. It allows the places to speak even more strongly to the viewer.”

More information on “Journey into Tibet” is available online at www.directpictures.com, where DVDs of the individual episodes or the boxed-set trilogy can be ordered. The documentary also will be available in stores starting Sept. 4.

Rights groups shine Olympic spotlight on China [ which is Hun Sen's benefactor]

Monday • August 6, 2007
AFP

The Olympic spotlight is making the communist rulers of China more vulnerable to global pressure than ever before, rights groups and activists say as they ready for 12 months of intense campaigning.

Threatening to spoil the Beijing Olympic party are issues such as the violence in Sudan's Darfur region that has left hundreds of thousands dead, China's rule over Tibet, and its domestic curbs on religion and the media.

Throw in labour rights abuses in China, including by factories making Olympic goods, and the government is bracing for an onslaught from movements that believe the Games provide an unprecedented platform to further their cause.

"The coming year is absolutely crucial because we feel the Chinese are susceptible in a way that they have never been before," the London-based spokesman for the Free Tibet Campaign, Matt Whitticase, told AFP.

"We want to use this unprecedented opportunity to raise the Tibetan issue as much as possible and exert as much pressure as possible."

Groups hoping to pressure China to better wield its strong influence with the Sudanese government in ending the bloodshed in Darfur hold similar hopes for the Olympics.

"All groups that care about human rights see the Olympic spotlight and the platform that presents as an enormous opportunity," said Jill Savitt, the director of Olympic Dream for Darfur organisation.

The New York-based group was established solely to pressure the Chinese in the lead-up to the Olympics, and will disband once the Games are over.

"Our goal is to ensure that the Chinese government hears from a variety of sources about the concern that the Olympics will be tarnished if there is not security on the ground (in Darfur) before the Olympics begin," she told AFP.

So, as China celebrates the one-year countdown to the Games on Wednesday amid much hype and partying, groups around the world are using the date as a launch pad for their ramped-up publicity campaigns.

Dream for Darfur is planning to begin a parallel Olympic torch relay on the border between Darfur and Chad on August 8 with a "sombre ceremony and a prayer for peace", according to Sullivan.

The torch relay will eventually go to Rwanda, Armenia, Bosnia, Cambodia and Germany, all places with infamous records of the mass slaughter of people.

Chinese embassies around the world can also expect protests on August 8 from all kinds of movements, including Darfur campaigners, the free-Tibet voices and the Falungong spiritual group that China has denounced as an "evil cult."

Meanwhile, international rights groups such as Reporters Without Borders and Human Rights Watch plan to release reports during the one-year countdown week.

Even the official Olympic torch relay, which begins in Beijing on March 31 and will last 130 days, is expected to be dogged by protesters as it makes its way around the world.

"When the torch relay moves through places like Paris, London and San Francisco, where there are sizeable Tibetan populations, you can definitely expect Tibetans and Tibetan supporters to mark that," Whitticase said.

He emphasised that various groups were also joining forces in such areas as research and staging protests, pointing out that his Free Tibet Campaign organisation was linking up with Falungong and religious rights activists.

"Groups are coming together to try and maximise the impact of their actions," he said.

Play Fair 2008, a network aiming to improve workers' rights in the global sporting goods industry, put Olympic organisers on the defensive with a report in June that Games merchandise was being made in four Chinese factories using exploitative labour.

Olympic organisers last week terminated their contract with one of the companies.

Tim Noonan, campaign director for the International Trade Union Confederation that is part of the Play Fair movement, described the hosting of the Olympics as a "two-sided coin" for China.

"There was enormous benefit for China's image on the world stage," he said.

"But at the same time it gave enormous openings for groups inside and outside of China to put the spotlight on really serious problems in the way that the Chinese economic and political system is structured."

An unprecedented phenomena: The booming business of Buddhist spiritual placebos [in Thailand]

Saturday May 05, 2007
THE JATUKARM RAMATHEP TALISMAN

By METTANANDO BHIKKHU
Bangkok Post

It is about a quarter of an inch thick, in the shape of a medallion slightly smaller than a saucer, with the figure of a god seated with uplifted right knee in a casual yoga position. Usually, believers wear the talisman around the neck. In spite of its mysterious origins, the popularity of this talisman is unprecedented and has taken most Thai people by surprise. Two years ago, almost no one in Thailand had heard anything about it, but now everybody knows about the talisman. The popularity of this kind of amulet has been beyond expectations. For nearly a year this talisman has dominated the amulet market in Thailand, breaking all sales records in the entire history of Buddhist amulets. Currently, the estimated value of this particular variety of amulet is over one trillion baht, more than any kind of amulet ever sold in this country or elsewhere in the world.

The name of this talisman is Jatukarm Ramathep.

How has this mysterious talisman become so popular? Is it Buddhist or some form of an occult art? Why is it so popular? Is it going to transform spirituality in Thailand, or does it reflect something else quite decadent? And how is it going to end? These are the questions raised by most concerned thinkers.

Thailand is known as the largest market for amulets. Each year several classes and types of amulets are produced and commercialised by numerous producers and investors, most of whom have links with famous monks and masters of meditation. This fact, however, cannot be generalised to include other Theravada Buddhist countries like Sri Lanka and Burma, where Buddhists adhere to a more faithful interpretation of the precepts and teachings of the Lord Buddha. Although Sinhalese and Burmese Buddhists share the same belief in the Lord Buddha and the power of the Triple Gems, i.e. the highest refuge in the Buddhist religion: the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha, they do not agree with the belief commonly held among Thai Buddhists that an empowered, portable icon of the Buddha or a god can remain powerful once it is associated with the defiled human physique.

When a Burmese or Sinhalese Buddhist is presented with such a religious icon as a present, which is a common tradition in Thailand, they would prefer to keep the object in their personal shrine at home or in a temple and not carry it around, fearing that the power of the sacred object would be defiled and drained away through contact with the human body. Any trading of Buddha icons and amulets would be quite unthinkable there. Traditionally in Theravada countries, portable amulets are popular in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. But it is only in Thailand that the industry has grown to mammoth proportions.

Formerly in Thailand, Buddhist amulets were not traded; they were gifts, offered by monks and meditation masters to their disciples. Amulets were also produced en masse, but they were commonly enshrined in a pagoda and were not for sale on the market.

It was the crisis of the Indochina War between Thailand and France in 1941 that gave birth to the amulet market, as many soldiers and volunteer recruits sought the power of protection and invulnerability in battle. After the war, the demand for amulets (boosted by stories of their miraculous powers of protection) persisted and even extended to include all kinds of portable sacred objects. Over the past 50 years the market has grown hand-in-hand with capitalism in Thailand.

Nevertheless, Thai Buddhists still hesitate to use the word ''buy'' when purchasing amulets. They simply used the word chaow, which literally means ''to rent'', when they actually buy the object from dealers. Marketed amulets in Thailand are not necessarily Buddhist. Very often they are produced by famous masters of meditation or even by those claiming to have magical powers. Most amulets are empowered by mantras in the Pali language based on the belief that it was the language of the Buddha, or are inscribed with the ancient Khmer alphabet. These sacred objects come in many shapes; some popular amulets are folded, small metallic tubes inscribed with sacred mantras, called trakrut; some are shaped like the phallus, inherited from ancient Shivaism of India via Cambodia; some are made from different kinds of utensils, including knives with their blades inscribed with sacred mantras, etc.

The diversity of these spiritual placebos shows another nature of the amulet market in Thailand, which is highly flexible and adaptive, ready to comply with any new emerging demand in society.

Similar to most industries in Thailand, the amulet industry is controlled by a few business tycoons through the use of the media for market manipulation. Usually, they use journals or magazines which are beautifully printed in full colour on shining, glossy paper where each amulet is splendidly presented as empowered by special rituals of the famous ritual masters. Generally these publications come with registration forms or telephone numbers for customers and, more recently, with website information for those interested in pre-paying for their spiritual merchandise.

The prices of the amulets are determined by their demand and supply, like all other commodities. In the case of these spiritual placebos, stories of miracles, anecdotes and luck brought about by these amulets have been the driving force behind their demand.

Amulets are not treated as antiques, therefore old ones do not necessarily fetch a higher price than newer models. New amulets which come with the assurance of miracles as related by reliable sources can be much more expensive than old ones.

The media in Thailand has been an excellent source of information for such sacred objects and as a result, Thai ears have always been eager to listen to any exciting new miracle regarding sacred objects. Once the supply of a particular type of amulet has satisfied its market, the investors slow down its production and promote other new products.

This is how the business of Buddhist spiritual placebos is conducted. There is a samsara of amulets in Thailand which is closely monitored and influenced by Buddhist tycoons; surprisingly, some of them are high-ranking monks. The profits generated by this lucrative industry are tax-free, as they are related to monks and the Buddhist religion.

The Jatukarm Ramathep is, however, a special case as it is not directly related to the sacred Triple Gems. From its very name, it is a pair of twin gods, the guardians of the Phra Dhaat(u) of Nagor Sri Dharma Raj, the largest and most sacred pagoda of Nakhon Si Thammarat province in southern Thailand. The first generation of the amulet of this god(s) was produced for the first time three decades ago. But for some unknown reason, the twin gods were cast in the shape of one god with a demonic appearance. It was not a god in Buddhism, but rather a demon with many arms surrounded by eight other demons or Rahu (Asura).

Seemingly, the amulet was originally made as a source of power rather than to serve as a Buddhist icon of virtue. For a long time, the market did not welcome this amulet, but it acquired a legend that clearly associates it with protection against harm from weapons and accidents.

The reason behind the rise in popularity of this talisman is without doubt the series of bad news concerning terrorist activities in the three southernmost provinces For over three years, Thai people have been worried about the violence in this Muslim-dominated area, especially people living in neighbouring provinces. Once a bomb exploded at the airport in Songkhla, a city next door to Nakhon Si Thammarat; it killed and maimed many innocent people. Insecurity and uncertainty were the major driving forces behind the demand of a new kind of amulet that could assure security and invulnerability to its owners.

The ongoing political turmoil led by the corruption scandals of Thaksin Shinawatra and the worsening economic atmosphere were behind the second wave of demand. This is witnessed in the names of the various classes of Jatukarm Ramathep, which are mostly related to wealth and financial magnetism, such as ''Roon Ngern Lai Ma'' (The Money-Flowing-In Class) or ''Roon Khoatr Sethi'' (Super-Millionaire Class), to name a few.

In April, Thailand saw another development in the cult of Jatukarm: songs and lyrics were composed in praise of Jatukarm Ramathep and became available on the market. No amulet in the past has had such an impact on Thai society. Without doubt, these songs will perpetuate the ongoing demand for this type of spiritual placebo, which is now being produced in different shapes and forms.

In this spiritual industry, the success of a single investor becomes a strong incentive for many new faces. A 35-year-old monk of Nakhon Si Thammarat who gained over 150 million baht in February from selling Jatukarm amulets has been an inspiration for many abbots and investors to launch several classes of this amulet. As a result, hundreds of temples in the South are now dedicatedly commercialising on this talisman. The cult has already spread to Chiang Mai and other provinces.

For educated Buddhists, the rise in popularity of this talisman is a bad omen for the religion. It is clear that the Lord Buddha never taught his followers to take refuge in any material object, portable or stationary alike. Buddhism was for self-empowerment and spiritual development through the cultivation of morality, meditation and wisdom. The icon of the gods is a clear paradigm shift from the Buddha as the ultimate refuge, to the local twin-god guardians of a pagoda. Apparently, Buddhists in Thailand have forgotten the true message of the Lord Buddha and they have taken refuge in things the Buddha told them not to.

As long as the political situation in Thailand does not stabilise, with bad news of social unrest in the deep South continuing to haunt the Thais, it is predictable that Jatukarm Ramathep will remain popular. Thai society is going to see more and more of this type of talisman, and the truth of the Buddha's teachings will remain completely ignored.

Honestly speaking, greed took over the conscience of these abbots of major temples all over Thailand, long before the rise of this amulet.

Mettanando Bhikkhu is a Thai Buddhist monk and former physician. He is special adviser on Buddhist affairs to the secretary-general of the World Conference of Religions for Peace.