Cambodian ex-king returns home from China

Cambodia's former king Norodom Sihanouk is assisted as he alights from a plane at Beijing's international airport in September 2009.

31/03/2010
AFP

Cambodia's elderly former king Norodom Sihanouk and his family returned home on Wednesday from China where he spent seven months receiving medical treatment, officials said.

Sihanouk, his wife, and his son King Norodom Sihamoni were greeted at the airport by Prime Minister Hun Sen and other senior government officials.

Oum Daravuth, a member of the royal cabinet, told reporters that Sihanouk was now in "good health" and that his royal presence would bring harmony to the kingdom and its people.

Sihanouk, 87, has suffered from a number of ailments, including cancer, diabetes and hypertension.

In July last year he returned to Cambodia after a stay of almost one year in China, where he was successfully treated for a third bout of cancer.

He and his wife returned last September for a check-up and treatment, while Sihamoni flew to see the pair in Beijing last month.

The ex-monarch said last October that he had lived too long and wished to die as soon as possible, according to a personal handwritten note on his website. "Lengthy longevity bears on me like an unbearable weight," he said.

One of Asia's longest-serving monarchs, he abruptly quit the throne in October 2004 in favour of his son, citing old age and health problems.

Despite abdicating, Sihanouk remains a prominent figure in Cambodia and often uses messages on his website to comment on matters of state.

Norodom Sihanouk to return to Phnom Penh

(Photo: Xinhua)

30 March 2010
By I.N. Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Leroy Jemanfou
Click here to read the article in French

King-Father, cured from his cancer, will continue to visit China regularly to check up on his health.

Norodom Sihanouk, accompanied by his wife, Norodom Monineath Sihanouk, and their son, King Norodom Sihamoni, will return to Phnom Penh in the afternoon of Wednesday 31 March, Om Daravouth, the royal cabinet advisor, told Cambodge Soir Hebdo.

“King-Father is cured of his cancer and he is in better health than during his previous visit,” Oum Daravouth added.

The 87-year-old Norodom Sihanouk will reside in Phnom Penh, but he will continue to visit China regularly to undergo medical exam.

The former monarch and his wife left Cambodia in September 2009.

King Norodom Sihamoni, who will accompany his father during the trip, left the country on 11 March to travel to France, the Czech republic and China.

Royal Farewell To Cambodian King

By Yusrin Junaidi
Borneo Bulletin

Bandar Seri Begawan - His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam yesterday bid farewell to His Majesty Preah Bat Samdech Preah Boromneath Norodom Sihamoni, King of Cambodia in a royal audience at the istana Nurul Iman.

The Cambodian King was accompanied by His Royal Highness Prince Hj Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister's Office from istana Edinburgh.

Also present to bid farewell to the King of Cambodia and his delegation were His Royal Highness Prince Mohamed Bolkiah, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, His Royal Highness Prince Hj Sufri Bolkiah and other members of the royal family.

Also in attendance were cabinet ministers, deputy ministers, permanent secretaries at the Prime Minister's Office and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, members of the Legislative Council, heads of foreign missions, Commissioner of Police, Commander of Royal Brunei Armed Forces, and members of the Privy Council.

Personal Journey: A tourist, and a native, and comfortable

Writer Somanette Seang , at Angkor Wat, survived the Khmer Rouge genocide and arrived in the United States at 7.

Sun, Jan. 20, 2008
By Somanette Seang
For The Philadelpha Inquirer (Pennsylvania, USA)

It had been more than 26 years since I was in Cambodia. I survived the Khmer Rouge genocide of the 1970s and, at age 7, emigrated to the United States with my mother, grandmother, aunt and cousin.

Until last summer, I never felt ready to return to Cambodia because I struggled with feelings of survivor's guilt. Why did I live when an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians died?

My fear was that I would be just another tourist instead of Khmer. In the end, I was a Khmer tourist.

I arranged to volunteer as an English teacher in Siem Reap through the nonprofit organization Journeys Within Our Community (www.journeyswithinourcommunity.org). I would be teaching two English classes at Wat Thmey (New Temple). Wat Thmey is an old temple with a modest memorial dedicated to about 50 people who died at the hands of the Khmer Rouge.

My "classroom" was the open foyer of the temple, and I had a dry-erase board. My students were teenagers and young adults who could not afford to enroll in a high school or university. Poverty is prevalent throughout Cambodia, even as the country builds and develops.

My 17 students did not know what to make of me initially. I looked Cambodian enough, but there was an intangible characteristic that made me not quite truly Khmer. I told them my story of emigration and the loss of the father I never knew. Several of them told me stories of their impoverished lives in the rice paddies, helping their families find aluminum and plastic reusables in the polluted city, or selling beef on a stick and coca (soda) along the dusty and crowded streets of Siem Reap.

The students did not dwell on their struggles; they showed hope and determination. For the week I was there, they rode their bicycles - the luckier ones rode borrowed motos - to class. We studied present-tense verbs and vocabulary for different modes of transportation. But mostly, we talked about Cambodia. They were eager for me to know and love their country.

Because they wanted me to see the true beauty of Siem Reap, two of my students, Saphour and Vanna, picked me up on Saphour's moto (it is amazing how many people ride at once on a moto) and took me to Angkor Wat. I had read and seen pictures and movies about the 12th-century stone temple built with three levels and four galleries. The galleries' walls are covered with hand-carved, detailed scenes of battles, gods, heaven and hell. When I walked onto the gateway of Angkor Wat, I felt completely proud to be Cambodian.

My students thanked me for being their teacher. But truly, I was the most thankful. I may have taught them grammar, as my father might have done when he was a teacher, but they taught me about hope and self-acceptance. It was fine to be a Khmer tourist.

On her own 2 feet [-Sithan Leam to return home to Cambodia]

Sithan Leam, right, thanked Shriners Hospital Nurse Care Coordinator Bonnie Paulsen yesterday for taking care of her during her recuperation from surgery at Shriners in the past year. The Cambodian girl bade farewell to her supporters at a party at Central Union Church in Makiki. (Photo: JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM)

Sithan Leam thanked donors who helped her receive treatment

By Craig Gima
cgima@starbulletin.com
Honolulu Star Bulletin (Hawaii, USA)

Dressed in blue jeans and standing on her own two feet, a Cambodian girl who came to Hawaii for surgery to allow her to walk said goodbye last night to supporters in the local Cambodian community.

In the benediction before the farewell dinner for 15-year-old Sithan Leam, the Rev. Larry Corbett, Central Union Church senior minister, noted, "Sometimes it takes a whole village of people to heal a child."

Star-Bulletin readers and Cambodian community members contributed thousands of dollars to pay for Sithan's travel to Hawaii for treatment and a fund that will help pay for her continued schooling in Cambodia.

Sithan suffered severe burns on her left leg as an infant, and her foot was fused to her thigh by scar tissue.

She hopped on her right leg, instead of walking, until doctors, nurses and therapists at Shriners Hospital for Children in Honolulu were able to separate the scar tissue and outfit her with a prosthetic leg.

She was able to walk for the first time a couple of months ago after undergoing several surgeries, skin grafts and physical therapy.

"It's kind of amazing to see her now as when I first met her at the airport in February," said Anthony Deth, who, along with the charity Medicorps, helped coordinate Sithan's stay in Hawaii.

At that time, Deth said Sithan weighed only about 80 pounds and appeared scared after her first plane trip. She ate only rice on the flight because everything else was too strange.

"Now look at her," he said. "She's smiling, and she's walking on her own two feet."

Sithan's treatment at Shriners is nearly complete. She will likely return to Cambodia next month.

"She's going to be missed very much, especially at Shriners," said nurse Bonnie Paulsen. "When I first met Sithan, she was absolutely frightened. Now she's totally come out of her shell. She's been an absolute inspiration."

Cambodian community member Patrick Keo said Sithan's story reminds him of his own struggles when he first immigrated to the United States.

"We connect with her. We identify with what she's gone through -- coming to a new country without knowing anybody or knowing the language, and how she misses her family," he said.

Sithan said she will miss Rinou Kong and Sary Phean, the couple that has taken care of her in Honolulu, but is looking forward to seeing her own family again in Cambodia.

She also thanked the doctors and nurses at Shriners for helping her.

Sithan's story is especially appropriate at this time of year, Corbett said. "To see a child's life change is always inspiring."