Friday, January 11, 2008

WARNING: Cambodian schoolchildren are not part of the tourist attraction!

Invading tourists force Cambodian school to rope off classrooms

11.01.08
DPA

A Cambodian-based not-for-profit educational charity has cooperated with students at a school near an ancient temple to stop foreign tourists wandering through their classes.

British-registered Schools for Children of Cambodia (SCC) posted the advisory on its website this week, saying it had roped off classrooms "to keep tourists from wandering on campus, photographing (the children) in class, and disrupting their education." "The school stands within 100 metres of the entrance to the 9th-century Lolei temple ruins, which attract hundreds of visitors each day," SCC general manager for Cambodia, Andrea Messmer, said in a statement.

Lolei Primary School's position at the edge of the famous Angkor Wat temple complex in the northern province of Siem Reap, about 400 kilometres from the capital, means it is prohibited by royal decree from erecting any permanent structure to control curious travelers, or potential sexual predators posing as tourists.

"While some tourists enter the school grounds to use the toilets ... others enter to get a glimpse of everyday Cambodian life," Messmer wrote.

No comments: