Preparation for the flood season

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JA9TN6m2AQg

US$110,000 of Vietcong charity

US$110,000 for Cambodian flood victims

Thu, December 15, 2011
Tuoi Tre News

Vietnam has handed over US$110,000 to Cambodia this month to help flood-hit victims in the nation.

The Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Ho Chi Minh City on December 14 handed over US$50,000 in aid to the Cambodian Consulate General to assist flood-hit victims in the country.

The donation was contributed by armed forces’ staff and people in Ho Chi Minh City.

Earlier, HCMC authorities had donated 2,500 gifts worth VND1.25 billion ($60,000) to Cambodians of Vietnamese origin in the neighbor nation.

Southeast Asia: Crocodiles in the News

Photo of Lolong, the world's largest crocodile in captivity

Escaped crocodile in Siem Reap. Photo from triple j Mornings

11 December 2011
Written by Mong Palatino
Global Voices Online

A giant crocodile in southern Philippines and crocodiles in the flooded waters of Thailand and Cambodia were among the top news topics in Southeast Asia in the last quarter of the year.

Named Lolong, the giant crocodile was captured in Agusan del Sur province in southern Philippines and transferred to Bunawan Eco-Park and Research Center drawing more than 500 people a day. A visit by a team from National Geographic confirmed Lolong’s status as the world’s largest saltwater crocodile in captivity although it has to wait for half a year before Guinness World Records officially recognizes it. Lolong’s capture was Top 9 in the list of most shared stories on Facebook this year.

Filipinos also followed the story of Lolong and their online conversations made the giant crocodile a trending topic on the internet. Filipinos also compared Lolong to corrupt politicians whom they tagged as bigger ‘crocodiles’ in government.

How my son drowned in flood-hit Cambodia: a mother’s story

Mao Sophat, whose two-year-old son drowned in September in Kampong Kramourn village in Cambodia's Prey Veng province, sits next to her grandmother. ALERTNET/Thin Lei Win

08 Dec 2011
By Thin Lei Win

PREY VENG, Cambodia (AlertNet) – When floods devastated Cambodia and killed close to 250 people this year, almost half of the casualties were children under 17 years of age. Many died as a result of drowning.

While infants are protected by their mothers, once they are old enough to walk, drowning becomes a major hazard and it is the single leading cause of death for children older than one in Cambodia, according to SwimSafe, a programme run by The Alliance for Safe Children.

AlertNet spoke to Mao Sophat, a 23-year-old mother whose two-year-old son drowned in September in Kampong Kramourn village in Prey Veng, one of the provinces most affected by the floods.

Thailand and Cambodia Welcome Tourists Back After Floods

Friday, 9 December 2011
Travel Blackboard

Both Thailand and Cambodia have recently been heavily affected by overwhelming floods. Fortunately the waters have now retreated in both countries and services are quickly returning to normal without disruption.

Since the floods in Cambodia have subsided, the number of tourists visiting has slowly increased, with great benefits to many local businesses. Popular attractions and many of the temples affected by the water have re-opened their doors and are welcoming visitors in. The temple of Bantaey Srei was inaccessible for a number of days, as was Phnom Krom, famous for its sunsets, both of which are now open as usual.

In Cambodia, Exo have been able to help by delivering rice seeds to farmers in affected areas, particularly Kompon Thom. Thousands have been displaced by the recent floods and the 10 tons of rice seed delivered will benefit the 776 families who each received 13kg of seed.

Floods deepen poverty for rural Cambodians

Chhoet Choeun, 75, in her flood-damaged home in Tamoul village in Prey Veng province, South Cambodia, where she struggles to provide for the three grandchildren who are in her care. ALERTNET/Thin Lei Win

08 Dec 2011
By Thin Lei Win

PREY VENG, Cambodia (AlertNet) – Chhoet Choeun was already living precariously, having sold her land to pay for her husband’s medical bills a year ago.

The 75-year-old widow had been providing for herself and a 14-year-old granddaughter by planting peas on the small plot of land behind her shed and selling them for up to 30,000 Riel ($7.50) every three months.

Then the worst floods Cambodian had seen for more than a decade struck in August. At Chhoet Choeun’s tiny, rickety hut, built two metres (6.6) above the ground on stilts in Tamoul village in Prey Veng province, the water rose to knee level.

In Spite of Flooding, Much Rice to Export Remains

Rice mills factory in Cambodia. (Photo: Songrit Pongern)

Monday, 05 December 2011
Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh

"The amount of rice for export this year may even be more than last."

Despite widespread flooding earlier this year that inundated much of the country’s rice crop, millers say they should be able to have enough to export to neighboring countries, thanks to the rain.

Flooding, which lasted from August to October, did not damage crops in some key provinces, said Phou Phuy, president of the Rice Millers Association. The amount of rice for export this year may even be more than last, he said.

“The 3 million tons that we have I expect we can export some rice to Vietnam and Thailand,” he said.

Schools Damaged in Cambodia delay Education for Thousands

Source: SOS Children's Village Canada

04/12/2011 - Damaged Schools delay the education of thousands of students across Cambodia; disruption could impact drop-out rates and meeting MDGs.

Cambodia’s worst flooding in decades has resulted in damaged infrastructure across the country, including schools. Such damage means that rebuilding may take months, delaying the start of school for thousands of students.

According to aid workers and government officials, as of late October, 323 schools out of 1,400 damaged ones were closed. Although some of these schools have reopened, there are reports that 77 of them need to be rebuilt entirely, and efforts are still underway to pump water out of some of the affected schools.

Thai Buddhist clergy helps flood victims ... why Hochimonk Tep Vong and his cohorts are not helping Khmer flood victims??

Leading the Supreme Patriarch's flood-relief effort, Phra Anil Sakya has seen compassion corrupted

The hazard in helping

November 25, 2011
Subhatra Bhumiprabhas
Special to The Nation

Phra Anil Sakya requested five minutes at an international Buddhist conference in Guangdong, China, to describe the terrible flooding in Thailand and Cambodia. The monk had no idea he would in turn unleash a deluge - a surge of compassion from around Asia.

"Dharma happens without borders, languages or religions," says Phra Anil, assistant secretary to His Holiness the Supreme Patriarch and deputy dean of social sciences at Mahamakut Buddhist University at Bangkok's Wat Bovoranives Vihara.

From the beginning of the flood crisis in Thailand, Phra Anil has led a team of volunteers from the Supreme Patriarch's secretariat that visits the victims to distribute essential goods donated by neighbouring countries.

Flood devastation tests Cambodia's rice supply capacity: PM

PHNOM PENH, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen said Wednesday this year's flood devastation was a major test for Cambodia's rice export capacity of one million tons by 2015.

He said that the recent flooding was more serious than that in 2000 and it had completely destroyed 190,000 hectares of rice paddies, or eight percent of this year's rice paddies production, according to the updated figure.

"With this damage, if, this year's harvest, we still have the rice paddy surplus of between three and four million tons left for exports, it means that the floods will not affect our scheme to export one million tons of milled rice by 2015," he said during the 16th Government-Private Sector Forum.

[Vietcong] Food products flow to Cambodia following floods

Mon, November 21, 2011
Tuoi Tre news (Hanoi)

Traders in the Mekong Delta provinces have been busily collecting and exporting rice and other agricultural products to Cambodia to make up for the shortage caused by recent floods in the country.

Traders have blocked the Vinh Te canal at the Tinh Bien border gate in An Giang Province, waiting to buy rice from local farmers before heading to Cambodia, Sai Gon Tiep Thi reported.

They said demand for rice is very high in Cambodia and Thailand, both of which have been affected by devastating floods.

“Local farmers are happy since they can sell at good prices,” Nam Nhon, a trader in Chau Doc town, said.

Migrant Workers Left Behind in Thai Floods [-A plea from SRP MP Mu Sohua]

A plea from SRP MP Mu Sochua:

Cambodian political asylum seekers are among migrant workers who have been sent to the Thai/Burmese border to escape floods.

Phone calls I have been receiving from Cambodian families tell story of hunger and total fear of being sent back to Cambodia.

UNHCR needs to take immediate measures to prevent further victimization of refugees stranded in Thailand.

Eight months after being interviewed, the asylum seekers are still waiting in limbo.

Please DONATE.

Mu Sochua Justice Fund will ensure that your generous contribution will get to those in need. among them and pregnant women, children and infants.

Migrant Workers Left Behind in Thai Floods

November11, 2011

By Shibani Mahtani

Reuters

Migrant workers from Myanmar who, affected by the floods, floods, have been out of work for weeks line up for a food aid delivery in Thailand’s Ayutthaya province on November 1.

Critics of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s fledgling government say authorities have not worked quickly or effectively enough to mitigate the worst of the country’s latest floods crisis.Unsurprisingly, perhaps, a small but vociferous group of critics is also challenging the Thai government’s response to the tens of thousands of migrant workers there – particularly from Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos – who are facing a particularly dire set of circumstances in the flooding.

Activists say that migrant workers – who often lack strong family and social networks to fall back on or, in some cases,the legal ability to move to other provinces to seek dry land – are finding themselves stranded without help and open to exploitation.

These activists and some other experts say the severity of the flood crisis has forced many Thais to prioritize their own citizens. Many migrant workers have been turned away from evacuation centers,according to activists, sometimes because of a lack of legal documentation lost in the floods or language barriers. The government, for its part, has recently set up a crisis center for migrants in Ratchaburi, but it is overcrowded and already at full capacity, holding 432 migrants when thousands are displaced and in need of shelter. In the shelters, they are provided with meals and drinking water.

NGOs demand help for farmers

THURSDAY, 10 NOVEMBER 2011 12:01
RANN REUY AND VINCENT MACISAAC
The Phnom Penh Post

Microfinance institutions are being asked to provide emergency loans with lower interest rates to farmers who lost crops in the worst floods to hit Cambodia in more than a decade.

However, the deputy chairman of the Cambodia Microfinance Association said that lowering interest rates could drive its members out of business.

Hout Ieng Tong, who is also the general manager of microfinance lender Hattha Kaksekar Ltd, told the Post yesterday that it was next to impossible for MFIs to lower monthly interest rates because it would cause them to lose money in addition to the licences required to operate.

“We borrow at slightly over 1 per cent a month, and with tax and operating costs we cannot provide [loans] under 1.5 per cent [per month],” he said.

Thai confidence at 10-year low; floods hit more firms

People use small boats to move in a flooded area in Bangkok's suburbs November 9, 2011. (Credit: Reuters/Damir Sagolj)

Thu Nov 10, 2011
By Alan Raybould and Kochakorn Boonlai

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai consumer confidence hit a 10-year low in October as flooding took 533 lives and shut thousands of factories, with another big industrial estate threatened on Thursday as the waters spread to the east of the capital, Bangkok.

The consumer confidence index from the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce slumped to 62.8 in October from 72.2 in September - a level last reached in the aftermath of the September 2001 attacks on the United States.

"The flooding has dragged down consumer confidence and it will probably fall further if the economy is severely affected and the government can't speed up rebuilding within 3-6 months," said university economist Thanavath Phonvichaisaid.

Thaksin keeps low profile in Thai flood crisis

Thursday, November 10, 2011
By Michelle Fitzpatrick (AFP)

BANGKOK — With a flood crisis rocking his sister's government, fugitive ex-Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra is lying low as prospects of a triumphant homecoming look ever more distant, observers say.

The usually outspoken Thaksin, who lives abroad to avoid a jail term for corruption, has mostly shied away from publicly commenting on a disaster that has killed more than 500 people and threatens the heart of Bangkok.

The former tycoon, 62, has posted several messages on Twitter and Facebook offering sympathy to the victims.

Some relief supplies reportedly also had "with love and great concern from Thaksin Shinawatra" written on them -- without his knowledge, his aides say.

Long Beach Residents Gather for Flood Relief

About 400 residents gathered at the New Paradise Restaurant on Oct. 28, in the Cambodia Town neighborhood of the city, raising nearly $16,000 in donations. (Photo: Courtesy of Khmer Support Khmer Foundation)

Wednesday, 09 November 2011
Cheang Sophinarath, VOA Khmer | Long Beach, California

“The amount of money that we’ve raised is just too little, compared to our hearts for the country.”

Cambodian-Americans in Long Beach, Calif., held a fundraiser late last month to help Cambodians still struggling with monsoon flooding.

About 400 residents gathered at the New Paradise Restaurant on Oct. 28, in the Cambodia Town neighborhood of the city, raising nearly $16,000 in donations.

Charles Song, president of the Khmer Support Khmer Foundation, said he organized the fundraiser in response to local requests from people who said not enough was being done.

374 Schools in Cambodia Remain Closed due to Flooding

2011-11-10
Xinhua

As many as 374 schools in Cambodia remain closed, leaving more than 40,000 students mostly in primary schools unable to attend classes due to flooding, a government official said Wednesday.

Chan Sophea, director of primary school department of Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports said more than 40,000 students from 374 schools have yet returned to their classes as flooding has not receded fully.

According to Chan Sophea, roughly 1,400 schools in 13 provinces across the nation were inundated by flooding that began since August this year.

Thai PM to skip APEC summit due to flood crisis

With floods, Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is facing the first crisis of her fledgling leadership (AFP/HO/File)

Tuesday, November 08, 2011AFP

BANGKOK — Thailand's prime minister said on Tuesday she would miss an Asia-Pacific summit in Hawaii this weekend, postponing her debut on the world stage to deal with the kingdom's worst floods in half a century.

The announcement came as the death toll from the three-month-old disaster climbed to 527 and the floodwaters advanced deeper into the capital.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, facing the first crisis of her fledgling leadership, had been planning to brief leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Forum (APEC) about the crisis and boost investor confidence in the country.

Cambodian Embassy in US Collecting for Flood Relief

Monday, 07 November 2011
Cambodian Embassy in US Collecting for Flood Relief
Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer | Washington, D.C

“They face a lot of shortages, and, most importantly, infectious diseases are worrisome. In the immediate future, they will need food, shelter and healthcare.”

The Cambodian Embassy in Washington is helping to raise funds for floods victims in Cambodia, following weeks of inundation that has left thousands of families stranded.

At a gathering in Washington Sunday, the embassy collected around $6,500 from some 200 Cambodian-Americans, the ambassador, Hem Heng, told VOA Khmer.

At least 250 people have died in the floods, which began in August and continued through September. The floods hit 17 provinces, covering some 400,000 hectares of rice fields and causing many to be evacuated to higher ground.

Bun Rany called on the opposition parites to help flood victims

០៧-វិច្ឆិកា-២០១១៖ ជន​រងគ្រោះ​ដោយ​ទឹក​ជំនន់ ពេល​មក​ទទួល​ជំនួយ​កាកបាទ​ក្រហម​កម្ពុជា នៅ​ស្រុក​មុខ​កំពូល ខេត្ត​កណ្ដាល។ (RFA/Sok Serey)

ប្រធាន​​កាកបាទ​ក្រហម​កម្ពុជា សុំ​ឲ្យ​បក្ស​ប្រឆាំង​ជួយ​ជន​រងគ្រោះ​ដោយ​​ទឹក​ជំនន់

ដោយ សុខ សេរី
2011-11-07
Radio Free Asia

Synopsis: On 07 Nov 2011, Bun Rany Hun Xen, the president of the Khmer Red Cross, asked the SRP and the HRP to urgently help flood victims. She warned them not to just criticize and accuse the government of distributing gifts for its political gain.

“The government did not prevent any opposition party, NGO, or human rights group from distributing aid to our people. If you have gifts to distribute, the government will be very happy. This means that our people are in dire need.”

SRP MP Nuth Romduol reacted to Bun Rany’s call by asking the Cambodian Red Cross to closely review and take measure against village and commune chiefs who practice discrimination: “The Cambodian Red Cross does not belong to any political party. The Red Cross belongs to all the Cambodian people in general, and [its distributions] are gifts from generous donors.

មន្ត្រី​កាកបាទ​ក្រហម​កម្ពុជា សហការ​ជាមួយ​មន្ត្រី​រដ្ឋាភិបាល នៅ​ថ្ងៃ​ទី ៧ ខែ​វិច្ឆិកា​ឆ្នាំ ២០១១ បាន​ចុះ​ចែក​ជំនួយ​សង្គ្រោះ​បន្ទាន់ ជា​ទ្រង់ទ្រាយ​ធំ​លើក​ដំបូង ដល់​ប្រជា​ពលរដ្ឋ​ចំនួន​ជាង ៣.២០០ គ្រួសារ មក​ពី​ឃុំ​ចំនួន ៥ នៅ​ស្រុក​មុខ​កំពូល ខេត្ត​កណ្ដាល។

មេ​ដឹកនាំ​កាកបាទ​ក្រហម​កម្ពុជា នៅ​ថ្ងៃ​ទី ៧ ខែ​វិច្ឆិកា ឆ្នាំ ២០១១ បាន​ទទូច​សុំ​ឲ្យ​គណបក្ស សម រង្ស៊ី និង​គណបក្ស សិទ្ធិមនុស្ស ជួយ​ចែក​រំលែក​ធនធាន​របស់​ខ្លួន ដើម្បី​ជួយ​សង្គ្រោះ​បន្ទាន់​ដល់​ប្រជា​ពលរដ្ឋ ដែល​រងគ្រោះ​ដោយសារ​ទឹក​ជំនន់ នៅ​ឆ្នាំ ២០១១ នេះ ដោយ​បាន​ព្រមាន​ថា កុំ​រង់ចាំ​តែ​រិះគន់ និង​ចោទ​ប្រកាន់​ថា រដ្ឋាភិបាល​កំពុង​តែ​ឆ្លៀត​ឱកាស​កេង​ចំណេញ​នយោបាយ​ពី​ការ​ចែក​ជំនួយ​នេះ។