Little Change in Tonle Sap Fishing Villages

By Ros Sothea, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
13 January 2010

A foul odor rises from the water of the Tonle Sap lake, where sunlight reflects off the surface and the heat of noon pervades three floating villages. The floating houses here are small, some without walls, others pierced with holes. Wind shakes the homes, as do the wakes of boats that pass by from time to time.

In these floating villages—Chnok Trou, Kampong Preah and Sess Slap—30 kilometers north of Kampong Chhnang town, some women prepare dry fish or prepare them to make paste; others care for pigs.

Little has changed here since the national elections in July 2008, when campaigning officials promised to improve villagers’ lives, to combat illegal fishing and corruption and to improve agriculture.

"They promised to help the poor, to let people become rich before the state,” said Khieu Sokha, a 37-year-old villager, as he sat on a small boat filled with wood. “But finally villagers are still poor.”

Sitting in a wooden chair in his floating home, his back curved under 71 years of living, Chhoun Sam Ban, who was born here, said the political parties have not built a close relationship with villagers.

“They respected some [promises], and haven’t others,” he said with a dry face. “We are the poor, and we are not taken care of.”

Not all share his point of view. Thay Kim San, a leading businessman in Chnok Trou commune, said officials repsected promises, “especially in infrastructure.”

Here there are 195 families: about 9,000 villagers, and 1,500 voters, a mix of mostly ethnic Khmers, Vietnamese and Cham, who all sell their fish to Phnom Penh, Vietnam or Poipet, on the Thai border.

Villagers here say their fish yields have been declining in recent years.

“First of all, because of the destruction of flooded forests, and second because 90 percent of villagers depend on fishing,” said Phat Phalla, an environmental activist in the commune.

Oeur Rattanak, an activist for the Human Rights Party in the commune, shared the same view.

“Not many villagers have seen an improvement in their living conditions,” he said, adding there had been some political discrimination in the community.

Five parties competed here in 2008, where the ruling Cambodian People’s Party gained the most votes, followed by the Sam Rainsy, Norodom Ranariddh and Human Rights parties, successively.

The commune council is led by the CPP, which has four seats, versus three seats for the Sam Rainsy Party.

Cheang Kong, an SRP council member, said people’s lives were “improving,” even if there were some negative points.

“We’ve achieved our committment in developing the commune, in assuring security,” said Samreth Heng, CPP head of the commune council. “But we still have been incapable of having the means of securing villagers when they are in an emergency.”

In 2008 and 2009, the government released 64 million riel, about $15,400, to develop the commune, but the adminstration has not yet used it, “because it is a small amount,” Samreth Heng said. Local officials were waiting for the 2010 budget, around 60 million riel, about $14,400, he said.

Meanwhile, the rest of the community depends on the support of non-governmental agencies and the Asian Development Bank, which is focusing on women capacity development, small infrastructure, fisheries and pork.

NPO 'builds hope' for kids in rural Cambodia

School is in: Teachers pose in front of their school with the leader of Beoung Kak village in Cambodia. The school was renovated by Amatak in August. COURTESY OF AMATAK

Friday, Dec. 18, 2009
By KAZUAKI NAGATA
Staff writer
The Japan Times
Second in a series

Based on the principle that "building schools is building hope," Amatak House of Cambodia is providing opportunities for children to get an education in the impoverished country.

Since 1995, the Tokyo-based nonprofit organization has built 15 schools in rural areas where infrastructure is poor and the need for schooling is high.

"Children, especially those at elementary school age, have the right to receive an education," said the Rev. Fumio Goto, an Amatak representative.

"However, their rights are sometimes not protected due to reasons like poverty."

Goto said the tendency is more visible in rural areas. If a school is built in such an area, parents might think about sending their kids there, Goto said.

Meanwhile, he said many children are too busy to go to school because they need to help their families at home. Thus, parents who need their children's help to make a living cannot be forced to send their kids to school, but the availability of one would give them a chance to study when there is time.

Amatak, which means "eternal" in Cambodian, received ¥170,979 from The Japan Times Readers' Fund in 2009.

The money was used to repair existing schools.

"We have built 15 schools, and those built in the early days got older and needed renovation, so we focused on renovating existing schools this year," said Goto, whose organization builds one school a year.

Next year, Amatak plans to build a new school, and Goto will visit Cambodia in January to check out the site and finalize his decision.

Goto said that building a school with three classrooms and a teachers' room costs about ¥3.2 million, with each room costing about ¥800,000. He said the per-room cost used to be about ¥500,000 but shot up after prices for construction materials began rising sharply a few years ago.

Aside from its school-building activities, Amatak has also helped pregnant women and people with HIV who cannot afford to go to the hospital to get proper medical care this year.

Donations to Amatak can be made by money transfer or check. Its account is: Mizuho Bank, Shinbashi branch, "futsu koza" #1393499 (Japan Times Dokusha no Nanmin Enjo Kikin). Checks should be made out to The Japan Times Readers' Charity Fund and sent to The Japan Times, 4-5-4, Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-8071. For inquiries, call (03) 3453-5312.

Aids killed their parents but these sisters in Cambodia fight on

Keeping it together: (l-r) Chan Sok-Chea, Chan Sreyleak, Chan Sopheap and Chan LeaKana
Poverty: Doeumchan village, where the sisters live

On World Aids Day, Chief Reporter Aidan Radnedge speaks to four young sisters in Cambodia about their brave struggle to recover from double tragedy.

1st December, 2009
Metro.co.uk

Sisters are doing it for themselves – in defiance of double tragedy, neighbours’ sneers and the burden of having to grow up far too quickly.

These four girls – the youngest 14, the eldest 20, although still child-like – have endured almost a decade without their parents.

Both mother and father died after being infected with HIV, leaving behind yet another family in Cambodia orphaned by Aids.

Some 15 million people across the world have lost at least one parent to the disease and UNAIDS, the joint UN programme on HIV/Aids, has warned that number could rise to 25 million in the next few years.

But you may not imagine the struggles and anxieties of the Chan sisters just from watching as they giggle or conspiratorially whisper together.

Their sparse, concrete single room in the Phnom Penh village of Doeumchan is kept as house-proud as the few possessions allow – a rusting kettle, a hardboard bed, a few tea towels and carrier bags.

They have had to fend for themselves since 2001, when father Mai Saisayana died – two years after his wife, Rea Sothy. But they all have ambitions beyond just getting by.

Eldest girl Leakana is studying accountancy while working for a charity, where she has been joined by 17-year-old Sopheap. Sokchea, 18, is about to sit her final school exams. Sreyleak, 14, is being funded through school by an aid agency called Halo, which is backed by Tearfund.

But their parents’ deaths overshadowed their childhoods and forced them to become self-sufficient wage-earners earlier than imagined.

‘We’ve been very lonely, as well as it being difficult for us to make a living and finance our studies,’ Leakana admitted.

Adding insult to injury, neighbours are unsympathetic and abusive. Prejudice seems to thrive against families afflicted and affected by Aids.

‘When friends do come over, and there are guys in the group, our neighbours misjudge what’s going on and throw more accusations against us,’ Leakana said.

Sokchea said: ‘There are others who just deliberately ignore us but give us horrible and suspicious looks.’ Cambodia has up to 84,000 people thought to be living with HIV and an infection rate of 0.9 per cent – down from 130,000 and 1.2 per cent respectively six years ago.

Yet the number of HIV sufferers under 15 is rising, going from 4,600 to 5,000 over the same period.

Leakana imagines completing her accountancy exams and getting a good job to support a marriage and children of her own.

But she noted: ‘Of course I feel very alone at the moment – especially when I look at other families where healthy parents are taking care of their kids.

‘We’ve all just grown, hoping to strengthen each and everyone of us who survive.’

* For more information about Tearfund’s work in Cambodia, or to donate, call 0845 355 8355 or go to www.tearfund.org/metro

Housing Aid Recipients To Seek Work in City [-So much for free housing!]

By Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
25 November 2009

Most of the families who received donations on the visit of former US president Jimmy Carter last week to be relocated outside Phnom Penh say they now have to return to the capital to find work.

The families, some of the city’s poorest, received housing help through Habitat for Humanity, but they will have to repay half of the funds provided, many of them told VOA Khmer.

The families have found it hard to make a living in their new location in Oudong, in Kandal province, outside the capital.

“None of the families can yet think of what to do,” said Huot Phally, who recently moved to the site, 40 kilometers from the city.

Huot Phally and her husband used to earn around $4 a day collecting trash for recycling around Phnom Penh, a job they no longer have.

“We just temporarily stay put, but we don’t know what businesses to do,” she said.

With jobs scarce at the new site, many families have been forced back to work in Phnom Penh, said Chea Chandy, a representative of the 21 families at the New Life community.

“Normally, jobs are really important for us when we move from one place to another,” he said recently, sitting by his new home. “But now, most families have returned the city to be laborers and so on.”

Each of the families will have to repay $15 a month for the next five years to share the cost of their new homes, and many expected to have land for farming or loans to start small businesses in order to make the monthly payment.

“We know that moving here will reduce their incomes, but they also know that,” said Bernadette Bolo-Duthy, Habitat’s country director. “They said: ‘We’ve already investigated and there are a few factories; we can sell, we can plant.’ That’s what they told us.”

The group will provide the families with microfinance loans, she said, “and we hope they will borrow, [which will] help them develop their businesses.”

UNDP: Cambodia Should Diversify Economy to Ease Pressure on Vulnerable Groups

A new United Nations report says Cambodia needs to diversify the economy to help protect vulnerable groups, such as women workers, from downturns.

24 November 2009
Ron Corben
VOA News
Bangkok

"The quicker we can do to improve competitiveness, the economic diversification the better chance we will recover from the economic downturn," research consultant Chan Sophal says.

A new United Nations report says Cambodia needs to diversify the economy to help protect vulnerable groups, such as women workers, from downturns. The report also calls for the government to see the current slump as an opportunity to speed up structural changes.

The United Nations Development Program urges the Cambodian government to shift away from relying on the garment industry, which is vulnerable to sharp economic shocks such as the recent financial crisis.

The report, released this week, focuses on Cambodia's challenges; the country has been among those in Asia hit hardest by the collapse in global exports.

It says the poor, especially those in debt, have felt the pain the most.

The garment sector accounts for about 70 percent of Cambodia's export income. The United States is the leading market but exports there fell by over 22 percent in the past year because of the recession.

Nearly all of the workers in Cambodia's garment factories are women, mostly from rural areas. At least 50 factories have closed in the past year, and more than 60,000 workers lost their jobs.

Chan Sophal, lead research consultant on the report, said Tuesday the lack of alternatives means more Cambodian women must work in the entertainment industry. The United Nations Inter-Agency Project on human trafficking sees more young women entering the industry.

"Karaoke parlor, the massage places and the beer promotion industry, and all of those have women at risk in terms of being a disguised sex worker and at the exposure of diseases," Chan said.

The global downturn also hit Cambodia's construction industry, tourism businesses and migrant workers.

But the UNDP report says the crisis should be seen as an opportunity that spurs efforts to address structural weaknesses in the economy.

Chan Sophal says the report calls for institutional reforms, and more equity in public spending to lift the economy and reduce the effects of external shocks.

"This crisis may represent an opportunity for the government to speed up the structural reforms which takes time - but now we have no time," Chan said. "The quicker we can do to improve competitiveness, the economic diversification the better chance we will recover from the economic downturn."

Recently, the International Monetary Fund said garment exports from Cambodia would fall by as much as 15 percent this year.

However, the Asian Development Bank forecasts that the economy will grow just over three percent next year, as the global recovery takes hold and increases clothing exports and tourism arrivals.

Massage Offers Blind Cambodians Way Out of Poverty

By Ker Yann, VOA Khmer
Video Editor: Manilene Ek
19 November 2009

Blind people in Cambodia face an uphill struggle. Discrimination against the blind is widespread and educational employment opportunities are few and far between. One way out of their predicament is working as a masseuse. "Seeing hands" massage shops in Cambodia offer employment and educational opportunities to the blind while at the same time offering visitors an ideal way to relax.

Cambodia has one of the largest rates of blind people in the world. There are about 144,000 blind people in the country representing 1.25 percent of the population according to the Association of the Blind.

Cambodia poor health care system means that common diseases like chicken pox and measles leave many people blind. Traffic accidents, and accidents with unexploded bombs left over from three decades of conflict, are other leading causes.

For the blind in Cambodia, educational and employment opportunities are few and far between.

Boun Mao, the Director of the Association of the Blind in Cambodia (ABC), lost his sight in 1993 when robbers threw acid in his face. He says that discrimination against the blind is widespread in Cambodia.

Boun Mao: "People here believe in Karma. They think that you are punished in this life for the bad things you did in a past life. Because of that there is a lot of discrimination against the blind in this society. There is even discrimination against the blind within the family.”

One of the few opportunities that blind people have to earn a living is as a masseur. About a dozen so-called "seeing-hands" massage shops have opened in Phnom Penh in recent years. Blind massage shops are run on a cooperative basis. About half of the profits go to salaries with the rest reinvested in the employees, teaching them life skills such as learning computers and reading brail. By offering the blind an opportunity to earn a living they are able to regain their independence and self respect .

Landmine survivor So Pary says that becoming a masseur changed his life.

So Pary: "I was blinded while I was planting rice and I hit a landmine with my hoe. After that my family picked on me a lot because I couldn't do any work. Something had to change and then this organisation taught me massage and now I'm happy because I can work again and help my family.”

Many customers say that blind masseuses are better because they have a better sense of touch. Harriet Pegden and Tony Rice from London, England enjoyed the experience.

Tony Rice: "Well I'd recommend a blind massage to anyone really. It's intense, accurate - they found a weak a weak spot I've got and it's a really good thing for people to come and do when they're in Cambodia.”

Harriet Pegden: "Because they're more sensitive with their hands because I suppose, being blind you spend most of your time feeling around the world and you have a more accurate kind of sense - they feel muscles more intensely.”

A massage at a "Seeing Hands" massage shop typically cost about $5 for one hour but with fewer tourists around these days, better deals are often available. So as well as good value for money, having a blind massage allows you to feel great while at the same time helping some of Cambodia’s most vulnerable people.

This report was provided by APTN.

In Cambodia, a Cry for Small-Scale Subsidies

A $20 solar-powered lamp could benefit millions of rural Cambodian residents, but most still can’t afford it. Subsidies, its makers say, are sorely needed. (Kamworks)

November 2, 2009
By Simon Marks
The New York Times

Generous subsidies for businesses and tax incentives for consumers are needed if developing countries like Cambodia are to promote renewable energy alternatives — particularly in rural areas — a conference in Phnom Penh on green energy was told last week.

At the moment, conference participants complained, such incentives are sorely lacking.

“Cambodian investors have low investment capital,” said Rin Seyha, the managing director of SME Renewable Energy, a Cambodian-based renewable energy investment firm. Unlike neighboring Vietnam, there is very little in the way of tax incentives and subsidies on loans for renewable energy companies, he said.

Jeroen Verschelling, the director of Kamworks, a Cambodian-based solar energy company, said consumers who wish to use more environmentally friendly energy sources are often forced to ask for assistance from microfinance institutions that tend to provide loans with extremely high interest rates.

Mr Verschelling complained that large scale coal plant and hydropower projects are able to easily secure financing. For smaller, renewable projects, “it is much harder to do that,” he said.

According to the environmental group Geres, 80 percent of Cambodia’s energy consumption comes from biomass, mostly from burning timber. The United Nations Development Program estimates that just 20 percent of the population has access to the national power grid.

Small, renewable energy developers say this means most energy-sector financing is directed at projects that benefit only a fifth of Cambodia’s residents.

Kamworks has recently launched a basic solar powered light for people in rural areas. The lamp, which retails for about $20, needs direct sunlight during the day and at night runs for about 12 hours on its lowest setting, or about three hours on its highest.

“To pay $20 at once is a huge amount for local people,” said Patrick Kooijman, the marketing director for Kamworks, who added that the lamps really ought to be given away for free. “I think that the private sector getting involved in things like this is the only way it really can work in the long term.”

Meanwhile, Margaret Ryan, an energy consultant for Khmer Solar, which specializes in solar power installation, said that despite government efforts to slash import tariffs on equipment used for renewable energy sources — tariff rates on imports have been reduced form 35 percent to seven percent on items such as solar panels and battery chargers and have been altogether eliminated for items such as wind and hydraulic turbines — the Cambodian consumer is generally unable to afford the costs of installing solar panels.

“Even if labor is very inexpensive, it is still costly,” she said. “Any expense is too much expense.”

In order to reduce prices, Khmer solar is encouraging Cambodians to install the equipment themselves by disseminating simple installation leaflets and employing operators who can troubleshoot for clients with technical issues.

But these efforts are merely a drop in the pond when trying to make any major inroad into Cambodia’s energy sector.

“The next obstacle to overcome will be a workable plan for a subsidy,” Ms. Ryan said. “It would be wonderful if the government subsidizes the poorest to get solar systems. But I doubt it will happen.”

New rail plans worry Cambodians [-More forced evictions are coming]

Saturday, October 31, 2009
Source: Al Jazeera

In some parts of rural Cambodia, public transport is virtually non-existent, so for years villagers have had their own innovative way of getting around - by what is known as a Bamboo Train, or locally, as a lorry.

Villagers rely on them to go to work, to the market, to travel to the hospital, and back home.

Now the government wants to introduce a modern rail system, but as Al Jazeera's Steve Chao reports from Pursat in Cambodia, the locals wonder whether the new trains will be as reliable as what they are used to.

Cambodian Journalist Wins International Award [-Congratulations to An Sithav of the Economics Today magazine!]

PHNOM PENH, Oct 27 (Bernama) -- A Cambodian journalist has won an international media award for article touching on poverty impact that caused by global economic crisis, China's Xinhua news agency reported quoting a press release issued Tuesday by Economics Today magazine.

An Sithav, 25, a reporter for Economic Today Magazine, won a 2009 Developing Asia Journalism Award, on Oct 23 held in Tokyo, Japan.

He was awarded with the first prize in the poverty impact of the global financial crisis category.

Sithav said he was surprised to hear his story, "Not Working", the lead story of the June Issue 40 of Economics Today, was worthy of a place among the finalists.

"I was very pleased that I was selected as a finalist of 2009 Developing Asia Journalist Award, and then as a winner of poverty impact of the Global Financial Crisis among the journalists of Asia Pacific region," he said.

"I do not believe I could be recognized internationally with two years experience as journalist, but now I am a representative of Cambodia who won the first place," he added.

Sithav began working as a journalist in September 2007 and he reports mostly on development which he thinks is the current pressing issue.

Parista Yuthamanop of the Bangkok Post took the second place in the same category, with Yoke Heong Chee of Malaysia's Third World Network taking the third.

Published twice monthly, Economics Today covers economic and business, politics and society, international news, and provides snapshots of key economic and financial indicators.

Climate shift 'victimises' Cambodia

Local officials say the sheer volume of water dumped by typhoon Ketsana in September pushed floodwaters several kilometers into the plains around the Mekong river
Chea Sarin and her family now survive by selling fruit to tourists from a makeshift shack

Monday, October 26, 2009
By Steve Chao in Katot, Cambodia
Al Jazeera

The village of Katot is a rather unremarkable place. It only ever gets mentioned in passing by tour guides as they take their busses, packed with vacationers, along the dirt road from Cambodia's border with Vietnam.

It is the road, or rather the fact it has been submerged in two meters of water for more than a month, that has now gained Katot some extra attention.

Cambodia's press has labeled it the latest "victim" of climate change. And while the small collection of families, a little more than a dozen, who call Katot home say they have never heard of the term, they can certainly talk about the dramatic shifts in weather that have destroyed much of what they own.

"We've got little to nothing left," says Chea Sarin, a villager who, with her husband, was forced to flee their home when floodwaters began to suddenly rise.

Cambodians are long used to the wet season. And homes built on stilts dot the landscape as testament to the people's resilience to floods. But in Katot, this year was unlike any other in recent memory.

As typhoon Ketsana rolled through the region in late September, the Sarin's watched the bulletins on a small television set in their one-room wooden hut. Weather forecasters warned that the mighty Mekong, the heart and soul of the country, could flood its banks.

"We thought we were safe," says Sarin, "after all, our house is 10km from the river."
Water levels 'still rising'

Wading through waist-high water, Chea's husband, Thoeurn, tries to give us a glimpse of his home. We get within eyesight, but it gets too deep to go further.

"The water came up out of the ground, we don't ever get that much flooding here, we're farmers, so depend on knowing the way the weather works, we really don't know what happened,” he tells us.

Local officials say the sheer amount of water dumped by the typhoon pushed floodwaters several kilometers into the plains around the Mekong. In Katot, four weeks on, the levels continue to rise. Thoeurn points to the lake that now forms his backyard.

"Those were our wheat fields," he says. "We borrowed three hundred dollars to plant them. We were just weeks away from harvest. Now we have nothing for the new year to eat."

One of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia, most of Cambodia's farmers grow crops not to sell, but to simply feed themselves.

This year was supposed to see a bumper crop of rice and wheat. But an estimated 30,000 hectares throughout the country have been destroyed.

Groups like Oxfam are warning of a looming food crisis, with international aid too slow to come.

"These are usually called the hunger months right before harvest," says Francis Perez of Oxfam. "People were depending so much in terms of their livelihood on this harvest. The typhoon came at the most vulnerable time for many farmers in Cambodia."

The experiences of those in Katot offer a snapshot of what the government fears will be the impact of climate change on the country in years to come.

Compensation demand

"Cambodia didn't cause climate change but... Because we have a very limited adaptive capacity, our people don't have enough resources, so our people will suffer the most" - Navann Ouk, Cambodian climate council member

In the capital Phnom Penh, authorities this week held the country's first-ever conference on climate change, chaired by Cambodia's prime minister, Hun Sen.

"Poor countries are the ones most affected from the crisis that was originated elsewhere, because they have very little resources to cope with climate change," said Hun Sen at the opening of the Climate forum.

Studies by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) show that the temperature along the Mekong river has risen between 0.5 and 1.5 degrees celsius over the last 50 years, and is predicted to rise another 2 to 4 degrees celsius by the end of the century.

The WWF warns this will lead to even more severe weather changes, from increased flooding to drought. The group also warns that tens of millions of people throughout the Mekong river basin will be forced from their traditional lands.

Cambodia, a nation that only a few years ago reached a level of production making it able to feed itself, is worried by the devastating affects of climate change.

To help it cope, authorities are demanding wealthy nations provide hundreds of millions of dollars to fund programmes to help people and wildlife adapt.

"Cambodia didn't cause climate change but, in fact, we've received a lot of impact from it," says Navann Ouk, a member of Cambodia's climate council.

"Because we have a very limited adaptive capacity, our people don't have enough resources, so our people will suffer the most."

Homeless, facing hunger

"We have no way to pay for seeds to plant a new crop. What will we do?" - Chea Sarin, displaced farmer

On the only patch of high ground beside the main road which the Sarins use as a temporary shelter, sodden blankets and wet clothes hang under a makeshift tarp, meant to keep the constant rain from making an even wetter mess of their remaining possessions.

The rain is another anomaly they tell us.

"The wet season was supposed to be over a few weeks ago but in recent years it has continued to stretch later and later," says Thoeurn.

Living in one of the most remote parts of Cambodia, the Sarins know that aid won't likely reach them for some time to come.

And so they use what they were able to scavenge from their home to set up a small roadside stand, selling tea and fruit to the groups of tourists that must now walk a few hundred metres on foot, as their busses try to navigate through the flood.

"It will help pay for some things, but we're still heavily in debt" Chea Sarin says. "We have no way to pay for seeds to plant a new crop. What will we do?"

Phnom Penh Eylov - "Phnom Penh Nowadays": A Poem in Khmer by Srey Sra'em

Click on the poem to zoom in

Poem in Khmer by Srey Sra'em

Development Research Facing Obstacles

By Ros Sothea, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
21 September 2009

With 30 percent of its population living under $1 per day, Cambodia needs more research for development, but experts say not enough studies have been conducted. Research has also been done mostly with donor funding, limiting the quality or scope, while the government often rejects the findings, experts say.

“Research is an important component of development,” Fred Carden, director of the evaluation unit of the International Development Research Center, based in Canada, told VOA Khmer. “Researchers are exploring important ideas in agriculture, in health, in education and many other fields. And if the ideas don’t come to policymakers, it is a big loss to the country.”

Hang Choun Naron, director-general of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, recognized the limitations of research in Cambodia derived from the lack of communication among researchers and policymakers.

“Anywhere, especially Cambodia, you know, you can’t be smarter than your boss,” he said. “If you are smarter than your boss, you will have a problem. So you have to find a way to make people accept your idea. It takes time. Communication and relationship-building are very important.”

Cambodia has some 500 researchers conducting various studies, in economy, agriculture, education, poverty and natural resources, among others Hang Choun Naron said. Among them, 100 researchers are working for five or six private and non-governmental organizations, while 400 others work for state-owned research institutions.

Researchers say they are facing challenges and constraints in conducting deep, quality research.

Kim Sedara has 16 years of experience as a researcher at the Cambodia Development and Research Institute. Researchers face financial shortages, and no package from the government, so they are highly dependent on foreign donors, he said.

“Donors generally offer [money] with advanced conditions, which limits a researcher’s thought and analysis,” he said.

Chap Sotharith, a senior economic researcher at the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace, said dependence on foreign donors reduces the independence of a researcher. Meanwhile, corruption and human rights research might cause researchers trouble.

“The outcome of some sensitive studies, such as corruption and human rights, may get a reaction from government,” he said. “So some [researchers] don’t pay much attention to such kinds of research.”

Other researchers complain of a data and library shortage, of limited foreign language knowledge and a lack of cooperative sources, including among government officials.

Cambodia also faces a lack of human resources, said Kate Frieson, a research adviser for the CBNRM Learning Institute, a natural resources research agency. Of 15 Cambodian universities, only one has a research budget package, Frieson said.

Most of the state-owned universities exclude research subjects, while private institutions have found that research is not an attractive option to students, who generally only undertake a research project for a final thesis.

Given these challenges, CDRI and CBNRM held a meeting of more than 200 researchers earlier this month, encouraging the public and private sides to conduct more research in four major areas: agriculture, natural resources, economics and social development and governance.

At the workshop, Singapore was named as an interesting example, as research and study there made the small island nation-state one of the most developed countries in Asia.

Pou Sotheareak, a senior research fellow at Singapore’s Institute for Southeast Asian Study, said Cambodia has so far been unable to follow Singapore, as the government has no budget to pay attention to researchers or give value to them.

Unsettled peace in Cambodia

September 17, 2009
By Chak Sopheap
Guest Commentary
UPI Asia

Niigata, Japan — The world will soon once again celebrate the United Nations International Day of Peace, marked every year on Sept. 21. Yet the world is far from peace as civil wars, religious conflicts, growing insurgencies and the economic downturn bring more hardship than joy and smiles to people. Cambodia is no exception.

Cambodia claims to be a peaceful state, having recovered from a series of civil wars that included horrendous acts of genocide. However, there must be a clear consensus on how the country defines peace.

Peace should not be described as merely the absence of war or violence, which is “negative peace.” It should also include communal harmony, socioeconomic cooperation and equal political representation in government for all citizens. These, along with good governance, which respects the rights of the people, constitute the positive side of peace, or rather peace building.

Even when we say “absence of violence,” we must first examine what violence is. While war is direct visible violence, there is also a kind of “structural violence,” the result of bad and harmful state policies that have long-term negative effects on people, such as hunger and poverty, which harm and put peoples’ lives at risk.

If we look at the current trend in Cambodia, negative peace has been obtained but is jeopardizing positive peace. While parts of the economy are making considerable progress, more than 30 percent of the population is still living in extreme poverty. In addition, with corruption and continuous human rights violations – especially forced evictions and land grabbing under so-called development claims – there is little hope that Cambodia can move out of poverty.

In its current pursuit of development, the government of Cambodia has abused and violated people’s rights to housing and development. The judicial system is corrupt and the state is the main violator of the law. This state of affairs has rendered poor communities voiceless and powerless.

At the same time, freedom of expression – a fundamental right – has also been abused by the government, which applies various ill-defined laws with the help of the judiciary it controls as a political tool to silence critics. It is not surprising that the government recently filed many lawsuits against political activists, journalists and human rights defenders.

Systematic structural violence has not yet affected peace in Cambodia, but it will soon if the government does not undertake and implement reforms immediately. For example, there is fear that the ongoing land grabbing and evictions by the government could lead to a peasant revolution. This would then revive the cycle of bitter agrarian revolution that brought past political regimes, like Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge, to power.

The government therefore must commit to not only maintaining negative peace, but also to building positive peace in order to attain social harmony.
--
(Chak Sopheap is a graduate student of peace studies at the International University of Japan. She runs a blog, www.sopheapfocus.com, in which she shares her impressions of both Japan and her homeland, Cambodia. She was previously advocacy officer of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights.)

A ticket to somewhere

Deborah Groves with local Cambodian villagers, outside the temple district of Angkor Wat where Ms Groves has established an aid organisation. Picture supplied.

September 9, 2009
LARISSA HAM
Brisbane Times (Australia)

Four years ago, Australian photographer Deborah Groves walked into a small village in the Cambodian countryside and met a man who would change her life.

Just 25 minutes away was the town of Siem Reap, the stopping-off point to the world famous Angkor Wat temple, a formerly modest town now flourishing with Western-style pubs, designer shops and luxury hotels driven by the influx of tourist money.

But lying in a primitive hut in the outlying village was 52-year-old man Mr Som - skeleton-thin, his ribcage clearly visible and emaciated legs resembling long strands of licorice.

Despite being gravely ill with tuberculosis for more than 18 months, he had not received any medical care mainly due to his family’s poverty Ms Groves was horrified.

"Morally I thought, ‘I have an obligation, this man is going to die, I need to stand up and offer some help’," she said.

Enlisting the help of family and friends, Ms Groves raised the money needed for Mr Som to be carried out on a stretcher to medical care.

But it was too late; Mr Som died 10 days later.

For Ms Groves, a wedding photographer from Queensland, Mr Som’s death was an enormous “wake-up call” that not everything could be fixed easily.

Shaken by the village’s desperate poverty, she vowed to stay on and help.

The result has been Helping Hands Cambodia, an aid organisation formed Ms Groves to support Mr Som’s village and three others near Angkor Wat.

The idea behind Helping Hands is to give the local villagers a 'hand up,' rather than straight charity. For instance, recently when it gave away 1000 bicycles, each recipient agreed to work at least three days to fix local roads.

The organisation, which now has 10 Cambodian staff and up to two volunteers at a time, has also helped build bridges, a school, provided agricultural training and hundreds of free breakfasts.

The latest project will see drop toilets installed in the four villages. Fifty neighbours a day queued up to use the first one when it was installed in March, and another 15 have since been built.

To help fund Helping Hands, Groves sells photographs, magnets and bookmarks at hotels, airports and the night market in Siem Reap.

It is a long way from snapping excited brides on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.

In 2004 Ms Groves fell love with the country following an Intrepid Travel tour, and feeling unfulfilled and burnt out, decided to quit her business and move to Cambodia.

But making the leap to live in one of the world’s least developed countries wasn’t easy, with many friends advising caution about leaving her business and safe life behind. "(But) I thought ‘surely I’m more than just a business’," Ms Groves said.

In the ensuing years, Ms Groves says she has developed a thick skin after four years of dealing with sometimes terrible situations.

One of her worst experiences was a man who received terrible eye injuries after a landmine exploded in his face near the Thai border.

"He was sent back to the village he was originally from without seeing a single eye doctor... I thought it was so unfair that no one cares," she said.

Helping Hands paid for his treatment, although the man’s eyes couldn’t be saved. They were later removed to stop his pain. To Western ears this may sound horrific, but Ms Groves said the man was "unbelievably grateful".

As well as the lows, there have also been incredible highs, such as a man in his 60s, blind since he was 15, regaining his sight in one eye following surgery sponsored by Ms Groves' organisation.

Another woman with cataracts regained her vision after 20 years. Ms Groves says the woman told her the thing she was most excited about was now being able to find the best food at communal dinners.

"I get a big kick out of stories like that, when you’ve had a radical impact," Ms Groves said.

However, the economic crisis has made life harder for everyone this year. Figures from the Cambodia’s Ministry of Tourism say although Vietnamese tourists increased by 40 per cent in the six months to June because of new visa exemptions, Australian, Japanese, Chinese, Thai and South Korean visitors fell sharply.

Cambodia’s two main industries, garment manufacturing and construction, have been crippled as US clothes orders fell and tourists stayed at home.

According to the United Nations Development Program, the garment sector lost 60,000 jobs by April and the construction sector 25,000.

UN resident co-ordinator Douglas Broderick warned: "it’s not just people’s livelihoods at risk – it’s people’s lives".

The effect on Ms Groves’ photography business has also been dramatic.

"Last year was a boom year, then the Australian dollar crashed. It made a big impact because a lot of our customers are Australian,” she said.

In June this year, her photo sales had fallen 50 per cent from the same period in 2008.

Donations to Helping Hands have also dropped, although fundraising efforts such as a US$23,000 (about $27,500) donation raised by a young Irishwoman who rowed 250 kilometres down the Shannon River- Ireland's longest river - have helped.

Ms Groves radical life-change has meant many personal sacrifices, including sleepless nights, long work hours, lack of a social life and being unable to regularly see her family and friends.

She is working towards spending more time in Australia, but continues to manage Helping Hands and run her photo business full-time from wherever she is at any given moment.

Back home, Ms Groves says her standards of living will probably be different to last time she lived there. She believes that might be a good thing.

“Most of my staff have never had a hot shower, most of the people in the village don’t even have a shower, they use a bucket. Hot water now I consider a luxury,” she says.

“Even the poorest in Australia are still better off than the people here.”

To help, go to www.grovesphotography.com

While the PM begs at home, the Poor beg overseas

Asking for sympathy: A mother and child seen begging at the SS13 night market in Subang Jaya.
In plain sight: A badly scarred individual seen begging at the Section 17 night market in Petaling Jaya.
High traffic: The beggars choose places where there are a lot of passers-by to maximise their gains.

Beggars choose to take the easy way out

Friday September 4, 2009
The Star Online (Malaysia)

"Lam, who has been trading at the SS13 night market for three years, suspects that the beggars are mostly foreigners from countries like Cambodia and China and are attached to a syndicate that brings them around Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia to beg."

TAKE a walk around the city or any of its suburbs and you are almost guaranteed to run into a beggar. These beggars are usually disabled, old or very young and they sit along the pathways waiting for a handout.

Those who beg tend to frequent places with high traffic like night markets or outside banks or gambling outlets in commercial areas.

A trader at the SS13 night market in Subang Jaya said he had seen various individuals, including handicapped children and adults, old folks and mother-and-child pairs begging at the night market almost every week.

The trader, who identified himself as Lam, believed that the beggars are part of a syndicate as his friend, who is a trader at the Kepong night market, has also seen the same faces.

“Someone will drop them off at the designated night market and they will find their way in before sitting down in the middle of the path to beg.

“I have actually seen the beggars wear old and torn clothing while begging, only to change into something cleaner before boarding a special taxi that comes to take them home,” he said.

Lam, who has been trading at the SS13 night market for three years, suspects that the beggars are mostly foreigners from countries like Cambodia and China and are attached to a syndicate that brings them around Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia to beg.

Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) Licensing Department director Ismail Salim said the council could conduct joint operations with the Social Welfare Department (JKM) in an effort to tackle the beggars.

Noting that there were also beggars in other public places like mosques and food courts, Ismail said that it was public sympathy that encouraged the beggars to continue looking for a handout.

“They will continue coming back as long as people give them money. If they genuinely need aid, they can always contact the JKM,” he said.

Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun echoed similar sentiments by saying the public should stop sympathising with beggars and donating money as it offered them an easy way to earn money.

“What the public needs to do if they spot any beggar is to call the Talian Nur or report to the nearest JKM office. There are more than 100 JKM offices located in each district office in Malaysia,” she said.

Chew said the Talian Nur operators would note the callers’ information and refer them to the relevant authorities and let them know what they should do.

To address the begging syndicate issues, Chew said the JKM conducts scheduled operations once or twice a week at areas with lots of street beggars, as well as joint operations with various agencies like the local councils, Immigration Department, National Registration Department, National Anti-Drugs Agency and hospitals.

“If a child (aged under 18) is found during the operation, then the Child Act 2001 will be used,” she said.

(Section 32 of the act states: Any person who causes or procures any child… allows that child to be on any… place for the purposes of begging, receiving alms, whether or not there is any pretence of… performing or offering anything for sale; or carrying out… illegal activities detrimental to the health and welfare of the child, commits an offence and shall on conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding RM5,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or both.)

“The JKM protection officer will rescue the child and place him or her in a welfare home within 24 hours,” Chew said.

“A court order will be obtained from the magistrate’s court to place the child in a welfare home for the next 30 days while the officer prepares a report.


“If the child is found to have a family member or relative who can care for them, we will send them back.

“Putting them in a welfare home is the last option as we believe it is best for the children to grow up in a loving family environment.”

If they are to be put in a home, Chew said, the children would be placed in an orphanage or Rumah Tunas Harapan, a home that is run by couples with their own children.

The Ministry provides allowances for the relatives or Rumah Tunas Harapan families to care for the children.

Meanwhile, if adults are found during the operation, they would be rescued under the Destitute Person’s Act 1977.

“They will be placed in a welfare institution within 24 hours and a 30-day court order will obtained while the officers investigate their case,” said Chew.

“If a family member or caregiver cannot be found, they will be placed in a welfare home for three years. Those aged above 60 will go to the Rumah Seri Kenangan old folks’ home, while those under 60 will be placed in Desa Bina Diri workshops to learn soft skills.”

She stressed that welfare organisations and charities cannot use children to solicit donations.

“If an association wants to solicit donations in commercial or residential areas, they will need to get permission from the JKM and a police permit,” she said.

Talian Nur’s number is 15999. For a list of JKM locations and contacts, visit www.jkm.gov.my (search under directory).

Please, for the love of god: don’t skinny-dip in Cambodia

Aug 13, 2009
Meghan Nay
Martlet (Canada)

It was five months into my trip that I found myself in the last place I ever thought I’d wind up in my travels — in a relationship. Turns out, one of the friends I left with was more than just a friend. By the time our group arrived in Cambodia, Luke and I were inseparable and even decided to spend an extra week in Sinoukville all by ourselves. We stayed at an amazing hostel right on the beach. Okay, so the rooms weren’t exactly the best (the walls were paper-thin and there was that time a rat crawled over my face), but other than that, we were in heaven.

I remember one particularly rowdy and romantic night we decided to go skinny-dipping. Normally, I’m shy about this sort of thing; normally, I’d say no, but that night, on the beach, under the stars, it was just so friggin’ beautiful I could have written a poem about it.

And the alcohol didn’t hurt either.

For hours we splashed about in the calm, warm water. I felt daring and free. It wasn’t until we were mid smooch that I noticed — out of the corner of my eye — a group of people walking towards our clothes. I detached myself from Luke and motioned for him to look.

“Hey — those people are going for our clothes,” I cried.

“Oh shit,” he quickly looked. “It’s a group of kids.”

Now, anybody who has ever been to Cambodia knows a few things about the children there.

As an extremely poor country and one that attracts a lot of tourists, the local kids are often expected to bring money in for the family — usually by selling bracelets, begging and often by stealing.

And that’s exactly what they were doing. But what could we do? Clearly my yelling and screaming wasn’t working, and Luke only got up to his, well, bellybutton before he lost his nerve. Seems that I wasn’t prepared to run naked after them and neither was he. So we watched as they walked away with our clothes, our shoes and what little money we had left.

After about an hour, time was starting to pass very fast and the water was getting cold. The romance had definitely died off and I was ready to be dry and clothed. Luke figured since it was late we could probably make it back to our bungalow without anybody noticing. I was freezing, and too tired to argue. Before I knew it, we were walking naked to the shore and doing our very best to cover everything we could with our hands, arms and a seashell or two. It wasn’t really working. But as we crept towards the light of our hostel I thought we might just be in luck. The main lawn chairs were empty, and I couldn’t make anything else out in the dark.

Wrong.

As we got closer, we were startled to find out it was movie night at our hostel. There was everyone, huddled around the TV by the stairs. Twenty heads looked up at us. Twenty mouths dropped open. It was horrifying. I didn’t know whether to cry or to laugh or to sit down and start watching Legally Blonde with the rest of them. Luke stood next to me, equally stunned.

Finally, I grabbed his arm and dragged him upstairs to our bungalow as fast as I could. Mortified, we collapsed on our inch-thick mat on the floor laughing hysterically, the sounds of Legally Blonde, and “oh-my-gods” echoing up from below.

Even the rat was smirking.

More women in Cambodia turning to sex trade amid financial crisis – UN report

Source: UN News Centre

21 July 2009 – The global financial crisis has led to signs of an increase in Cambodian women entering the sex trade, says a new United Nations report, which recommends strengthening social safety nets and improving job training and placement to help women avoid such dangerous and exploitative work.

The report, prepared by the UN Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP), is based on research conducted in April and May involving 357 women and girls aged between 15 and 49 currently working in the entertainment sector of the capital, Phnom Penh, including in brothels, karaoke bars and massage parlours.

“The objective of this research was to measure increases in human trafficking and exploitation in Cambodia as a result of the financial crisis, specifically, the trafficking of women and girls into the entertainment sector,” UNIAP says in a news release issued yesterday.

The report shows that during the crisis, women have entered the sex trade coming from situations where there have been declining working conditions, such as in the garment sector, where they experienced long working hours and low pay.

The most common reason given by the women and girls for entering the sex trade was “difficult family circumstances,” followed by “easily earn a lot of money, in good working conditions.”

Most massage parlour workers, 57 per cent, found their jobs independently, while 46 per cent of karaoke workers found theirs through friends. Nearly 80 per cent of direct sex workers also found their jobs on their own.

The report also found that 58 per cent of women who entered the entertainment sector before the crisis were in debt, while the same was true of 42 per cent who entered after the crisis.

“It could be assumed that the shift in women turning from money lenders to sex establishment bosses for loans may lead to more women being vulnerable to the control tactics and violence that are often thought to be associated with debt bondage,” states UNIAP.

However, it was debts to money lenders, and not debt bondage, that was found to be significantly associated with the worst violence and worst restrictions on freedoms among those surveyed.

The report recommends strengthening social safety nets, designed to meet the needs of families with women who are vulnerable to exploitation and degrading working conditions, as well as linking women who want jobs featuring better working conditions with alternative livelihood training and job placement assistance.

Also recommended is the use of targeted awareness raising and outreach to provide specific, clear information to people who may be vulnerable, for example on how to access social services and training that will lead to jobs, the risks of using moneylenders, and how to qualify for and access safer sources of loans and credit.

Win with Women: A struggle for change

July 15, 2009
Source: SRP

Win with Women: A struggle for change

Poverty in Cambodia is caused by the failure of the government to combat corruption. The national budget allocated for the social sector – including health, education and rural development – is lost every year, thus putting human lives at great risk of neglect, deprivation and exposure to violence. Among the victims of neglect, deprivation and violence are women, female youths and children because of gender inequalities, discrimination and extreme forms of abuse such as sexual abuse, rape and trafficking. Victims of violence are usually deprived of justice as the process of legal action against their perpetrators is long, complicated, intimidating, and usually obstructed by a corrupt judiciary system. Impunity rate and court misconduct persist and victims receive little protection.

The Sam Rainsy Party, as the lead opposition in Cambodia , has lent a voice to the democratic movement that no longer can wait for promises made by the government. From farmers defending their land, to ethnic minorities marching to the provincial towns to demand cancellation of illegal concessions of community forests, to workers demanding fair wages, the opportunity for change from the bottom up is a phenomenon that is not possible to ignore. The opposition has made its presence felt.

Founded in February 1998, the Sam Rainsy Party Women’s Wing has helped increase the number of women SRP party members who have been elected to Parliament from only 1 woman MP in 1998, to 3MPs in 2003 and to 6 MPs in 2008. In 2006, the party elected Ms. Mu Sochua as Secretary General, the highest party position ever held by a woman in Cambodia in a political party. The current SG is a prominent woman MP from Siem Reap, a province with many challenges. In 2002, SRP Women’s Wing made gains at the local level with 46 of their members elected and in 2007, the number jumped to 269. In 2009, 42 women gained seats at the sub-national election.

The Women’s Wing will work to continue to encourage women’s leadership, empower women, and foster a paradigm shift towards gender responsive, transformative leadership, politics and good governance in preparation for the upcoming 2012 and 2013 election.

Over 300 women elected commune chiefs, deputies and councilors will join the party leadership at the national level to commemorate the 6th Annual Congress of the Women’s Wing.

Date: Friday, 17 July 2009

Time: 8:30 – 11:30 am

Location: SRP Headquarters, #71, Sothearos Blvd.

Under the theme Win with Women: A Struggle for Change, SRP women activists, supporters and leaders will receive and understand information pertaining to leadership, women’s rights, and Legal Education. A core group of SRP women leaders at all levels will be selected to undergo this 3-year training program to prepare for the 2012 local election and the 2013 national election.

The Sam Rainsy Party Women’s Wing will provide this training in order to meet the following goals:

• To promote women as leaders.
• To empower women to demand employment, free education, free medical services and to strengthen their ability to address issues.
• To sensitize women electorate to vote for social and economic justice.

SRP Secretary General
Contact: 012-934-355

CAMBODIA: "Floating toilets" offer hope for river communities

A sideview of the urine diversion pan. The hole on the far right is for urine, the middle for feces and the third for anal washing (Photo: Lien Aid)

PHNOM PENH, 10 July 2009 (IRIN) - A toilet now in the development stage could improve the health of thousands living in Cambodia’s impoverished river communities.

River communities’ homes are typically built on floating platforms and moved seasonally, and rarely have proper latrines. Occupants use the river – the same water they use for drinking, cooking and washing.

The health risks are high: according to Resource Development International–Cambodia, a faith-based NGO, 74 percent of all deaths are due to waterborne diseases, including diarrhoea.

Cambodia has one of the highest infant and under-five mortality rates in the region, at 97 and 141 per 1,000 live births, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reports.

Many rural Cambodians see latrines as filthy, preferring open defecation as being more natural.

“It’s not a poverty issue. Some wealthy people in the countryside don’t have good sanitation, and some poor families do have it,” Chea Samnan, director of rural healthcare for the Ministry of Rural Development, said. “It’s an issue of access to the right information.”

As part of its "River of Life" profect, Lien Aid, a Singaporean-based NGO, is working on what it describes as a “floating toilet”. The toilets - built on floating platforms and attached to homes – will effectively prevent faeces from entering the water.

“We are still in the preliminary stages of testing out the prototypes,” Sahari Ani, Lien Aid’s head, told IRIN.

Eco-sanitation design

The device has three components - a superstructure, a urine diversion pan, and a space for a removable bucket or container for waste material.

Central to the design is the pan itself, effectively separating urine from faeces. A separate section of the pan allows for anal washing.

Materials such as dry soil, ash and wood chips can be added to excreta, thereby reducing odour and pathogens, while cutting the volume of waste.

The semi-decomposed faeces is then treated at a secondary storage chamber for complete decomposition and pathogen destruction, while the nutrient-heavy urine could be used as fertilizer after removal.

Commenting on the merits of the pan, Judy Hagan, project manager of a different operator, the Tonle Sap Floating Latrine Design Project, said separating the two waste materials reduced the bulk and mass of the faeces that needed to be treated, making it more viable in a floating environment.

Key challenges

But introducing such concepts in a country like Cambodia will not be easy.

As floating river communities exist only in Cambodia and a handful of other Asian nations, latrines designed specifically for their needs are rare and expensive.

Added to this is the country’s lack of qualified engineers, poor sanitation infrastructure and low level of hygiene awareness.

“The more difficult challenge is to help the community build up the human resources necessary to make the venture financially sustainable over the long term,” Sahari Ani said.

According to the World Bank, only 16 percent of rural Cambodians have a proper toilet, the lowest level in Southeast Asia.

Moreover, despite the country’s abundant freshwater rivers and lakes, 60 percent of its population do not have access to safe water and 85 percent are without adequate sanitation, Lien Aid stated.

Cost effectiveness

While an exact price for the device is still being determined, the NGO hopes costs can be kept to a minimum, with families possibly purchasing building material in bulk to keep down costs.

One-third of Cambodians live on less than US$0.50 a day, according to government statistics, making cost a significant factor.

“We will still try to keep costs down by exploring the use of [local] materials and by encouraging local entrepreneurs to manufacture the required parts,” Lien Aid’s head explained.

Although fairly new, villagers in Cambodia have already been learning how to construct cheaper latrines for as little as $15 each from the community-led total sanitation programme, started in 2005 by UNICEF and Cambodia’s Ministry of Rural Development.

And while not of the floating toilet type, the self-built, cost-effective latrines could provide further impetus to the floating toilet prototype once their use becomes more widespread.

Remembering the Rights of Cambodia's Children

Distribution of advocacy material during the Kompong Cham concert
Minor prisoners at Takmao prison on June 1st

June 30, 2009
Licadho

I get up at 5:30 a.m. so I can let the dogs out of the house. Then I clean the dog droppings, wash the dishes, and prepare food for the dogs. At around 8 a.m., I have to leave the house to work at the private school that my employer runs. I also bring clothes which need cleaning with me so I can hand-wash them. After I arrive at the school, I have to go to the market, help with the cooking, and prepare lunch for my employer. Then, I do the washing-up and clean the school building and the clothes. In the afternoon I also have to tend to the bikes of the students who study at the school.

At about 7 p.m., I return to the house. I cook dinner and do the washing-up. Sometimes, I have to clean the remaining clothes. Frequently, I am not able to go to sleep until 11 p.m. or later. Sometimes my employer's son goes out at night, so I have to wait up to open the door for him at 2 a.m.

Sometimes, when the dogs bark at night and wake my employer, he blames me for it, saying that I am unable to control them. He shouts at me, insults me, and also slaps me. My work is like this every day of the week.

This is the story of a 16-year-old domestic worker and the conditions she works and lives in. Her story is shared by thousands of exploited children across Cambodia. A 2007 study commissioned by LICADHO and World Vision Cambodia estimates that there are 21,000 child domestic workers, mostly girls, in Phnom Penh and Cambodia's three largest provinces (Kompong Cham, Battambang, and Siem Reap) alone.

World Day Against Child Labor

To celebrate World Day Against Child Labor on June 12th, LICADHO in collaboration with World Vision Cambodia organized a large public concert at Kompong Cham Stadium in Kompong Cham Province. The purpose of the concert was to raise awareness about the dangers facing children engaged in domestic labor. The event focused on the need for children's education, healthcare, and protection from physical, psychological, and sexual abuse and exploitation.

In Cambodia child domestic labor is largely the result of poverty. Poor families often resort to removing their children from school and sending them out into the workforce to earn money or offer their services as payment for debt. For child domestic workers, working conditions can resemble slave labor. Children may work 16-hour days cooking and cleaning, and are vulnerable to physical, sexual and psychological abuse. In many cases, child domestic workers have no access to education and medical care, and many are not even paid for their work.

The World Day Against Child Labor concert was hosted by two local personalities and featured performances by pop singers Khem Maraksereymun and Meas Soksophea, quiz games for children on stage, a drama performance by LICADHO Child Protection Groups (CPGs), recitals of traditional Chapey Dong Veng music, an educational performance by comedian Neay Kbeb, and an audio recording of a child domestic worker recounting her experience working in hazardous conditions. Over 10,000 people attended the concert, which was the fifth advocacy event organized by LICADHO and World Vision Cambodia under the theme of 'I protect children, do you?' since 2007.

International Children's Day

In celebration of International Children's Day on June 1st, LICADHO held public advocacy events in Siem Reap and Sihanoukville that provided educational entertainment while promoting children's rights. The events were held at two public schools, Phum Thnol Primary School and Steung Hav High School, and were organized in cooperation with local authorities, police, school directors, teachers, students, parents, and CPGs. Approximately 1,000 people attended each of the events.

The events included drama performances about child trafficking and child rights performed by students, as well as songs performed by CPG members and professional singers. Children attending the event participated in games, quizzes, and dances. 10 bicycles were donated to Phum Thnol Primary School students and 12 bicycles to Steung Hav High School students.

Not forgetting the plight of children living in prison, LICADHO also distributed food and essential materials (soap, detergent, combs, toothbrushes and toothpaste) to over 1,200 people within 14 prisons across Cambodia. Recipients of the donations were minor prisoners, pregnant women, children living with their incarcerated mothers, and the children of prison officials. LICADHO's distribution of basic supplies aimed to draw attention to the appalling living conditions of children in prison.

Women, children, and men in Cambodia's prisons are maintained on a budget of USD $0.38 per day, which must pay for two meals a day, sanitation, cooking fuel, water, electricity, and transportation. Unfortunately, this amount is barely adequate, and prisoners are continually faced with malnutrition as well as poor sanitation and hygiene. Prison is no place for a child to grow up, but Cambodia's lack of a juvenile justice system throws children into adult courts and adult prisons.

LICADHO strongly urges the Cambodian government to take action to reform the many systemic problems within the Cambodian prisons system, and in particular the need to provide prisoners with adequate access to food, water, sanitation, and legal representation. LICADHO also advocates for the implementation of a juvenile justice system.

LICADHO also strongly appeals to the public not to employ children under the minimum legal working age (15 years old - Labor Law Article 177) to work as domestic laborers. Furthermore, any work undertaken by children should not be harmful to their health, safety, morals and development and should not stop them from receiving an education or vocational training. Employers need to guarantee that children can enjoy their rights to a childhood.