Front Page News

Today is the Labor Day holiday here in Cambodia and to commemorate the holiday, hundreds, if not thousands, of workers have taken to the streets in protest of Cambodia's unjust labor laws (or lack thereof). Leading the charge, of course, is none other than my boss, Mr. Rong Chhun. The following article which features one of the "events" Mr. Rong Chhun is organizing today has been front page news here in Phnom Penh the last three days.

(After reading the article if you're interested in learning more about Chea Vichea, check out this website http://www.whokilledcheavichea.com). Chea Vichea was a close friend to Mr. Rong Chhun and Chea's brother Chea Mony (who I work with at CITA) has now taken over as the President of the Free Trade Union and is fighting to unveil the truth about his brother's assassination.

Alright...I'm off to get a front row seat. Stay tuned for some pictures and what I'm sure will be an interesting update on how this event unfolds! (Mr. Rong Chhun did promise me he'd do his best to stay out of jail...so hopefully I'll be avoiding any trips to local jail to post bail).

Cut and paste the following link into your browser (article text also included below)
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2010043038435/National-news/chea-vichea-film-to-be-shown.html


Chea Vichea film to be shown
Friday, 30 April 2010 15:03 Meas Sokchea and James O’toole


Organisers say they will ignore government orders to first secure permission.

CAMBODIAN Confederation of Unions (CCU) President Rong Chhun says he will hold an outdoor screening of a controversial documentary about slain labour leader Chea Vichea on Saturday’s Labour Day holiday, despite not having received permission from government officials to do so.

Rong Chhun met at City Hall on Thursday for one hour with Koeut Chhe, the Phnom Penh Municipality’s deputy chief of cabinet, who told him that he could not show the film without first securing permission from the “relevant” government ministries such as the Ministry of Interior. The CCU president’s decision to flout the official’s orders could set up a confrontation, though it was unclear on Thursday how the government would respond to Rong Chhun’s decision.

“This country has laws, so if [Rong Chhun] is showing the film publicly, he must ask permission,” Koeut Chhe said following the meeting. “If he violates the law, that’s his business, but he must be responsible for his violations of the law.”

Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said Thursday that because organisers are planning to show the film outdoors, jurisdiction over their activities falls to City Hall and the Ministry of Interior. Under the Kingdom’s new Demonstration Law, passed last year, government authorities may “take actions to cease” any unauthorised demonstrations or public gatherings.

Ministry of Interior spokesman Khieu Sopheak on Thursday called the film an “illegal import”. When asked how the government would respond to an unauthorised screening, he said to “wait and see on Saturday”.

Minister of Culture Him Chhem also claimed jurisdiction, saying that his ministry would have to grant permission before a public film screening could go ahead.

“Our Ministry has no problem with the screening. It is [Rong Chhun’s] right, but he must do it legally,” Him Chhem said.

Rong Chhun said Thursday that he planned to go ahead with the screening regardless of the government’s response, claiming he did not have enough time to secure permission from officials at the ministerial level.

“We have already seen politicians murdered, artists murdered, as well as an important union president murdered, and so far the authorities have not found the killers and their backers to be punished,” Rong Chhun said. “At 5:30pm on [Saturday], we are going to do everything according to the plan we submitted to the municipality – we will not withdraw.”

The CCU plans to screen the documentary near Chamkarmon district’s Wat Lanka, where Chea Mony was gunned down in 2004. The film, directed by American Bradley Cox, is currently touring film festivals and is scheduled for wider release in the US later this year.

Drawing from interviews with police, government officials and other public figures, including Chea Vichea himself, Cox’s film offers a portrayal of thuggish law enforcement and a kleptocratic ruling elite under Prime Minister Hun Sen. Although it does not make direct accusations, the film implies that Chea Vichea was killed because of his ties to the opposition, and that the two men convicted of the murder were framed.

Moeun Chhean Narridh, director of the Cambodia Institute for Media Studies, said Rong Chhun should attempt to get government authorisation “for extra precaution”, but should ultimately not be bound by attempts to constrain his freedom of expression.

“It does not cost anything just to ask permission, but if the Ministry of Culture or any other authorities do not give him permission, he should just go ahead and show the film anyway,” Moeun Chhean Narridh said.

Chea Mony, who has replaced his brother as president of the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia, accused municipal officials of attempting to delay the screening and prevent the public from seeing the film.

“It is a pretext,” Chea Mony said. “If the authorities do not allow the screening, it means that they are afraid of learning more about Chea Vichea’s killing.”

Coming home to Cambodia....

Being back in the States for a week was such a treat and as well as a great reminder of things that I often take for granted back home (this is in no way an exhaustive list but just a few things that are top of mind):
- seeing family and friends (obvious one, I know)
- home cooked meals (thanks again mom and dad)
- clean feet (I don't think you can really appreciate this until you visit Cambodia)
- hot showers
- ease of communication and transportation
- shopping (yes, sadly this makes the list)

Despite enjoying all the perks and ease of life in the States, I was actually really looking forward to getting back to Cambodia - although daily life here is often quite challenging - it's also always an adventure, full of surprises and a lot of good laughs.

Speaking of coming 'home' to Cambodia, many of you have asked me to share a few pictures of where I live - so here are a few pictures of my home in Cambodia:

The 'living room' (not so practical given rainy season has started)


Dining room/patio



Kitchen


My bedroom



In addition to my room and Katie's room, we have an extra guest room with private bathroom and air conditioning (hint, hint for anyone interested in visiting!)

Mr. and Mrs. Anderson!

It was a whirlwind trip to the States but well worth it! I can't imagine having missed Em and Zach's wedding - it was absolutely gorgeous and such a fun time! Congratulations again you two!

It's official.... Mr. and Mrs. Anderson!


Em with her niece Ava, the flower girl


The bridesmaids


Jenny, Em and I - roommates in SF


Cougs reunited - most of the wedding party from WSU


The bridesmaids at the bridal brunch


Jackie, Jenny, Em and I out in Austin for pre-wedding festivities

Sneak Peek: Seoul

With a 12 hour layover in Seoul while enroute to Seattle, I was able to escape the airport for a few hours to see a few of the sights around Seoul:

The Cheonggyecheon Stream through downtown Seoul


Gyeongbokgung Palace grounds


The Palace guards (he obviously liked me trying to stand really close to him)


and zooming in on his face





Monkey and Me (my chinese zodiac symbol)


Insadong (popular tourist street for souvenir shopping)

Cambodia > Austin!

Heading back to the States for a week for the wedding of two of my favorite people...Emily and Zach!

Congratulations again - love you both and can't wait to celebrate!

Chole Ch’nam T’mey! (Happy New Year!)

April 14th marked the beginning of the Cambodian New Year and if there is one thing I’ve learned this past week…it’s that Cambodians know how to throw a good party! The traditional Cambodian New Year celebration technically lasts for three days, but in reality it’s a week long celebration, consisting of lots of drinking, dancing, karaoke and water fights (and luckily for me….time off work!) Here are some of the highlights of how I spent the Khmer New Year week….

CITA Party!
I’ve been to plenty of work parties in my day, but I have to say the CITA New Year party was one of the best work parties I’ve ever attended. The party was held in a traditional Cambodian Karaoke restaurant…which alone is pretty hilarious, but then add a bunch of drunk Cambodians singing and dancing…makes for a VERY entertaining night!

The ‘stage’


My colleague Sophea – we had a girly evening getting ready together for the party


Mary (fellow VSO volunteer) and her boyfriend Ayo


Mr. Rong Chhun


The entertainment


A few of my colleagues starting to get “happy”. It took me awhile to understand happy = drunk.


Mary and I wearing our New Year gifts from Mr. Rong Chhun


As my colleagues got more “happy" they decided that it was really funny to tie our scarves in different ways (over and over and over again….)


Dancing with one of my colleagues


It was a really great party and to top the night off - Mr. Rong Chhun announced that we didn’t have to go to work on Friday or any of the following week so I decided to take this opportunity to see more of Cambodia...

First stop: Cardamom Conservation Corridor
The Cardamoms are an area of wilderness around 5 1/2 hours on the bus from Phnom Penh in the province of Koh Kong (up towards the border with Thailand). I spent three days in Ko Kong taking in the sights....

Took a boat ride through the Mangrove Forrest



Mangroves for as far as the eye can see


Remote fishing village on way to Ko Kong Island




Finally reached our destination - Ko Kong Island! Ko Kong Island is uninhabited and has been virtually untouched by tourists. Luckily for us - we had the whole beach to ourselves for the afternoon!



Our boat captain making us lunch using coconut shells as coals


Had to gut and de-bone my lunch...despite the work involved - it tasted amazing!


The "crew" from the boat trip to Ko Kong Island enjoying drinks back on the main land


The following day I went on a kayaking/jungle trek through the Cardamoms



The jungle "trek" turned out to be more like a jungle bouldering session...




After kayaking and hiking my way through the Cardamoms, I decided I deserved some much needed beach time and headed down to Sihanoukville for some R&R.

Otres beach




My bungalow at Otres beach


The bungalows were very 'rustic' (it was a good day when the electricity was working!)


After a little beach time...it was time to get back to work....on my scuba diving certification!




Our dive boat (we stayed a night on the boat which was actually really fun)


I got a little carried away with the sunset pics...but it was amazing!





Morning of day 2...a little grey and eerie



Coming up after my last dive...I'm now a PADI certified open water diver!


The three of us from the dive boat back on the mainland showing off some of our new diving signs