SimplyHelp Cambodia: A Vocational Education Mode of Success

By Lotte Goede, Donna Pulese-Murphy

Mom Phoeun, who lives in rural Cambodia, lost his father at a young age, and his mother is suffering from chronic illnesses. With cow herding being their only source of income, they could not make enough money to pay for her rising medical costs. Mom Phoeun sought relief by attending the SimplyHelp Tailoring School which had just established itself in his village. By learning a trade and distinguishing himself, Mom Phoeun is now not only able to support himself, but can also provide for the care that his mother desperately needs.

Cambodia is a country burdened with a legacy of conflict. The Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, seized power in 1975. An estimated 1.7 million Cambodians died; most intellectuals and educated people were executed, and their cultural heritage destroyed. The devastation of the Pol Pot regime remains with the people of Cambodia, now one of the poorest countries in the world.

In 2001, the SimplyHelp Foundation decided to establish a branch in Cambodia. The Foundation’s two vocational training schools—a Tailoring School and a Computer School—have over 4,000 graduates, of which 85 per cent find jobs working for large companies, in banking, for non-governmental organizations or open up their own storefronts. Some go on to higher education.

Mobile Tailoring School—Sewing up Poverty Wounds

The SimplyHelp Tailoring School opened its doors officially in 2002. Many had the means to learn not only a trade but how to be self-sufficient. The school is mobile and goes to poor villages in the middle of rice fields where it is needed most. When a farming village is chosen as the school’s next destination, the village chief opens up his home and turns it into a temporary school. A highly-qualified master sewing teacher is sent from Phnom Penh to this village two or three days a week to train two assistant teachers who teach on the days she is not in the village. There are two classes per day, which allows the students to go to school either in the morning or afternoon, and to work their land the other part of the day. Students are trained for six months and classes are free. Since its inception, the school has moved eight times and, to date, has graduated 1,686 students.

The need for this type of education in rural Cambodia is staggering. In the village of Krang, for example, within three months after graduation, ten out of eighty graduates established small businesses in their living rooms with just a sewing machine and some fabric, and all of them have been able to earn good money. In other villages as well, graduates have opened tailoring shops which provide them with steady, reliable incomes—in sharp contrast to the difficulties that go along with being farmers. Some of these shops have developed into authentic-looking businesses with glass displays, beautiful clothes, and proud owners.

Tailoring School’s Social and Economic Impact

Former tailoring school graduates who have started their own businesses have taken on apprentices, thus passing on their knowledge. These apprentices pay the master tailor $150 and can stay with the tailor until they have mastered the essential skills. When asked why they choose to pay $150 to learn the trade when they can get paid to learn it at a government school, their answer is “quality!”

According to Vuthi Seng, Coordinator of SimplyHelp Cambodia, the social status of women changes after graduation. “Young Cambodian rural women traditionally have to stay home,” he says. “However, once a young lady graduates from the SimplyHelp Tailoring School in her village, which takes much less time than the two to three years required in a private school in the capital, she has a skill and can earn an income. She now has a more equal relationship with her husband; otherwise she is treated as a subject to her husband and has little decision-making power in the home.”

Additionally, not only does this heightened income affect a woman’s social status, but it affects a community at large. For instance, all students at the tailoring school are farmers and cow herders and have an average income of $1 to $2 per day. But graduates with their own businesses increase their average income from $3 to $7 per day. This extra income is not only used for basic needs, but is also re-invested in their own businesses and in their communities.

Computer School—Processing 
The Possibilities

The SimplyHelp Cambodia Computer School also opened in 2002 and is located in the capital Phnom Penh. Due to the high-quality training and low cost, 200 to 250 students apply for the 100 available training spots every three months. Typically, the students selected are from low-income households, orphans, or have a disability. During these classes they learn Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. From 2002 to 2009, the Computer School had 2,784 graduates.

The school’s teacher, Sophat Phoung, is a disabled young man from a rural area of Cambodia. Due to an accident in his early childhood, his right leg does not function anymore, which significantly reduced his job opportunities. So in 2002 he attended the computer school and worked as a volunteer after graduation. Due to his hard work and dedication, he was hired as a teacher in the school in 2003 and not only can he support himself now, but he can also provide income for his family.

Computer School’s Social and Economic Impact

There are signs that Cambodia is catching up with the rest of the information technology world as the Computer School has seen an increase in demand for more specialized computer training in QuickBooks, Photoshop, Access, and Peachtree.

A notable trend is that, although there are more male then female students, the number of female students has steadily increased over the years. Common jobs for graduates include data entry for companies or working at the cash register in supermarkets. It might not occur to people in the West that one needs to have basic computer skills to operate a cash register. Many others become business managers, administrators, or teachers, such as Ky Bun Heang, who became executive director for a Japanese NGO operating in Cambodia and specializing in the education field; Miss Chea Lida, who became a manager at one of the most successful Cambodian Banks; or Mr. Nuty, who became a provincial manager at the Department of National Treasury in Rattanank Kiri province.

SimplyHelp Cambodia is an educational model for economic and societal success, but certainly more work needs to be done. No matter how small or large, it is critical to support these kinds of vocational education endeavours which not only help individuals build a new life for themselves, but also help perpetuate a self-sustaining community. Read more!

Economic dependence subjugates policy

In one short week over two long decades, Burma has returned to a window of potential political transition not seen since its last elections in 1990 were hijacked by the military.

From left: Burma’s Prime Minister Thein Sein, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen, Laos’ Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh and Asean Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan link arms during the 5th Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Vietnam (CLMV) summit, at the Council of Ministers in Phnom Penh yesterday.


This time, the orchestrated polls on Nov 7 have overwhelmingly sent military-backed representatives of the Union Solidarity and Development Party to parliament.

On election day, renewed fighting between the Burmese army and ethnic minority groups flared up along the Thai-Burmese border.

Less than a week later, the iconic leader of Burma's opposition, Aung San Suu Kyi, was freed from house arrest where she had been confined for 15 of the last 21 years.

The implications from these momentous times in Burma are immense for Thailand, Southeast Asia and beyond.

The contrast between the responses to the election results from the West and Burma's near-abroad was conspicuous. China and India's comments were muted. Both Asian giants have vested interests in Burma's economic development, having courted and competed for the ruling generals in Naypyidaw for strategic assets and natural resources.

As Southeast Asia's main regional organisation, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations's receptive reaction was a foregone conclusion. The elections were the culmination of Asean's longstanding policy of "constructive engagement" and its now-proven rationale for accepting the generals' Burma back in 1997. Notwithstanding dissenting voices from Indonesia and the Philippines, Asean will now want to tick the electoral box on Burma's democratic checklist and move on.

As the country most directly affected by events in Burma, Thailand also revealed its hand well before the elections. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's initial reaction to the polls was to stick to the stated time-frame of the military-sponsored constitution of a three-month period before power is transferred to the elected government.

Although his predecessor and mentor, former prime minister Chuan Leekpai, made a point of not setting foot on Burma's soil in the late 1990s when the State Peace and Development Council was ensconced in power, Mr Abhisit not only visited Naypyidaw but came home with a multi-billion-dollar port development deal.

The Democrat Party-led government leader did not even visit Burma then, but his successor a decade later has now reversed course. Thailand's relative emphasis on human rights and democracy as its foreign policy underpinnings have gone out the window. But if pragmatism and material interests are to dictate Thailand's Burma policy, they should be rethought.

Thailand needs to come up with a longer-term energy outlook and a forward-looking immigration policy.

The port deal at Dawei (Tavoy) should be seen as part of a broader package of Thailand's growing energy dependence on Burma. More than 70% of Thai electricity generation derives from natural gas, and nearly half of that portion is imported from Burma's gas pipelines, with the rest made up of coal, hydro and petroleum sources. Renewable energy sources such as wind and solar are negligible. Nuclear power would be a viable alternative, as Vietnam's imminent construction of two nuclear power plants attests.

But for Thailand, nuclear power will need broad-based public discussions and hearings to promote trust and confidence and allay civil society concerns. Nuclear power is thus many years in the distance _ if it ever materialises.

Thailand, in short, is beset by energy insecurity. On a per-capita basis, Thailand's electricity consumption is in the range of the developed economies in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). And its foreseeable energy future is reliant on natural gas. Until it can tap into reserves in unexplored areas in the Gulf of Thailand, particularly the overlapping claims with Cambodia, Thailand's gas dependence on Burma will grow.

In turn, such dependence will constrain Thai foreign policy vis-a-vis Burma.

The fluid and precarious post-election interplay in Burma should prompt Thai leaders to start thinking about longer-term energy security.

Another serious challenge will be the demographics of economic growth. More than two million migrant workers from Burma are reportedly resident in Thailand, without corresponding rights to education and health care. Many of these migrant workers, now in their second generation, are unlikely to return to Burma even if peace and stability are restored.

A long-term comprehensive immigration policy, as opposed to the current ad hoc registration, could provide them with residency rights with access to proper education and health care. They now form the backbone of the back-breaking work in service industries, particularly construction, processed food and fisheries. If they continue to be excluded from the system and preyed on by Thai authorities for extortionist gains, they may become a source of social problems and crime in the years to come, owing to a lack of access to education and career mobility. The Thai economy can no longer thrive without these essential workers.

The more immediate demographic challenge will take place along the Thai-Burmese border.

Mr Abhisit's crass and myopic three-month reference for Burma's power transfer does not conduce to the logistical and humanitarian preparations that should be put in place.

The armed conflicts between the Burmese army and the ethnic minorities may well go on indefinitely. Largely unrepresented in parliament both at the national and regional levels following the polls, the major ethnic groups, such as the Karen and the Shan, are unwilling to lay down arms and be absorbed into the border guard forces controlled by the Burmese armies.

The growing spectre of civil war should lead Thai policy-makers and military commanders to start thinking about longer-term refugee sanctuaries along the border. It is not sustainable to receive the displaced ethnic refugees one day and repatriate them the next.

International relief agencies should be allowed and encouraged to share the burden. A longer-term refugee policy and accommodation, which has been a trademark in Thailand's foreign dealings in the past, should be formulated immediately.

The drugs production and trafficking associated with minority groups' war-financing will also need to be checked and deterred.

Burma after elections stands at a precipice. It could turn out well over a long transition, or very badly in relatively short order. The risks of continued military rule fronted by a bogus electoral regime on the one hand clashing with a pent-up and long-suffering opposition bent on going for "too much, too soon" will grow.

Thailand needs to be better prepared by providing safe havens along the border, relying less on Burma's natural gas and accommodating Burmese and Burmese minority workers who are contributing to the Thai economy for the long haul.

Read more!

Cambodian PM suggests setting up fund to advance CLV development triangle area

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen Tuesday suggested to establish a Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam (CLV) Fund to mobilize financial resources to fund the projects of the Master Plan 2010-2020.

The premier made the suggestion at the 6th Cambodia-Laos- Vietnam (CLV) Summit on Development Triangle Area (DTA) held on Tuesday morning in Phnom Penh, which is aimed to further strengthen the cooperation among three CLV countries.

With the financial difficulties, Hun Sen initiated to establish a CLV Fund in order to increase capitals for development projects.

He said that "Japan has financed 20 million U.S. dollars for the development triangle area, but we have to work with Japan and seek other development partners to mobilize capital for the triangle area."

In order to fulfill the programs and projects of the Master Plan, Hun Sen also suggested "to primarily shortlisting a number of prioritized projects from our cooperation sectors," such as infrastructure, trade and investment, social development and cultural conservation, agro-industry, tourism, and environment.

"The CLV Summit is not only to strengthen cooperation among the three countries, but also to contribute to the development in the region," said Hun Sen at the opening of the 6th CLV summit.

The summit is to review the progress of the triangle development area. Hun Sen highly evaluated the achievements that have been attained, especially in the sectors of trades and investments through fairs and trade conferences.

Two agreements were signed during the summit, including the amended memorandum of understanding towards the formulation of special preferential policies for the CLV development triangle area and the Phnom Penh Declaration on the Deepening Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle Area.

Meanwhile, a bilateral meeting was held between Prime Ministers Hun Sen and Laos' Prime Minsiter Bouasone Bouphavanh, and an agreement on air services between the two countries was signed.

At the half-day summit, Cham Prasidh, Cambodian minister of commerce and chairman of the Joint Coordinating Committee, briefly reported on the progress made in the areas of security, foreign affairs, and socio-economic development in the past two years.

CLV Development Triangle Area (CLV DTA) is aiming at accelerating of economic growth, poverty reduction, social and cultural progress in the areas of triangle.

Geographical provinces of the triangle area are Cambodia's Steng Treng, Rattanakiri, Mondulkiri and Kratie, Laos' Salavan, Sekong, Attapeu and Champasak, and Vietnam's Gialai, Daclac, Dacnong, Kontum, and Binh Phuoc.

Source: Xinhua Read more!

Cambodia deal will eliminate visas for short-term travellers

By Marisa Chimprabha
Phnom Penh
Published on November 17, 2010


Thai and Cambodian residents will enjoy free across-border travel from next month after the two countries sign a visa-free agreement.

Thai and Cambodian Foreign Ministers Kasit Piromya and Hor Nam Hong will sign the agreement in the presence of their prime ministers, Abhisit Vejjajiva and Hun Sen, on Wednesday today.

The signing will take place during a meeting of the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (Acmecs) in Phnom Penh.

Acmecs is a cooperative network of Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Thailand and Vietnam to optimise benefits of member countries’ diverse and complementary economic strengths, as part of the Asean Community.

The visa-free agreement, to be effective around December 18, will allow Thais to stay in Cambodia without a visa for 14 days and vice versa. Anyone wishing to stay longer than that must apply for a visa.

Under common practice, a tourist visa allows a visitor to stay for 30 days.

Kasit said the agreement was a starting point for cooperation under Acmecs’ single-visa scheme for its Five Countries, One Destination campaign.

He said the agreement would facilitate travel by people of both countries.

Asked to comment on whether human-smuggling activities and cross-border crimes would exploit the visa-free agreement, Kasit said the two countries’ crime-busting agencies would need to cooperate.

The first Acmecs Summit was held on November 12, 2003, in Bagan, Burma. The Bagan Declaration established the Acmecs framework and laid foundations for a plan of action covering five sectors of cooperation ��" trade and investment, agricultural and industrial cooperation, transport linkages, tourism cooperation, and human-resource development. Later at the Acmecs ministerial meeting in August 2005, public health was established as a sixth sector of cooperation.

Thailand hosted the second Acmecs Summit in Bangkok on November 3, 2005, to review progress on its implementation as well as set its future course. Acmecs leaders agreed on a declaration to forge even closer cooperation to meet the future needs of the subregion.

They also underscored the need for closer cooperation in dealing with trans-border diseases, especially bird flu, by signing the Declaration on Partnership in Combating Avian Influenza and Other Infectious Diseases. Thailand allocated US$2.5 million (now about Bt75 million) as a seed fund to support activities under the declaration.

In January 2007, the Acmecs leaders’ informal midterm-review meeting was held in Cebu, Philippines, as a sideline meeting to the Asean Summit, and leaders agreed to adopt the plan of action.

In 2008, the third Acmecs Summit was held in Vietnam, and issued a declaration to continue support on cooperation in trade and investment; agriculture; industry and energy; transport linkages; tourism; human-resources development; and public health, as well as expressing their support for environment cooperation.

On October 6, 2009, Thailand hosted the Acmecs senior officials’ meeting in Bangkok.
Read more!

Research and Markets: Cambodia - Telecoms, Mobile, Internet and Forecasts

Research and Markets ( www.researchandmarkets.com/research/ee1583/cambodia_telecom : ) has announced the addition of the " Cambodia - Telecoms, Mobile, Internet and Forecasts : " report to their offering.

Hot competition in Cambodia's crowded mobile market as 10 operators chase subscribers

Cambodia has managed a remarkable transition in building a vibrant telecom market. Despite the country's status as one of the least developed nations in the world and whilst it remains one of the poorer countries in Southeast Asia, Cambodia's efforts to expand and upgrade its telecom infrastructure have certainly been bearing fruit. There was very little infrastructure remaining from before the tumultuous Khmer Rouge days. As a result, Cambodia bypassed rebuilding the fixed-line market and quickly launched into alternative technologies, jump-starting its telecommunications infrastructure with digital technology. Not surprisingly, mobile services have completely overwhelmed the market. By early 2010, there were ten mobile operators vigorously competing with each other in a market segment that was growing at a healthy rate. There were 5.6 million mobile subscribers (penetration 38%) in the country at the start of 2010. The market was still in a very strong expansion phase as evidenced by the keenness shown by foreign operators seeking to be part of it.

Some limited fixed-line growth had earlier come about through investment under foreign assistance, but this mainly benefited Phnom Penh and geographical coverage has not increased significantly since that effort in the 1990s. The number of fixed-line services has remained relatively static at around 50,000, but by 2009 the numbers were starting to edge upwards. In the absence of any substantial fixed-line growth, mobile telephone services continue to completely dominate the overall telecom market in Cambodia. In fact mobiles represent more than 99% of the total number of telephone services in the country.

It is worthwhile noting that wireless technology has been especially advantageous for Cambodia in achieving rapid network rollout and replacement of a fixed network badly damaged by 20 years of war. In addition to the thriving mobile networks, Wireless Local Loop (WLL) has been useful for rapid provision of a limited number of fixed-line services. However, while Cambodia has exemplified the fact that WLL offers a viable option for rapidly expanding telecom access in developing countries with low levels of fixed infrastructure, the potential of this technology has yet to be fully exploited in the country.

The expansion of Internet services has also been overshadowed by the mobile phenomenon. Internet take-up rates remained disturbingly low for many years, presenting one of the lowest penetrations in the region. Of course, the limited fixed-line infrastructure has been a major inhibiting factor in the roll-out of both dial-up and ADSL Internet services. The Internet market started to change in 2007 when wireless broadband services first began to appear in a serious manner. There has been a surge in the number of operators interested in this particular form of broadband and especially WiMAX. By early 2010 there had been a major upturn in Internet numbers on the back of the increased broadband penetration. Overall penetration remained low, however.

Market highlights.

- Cambodia's mobile market continued on its positive expansion path in 2009 and into 2010, although the annual growth slowed somewhat to 26% in 2009;
- With mobile penetration of around 40% by March 2010, the market had passed the six million subscriber milestone;
- Cambodia had ten licensed mobile operators in a crowded, highly competitive market that invited questions about its likely overcrowding and the possible need for some sort of early rationalisation;
- The development of fixed-line services continues to languish, although the market picked up a little momentum in 2009;
- The Internet segment has been languishing for some time, but there are promising signs that the widespread introduction of wireless broadband services will see a long-term surge in growth. - In 2009/10 there was evidence that this surge was starting. Internet subscriptions grew by more than 100% in 2009;
- Internet is a high priority for this emerging market with online access being crucial to national growth.

Key Topics Covered:

- Executive summary
- Key statistics
- Telecommunications market
- Regulatory environment
- Telecommunications infrastructure
- Internet market
- Mobile communications
- Cambodia's broadcasting market
- Forecasts

Companies Mentioned.

- Cambodia GSM (MobiTel)
- CamShin
- Hello Axiata (formerly TMIC)
- AZ Communications
- Viettel
- Applifone (Star Cell)
- CadComms
- GT-Tell
- Smart Mobile (Latelz)
- VimpelCom/Beeline Cambodia
For more information visit www.researchandmarkets.com/research/ee1583/cambodia_telecom :

Research and MarketsLaura Wood, Senior ManagerU.S. Fax:

646-607-1907Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 press@researchandmarkets.com : mailto:press@researchandmarkets.com . Read more!

New Species of Carnivorous Plant Discovered in Cambodia

ScienceDaily (Nov. 15, 2010) — A new species of carnivorous pitcher plant has been found by Fauna & Flora International (FFI) in Cambodia's remote Cardamom Mountains. The discovery of Nepenthes holdenii is an indicator of both the stunning diversity and lack of research in the forests of the Cardamom Mountains.

The large red and green pitchers that characterize Nepenthes holdenii are actually modified leaves designed to capture and digest insects. The pitchers can reach up to 30 centimeters long. The carnivorous strategy allows the plants to gain additional nutrients and flourish in otherwise impoverished soils.

A further unusual adaptation seen in this new species is its ability to cope with fire and extended periods of drought. Cambodia's dry season causes forests to desiccate and forest fires are common. Nepenthes holdenii exploits the clearings caused by these regular blazes by producing a large underground tuber which sends up a new pitcher- bearing vine after the fires have passed.

British photographer Jeremy Holden, who first found the plant on the FFI survey and after whom it is named, said: "The Cardamom Mountains are a treasure chest of new species, but it was a surprise to find something as exciting and charismatic as an unknown pitcher plant."

This discovery is the latest in a series of new species described from the Cardamom Mountains, including a green-blooded frog and a number of new reptiles. Jenny Daltry, FFI Senior Conservation Biologist said: "The flora of Cambodia is still poorly known and potentially holds many new species for researchers to discover."

François Mey, the French botanist and Nepenthes expert who described the plant said: "This amazing species may be the most drought-tolerant of the genus. Thanks to a large underground tuber, it has the ability to endure extended periods of drought and fires."

Francois Mey and Jeremy Holden are currently working on a book devoted to the carnivorous plants of Cambodia.
Read more!

Pharmacists Play a Significant Role in TB Control Schemes in Cambodia

By Bobby Ramakant

The private pharmacists are real partners in TB control. They help tremendously in increasing new TB case detection and treatment in Cambodia.

Senior TB advocate Hara Mihalea from PATH presented the best practice example of Cambodia at the 41st Union World Conference on Lung Health in Berlin, Germany.

Hara reported that just like India where close to 70-80% patients go to private sector on first symptom. In Cambodia, an assessment was conducted by the National TB Control Programme (NTCP)on 2004. The results showed that 75% of TB patients first seek healthcare in the private sector. These findings were very similar with the findings of the 2002 prevalence survey report.

Cambodia ranks in 21st position in the list out of 22 TB high-burden countries in the world. It is estimated that 64% of the total population in Cambodia has latent TB infection.

In Cambodia, pharmacies in the private sectors outnumbered the number of pharmacies in the public sector. More private clinics and private labs are cited.

In the year 2000, advocacy efforts began with the ministry of health and the national TB control program in Cambodia to involve other sectors. In 2004, the assessment mentioned above was conducted that clearly showed that 75% of individuals assumed to have TB first seek healthcare in private sector.

In response to this assessment, a private public mix (PPM) strategy was developed and approved in 2005. From 2006 to 2010, this PPM strategy was scaled up in 11 provinces and 42 operational districts.

Almost 2000 pharmacies from 11 provinces were engaged in TB control as partners. They were regularly referring, reporting and recording suspected TB patients. The sale of anti-TB treatment drugs went down in private pharmacies. Before PPM strategy, the team had confirmed the availability of anti-TB treatment drugs in private pharmacies. But in recent evaluation, it was found that there were no anti-TB drugs in the pharmacies participating in PPM activities. This reduces the risk of anti-TB drug resistance.

"PPM is not easy to implement. It needs persistence, collaboration and networking skills," said Hara.

There was no financial incentive for private pharmacies over the past years to help improve TB program performance. But they were recognized as equal partners in TB control. One pharmacist said that he makes merit by referring TB patients to the proper healthcare facilities.
Read more!

Cambodian human-rights activist brings crusade to Westport

Human-rights activist Mu Sochua, a Cambodian parliamentarian who leads the opposition party and advocates for justice and rehabilitation for victims of human trafficking, cheered yesterday's release of Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest in Burma. "We cannot stop being vigilant," Mu Sochua told 200 people gathered at Westport's Seabury Center on Saturday night.

Sponsored by the Connecticut Council of Vital Voices, an international non-profit organization that trains and empowers women in developing countries, Mu Sochua and director Guy Jacobson were in Westport to publicly screen "Redlight," a documentary film that shares the stories of four children who were kidnapped, raped and sold into prostitution before they were 14 years old.

"Redlight" will also be shown this afternoon at the Ridgefield Playhouse at 4 p.m. Sunday.

Like Aung San Suu Kyi, Mu Sochua recently learned that a lawsuit that would have sent her to prison was dismissed. However, Mu Sochua continues to campaign for her causes as she travels throughout Cambodia's small villages, talking to people and trying to help children who are vulnerable to human traffickers. "I call it `barefoot democracy,' " Mu Sochua smiled.

As vividly depicted in "Redlight," Mu Sochua also helps children who are victims of human trafficking. The goal, she said, is to turn them into survivors. Despite legislation prohibiting such crimes, corruption has allowed perpetrators to escape punishment, she said. In fact, the film blatantly stated that, even when the criminals are identified, it's the responsibility of the young victims to round up witnesses and evidence to back up their claims.

In some cases, the children's parents are the ones who sell them to the brothels. And, one mother said on camera that if she were to receive $10 a month again, she would sell her second daughter, too, when she is older. In this situation, the older sister took her sibling to Somaly Mam, a former child prostitute who now operates safe houses and rehabilitation centers for young children.

In praise of Mu Sochua's perseverance, Jacobson told those gathered that during the filming of "Redlight" he employed 40 bodyguards carrying automatic machine guns for protection. "I was told that there were contracts out on me from the Chinese and Cambodian mafias, and this was just because I was making a movie about human trafficking," he said. "This puts into perspective the work that Mu Sochua does daily -- and she does it without any bodyguards. She is an incredible woman, doing incredible work."

Shaking off the compliments, Mu Sochua, who was in exile for 18 years after her parents put her on plane to escape the genocide sweeping through Cambodia, returned to her country committed to helping rebuild it. In 1998 she was appointed minister for women's affairs. This is where her work as a champion for children's and women's rights began. A member of Parliament since 2008, Mu Sochua has spoken out against a government that she perceives as a corrupt dictatorship.

"If you're going to be for human rights, what is important is that you stand on your principles at all times," Mu Sochua said. She feels inspired and hopeful about Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's recent visit to Cambodia and her public commitment to support Mu Sochua's opposition party. She urged the Westport community to write to legislators and implore them to also support these efforts. "This is an action you can take," she said.

All proceeds from Saturday night's event will be used to support Mu Sochua's programs in Cambodia. Although she does not seek financial support, Mu Sochua expressed appreciation to the attendees for watching the film -- disturbing, at times, for its realistic and heart-wrenching portrayal of children's plight -- and she said that it's by making people aware of the existence of human trafficking that changes may occur.

Jacobson pointed out that child prostitution doesn't only occur "over there." Danelle Ragoonanan-Storph, director of Bridgeport-based Project Rescue and Assist New America, agreed that similar activities occur in Fairfield County.

Roberta Cooper, co-president of the Connecticut chapter of Vital Voices, of Westport, said she was impressed by Mu Sochua's humanitarian efforts when they initially met four years ago at one of the organization's global summits. "We've since become friends," she noted. "The response that we've had tonight shows that this is an issue that people really care about."

Contributions can be made to Vital Voices Global Partnership. They are tax-deductible. Checks may be sent to Roberta Cooper, c/o P.O. Box 3363, Westport, CT. For more information, contact Cooper at robertacooper@optonline.net. Read more!

Cambodian Prison: A place of torture and death for innocent

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — From a distance, the former Chao Ponhea Yat High School provided no outward evidence of the horrors that awaited me once inside when I arrived aboard a “tuk-tuk” taxicab, a small, two-wheeled canopied trailer pulled by a motorcycle.

Set on a narrow side street in this chaotic and poverty-stricken capital city of Cambodia, the complex of five three-story concrete buildings surrounded by a playground, palm trees, small shops and food stalls appeared commonplace and ordinary as my driver, 35-year-old Kosal, let me off at the front gate.

But first impressions can be deceiving.

The former school that once accommodated 1,000 students had been converted into the notorious Security 21 or Tuol Sleng Prison by the Communist Khmer Rouge regime when it won the Cambodian Civil War in the mid-1970s, and it soon became the nation's largest penal center where thousands of innocent men, women and children were interrogated, beaten, tortured and killed until it was shuttered four years later.

Now a genocide museum, the prison serves as the testament to the irrationality and cruelty of the radical Khmer Rouge movement led by the infamous “Brother Number One” Pol Pot from 1975 until 1979, when the Vietnamese army invaded Cambodia during a border dispute between the two nations that ultimately led to the defeat and flight of the Communists, the closing of the prison and the re-establishment of comparative peace and order.

During their four-year reign, the Khmer Rouge evacuated Phnom Penh and other cities, forcing their inhabitants to move to the countryside and work as slave laborers in an effort to create a fundamentalist, agrarian utopia in which money, machinery, automobiles, modern medicine, religion, private property, education and all semblances of modern civilization were abolished.

Government officials, Buddhist monks, teachers, professors, students, doctors, scientists and all those in the middle and upper classes were murdered outright by the Khmer Rouge or taken to Tuol Sleng Prison and other facilities where they were interrogated and forced to write false confessions that implicated family members, friends and neighbors before being tortured and put to death.

As I entered the prison, I was joined by a middle-aged German couple and two young Swedish backpackers.

“I hope all five of us can stay together in here. It is too terrible just for the two of us,” said the German woman as she clutched her husband's arm.

I, too, needed the company of sympathetic others. What lay before me in the museum was unspeakable. I will never be able to erase from my mind what I saw.

The former classrooms had been converted into tiny brick cells where prisoners were chained to the walls and floors before being photographed and interrogated. The windows, doors and outer corridors were covered with iron bars and barbed wire to prevent escapes or prisoners jumping to their deaths from the upper levels.

Prisoners were ordered to stand at attention in their cells during daylight hours, and when night came they were shackled together with bars and chains, instructed not to speak with their fellow inmates and forced to sleep in their underwear jammed head-to-toe against one another on the bare floors.

Following days of interrogation, the prisoners were led to windowless chambers where they underwent medieval tortures too gruesome to describe, taken to a courtyard and beaten to death with shovels, pickaxes or clubs and buried on the school grounds.

When the graves could hold no more bodies, prisoners were bound with wire, blindfolded and trucked 10 miles to the famous killing fields at Choeug Ek where they were beaten to death and thrown into mass graves.

Of the estimated 14,000 to 20,000 prisoners incarcerated at Tuol Sleng, all met death except for seven who managed to escape. More than 1.8 million Cambodians, approximately one-fourth of the nation's population, died during the four-year Khmer Rouge terror from torture, murder, starvation, overwork or disease.

Walking the halls of the prison, I arrived in a room where photographs of the prisoners taken by their captors were displayed on large panels. Several were of women holding infants in their arms. I also came upon a case holding several of the prisoners' skulls that were unearthed in the schoolyard.

The German woman in my small group burst into tears at this sight. “This is like Nazi Germany,” she cried, running outside.

More than 35 years after the depredations began, justice has finally commenced. The prison chief known as “Duch,” who has already served 11 years in prison, was convicted four months ago by a UN-backed tribunal for genocide and crimes against humanity and will serve an additional 19 years behind bars. Trials for other Khmer Rouge officials are to begin in early 2011.

Kosal, my taxi driver, told me when I left the prison, “Duch's sentence was too lenient. He should have been executed. Both my parents, two brothers and 20 of my aunts and uncles were murdered by the Khmer Rouge. There is no real justice here.”

Perhaps John Hall, associate professor of international law at Chapman University who has carried out extensive human rights field work and research in Cambodia, best articulates the reactions of those such as myself who have visited Tuol Sleng.

“I have been to the prison many times,” he told me, “and each time I am more shocked by its depravity and inhumanity. Tuol Sleng was a center of bestiality, barbarism and hopelessness.”

• David C. Henley is publisher emeritus of the Lahontan Valley News.
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Authorities demolished 78 homes

Nearly 80 homes in Preah Sihanouk province’s Stung Hav district were demolished by authorities over the weekend after a Supreme Court verdict on Friday awarded the land to a development company.

Lou Vannaret, who lives in Lek Muoy commune, said residents had been banned from returning to their dwellings since Friday when the verdict was announced, declaring the land the property of the Ly Hong Sin Company.

“Residents dared not come out and complain against them because they have military forces guarding them,” he said.

Village representative Mon Sina said 149 families had been living in the area since 1999.

But Kim Eng, deputy chief of the provincial court, said the demolitions were in accordance with the Supreme Court verdict.

“They are not homes,” he said.

“They just built them up in the wild and no one lives there. We have dismantled 78 cottages so far and we will leave the villagers to dismantle the remaining 43 huts by themselves.”

Representatives of the Ly Hong Sin Company could not be reached for comment.
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'America's Most Wanted' investigates children sold as sex slaves in Cambodia

By Alicia Rancillio

NEW YORK, N.Y. — John Walsh has been hunting "America's Most Wanted" fugitives since 1988. On Saturday he goes undercover in Southeast Asia to investigate the sex trafficking of Cambodian children.

Accompanied by British police officer Jim Gamble, Walsh says he was shocked by what he saw.

He and Gamble went into a bar where there were 50 to 60 girls, Walsh said.

"Within two minutes a madam came up to us and said, 'What are you looking for?' and Jim said, 'We're looking for young girls.' She brought over three or four girls that were (about) 12 or 13 years old — very, very young."

Gamble told her they wanted younger girls, Walsh said. He said the woman replied, " 'What do you want? We have 6- and 7-year-old boys and girls. I can arrange that off premises.' It was disgusting and heartbreaking."

Walsh said Western pedophiles, from the United States, United Kingdom and Germany travel east to Cambodia as international sex tourists, looking to have sex with children.

He says the show choose Cambodia because it's cheap to buy a sex slave there.

"I saw many Western men that had come there not to go to the Buddhist temples, not to come there to look at the beaches, not to do anything at all but to molest and have sex with children. It's wrong, it's illegal and it has to change," he said.

Walsh said the episode will be a "tough show to watch" but said it's important to expose the reality that children are sexually assaulted by predators — many of whom are from the United States.

So far, the show has captured 1,135 criminals in its 24 seasons.

"America's Most Wanted" airs Saturdays at 9pm ET/PT on Fox.
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Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia Red Cross Societies promote cooperation

Cooperation between the Red Cross Societies of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia will help improve living conditions for people in the border regions.

Chairman of the Vietnam Red Cross Society, Tran Ngoc Tang, said this at a conference of the Vietnam-Lao-Cambodia Red Cross Societies in Hanoi on November 13.

He said leaders of the three societies agreed with the proposal for cooperation in the 2011-2015 period.

Under the proposal, border provinces in the three countries will work closely together to share information about natural disasters and epidemics and help each other improve healthcare service.

The Vietnam Red Cross Association will help Laos and Cambodia with Red Cross staff training and provide free medical examination and treatment for Lao and Cambodian people living on the border with Vietnam.

Since the cooperation agreement between the three societies was signed four years ago, Vietnam has assisted Laos and Cambodia with healthcare services and charitable activities valued at more than VND8 billion.

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Vann Molyvann: Cambodia's forgotten architect

Cambodian Architecture Vann Molyvann, 78 sketches a project in Phnom Penh, in 2005. Vann Molyvann was a key creative force behind many landmarks, ranging from the National Sports Complex to the Independence Monument and experimental low-cost apartments. (Tang Chhin Sothy / AFP / Getty Images)

In the 1960s, he redefined the look of his homeland architecturally. Now his works are being lost to redevelopment. Admirers are working to highlight his importance.

By Dustin Roasa, Special to the Los Angeles Times

Reporting from Sihanoukville, Cambodia — — Architect Bill Greaves stood on a bluff outside the city and admired an elegant white and peach building perched high above the beaches and guesthouses that have made this seaside spot into a tourist boomtown. Inspired by the dong raik, a pole used by rural Cambodians to carry loads on their shoulders, the building seemed to float in the air, its concrete and brick second floor held aloft by a complex web of hidden beams.

"It's a gem, but it's not very well known," Greaves said of the SKD Brewery offices, built in 1968 by Cambodia's most gifted and visionary architect, Vann Molyvann.

In the 1960s, under the iron-fisted patronage of Prince Norodom Sihanouk, Vann Molyvann helped transform Cambodia from a sleepy former French colony into one of the most architecturally arresting countries in Asia. But after surviving decades of civil war and the terror of Khmer Rouge rule, the architect's buildings are being demolished as Cambodia seeks to rebuild.

Although Vann Molyvann, 83, is back in Phnom Penh after years of living overseas, there is little he can do to prevent his work from disappearing. In 2008, two of his greatest works, the National Theater and the Council of Ministers building, were demolished. In 2001, the government sold his Olympic Stadium to a Taiwanese developer, who altered the complex's drainage system to the point that it floods frequently.

In response, admirers such as Greaves, art historian Darryl Collins, who cowrote the only book in English about 1950s and 1960s Cambodian architecture, and architect Geoff Pyle, who founded an organization that offers guided tours of Phnom Penh's notable buildings, are working to highlight Vann Molyvann's importance. He remains virtually unknown in Cambodia, where he is not taught in the country's high schools and universities, and his international profile is low.

Greaves had traveled from his base in Phnom Penh to the brewery in Sihanoukville with a team of volunteers working with the Vann Molyvann Project, an organization he established in 2009 to document the architect's buildings. Nearly all of Vann Molyvann's blueprints were lost during Cambodia's years of turmoil, so Greaves and his volunteers are re-creating them from scratch to leave a record for future generations.

As the sun burned off the morning mist and lipstick-red trucks roared by full of Angkor beer — the SKD complex remains a functioning brewery — Cambodian and American volunteers in their 20s moved methodically through the space, hand measuring doorways, columns and anything else they could get their tape measurers on. They would spend the better part of three days sizing up the building before heading back to Phnom Penh, where they were creating scale models and drawings for the first major exhibition of Vann Molyvann's work, which opened in Phnom Penh in late September.

Greaves first encountered Vann Molyvann's buildings when he was visiting as a tourist in 2004. "I was astonished. I didn't know anything about architecture in Cambodia in the 1960s," he said. He was struck by the architect's daring use of concrete to create massive, expressive forms, "the kinds of things you could never convince a structural engineer to do nowadays," he said.

The buildings ingeniously used what might now be called green technology, including ventilation, natural lighting and drainage systems, to mitigate Cambodia's harsh climate, which alternates between periods of torrential rain and extreme heat. The buildings also referenced objects from Cambodian culture, such as mystical Buddhist serpents called nagas and the straw hats worn by peasants working in the fields.

After returning to Cambodia several times, Greaves quit his job at Steven Harris Architects in New York and moved to Phnom Penh to found the Vann Molyvann Project, which has consulted extensively with the Cambodian architect in its work. "I am extremely grateful for what they are doing," Vann Molyvann said of his foreign admirers.

Vann Molyvann's life has been shaped by the twists and turns of his country's tumultuous history. Born in 1926, he attended Cambodia's only high school during World War II. However, his studies were interrupted by Japan's takeover of the country during the war, but he managed to graduate and in 1945 won one of two scholarships that year for Cambodians to study in France.

At the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, he received architectural training from disciples of Le Corbusier, who taught him the influential French architect's "Le Modulor," a system of proportion that Vann Molyvann later used as the basis for his designs. He thought little about his home country and "drowned in French culture completely," he said. Meanwhile, his compatriots in Paris at the time, including a young Pol Pot, soaked up the Marxism and Stalinism that would form the ideological basis of the Khmer Rouge.

Vann Molyvann returned to Phnom Penh in 1956, and he was one of a few architects in Cambodia with formal training. Cambodia had gained independence from France in 1953, but it remained a poor, rural country with no recent history of cities or urban planning. "Architecture was a strange concept in Cambodia. They did not know what it was," he said. He opened a firm but found little private work.

His fortunes changed when Norodom Sihanouk appointed him chief architect for state buildings and director for urban planning and habitat. With access to government commissions, he could begin designing civic buildings that combined the Modernist and Brutalist sensibilities he had learned in Paris with Cambodia's traditions and way of life.

Over the next decade and a half, Vann Molyvann built dozens of buildings in Phnom Penh and elsewhere in Cambodia. His crowning achievement was the Olympic Stadium, a sprawling sports complex that was built in advance of the Southeast Asian Games of 1963, which were never held. With a water-management system inspired by the moats and channels of ancient Angkor and soaring concrete overhangs, the design helped usher in a period of architectural and cultural creativity. He was in his early 30s at the time. "Imagine having the possibility to build such a thing when you are that age," Vann Molyvann said, his eyes twinkling.

Norodom Sihanouk viewed architecture as a way of expressing the aspirations for progress and modernity of the newly independent Cambodian people. He poured significant portions of the national budget into construction projects, and he deftly exploited Cambodia's Cold War neutrality to land aid from both the Americans and the Soviets.

"Sihanouk was extremely open to the outside world," Vann Molyvann said. "Cambodians had enormous enthusiasm to build the country, and fortunately for us, Prince Sihanouk shared this feeling."

Norodom Sihanouk's showpiece was the Russian Boulevard, which connected central Phnom Penh to its international airport. Lined with many of Vann Molyvann's most significant buildings, including the Teachers' Training College and the Council of Ministers building, the road was designed to impress visiting dignitaries.

But Norodom Sihanouk could not keep his country neutral forever. With the Vietnam War spilling over into Cambodia, Vann Molyvann left with his family in 1972, and the prince's cosmopolitanism eventually gave way to the savage xenophobia of the Khmer Rouge. Vann Molyvann spent the next two decades as a consultant with the United Nations at various posts around the world.

He moved back to Cambodia in 1993, but his second return has proved more difficult than the first. Although he was appointed head of the organization that managed the site of the Angkor temples, the current government of Prime Minister Hun Sen removed him from that post after he publicly complained about government corruption. "I felt that entrance fees for Angkor should go to the people, not to civil servants in Phnom Penh. They said, 'Get out, Molyvann,'" he said.

Out of favor with the government, Vann Molyvann has watched the urban landscape in Phnom Penh transform. Norodom Sihanouk's Russian Boulevard, that bellwether of Cambodia's aspirations, now swarms with trucks and motorbikes carrying goods and migrants into the city, and it is lined with the glass-and-steel office buildings and cookie-cutter housing developments of Cambodia's recent economic boom. The new Chinese-designed and funded Council of Ministers building, which replaced Vann Molyvann's, features a pyramid framed by what resembles an enormous drawbridge. It would not look out of place in a Chinese provincial capital.
"There's a very strong notion in Cambodia that a modern city should be like Shanghai or Bangkok, where the emphasis is on verticality," said Greaves of the Vann Molyvann Project. "Late Modern architecture is a little harder for the general public to love."

While the efforts of Greaves and others have raised Vann Molyvann's profile among Cambodians, the fate of his buildings ultimately rests with the current government, which came to power in 1979 after defeating the Khmer Rouge. "The government doesn't want to leave anything from before 1979, because it wasn't their achievement. History is completely manipulated," Vann Molyvann said.

Today, he has an official government title, but it is essentially an honorific. He is working on translating his PhD dissertation, about urbanization in Southeast Asia, into Khmer, the Cambodian language.

Beng Khemro, deputy director general of the country's Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, said the government is doing everything it can to preserve Cambodia's architectural heritage. "But economic development and modernization inevitably bring about changes in every country, and Cambodia is no exception," he said.

Young Cambodians like Yin Sotheara, a 21-year-old architecture student and volunteer with the Vann Molyvann Project, hope to play a role in that development. Back at the SKD Brewery offices, he took a break from measuring a rear-facing balcony to discuss his future after graduation.

"There are not many opportunities for Cambodian architects. Most of the new buildings are being built by Chinese and Koreans," he said. But learning about Vann Molyvann had for the first time provided him with a Cambodian architectural role model. "Vann Molyvann showed that you can take foreign concepts and mix them with Cambodian traditions to make new buildings," he said. "I want to make buildings that are suited to the Cambodian way of life."

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The US loses out to China in Cambodia

Beijing offer of no-strings aid to a corrupt administration pays off, writes Asia Sentinel's Sam Campbell

Hillary Clinton's two-day visit to Cambodia Oct 30-Nov 1 could be seen as touching base with an old ally and building links with a future partner. But under the surface a battle for influence is being waged between the US and China in Cambodia, a fight Uncle Sam is unlikely to win.

Cambodia is unique in its dependency on aid, something that countries wanting to influence the kingdom have capitalized on. Since the 1992-3 era of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia, literally billions of aid dollars have flowed into Cambodia. Donors in June pledged US$1.1 billion for the coming year, up from last year's pledge of US$950 million.

Cambodia has been happy to receive aid, for the most part–basic services like health care and education are still reliant on donor funds, yet schools and hospitals routinely bear the name of high-ranking Cambodians who are happy to take the credit for Cambodia's rapid development (the head of the Cambodian Red Cross, Hun Sen's formidable wife Bun Rany, is a good example)

The US has been one of the main players in the aid game, both through small NGOs and the US Agency for International Development, which funds a wide range of democracy and governance activities.

Yet rights issues, governance, and in particular corruption, remain pressing problems, and some question how much improvement has been made. Attempts to chastise Cambodia over the snail's pace of reforms have ended badly – US ambassador Carol Rodley was blasted last year for remarking that corruption costs Cambodia US$500 million annually, just one of many Western critics slapped down by the Cambodian government.

As regards aid, the contrast between Washington's (and the West's) blustering moralizing and Beijing's circumspect mercantilism is striking. Read more!

'America's Most Wanted' Airing Special Exposing American Pedophiles in Cambodia

By Hollie McKay


In a special episode of “America’s Most Wanted” airing on FOX this Saturday, host John Walsh will take viewers to the front lines of the international battle against child predators in Cambodia, a nation frequented by pedophiles.

“We’re profiling American pedophiles who have fled to other countries. Westerners go over there primarily to have sex with small children, 6-8 year old boys and girls,” Walsh told Pop Tarts. “I took a small crew with me and went undercover with a British cop and infiltrated brothel nightclubs. It was really heartbreaking to see it.”

Walsh said that within two minutes of being in a Cambodian bar, they were approached by a madam offering them very young children, and believes audiences will be shocked at how easy and how prevalent it is that Westerners involve themselves in such acts.

“It is our garbage that goes to Cambodia and preys on these young children. It is our garbage from America, England, the West that goes to the East and preys upon their poverty,” he said. “People are going to be surprised about how easy it is to do, and how many Westerners fly there just to solicit and have sex with children.”

The episode also provides a rare exploration of a Cambodian prison, and an interview with two British men arrested for their illicit involvement with young children.

“They [the British prisoners] were very arrogant and blaming society for getting caught. There is also this concept that people can pay off the police or even the judges if they get caught,” Walsh explained.

But among the devastation, the veteran TV host was overcome by the strength of one woman in particular, Somaly Mam, a tireless advocate who has dedicated her life to rescuing Cambodia’s children from the sex trade. A sex-crime victim as a child, Mam operates a center for other victimized children, offering them hope for the future.

“Somaly Mam herself had been kidnapped and forced into sex trade when she was 14; now she goes and rescues the poor children one at a time, at great risk to herself. In fact her own 14-year-old daughter was kidnapped by pimps and brutally sexually assaulted, but this didn’t deter her,” Walsh continued. “She is still going in and trying to save these boys and girls from a life of prostitution.”

Walsh also believes it is in our nation’s best interest to assist in tracking down the American pedophiles profiled on the broadcast.

“The number one thing is awareness. These guys will go over there and come back and function as pediatricians, scout masters, school teachers. We need to tell our officials,” he added. “People may ask ‘why should what’s happening in Cambodia affect me?’ Well, the guys that go over there and molest Cambodian kids come back and molest American kids. I’ve been to Haiti, Katrina, Ground Zero and seen some rough things… but the trip to Cambodia was really, really life-changing.” Read more!

America's Most Wanted Goes Undercover In Cambodia

In what sounds like a relatively horrifying episode, this Saturday America’s Most Wanted will feature host John Walsh as he goes undercover in Cambodia to expose international sex trafficking.

It's an unfortunate reality that sex-related crimes are a global epidemic and this Saturday, America's Most Wanted will be visiting Cambodia to investigate pedophilia crimes taking place at a notorious bar. Fox released some information on the special today, revealing that in addition to Walsh’s undercover venture in Southeast Asia, the episode will also include information on American sex predators that are still at large. The episode will air on Saturday, Nov. 13 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. Below is the full description for the episode as provided by Fox.

AMERICA’S MOST WANTED cameras go undercover in Cambodia, a nation targeted by pedophiles because the abject poverty there has made it distressingly easy to “buy” underage children. Working with international law enforcement agencies, Walsh investigates a notorious Phnom Penh bar to see firsthand how young girls are offered to foreign visitors and visits a Cambodian prison to confront jailed Westerners accused of preying upon children.

Walsh also talks to Somaly Mam, a tireless advocate who has dedicated her life to rescuing Cambodia’s children from the sex trade. A sex-crime victim as a child, Mam operates a center for other victimized children, offering them hope for the future.

In the episode, Walsh will ask viewers to get involved in the fight against predators by helping him track down several Read more!

Cambodian Deminers Headed to Lebanon

It is estimated that about 670 square kilometers of the country's land are still cover by landmine and would take several years to be removed

Cambodia will send more than 200 deminers as UN peacekeepers to Lebanon next week, Defense Minister Tea Banh said.

The 219 soldiers will be sent off after a ceremony Nov. 17, the defense minister said.

The Lebanon mission will add to Cambodia's record of demining. The country was riddled with mines and ordinance after decades of civil war, and now its experts have served tours in Sudan and other countries.

One team is continuing demining in Sudan, said Chhum Socheat, a defense spokesman.

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GE Commissions Two New Hospitals in Cambodia Under Developing Health Globally™ Program

Fairfield, CT, United States, 11/11/2010 - GE, in partnership with the Cambodian Ministry of Health, this week announces the official commissioning of medical equipment at two public hospitals in Cambodia, as part of its Developing Health Globally™ program (NYSE: GE).

Aligned with GE’s healthymagination initiative, this GE corporate citizenship program aims to improve access to quality healthcare in the developing world by addressing critical gaps in existing government healthcare facilities.

GE will sponsor commissioning events at Khmer Soviet Friendship Hospital on Wednesday, October 27, at 9:30 a.m. and National Pediatric Hospital on Wednesday, October 27, at 2:30 p.m. Ceremonies will take place at both hospitals at the respective times. Each commissioning marks the completion of the product installation and training, and provides each hospital the opportunity to share the news of the upgraded facility with the community. GE’s donation is comprised of equipment to better many areas of the hospital including Radiology, Operating theaters, Labor and Delivery, and the Maternity and Infant care wards.

National Pediatric Hospital Commissioning_2
“As the Developing Health Globally program expands to two more hospitals in Cambodia, new equipment and training will better help clinicians care for members in the community,” said Bob Corcoran, vice president of corporate citizenship at GE Corporation. “GE strives to build the capacities of these hospitals to improve access to quality care, enabling these hospitals to save lives.”

GE leaders attending the commissioning include Bob Corcoran, vice president of GE corporate citizenship; Stuart Dean, president of GE ASEAN; Mylan Nguyen, national executive of Vietnam & Cambodia; David Utama, president and CEO of GEHC ASEAN; Krista Bauer, director of global programs at GE; Ivan Cayabyab and Vasanthe Sekhar, the GE ambassadors to the newly commissioned hospitals. In addition to attendees from GE, H.E. Carol Rodley, the US Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia, and H.E. Mam Bunheng, the Cambodian Minister of Health; will be in attendance.

“The Government of Cambodia, through the Ministry of Health, thanks GE for its continued support of our hospitals,” said H.E. Mam Bunheng, the Cambodian Minister of Health. “The investment in two additional hospitals will broaden care and access in Cambodia.”

Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hsopital Commissioning
In 2009, Phnom Penh Municipal Referral Hospital, Kossamak National Hospital, Kampong Speu Referral Hospital, Sihanoukville Referral Hospital, Kampot Referral Hospital and Takeo Referral Hospital were commissioned. The additional two hospitals mark the completion of eight Cambodian sites.

About Developing Health Globally
Launched in 2004 targeting sub-Saharan Africa , Developing Health Globally now extends across the developing world to 13 countries in Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia. The program aims to improve access to quality healthcare for some of the world’s most vulnerable populations. Developing Health Globally uses GE core competencies including technology, process expertise and employee engagement to offer sustainable “enterprise solutions” to address some of the critical gaps that exist in developing-world healthcare facilities.

About GE
GE (ge.com) is a diversified infrastructure, finance and media company taking on the world’s toughest challenges. From aircraft engines and power generation to financial services, medical imaging, and television programming, GE operates in more than 100 countries and employs about 300,000 people worldwide.

Contacts
Frank Mantero, Director, Corporate Citizenship Programs, GE Corporation
P: +12033733534 / E: frank.mantero[.]ge.com.

Dararith Lim, Market Development Manager/ Cambodia Country Representative, GE Corporation
P: + 855 23 217 226 / E: dararith.lim[.]ge.com.

Press Contact
Frank Mantero, GE
P: +1 203 373 3534 / E: frank.mantero[.]ge.com.. Read more!

Khmer Rouge Tribunal risks "legacy of impunity"

Cambodia's UN-backed genocide tribunal should press on with new cases against former Khmer Rouge leaders or risk a "legacy of impunity," says a trial-monitoring group.

"High-level war crimes cases should be tried by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), rather than transferred to local courts." The report by the US based Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI), released on Wednesday, says that ordinary Cambodian courts cannot guarantee international fair trial standards, given intense political interference of Cambodian leaders.

"If any of these cases are dismissed, transferred, or otherwise handled in a manner that does not evince independent decision making consistent with international standards, the court will be left with a legacy of impunity rather than justice in spite of its accomplishments in other cases," the report reads.

The ECCC - staffed by a mixture of Cambodian and international staff and judges - prosecutes senior Khmer Rouge leaders responsible for the deaths of up to 2 million Cambodians between 1975 and 1979. Ever since the UN-backed court was set up in 2003, it has been dogged by allegations of political interference while Cambodian and international prosecutors openly disagree on whether the court should pursue more suspects.

Last month, Cambodian Prime Minister - himself once a mid-level Khmer Rouge member - told visiting United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon that a third case was "not allowed" because it could plunge the country back into civil war.

Following Hun Sen's statement, UN Chief Ban Ki-moon said it would be up to the ECCC to decide whether or not to start a third trial.

In its statement Wednesday, the OSJI warns that the court "risks the appearance that it is dumping the cases because it is unwilling or unable to deal with the political interference that has come to haunt the ECCC."

"Cambodia's government has made clear its determination to abort any cases it finds politically inconvenient," said James A. Goldston, executive director of the OSJI. "The United Nations and international donors must ensure that any completion plan for the court guarantees fair trials and appeals in all remaining cases on its docket." Goldston added that the best way to achieve this is through the existing hybrid tribunal.

Four cases, involving a total of ten accused persons, are currently pending before the tribunal in Phnom Penh. The court completed its first case in July, sentencing former Toul Sleng prison chief 'Duch' to 35 years in jail for overseeing the deaths of more than 12,000 people. The case, dubbed "case 001", is now under appeal.

In September, the ECCC indicted four top regime leaders genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity for their role in the deaths of up to two million people in Cambodia's "Killing Fields". Ieng Sery, Ieng Thirith, Nuon Chea, and Khieu Samphan are set to go to trial together in mid-2011.

Cases 003/004, involving five senior Khmer Rouge leaders whose names remain, are currently under investigation, but Cambodian leaders have repeatedly sought to block their progress.

"Such blatant political interference in the court's work is of course contrary to basic fair trial standards," said the report. But Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan called the document "an insult to the government."

Cambodia and the UN had not yet reached "an agreement" on cases three and four, he said, adding that funding was a key concern. "We are worried about the budget," Phay Siphan said.
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Exiled for Years, Cambodian Activist Hopes for Justice

Mu Sochua lost her parents to the Khmer Rouge, but hasn't lost her will. She will tell her story after a documentary screening on Saturday at the Seabury Center.


The Cambodia of Mu Sochua's childhood was a nation of peace. The rice paddies in the north were a verdant green. The lakes were full of fish. The beaches were unspoiled. For the first time in a century, the country was independent and free.

"I look back at that childhood as a place that was heaven," she said.

But as Sochua grew older, turmoil took over. The United States backed a coup that overthrew the head of state, who was believed to be sympathetic to the Communists despite remaining neutral. The country was bombed during the Vietnam War, and a man educated in Paris began to gain power. Soon, Saloth Sar, better known as Pol Pot, became the new leader.

He instituted genocide in a country that had known peace just a decade earlier.

In 1972, Sochua had just completed high school and her wealthy parents sent her to safety in France as Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge strengthened. The parents stayed behind.

"My parents didn't want to leave. They did not think that there would be genocide," she said. "My father always said he would live in Cambodia and he would die in Cambodia."

Like so many others, her mother and father disappeared. They were never heard from again.

Sochua bears the scars of a country that has forgotten about justice. She has dedicated her life to bringing economic, social and criminal justice to a country that barely knows the meaning of the word.

"It's a scar as if you were attacked by acid and, very sadly, some of the victims will not get out because the system is not forgiving and there are no opportunities," she said.

Bringing the Fight to Westport

In a house not far from Staples High School, Sochua wrapped herself in a shawl to keep warm. She arrived from Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital that rarely sees the temperature dip below 70 degrees, the day before. She spoke of a country with a modern airport, an infrastructure of roads and two million annual tourists.

"That is what you see on the surface from the outside," the 56-year-old said. "Underneath it, for a society to be called stable, you have to look at freedom, human rights, the justice system, the role of the media and then you have to look at the government at all levels."

In those areas, she said, Cambodia has not developed.

For example, if a woman is raped, she is expected to pay an exorbitant amount of money for the case to be heard by a judge. Evidence can disappear and witness intimidation is common. Property is unlawfully seized by corrupt officials, and men often have to leave the country to find degrading work since mostly women are employed in nearby garment factories.

Sochua was a guest in the home of Roberta Cooper, of the Connecticut branch of the nationwide nonprofit Vital Voices. The organization is dedicated to helping women in developing countries.

When Sochua was elected to parliament in 1998, she was a rising political star despite the inequality women face throughout the country. She galvanized other women in the country to run for office and even landed a spot in the cabinet, one of only two women to do so. While serving in office, she saw corruption firsthand and resigned in 2004, switching to the opposition party.

All of this corruption happens even though Cambodia calls itself a democracy.

"This type of democracy – there's no shape. There's no form. There's only a name," she said.

Several times a year, Sochua leaves Cambodia to raise awareness and funds for local charities. Westport is one of her stops as she heads to a forum in New York City, to the west coast for Thanksgiving with some family members and a visit to the European Union Parliament in Brussels with former President Bill Clinton.

Last week, she met with Hillary Clinton when the secretary of state visited Cambodia. Clinton urged human rights progress and justice for the Khmer Rouge officials standing trial for their genocidal crimes.

"Countries that are held prisoner to their past can never break those chains and build the kind of future that their children deserve," Clinton said from Cambodia. "Although I am well aware the work of the tribunal is painful, it is necessary to ensure a lasting peace."

Exile

After a year in a Paris, Sochua relocated to the United States. She was able to obtain scholarships and received a psychology degree from San Francisco State University and a master's degree in social work from Berkeley.

She looked for her parents on the list of prisoners held in the notorious S-21 prison, where thousands of Cambodians were tortured and killed by the Khmer Rouge. She also talked to any refugees she could find to see if they knew what happened to her parents. All of this was to no avail.

As a refugee, she spent 18 years in exile. She married and started a family while dreaming of returning the country she left behind.

"I had to survive on my own," she said. "Because of a good education I was able to put my life together."

Finally, after several unsuccessful attempts due to passport complications, she returned home in 1989.

"I left as an innocent young woman. Hardly a woman, yet still a young child," she said. "I came back a mother of two."

Event Info

The Connecticut Council of Vital Voices Global Partnership will be screening Redlight, a documentary exposing the global issue of human trafficking on Saturday, Nov. 13 at the Seabury Center, 45 Church Lane, in Westport. A dessert reception will be held at 7:30 p.m. Guests will have an opportunity to meet Mu Sochua and director Guy Jacobson, and purchase the work of Cambodian artisans. The film will be shown at 8 p.m., followed by a question and answer period with Sochua. Tickets for the event are $100 for VIP seating and the screening; $30 for all other seats at the screening; and $15 for students. Tickets are tax-deductible.

On Nov. 14 Redlight will be shown at 4 p.m. at the Ridgefield Playhouse, 80 East Ridge Rd., Ridgefield, followed by a question and answer period with Mu Sochua. There will be an opportunity to meet Mu Sochua and filmmaker Guy Jacobson at a VIP reception beginning at 2:30 p.m. at Lounsbury House, 316 Main Street, in Ridgefield. Tax-deductible tickets for the Ridgefield event are $100 for the VIP reception and the screening; $30 for the screening only; and $15 for students.
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Cambodian monks told to behave during festival

PHNOM PENH — Cambodia's monks have been warned not to mingle with the crowds at a major water festival this year, with any caught looking at girls in short skirts facing a reprimand.

More than two million visitors are expected to flock to the capital for the three-day festival from November 20-22 to enjoy boat races on the Tonle Sap lake, fireworks and parades.

But for the city's monks, this year's event will be a muted affair in light of the new restrictions.

"As we are monks, it is not good to walk among the crowd because we could touch other people," Phnom Penh's chief monk Non Ngeth told AFP.

Buddhist monks are highly revered in Cambodia, and they are not supposed to touch, or even look at, women.

It would "not be suitable" for monks to be seen mingling with festivalgoers along the riverfront, Non Ngeth added, especially with high-ranking officials looking on.

And if any of the monks dared to sneak a peek at girls wearing short skirts or shorts, "they will be corrected", he said.

But the monks won't have to miss out on the festivities altogether.

They will still be allowed to perform ceremonies blessing the wooden boats taking part in the races, Non Ngeth said.

The annual festival, one of Cambodia's largest, marks the reversal of the flow between the Tonle Sap and the Mekong river.
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Cambodia Awaits Fallout of US Midterm Elections

Cambodian political observers say the recent midterm elections in the US that gave control of the House of Representatives to Republicans could have a ripple effect in Cambodia—through foreign policy, human rights and even the economy.

“I want the Republicans to continue the foreign policy they have been doing, which was tough on dictators, no matter where they are, including Cambodia,” said Kem Sokha, president of the minority opposition Human Rights Party. “Once dictators do something wrong, there must be objection, not leniency. In my view, being lenient towards dictators cannot be successful. The Republicans' consistent warnings to dictators are good for the benefit of democratic fighters.”

However, Mu Sochua, a lawmaker for the main opposition Sam Rainsy Party, said the election is not likely to shift US policy, especially following last week's visit of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Still, she said, “the Republicans' position toward the promotion of democracy is sharper than that of the Democrats.”

Under the former administration of George W. Bush, “if they wanted to help change a country, they provided direct support there,” Mu Sochua said. “Whereas Democrats would take an issue into long consideration before sending troops into a country. However, this doesn't affect Cambodia very much because we don't have armed disputes.”

Last week's elections saw Republicans take 239 of 435 House seats, followed by 187 for Democrats, with nine seats still up for grabs as votes are counted. Democrats, the party of President Barrack Obama, retained control of the Senate.

Koy Kuong, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said such elections made little difference.

“This is totally internal US politics,” he said.

Cambodia-US relations have warmed in recent years. Cambodia has proven a willing ally in the US campaign against terrorism, and with Clinton's visit signaling renewed US interest in the region.

However, a changed political landscape in the US could impact development and aid here, said Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights.

“If there is a reduction in international assistance, this means that some health or education programs worldwide, or in Cambodia, can be affected, which could be a problem,” he said.

Rong Chhun, head of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions, said he was concerned there may now be less focus on human rights. However, a push for US jobs could be a good thing here, he said.

“If the winning party can create as many jobs as their voters want, Cambodia will benefit from it accordingly, because our big markets for garments and shoes are in the US,” he said.
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Cambodia celebrates 57th anniversary of Independence Day

Cambodia on Tuesday kicked off its three-day celebration of the 57th anniversary of Independence Day in capital Phnom Penh with about 20,000 people from all walks of life attended the ceremony.

King Norodom Sihamoni laid a wreath and ignited the torch inside the Independence Monument to symbolize the country's independence from colonial rule. The torch lit by the King will burn for the duration of three days and be distinguished Thursday afternoon.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, National Assembly President Heng Samrin, First Vice President of Senate Prince Sisowath Chivanmonirak and other government senior officials, as well as diplomatic corps, students, police and military also attended the ceremony held at the Independence Monument.

Nov. 9 marks the special date that all Cambodians celebrate with passion and pride. In 1953, Cambodia gained complete independence from France after it was under the French protectorate for 90 years.

Source: Xinhua
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Sugar Plantation Protesters Gather at Kampong Speu Court

More than 200 villagers engaged in a land dispute with a ruling party senator traveled to the provincial capital of Kampong Speu province on Tuesday, prepared to protest charges being brought against three of their representatives.

The villagers of Om Lieng commune, Thpong district, say they are being pushed from their land by the sugar plantation of Cambodian People's Party Senator Ly Yong Phat. The ongoing dispute has led to a number of violent protests.

Kampong Speu provincial court has summoned three villagers for questioning on Wednesday, as the courts investigate charges that protesters burned down company buildings in March. Villagers who gathered in the town Tuesday say they do not want to see arrests come as a result of the questioning.

The three village representatives—Chin Sarum, 35; Dul Leang, 41; and Sar Than, 36—face charges of incitement, arson and conspiracy for the fire. They spent Tuesday in the office of the rights group Adhoc, as 200 protesters encamped in front of the court. All three said they would go in for questioning on Wednesday.

“I cannot accept the charges against me,” Chin Sarum told VOA Khmer Tuesday. “I will come to the court following with the court’s order. I do not escape the court. [But] I did not incite the villagers to damage. I did not burn down the company’s property. The charges against me are not fair and are completely slanderous.”

Protesters say they will demand the charges be dropped and will demand a thorough investigation of the land dispute, which has pitted the villagers against the Phnom Penh Sugar Industrial Co., Ltd.

“The villagers have gathered to unite their forces to pressure the court not to arrest the three accused,” aid Ouch Leng, a land project officer for Adhoc. “They are not illegal in expressing their demands that the court provide justice to them, because the land dispute has not been resolved, but the courts are charging the villagers one by one.”

Keo Pisey, provincial police chief, said police are watching the protesters and will allow will allow them to gather on Wednesday.
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Houses destroyed in mud bath

Representatives of about 100 residents staged a protest in the Boeung Kak Lake area after a development company resumed sand pumping that submerged dozens of homes last week.

Development company Shukaku Inc, which is owned by Cambodian People’s Party Senator Lao Meng Khin, temporarily halted pumping on Friday and villagers said they were told that they would have three days to collect their belongings before pumping resumed.

According to the rights group Adhoc, roughly 40 homes were submerged last week during three days of pumping by the company, which started filling in the lake with sand in 2008 to make way for a 133-hectare housing and commercial development.

Be Tharom, a representative of the lakeside’s Village 24, said police and military police had helped the company’s security guards disperse residents who gathered yesterday to protest against the resumption of pumping.

“The owner of the Shukaku company has used excavators to destroy our crops and mushroom farms and has pumped the sand in to fill up villagers’ houses illegally, and the authorities did not stop them but threatened to arrest me, a victim,” she said.

Company representatives who visited the protest site yesterday and Duan Penh district deputy governor Sok Penh Vuth, who was also there, declined to comment.

On Sunday, Sok Penh Vuth said the company had “the right to invest” and that he had no authority to intervene in the matter.

He noted that it was “normal” for development projects to affect people and said residents should “take the compensation” offered by the company.
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Hacker hits state Website

A page on the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy shows an image with a message that it had been hacked yesterday

The website of the General Department of Mineral Resources has been periodically defaced by hackers, the latest in a number of similar attacks conducted against government websites since early this year.

A picture claiming “Hacked by Ashiyane” overlaying an image of Iran appeared on the department’s website on Sunday, before the website returned to normal by early afternoon.

Bernard Alphonso, director of ASC Information Security Consulting and Training, said a more aggressive stance by the public and private sectors towards information security would send more “reassuring signals”.

Cambodia is presently conducting consultations on a cyber-crime law, but it would be difficult to prosecute hacking in the Kingdom until a law was in place, National ICT Development Authority secretary general Leewood Phu said.

“Not much can be done yet,” he said. “No law, no crime.”

The latest vandalism follows a number of similar attacks staged against Cambodian government websites earlier this year.

On May 25, the Ministry of Commerce website was hit with a message stating “Panic system take over – one Turk against the world”, while the “Iran Black Hats Team” defaced the Ministry of Environment website earlier this year.

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Torture 'widespread' in Cambodian custody

AFP

Torture remains "widespread" in Cambodian police stations and prisons, local rights groups said on Monday ahead of a major United Nations review of the country's progress on the issue.

Shackling, intimidation, beatings and electric shocks are among the most common complaints, a group of 16 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) said in a joint report.

Most abuses occur in police custody, often with the aim of extracting confessions, the report said.
Cambodian police stations are characterised by "an environment in which torture and other forms of ill-treatment are widespread," said the report by NGOs including ADHOC, Licadho and the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee.

Torture is also frequently used to punish transgressions in the country's overcrowded prisons, it added.

The report also accused authorities of denying detainees access to a lawyer during their first 24 hours in custody.

"In Cambodia today, there are still no measures available to effectively prevent acts of torture," said the report.

The strong criticism comes a day before the UN Committee Against Torture is scheduled to hold its second review of the situation in Cambodia, 18 years after the country ratified the Convention Against Torture.

For the first 10 months of this year, human rights group Licadho recorded 101 cases of torture in police stations and prisons.

In 2009, it recorded a total of 108 incidents, most of which took place in police stations. In the same year, rights group ADHOC said nine people died in police detention "apparently as a result of torture".

The abuse goes largely unpunished, the NGOs said.

"We are not aware of any prosecutions of law enforcement officials for torture-related crimes in the past five years," they said.

Their report urged authorities to clarify the definition of torture under Cambodian law and to set up an independent body to investigate complaints.

The report comes less than two weeks after Cambodia threatened to close the UN's human rights office in the capital.

Prime Minister Hun Sen told visiting UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that the office should have worked "to help the Cambodian government in human rights issues, not criticise", a government spokesman said.

© 2010 AFP

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Cambodia to host a series of regional summit meetings

Cambodia will host a series of summit meetings next week for regional leaders, according to a statement released Monday by Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

The statement said Cambodia will host the 6th Cambodia-Laos- Vietnam (CLV) Summit, the 5th Cambodia-Laos, Myanmar-Vietnam ( CLMV) Summit and the 4th Ayeyawady-Chao Praya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS) Summit on November 16-17, 2010 in Phnom Penh.

The summits will be attended by Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers of CLMV and ACMECS countries which include Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand.

Secretary General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will also participate in the event.

According to the statement, the prime ministers and ASEAN Secretary General will be received in a Royal Audience by His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni in the Royal Palace.

All the summits will be chaired by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen who is also the host of the event.

The summits will review the progress and set out the future direction for CLV, CLMV and ACMECS in all priority areas of cooperation, with a view to further advance these frameworks of cooperation for sustainable development and prosperity in this sub-region.

Source: Xinhua
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National Day of Cambodia

MANILA, Philippines – The Kingdom of Cambodia celebrates its National Day today (Tuesday). On this day in 1953, King Norodom Sihanouk declared the country’s independence from French colonial rule.

Diplomatic relations between the Republic of the Philippines and the Kingdom of Cambodia were formally established in 1957. The Philippines and Cambodia have maintained cordial ties since the resumption of diplomatic relations in 1995 and the reopening of the Cambodian Embassy in Manila in 1999. The two countries have forged agreements on economic and trade relations, agricultural and agribusiness collaboration, and tourism cooperation.

On July 9-10, 2010, the First Philippine Trade and Investment Mission to Cambodia was held in Phnom Penh. The event was jointly organized by the Philippine Embassy in Cambodia, the Department of Trade and Industry-Bureau of Export Trade Promotion (BETP), the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry-Philippines-Cambodia Business Council (PCBC), and the RFM Corporation-Corporate Export Division

The opening ceremony included the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the PCBC and the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce (CCC). The Philippine mission had two components – a trade mission with 21 participating Filipino companies and business establishments and an investment mission with three participating Filipino companies.

We congratulate the people and government of the Kingdom of Cambodia headed by His Majesty, King Norodom Sihamoni, and H.E., Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen, and its Embassy in the Philippine led by Ambassador Hos Sereythonh, on the occasion of their National Day. We wish them all the best and success in all their endeavors.
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