16:32, June 01, 2010
Read here
Thursday, June 03, 2010
Aid donors urged to get tough on Cambodia over land
Prak Chan Thul, Reuters June 1, 2010, 7:14 pm
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodian rights groups and farmers urged foreign donors on Tuesday to press the government to suspend land concessions to investors and use fair and lawful means to settle disputes.
Non-governmental organisations and landless farmers have accused Cambodia's government of awarding a wave of concessions to foreign and local firms before evicting villagers from their land without negotiation or adequate compensation.
International donors have played a major role in the development of the impoverished country's economy, although the government has regularly admonished donors critical of its policies and accused them of interference.
On Monday Cambodia's parliament approved a five-year plan to achieve GDP growth of 6 percent annually, a figure that would require donors to provide $6 billion of foreign aid.
Sar Sok, a villager embroiled in a land dispute with a sugar company in Kompong Speu province, 48 km (30 miles) west of the capital Phnom Penh, asked donors to use their influence to force the government to change its approach.
"I ask donors to put pressure on the government on issues of human rights violations, forced evictions and land grabbing," Sar Sok said, a day ahead of an international donors' meeting in Phnom Penh.
In its drive to attract foreign investment, Cambodia has awarded big concessions to companies, mainly from China, Vietnam and South Korea, to run mines, power plants, farms and plantations for sugar, rice and rubber.
FORCED OFF THE LAND
However, rights groups say that has come at the expense of its people, with a sharp rise in the number of forced evictions by state officials profiting from the sale and leasing of farmland and urban real estate to foreign and local companies.
Cambodia's government has denied the allegations, claiming evictions are lawful and compensation is more than adequate.
Many Cambodians struggle to prove their ownership of land since legal documents were often lost or destroyed during decades of civil war.
Chhit Sam Ath, executive director of NGO Forum on Cambodia, said donors would be presented with a list of recommendations on what to demand from the Cambodian government before agreeing to future development aid.
He said existing land concessions should be suspended pending a review, while the government should halt the arrest of locals involved in land disputes and commit to a transparent and legal process to ensure cases are dealt with fairly.
"Donors have given a lot of money for land reform but there are still land evictions," Chhit Sam Ath said. "We won't stay calm with donors who give money and stay quiet while villagers are crying."
(Editing by Martin Petty)
Source: http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/7328732/aid-donors-urged-to-get-tough-on-cambodia-over-land/
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodian rights groups and farmers urged foreign donors on Tuesday to press the government to suspend land concessions to investors and use fair and lawful means to settle disputes.
Non-governmental organisations and landless farmers have accused Cambodia's government of awarding a wave of concessions to foreign and local firms before evicting villagers from their land without negotiation or adequate compensation.
International donors have played a major role in the development of the impoverished country's economy, although the government has regularly admonished donors critical of its policies and accused them of interference.
On Monday Cambodia's parliament approved a five-year plan to achieve GDP growth of 6 percent annually, a figure that would require donors to provide $6 billion of foreign aid.
Sar Sok, a villager embroiled in a land dispute with a sugar company in Kompong Speu province, 48 km (30 miles) west of the capital Phnom Penh, asked donors to use their influence to force the government to change its approach.
"I ask donors to put pressure on the government on issues of human rights violations, forced evictions and land grabbing," Sar Sok said, a day ahead of an international donors' meeting in Phnom Penh.
In its drive to attract foreign investment, Cambodia has awarded big concessions to companies, mainly from China, Vietnam and South Korea, to run mines, power plants, farms and plantations for sugar, rice and rubber.
FORCED OFF THE LAND
However, rights groups say that has come at the expense of its people, with a sharp rise in the number of forced evictions by state officials profiting from the sale and leasing of farmland and urban real estate to foreign and local companies.
Cambodia's government has denied the allegations, claiming evictions are lawful and compensation is more than adequate.
Many Cambodians struggle to prove their ownership of land since legal documents were often lost or destroyed during decades of civil war.
Chhit Sam Ath, executive director of NGO Forum on Cambodia, said donors would be presented with a list of recommendations on what to demand from the Cambodian government before agreeing to future development aid.
He said existing land concessions should be suspended pending a review, while the government should halt the arrest of locals involved in land disputes and commit to a transparent and legal process to ensure cases are dealt with fairly.
"Donors have given a lot of money for land reform but there are still land evictions," Chhit Sam Ath said. "We won't stay calm with donors who give money and stay quiet while villagers are crying."
(Editing by Martin Petty)
Source: http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/7328732/aid-donors-urged-to-get-tough-on-cambodia-over-land/
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Monday, February 08, 2010
Weird
1. The door bell of my house rang. My maid opened the gate and found a woman stranger who asked for the owner of the house. As my maid is not supposed to invite strangers into the house, he went in and called my mum. My mum came to the gate and the woman was telling my mum all sorts of lies and asked my mum to help her live on a neighbor's vacant land. Well, we don't know the owner but the land itself costs at least USD 200,000. She insisted that my mum knows the owner. She also said that her boss has not paid her her wage yet on that day and asked my mum for riels 5,000. We never knew her face or seen her anywhere before. Riels 5,000 is not much, but who is she to ring our doorbell and ask us for money! And for us to let her stay on other people's land! What was she thinking!! Well, anyways, did she get what she came for? You know the answer. My mum's response: she told my maid to call the dogs back into the house and close the gate, without uttering a word back to the stranger.
2. My neighbor: rich people with a nice villa. They don't help much with the renovation of our dirt road (that we share). We pay for 10 trucks and they would pay for just 1. So we've been really handling the cost alone since there are not many houses around ours. Most of the land belong to some rich people who just bought it for land speculation since the price there shot up like crazy a few years back. We paid for 10, and then another 10 trucks, then another and another. (We often need them cos the street is flooded during the rainy season). A few months back, we paid for another 7 trucks of bricks pieces etc. to place on the road so that the dirt don't soften up while it is flooded. When we are in our houses, my neighbors quickly picked up some from the road and placed them in front of their gate and along the way into their house. We thought: that's weird and rude. The past weeks, we got another 11 trucks. We also paid for the cost of hiring workers to flatten and expand the road. My maid also works hard everyday to help. Then suddenly they become so kind. They also ask their maids to work on it. My maid has worked hard to break the bricks into small pieces and place them neatly on the side of the road to expand it. Their maids however kept picking up my maid's work and placing them in front of their gate and on the way into their house. They didn't even bother to touch the undone ones. Well, they did bother, to be fair. They had another lady from their house to pick up our bricks that are still whole and usable and bring them back into their house. They kept bringing them into their house for 2 days straight. We found it weird as they didn't even bother to utter a word to us about it. Rather than saying anything to them, we just stood there and wondered where their manners went. Or perhaps they don't have any! Not even shame! They're soooo WEIRD! A brick costs like 200 riels, for god's sake! If you don't contribute to the road, just don't steal. :D Geez.
I was also wondering. If we had saved the money we had used to renovate the road, and just use it to pave it, it would already be done nicely. But well, we can't do that since the flood and the lack of proper sewage system. It's the government's job, yo!
2. My neighbor: rich people with a nice villa. They don't help much with the renovation of our dirt road (that we share). We pay for 10 trucks and they would pay for just 1. So we've been really handling the cost alone since there are not many houses around ours. Most of the land belong to some rich people who just bought it for land speculation since the price there shot up like crazy a few years back. We paid for 10, and then another 10 trucks, then another and another. (We often need them cos the street is flooded during the rainy season). A few months back, we paid for another 7 trucks of bricks pieces etc. to place on the road so that the dirt don't soften up while it is flooded. When we are in our houses, my neighbors quickly picked up some from the road and placed them in front of their gate and along the way into their house. We thought: that's weird and rude. The past weeks, we got another 11 trucks. We also paid for the cost of hiring workers to flatten and expand the road. My maid also works hard everyday to help. Then suddenly they become so kind. They also ask their maids to work on it. My maid has worked hard to break the bricks into small pieces and place them neatly on the side of the road to expand it. Their maids however kept picking up my maid's work and placing them in front of their gate and on the way into their house. They didn't even bother to touch the undone ones. Well, they did bother, to be fair. They had another lady from their house to pick up our bricks that are still whole and usable and bring them back into their house. They kept bringing them into their house for 2 days straight. We found it weird as they didn't even bother to utter a word to us about it. Rather than saying anything to them, we just stood there and wondered where their manners went. Or perhaps they don't have any! Not even shame! They're soooo WEIRD! A brick costs like 200 riels, for god's sake! If you don't contribute to the road, just don't steal. :D Geez.
I was also wondering. If we had saved the money we had used to renovate the road, and just use it to pave it, it would already be done nicely. But well, we can't do that since the flood and the lack of proper sewage system. It's the government's job, yo!
Friday, February 05, 2010
Plastic surgery to look like Jessica Alba
This is a Chinese chick who's getting plastic surgery to look like Jessica Alba to win back her boyfriend who’s obsessed with Alba.
I adore Jessica Alba; I cherish her looks, her personality, her sense of style, her voice, her character, her devotion to her family, etc. But if I were this girl, I would rather kick this guy's (her bf) a** than to get any changes on me. She's already a pretty girl.
I adore Jessica Alba; I cherish her looks, her personality, her sense of style, her voice, her character, her devotion to her family, etc. But if I were this girl, I would rather kick this guy's (her bf) a** than to get any changes on me. She's already a pretty girl.
Bokator, the Great Angkorian Martial Art
I'm looking forwards to the movie my great master is in. Hope it can help revive what was nearly lost. Our great martial art, Bokator, is father to the Khmer and Thai boxing. It is the father to the martial art shown in Tum Yum Goong, starring Tony Jaa (a Surin). Evidence of the greatness of this martial art and its history is literally written in stone.
I'm not trying to stir any conflicts or hatred here. I'm just trying to show off what Khmer had and the wondrous legacy left for the next Khmer generations and what we can make known to the world. Do not let this more than important legacy fade away. Help preserve it and spread it.
http://www.bokator.com/story.html
http://www.bokator.com/trailer.html
I'm not trying to stir any conflicts or hatred here. I'm just trying to show off what Khmer had and the wondrous legacy left for the next Khmer generations and what we can make known to the world. Do not let this more than important legacy fade away. Help preserve it and spread it.
http://www.bokator.com/story.html
http://www.bokator.com/trailer.html
http://www.boxkator.net
Learn to trust your heart and feelings
When everything feels right, go with it. If you can't find it your heart to trust your heart, then how can you ever trust anything at all?
The more you think and care about justifying your feelings, about balancing the goods and the bads and the past and the future, the more you just let your head mess with you. Suddenly, if 1 thing goes wrong, you would just let it "wrong" and everything foregone. Sometimes it's not even "something wrong"; it's your subconscious mind searching for what is wrong, since you just THINK that anything is "too good to be true". Then, you stick with the "one thing wrong" and let it eliminate all other things "right". This is because all along you never trust yourself. And by the time you realize what you have done, everything might be forever gone, from reach.
Not everything can always be rational. Feelings and the heart and your passion might not have explainable rationale behind them, but they may be more real and true than any books or reasons. (The difference between the primitive brain and the rational brain, right? Balance them and know when to trust which).
Poor me, I had to go through this to learn it.
The more you think and care about justifying your feelings, about balancing the goods and the bads and the past and the future, the more you just let your head mess with you. Suddenly, if 1 thing goes wrong, you would just let it "wrong" and everything foregone. Sometimes it's not even "something wrong"; it's your subconscious mind searching for what is wrong, since you just THINK that anything is "too good to be true". Then, you stick with the "one thing wrong" and let it eliminate all other things "right". This is because all along you never trust yourself. And by the time you realize what you have done, everything might be forever gone, from reach.
Not everything can always be rational. Feelings and the heart and your passion might not have explainable rationale behind them, but they may be more real and true than any books or reasons. (The difference between the primitive brain and the rational brain, right? Balance them and know when to trust which).
Poor me, I had to go through this to learn it.
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Just me
Really wish I could gain back some weight and go back to my former look. Now a bit skinny :D Well the braces caused my face to be a bit longer than it should/used to be... Took it off last month but haven't gained a single gram since then, still. :p Oh, the metabolism of mine.
Development Research Forum
The Development Research Forum took place on October, 2009 at the Cambodiana Hotel. I was one of the presenters.
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Love, Money
Love and money may be complement variables. They may be substitute variables.
The love of money might lead to the end of love if without knowing your limits and having self discipline.
What were we born with? With our own physical qualities and brain. We were born crying in the need of warmth from our parents and in the need to be fed. As we grow up and older, we understand that in this contemporary world, we cannot live without money as it is the basic instrument used to get us clothes, shelter and food. And so, we seek it. We work for it (although some don't).
Why do we seek it? For reasons mentioned above. But as we earn more, we want more. We can't stand not fitting into the materialistic world. We increasingly want more luxurious lives or want to live up to the standards of life we are already in. Ok, that's fair enough.
But over the course of all those works for money, we forget that the basic reason we want money is to fulfill our needs. To let money serve us. As human beings who have quite a control over nature and invaded the earth and the moon and to an extent the galaxy, we have to control ourselves to have control over our greed and the endearing love of money.
But love is blind. And the love for money even blinds us more. Some would forget how to have control over money. They let money have control over them. They don't use money to fulfill their needs and their families' needs, but they let it become the reason for conflicts, jealousies, hatred, destructive competitions etc. They are no longer happy no matter how much they have because they just forget how to enjoy it. All that go in their minds is more, more, more and I have to have more than them. I paid for that, so they owe me. Many owes lead to vindictive thoughts which lead to hatred and hostility and to treating others as if they were inferior, looking down on them. This leads to break-ups of relationships, conflicts within families, etc. The cause of this lies actually in the conflict within oneself. They tend to forget that life is about sharing. Sharing brings happiness as there is no happiness without sharing the happiness.
So, ... let me just end this topic here.
The love of money might lead to the end of love if without knowing your limits and having self discipline.
What were we born with? With our own physical qualities and brain. We were born crying in the need of warmth from our parents and in the need to be fed. As we grow up and older, we understand that in this contemporary world, we cannot live without money as it is the basic instrument used to get us clothes, shelter and food. And so, we seek it. We work for it (although some don't).
Why do we seek it? For reasons mentioned above. But as we earn more, we want more. We can't stand not fitting into the materialistic world. We increasingly want more luxurious lives or want to live up to the standards of life we are already in. Ok, that's fair enough.
But over the course of all those works for money, we forget that the basic reason we want money is to fulfill our needs. To let money serve us. As human beings who have quite a control over nature and invaded the earth and the moon and to an extent the galaxy, we have to control ourselves to have control over our greed and the endearing love of money.
But love is blind. And the love for money even blinds us more. Some would forget how to have control over money. They let money have control over them. They don't use money to fulfill their needs and their families' needs, but they let it become the reason for conflicts, jealousies, hatred, destructive competitions etc. They are no longer happy no matter how much they have because they just forget how to enjoy it. All that go in their minds is more, more, more and I have to have more than them. I paid for that, so they owe me. Many owes lead to vindictive thoughts which lead to hatred and hostility and to treating others as if they were inferior, looking down on them. This leads to break-ups of relationships, conflicts within families, etc. The cause of this lies actually in the conflict within oneself. They tend to forget that life is about sharing. Sharing brings happiness as there is no happiness without sharing the happiness.
So, ... let me just end this topic here.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Been 3 months
Been 3 months since my last post. Just wanna drop by and wish everyone a Happy, Joyous, Wondrous 2010...
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Ketsana hit Cambodia
One of the most destructive storms in years extended its deadly path across Southeast Asia, blowing down wooden villages in Cambodia and crushing Vietnamese houses under mudslides after submerging much of the Philippines capital.
The death toll Wednesday was at 298 and rising.
Quotes
-A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both!
-The colossal misunderstanding of our time is the assumption that insight will work with people who are unmotivated to change. Communication does not depend on syntax, eloquence, or rhetoric, or articulation but on the emotional context in which the message is heard. People can only hear you when they are moving toward you, and they are not likely to when your words are pursuing them. Even the choices of words lose their power when they are used to overpower. Attitudes are the real figures of speech.
-Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly; devils fall because of their gravity.
-The colossal misunderstanding of our time is the assumption that insight will work with people who are unmotivated to change. Communication does not depend on syntax, eloquence, or rhetoric, or articulation but on the emotional context in which the message is heard. People can only hear you when they are moving toward you, and they are not likely to when your words are pursuing them. Even the choices of words lose their power when they are used to overpower. Attitudes are the real figures of speech.
-Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly; devils fall because of their gravity.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Dream
Last night I dreamed of my SSEAYP friends, especially my SG-B mates. I saw many of you. I had been dreaming of you guys a few times lately. I guess it is because it is September. Miss you guys.
I remember in my dream I was feeling proud of how many true friends I have all over this world, from Thailand to Indonesia, from Japan to Jamaica, from Afghanistan to Romania, from Argentina to Singapore.
I remember in my dream I was feeling proud of how many true friends I have all over this world, from Thailand to Indonesia, from Japan to Jamaica, from Afghanistan to Romania, from Argentina to Singapore.
Monday, September 07, 2009
SUMO questions
"Where do life's opportunities lie? Inside or outside of your comfort zone?"
Is there an area of your life where you're always the spectator and never the player?
If there was something where you felt it's time to be a player and not a spectator, at work or in your personal life, what would it be?
--- I had chosen to be a spectator in almost everything. It made me miss alot of things and wasn't good at handling things, relationships with others, etc. I'd rather sit and watch people be content and happy and would give up what's in my hands because I didn't know how to keep them while I am more comfortable seeing others have them and be happy. It was only again and again that I lost or gave up what's important, what I really like/need/want, that I realize I should start thinking about myself and be a player in my own life at times and try to protect and keep what I should.
Is there an area of your life where you're always the spectator and never the player?
If there was something where you felt it's time to be a player and not a spectator, at work or in your personal life, what would it be?
--- I had chosen to be a spectator in almost everything. It made me miss alot of things and wasn't good at handling things, relationships with others, etc. I'd rather sit and watch people be content and happy and would give up what's in my hands because I didn't know how to keep them while I am more comfortable seeing others have them and be happy. It was only again and again that I lost or gave up what's important, what I really like/need/want, that I realize I should start thinking about myself and be a player in my own life at times and try to protect and keep what I should.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Cambodia has to cope with its global connection
From Yale Global Online:
Once the poster child for the benefits of globalization, Cambodia is now being asked to cope with its darker side in the aftermath of the financial crisis. The four pillars of the country’s economy – tourism, garment-making, construction, and agriculture – are feeling the global pinch in their various ways, writes journalist Anne-Laure Porée. Tourism is down thanks to the global stay-at-home vacation trend. Garment-making has collapsed due to lower US demand and choosey shoppers. Construction, like the rest of the world, plummeted with knock-on effects in consumer banking as rising unemployment led to greater personal loan defaults. Even agriculture, which could still provide positive growth in 2009, faces the uncertainty of weather and the challenges of foreign investment choking off local farmers. Perhaps the only ray of light is the natural resource industry – a sector that has long promised to provide limited value-added components to the economy. The sad part of this story is that the government seems content to wait for a rebound in the global economy, hoping the rising tide abroad will lift Cambodia’s boat. But as Porée notes, to integrate fully into the world economy, Cambodia has to learn how to be more than a supplier of garments based on cheap labor. – YaleGlobal
READ MORE...
Once the poster child for the benefits of globalization, Cambodia is now being asked to cope with its darker side in the aftermath of the financial crisis. The four pillars of the country’s economy – tourism, garment-making, construction, and agriculture – are feeling the global pinch in their various ways, writes journalist Anne-Laure Porée. Tourism is down thanks to the global stay-at-home vacation trend. Garment-making has collapsed due to lower US demand and choosey shoppers. Construction, like the rest of the world, plummeted with knock-on effects in consumer banking as rising unemployment led to greater personal loan defaults. Even agriculture, which could still provide positive growth in 2009, faces the uncertainty of weather and the challenges of foreign investment choking off local farmers. Perhaps the only ray of light is the natural resource industry – a sector that has long promised to provide limited value-added components to the economy. The sad part of this story is that the government seems content to wait for a rebound in the global economy, hoping the rising tide abroad will lift Cambodia’s boat. But as Porée notes, to integrate fully into the world economy, Cambodia has to learn how to be more than a supplier of garments based on cheap labor. – YaleGlobal
READ MORE...
Saturday, August 08, 2009
Dr. Haing S. Ngor
Click to read a feature on the late famous Killing Fields actor, who was my dad's very best friend.
Fun, fun
Nothing's much greater than the love and care of and time shared with real family and relatives. We spent almost the entire day together at my house today.
Yummy
Movie-time
Playing cards (see my knees?)
Mum and my sis Nina in the kitchen
Ah baby
My beloved cutie nephew and his mum
inside my garden
Yummy
Movie-time
Playing cards (see my knees?)
Mum and my sis Nina in the kitchen
Ah baby
My beloved cutie nephew and his mum
inside my garden
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