One out of teachers said that School principal is committing guilty of making false expense claims and pocketing the money, and engaging in unfair hiring practices.

Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Independent Teachers Association (CITA), was quoted by the Post as saying that he forwarded the complaint to Education Ministry officials on Wednesday.

CITA suspected the director of committing corruption on a number of instances, and that officials had neglected to take action despite significant evidence, he added.

“Their accusations are correct. The ministry should take action against her and punish her according to their disciplinary rules,” he said.

Related articles:

• For Ordinary Man, ‘the Sufferings of Corruption’
• New special task force created to review irregularities of court
• Increase of Cambodia dry rubber
• Increase of bilateral trade Thailand
• Beverage industry spent the most on ads
• National Bank of Cambodia sold off dollars to stabilize riel
• Cambodia to get 1.1 billion in donor aid
• Transportation through Phnom Penh Autonomous Port increased 40 percent
• Trade between Cambodia and Singapore up 84 percent
• Cambodia singed agreement with Japan oil company

Herrman was among the first group of 29 US volunteers to join the Peace Corps mission to Cambodia. From 2007 to 2009, she lived in a remote village and learned about Cambodian culture, including some of its restrictions.

“They called me daughter and sister right away,” Herrmann told VOA Khmer in a recent interview in Washington. “It was really nice. But quickly I began to realize that that meant I was under their watch all the time.”

When she wanted to travel, she needed to inform the family. And it took several months for the family to recognize her independence.

“Being an American woman, I was used to going out and just doing whatever, not having to check in all the time,” Herrmann said. “That’s probably the most frustrating of the challenges, and of course trying to communicate that all in Khmer just complicated things.”

Ouy Seng Chan, Herrmann’s hostess, told VOA Khmer by phone she considered the American as family.

“I told her not to go out too late because I was worried about her,” Ouy Seng Chan said. “I looked after her and loved her as my real daughter. So I gave her some advice, asked her where she was going. But she never went out too late. She always came home at dusk.”

“We played and joked around together happily,” Ouy Seng Chan said. “She was never angry with me. When she left, I missed her badly, because she used to play with me everyday. At first she did not speak Khmer well. Later she could speak Khmer a lot.”

Ouy Seng Chan would call Herrmann to eat, and the American would answer, “Yes, Mom.”

“Her voice was as sweet as a bird’s singing,” Ouy Seng Chan said.

The two women exchanged cooking, Khmer and American, which Ouy Seng Chan said tasted good.

“At first she did not like Khmer food, but after about a year or so she could eat such food as sour soup, curry, Khmer traditional soup,” Ouy Seng Chan said.

Herrmann was welcomed by villagers and by those she worked with at Samdech Hun Sen Peam Chi Kang High School, in Kampong Cham province’s Kang Meas district.

Eng Sangha, Herrmann’s English teaching partner, said she had a strong work ethic and a friendly personality.

“She is hardworking and very punctual,” Eng Sangha said. “She always comes to work and is never late.”

And her presence helped students, like Leang Hy, now a third-year student at the Institute of Technology of Cambodia.

“Before she came, most students didn’t go to study English,” Leang Hy said. “But when she came, every student came to study. She opened an evening study club for female students. She paid attention to students. She liked sharing what she had.”

For her part, Herrmann, a graduate student of public policy at American University, said she valued her time spent in the remote area.

“Just daily interaction with my students, my host family,” Herrmann said. “Learning about the culture, because I love studying different cultures and different people, and I’ve come to realize a lot of things about, not Asia in general, but Cambodia in particular, the stuff that you can’t pick up from reading and books.”

The Peace Corps was established by US President John F. Kennedy in 1961 to promote international friendship through US volunteers overseas. The Peace Corps has three main goals: to provide trained volunteers who contribute to the development of interested countries, to promote understanding of US citizens, and to promote understanding of people around the world.

Since its inception, the Peace Corps has sent nearly 200,000 volunteers to work in 139 countries throughout the world.

The Peace Corps has had an agreement with the Cambodian government since 1994, but security concerns prevented volunteers from going until 2006. So far, about 100 volunteers have entered the country.

Jon Darrah, Cambodia’s Peace Corps director, told VOA Khmer by phone the volunteers were welcomed by government leaders and local officials.

“The prime minister himself spoke very kindly of the work that we do,” Darrah said. “I think we have had a very, very good start, and we’ve enjoyed a wide range of support.”

Source: VOA Khmer

Random Posts

The New Year is a time for predictions, and as the Year of the Tiger comes to Cambodia, at least one prognosticator says the months ahead may be difficult—at least for some.

Im Borin, head of the Committee for Research of Astrology and the Cambodian Tradition, told VOA Khmer Tuesday Cambodia will see enough rain in the year ahead, but it will also face destructively high temperatures.

Im Borin, who is himself an astrologer, said the Year of the Tiger will also bring insects. Perhaps half the country’s agricultural output could be destroyed by pests, he said.

Im Borin predicted an improved political climate this year, 2554 on the Buddhist calendar.

Last year saw a souring of relations between Cambodia and Thailand over the appointment of ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra to economic adviser for Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Both countries withdrew their respective ambassadors in the ensuing row, and each maintains a heavy military presence along the border near Preah Vihear temple.

Im Borin said in 2554 a new goddess will descend from Heaven, carrying a needle and a stick, which she will use to protect the world.

“Businessmen will have more prosperity,” he said, a prediction supported by Cambodia’s climb out of a recession last year, with modest growth expected around 4 percent this year.

But the Year of the Tiger won’t be great for everyone, Im Borin said.

“People who were born in the years of the tiger, monkey, pig and rabbit, people who are born under these signs should be a careful this year,” he said.

Source: VOA Khmer

Related articles:

• New Year Becoming a Boon for Shoppers
• Security Stepped Up for New Year Celebrations
• US Wishes Cambodia Well for Year of the Tiger

The head of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, Zahi Hawass, has made it his mission to track down Egyptian antiquities he believes were wrongly removed from the nation and to bring them home. Hawass is hosting a two-day conference in Cairo (April 7-8) for other nations also seeking the return of antiquities and artifacts.

Hawass beamed with pride and pleasure in Washington last month when he accepted the return of an apparently smuggled ancient Egyptian coffin that a U.S. customs agent had intercepted at Miami airport.

“People can think that the best moment in the life of an archaeologist is actually to discover something, but for me, the best thing is to return something to Egypt.”

If that is the case, Hawass has experienced many best moments. By his count, he has overseen the return of 31,000 objects since 2002. Such artifacts are intercepted as they are illicitly smuggled across borders; some are identified as they are readied for the auction block; some are retrieved from the halls and walls of world-renowned museums.

To Hawass, each return is a victory, not just for Egypt, but for all mankind.

“This is not our heritage. It is the heritage of the human being all over the world.”

Ironically, that is the same argument made by those in the art world who oppose the idea of taking artifacts out of international museums and returning them to their places of origin.

“We all own antiquity or have responsibility for stewarding the past into the future.”

Art Institute of Chicago Director James Cuno is the author of the book “Who Owns Antiquity?”. He agrees with Hawass that antiquity belongs to all human kind.

“This is a joint responsibility. It is not the responsibility of a single nation state.”

But Egypt is not alone in this pursuit; from Nigeria to Greece to Peru, nations are demanding the repatriation of cultural works.

But that is not simple, says lawyer Tess Davis, the assistant director of Heritage Watch and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation.

“You have a museum that says ‘I purchased this. I paid good money for this. I am the rightful owner.’ You have a country that says ‘This antiquity, this piece of art, this comes from our country. We are the rightful owner.’”

Take the case of the Parthenon Sculptures, more commonly known as the Elgin Marbles. The elaborate marble carvings adorned the Parthenon temple in Athens for more than 2,000 years.

By 1800, the Parthenon was in a state of ruin. Around that time, Britain’s Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Thomas Bruce, the Earl of Elgin, asked Athen’s Ottoman occupiers for permission to take some of the sculptures.

They have been displayed at the British Museum in London for nearly 200 years. Last year, more than five-million people visited the international museum. But the Greek government wants the marbles to be reunited with other Parthenon Sculptures at a new Acropolis museum in Athens.

Davis says it is a tricky issue.

“I think, morally, a lot of people would think the Elgin Marbles are the property of Greece, but legally, most people agree that they are the property of England.”

Cuno argues there is really no basis to decide if a nation has a compelling moral case. He says decisions about repatriation should come down to whether a law has been broken.

“Otherwise it is a matter of going back and rewriting history.”

Cuno points out modern-day Greece was not formed until decades after the sculptures were removed. He says the present focus on Athenian culture is at the expense of other cultures that hold ties to Greek history.

“That forces us to look upon the past in ways that are not true to the past. It is putting territorialized identities on the past when the past did not have those identities.”

Cuno says there is an added value in seeing works of shared cultural heritage in an international museum, where the viewer can understand the world is diverse and has forever been in contact with itself.

“When you are at a museum like the British Museum and you are looking at the Parthenon marbles, you can recall from neighboring galleries the visual effect of Egyptian sculpture or of subsequent Roman sculpture or of contemporaneous Chinese sculpture…”

This is the idea of the so-called “universal museum.”

“If we are ever going to make that idea true, then we need to make sure someone in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, can go into a museum and see examples of American and French and Japanese art, which is not the case. It has been a very one-sided path up to now.”

Davis and Cuno agree that loans of artifacts and antiquities are a prime way for people throughout the world, and not just those in Western capitals, to enjoy and be inspired by the cultural works.

And for those who fear that by returning one iconic item museums could open themselves up to forfeiting their antiquities collections, Davis points out New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art has repatriated objects and its 600,000 square-meter building remains full of priceless treasures.

Source: VOA Khmer

Related articles:

• Increase of Cambodia dry rubber
• Increase of bilateral trade Thailand
• Beverage industry spent the most on ads
• National Bank of Cambodia sold off dollars to stabilize riel
• Cambodia to get 1.1 billion in donor aid
• School director accused of corruption in Svay Rieng
• Transportation through Phnom Penh Autonomous Port increased 40 percent
• Trade between Cambodia and Singapore up 84 percent
• Cambodia singed agreement with Japan oil company
• Cambodia rejected Thai border allegation

The US State Department issued a message to the Cambodian government Monday, congratulating it on the successful completion of the first trial of Khmer Rouge leaders, as the country heads toward New Year celebrations.

“Over the last year, the partnership between our two nations has grown stronger and deeper,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in the statement.

“Together we have expanded cooperation on law enforcement issues, food security, the environment, and international peacekeeping,” she said. “I congratulate the people of the Kingdom of Cambodia on the occasion of Khmer New Year.”

She also congratulated Cambodia on a “historical milestone,” the completion of a trial for Khmer Rouge prison chief Kaing Kek Iev, or Duch, in 2009. Duch was tried under a hybrid UN-Cambodia court whose inception was supported by the US.

Cambodia and the US will mark 60 years of diplomatic relations in July. Those relations have seen a gradual improvement in the past few years, with the resumption of direct aid, including military aid, in 2006, and the establishment of a legal attaché in the US Embassy in Phnom Penh in 2007.

Relations were strained, however, in December 2009, when Cambodia deported 20 Uighur asylum seekers, in what rights workers fear will mean their persecution in China. The US canceled the delivery of 200 military trucks earlier this year as a result.

Meanwhile, Cambodia still would like the US to forgive about $300 million in debts from the 1970s, though the US has so far not agreed to the prospect.

A spokesman for Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said Tuesday the minister was happy Clinton “recognized the progress and reality in Cambodia.”

Source: VOA Khmer

Related articles:

• Increase of Cambodia dry rubber
• Increase of bilateral trade Thailand
• Beverage industry spent the most on ads
• National Bank of Cambodia sold off dollars to stabilize riel
• Cambodia to get 1.1 billion in donor aid
• School director accused of corruption in Svay Rieng
• Transportation through Phnom Penh Autonomous Port increased 40 percent
• Trade between Cambodia and Singapore up 84 percent
• Cambodia singed agreement with Japan oil company
• Cambodia rejected Thai border allegation

But in the 13th century, the capital city, Angkor, fell into ruin. A new scientific study indicates that climate, specifically decades of drought interspersed with intense monsoons, helped bring down the Khmer capital.

Brendan Buckley, the Columbia University scientist who led the study, says that in the ancient world, Angkor was known for its sophisticated water system.

“Well, Angkor was really the dominant civilization in that part of the world without any question. It was the center of their universe. And it was called the ‘hydraulic city’ because it had really remarkably massive arrays of barays, which are these giant water tanks and a series of canals and interconnected waterways that was really unparalleled in the ancient world in that part of the world.”

Buckley isn’t an archaeologist. He studies tree rings, which record the growth history of trees that can be hundreds of years old, or even older. A new ring is added every year, and thicker rings represent a kind of savings account, when the tree collects more nutrients than it can use. Thin rings show the tree is barely getting along, like during a drought year.

Using samples from around Southeast Asia, Buckley and his colleagues saw this pattern in tree rings from recent years, when he could corroborate the rings with other historical climate information. His newest tree ring samples, from [a rare cypress, Fokienia hodginsii, in] southern Vietnam, enabled him to take the climate record back much further.

“We realized we have trees that are more than 1,000 years old. And we started seeing these big, giant periods of drought that took place around that time. And as I started to get more interested in the history of Southeast Asia I realized that that was the time of the collapse of Angkor.”

The research team used what are called core samples from hundreds of trees throughout Southeast Asia. Using a hollow tube, they drill into the tree and extract a 5-mm wide cylinder that shows each ring starting with the most recent, just under the bark.

By comparing rings from different trees and with other historical data, you can often identify particular rings with the exact calendar year that they grew.

“We were able to match up the narrow and wide rings exactly so that we can assign the exact calendar dates to the exact rings of every tree. In the tropics, a lot of tree species don’t even form rings that we can see. So to be able to get a tree that, first of all, has very clear rings that we’re able to visually match to each other and then go through and produce these long records was remarkable.”

The rings tell a story of decades of drought, which dried up Angkor’s extensive water works, followed by monsoons that overwhelmed the ‘hydraulic city.’

But the climate shifts weren’t the only factor at work in the decline of the Khmer capital, which was a long time coming. Buckley quotes his co-author, Daniel Penny, as saying the climate was the “final nail in a coffin that took about 200 years to build,” as Angkor and the Khmer empire were being buffeted by political, social, and economic stress.

“The times were changing, [shifting] toward an economic system that was taking them more to the coastline so they could trade with Chinamore readily. I believe that drought was one of the things that piled onto the pile of things that were affecting the Angkorians at that time. And it may very well have provided that final impetus to really kind of kill off this inland agricultural system.”

The idea of a civilization being pushed over the edge by climate change resonates in the modern world, of course, and Brendan Buckley says his research on 13th century Southeast Asia has some lessons for us today.

“We probably have more abilities to adapt than they did at the time. But one of our biggest problems is a very large agrarian based population in places like India or Southeast Asia. And it’s very hard to adapt to that giant population being in an area that is likely to be hit by these kinds of problems. The other thing is that rising sea level, which we’re already seeing the evidence of in places like Ho Chi Minh City is a great example. So this is becoming an actual problem that we can see in real time on the ground. I guess that remains to be seen how we’re going to cope with it.”

Prof. Brendan Buckley’s paper on climate’s contribution to the demise of Angkor in present-day Cambodia was published online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Source: VOA Khmer

Related articles:

• Museums, Officials Debate Ancient Artifacts’ Rightful Owners
• Climate a Factor in Demise of Angkor: Study
• Cambodia voted as member of World Heritage committee
• Thai national arrested for drawing Angkor Wat temple on the floor

The five students are Ms. Prom Savada, Ms. Theng Tith Maria, Ms. Tan Tepikanika, Mr. Pea Vanchhay, and Mr. Tan Keat Tech.Three women and two men, whom are Cambodians, are competing with students from over 70 countries around the world.

Although the competition is tough, they say they enjoy meeting with the judges and other students. Their advice to other Cambodian students is to study hard and to read a lot of books.

Source: VOA Khmer

Related articles:

• School director accused of corruption in Svay Rieng
• Books, But Difficulties Teaching Khmer Rouge Era
• Mother-Daughter Cookbook Takes Gourmand Award

But while it took many years to get a textbook into the nation’s classrooms, the authors say the real challenges have just begun.

Dy Khamboly, a senior researcher with the Documentation Center of Cambodia, is the author of “A History of Democratic Kampuchea (1975-1979),” a book published in 2007 and slated for use in a national genocide education project.

In an interview with VOA Khmer, he said for the project to be effective requires more than good textbooks and a carefully planned curriculum.

“I hope that the teachers as well as the students, their surviving parents, or any survivor from the Khmer Rouge era will all participate” in the educational process, he said recently. “Genocide education about Democratic Kampuchea cannot be achieved by any one person or institution, but requires everyone’s participation: the government, civil society, teachers, students, as well as parents who are survivors of the Khmer Rouge regime.”

The Khmer Rouge trial process has gone on for years now, but comprehensive teaching and discussion of the regime’s history have remained socially and politically sensitive.

Only recently has the government, with the help of the Documentation Center, been open to the idea of more comprehensive genocide education.

The Documentation Center has embarked on a long-term genocide education project that involves writing, publishing, teacher training, teaching and evaluation.

The project aims to publish another 700,000 textbooks for an anticipated 1 million 9th- to 12th-grade students. It is also nearing the completion of its training phase with the opening of the last phase to take place in Siem Reap on March 27.

A total 230 new trainers will instruct 1,627 teachers nationwide to use a teacher and student books for “A History of Democratic Kampuchea,” which was published jointly by the Ministry of Education and the Documentation Center.

Chea Phala, a Cambodian-American in Lowell, Massachusetts, is the co-author of the guide. She told VOA Khmer the book was carefully reviewed because methodology is crucial in teaching about genocide.

“It is a very tough subject, and we have to be very sensitive when we teach and when we deal with students and their families,” she said. “So we tried to think of ways to introduce the subject without traumatizing our audience, our students, and we did it in a manner that would build interest in students in learning about the subject and give them a safe place for discussion and opportunities to discuss different topics and different issues regarding the genocide.”

Dy Khamboly said the emotional sensitivity of the subject can be problematic for teachers.

“Because some teachers are themselves survivors, it is possible that they might take what they are teaching personally, instead of teaching it professionally,” he said. “Therefore, this training will help teachers teach in a scientific, professional way, and not from personal emotions.”

Despite the difficulties, Chea Phala said it is not only the students who are learning, but also the teachers, most of whom were born after the Khmer Rouge, as well as the parents and other survivors who lack a holistic view of what was happening to them.

And it is especially timely now that the tribunal is underway, prompting families and society to discuss about the subject more willingly and openly.

Dy Khamboly agreed, noting that the project will serve a long-term social goal. Cambodians must learn from their past to rebuild their nation and create a better future, he said.

“Our objectives are that students understand and can think critically about the events that occurred during the Khmer Rouge period and use this [knowledge] as a foundation in their daily lives, in rebuilding the country, in preventing the reoccurrence of genocide, and in helping their parents reconcile,” he said. “So the idea of retribution and revenge will not exist in the minds of the younger generations of Cambodians.”

Source: VOA Khmer

Related articles:

• Six Senior CPP Members summoned for witness testimony
• School director accused of corruption in Svay Rieng
• Cambodian Law Students Compete in Washington DC
• Mother-Daughter Cookbook Takes Gourmand Award

But a Cambodian mother and daughter have put Cambodian cuisine on the map, winning in February a prestigious Gourmand Award, for 2009’s “Best Asian Cuisine Cookbook in the World.”

“Au Pays de la Pomme Cythere,” by Long Serey and her daughter, Kanika Linden, is an authentic Cambodian cookbook, with recipes for fish in coconut milk, salads and lemongrass soup.

It also the reclamation of an identity, one Linden said she might have lost.

“One day I invited my friends over, and I made amok, and they loved it,” she told VOA Khmer. “As I closed the door after the last friend left, I said to myself, ‘Why didn’t you do that before?’ Because I was ashamed.”

“You have to be proud of yourself,” she said. “You have to be proud to be Cambodian, to be Khmer.”

Linden did not always know how to cook. She learned from her mother, who was born Pol Sorey and escaped the Khmer Rouge three days before the fall of Phnom Penh. She resettled briefly in America and then moved to France.

“My daughter didn’t know how to cook,” Long Sorey said. So she tried to teach her.

“War destroyed everything we loved dearly,” she said. “So what is left? If any of us survives, we still have some of our traditions and Khmer mores, which we can pass to the next generation.”

Linden said she wanted to learn to cook when she was first pregnant, living in London with her husband. The book came from her mother’s efforts to teach her.

“And it was not an easy cooperation, because there were a lot of tears, a lot of crying, because my mom is a professional,” Linden said. “She knows about Cambodian food, even French food. She is an expert, and I am not. She knew that I wanted to have something in the simple ways.”

At first, her mother used terms that were too technical and confusing—something the two fixed when they made the book.

“She had to explain things to me in a very simple way,” Linden said. “So the book is designed for someone like me, with a lot of pictures, a lot of step-by-step.”

The 218-page “Au Pays de la Pomme Cythere,” which translates as, “In the Country of the Cytheran Apple,” took them 10 years to finish. It took phone calls and face-to-face meetings of a mother and her daughter.

It beat 6,000 entrants.

At last, Linden spent three months in Cambodia finishing the book. She lost 4.5 pounds doing it, because, she said, Cambodian food is healthy.

Source: VOA Khmer

Related articles:

• School director accused of corruption in Svay Rieng
• Cambodian Law Students Compete in Washington DC
• Books, But Difficulties Teaching Khmer Rouge Era

Unlike traditional Khmer wedding celebrations, in which sounds of wedding songs and musical instruments can be heard from the bride’s house, a Cham celebration contains no songs or music.

The reason is that Islamic law does not allow any romantic music, though the law allows sounds of Islamic prayers or reading of its holy book, the Koran, during the special occasion.

The Chams, descendents of the lost Champa empire in today’s Vietnam, are followers of Islam. The majority of them, estimated to be 500,000 in Cambodia, live along the Tonle Sap and the Mekong rivers.

The period following the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca is the most popular.

A Cham wedding is generally observed for one and a half days. On the first day, two or three meals are served for guests who have been invited to the village free of charge. The attendees may contribute some money, food or gifts to the host family, if they wish.

The one festivity during the wedding is called “Kupol,” in Cham. Kupol is the negotiation between the groom and the bride’s father of a dowry and the handover of the bride to the groom.

After the regular noon prayer, the bride’s family decides on the time and venue for Kupol. The venue can be at the bride’s house, or at small mosques, “surav,” or large mosques, “masjid.”

During Kupol, the bride’s father declares among relatives from both sides, religious teachers, or “tuon,” or an imam to witness the amount of money he has demanded from the groom before handing over the bride—symbolically, as the bride cannot be present—to the groom.

“We say [in Cham] that we agree to give the bride to the groom with the presence of tuon, and the groom must accept her as his lawful wife and must be responsible [for her life],” said Man Mohd, 46, who saw his first daughter married on the outskirts of Phnom Penh last weekend.

“In return for the bride, I have to say to my father-in-law that I would agree to pay the demanded amount and accept the bride,” said the groom, Matt Roza, during his wedding celebration.

The groom has to make sure he answers correctly a few questions asked by the tuon or imam. The questions are about Islamic principles and marriage laws of Islam. If the groom answers the first question incorrectly, he is offered another chance, until he can make the correct answer.

“Kopul is all about Cham marriage,” said Mohd Farid Hosen, executive director of the Cambodian Muslim Intellectual Alliance.

“It is the determinant that the bride and the groom become man and wife lawfully, according to our Cham tradition,” he said.

Finally, the bride’s family has to arrange a feast for villagers the following morning, to conclude the celebration.

(The original source is from the VOA news)

Random Posts