TRUMP BACKS DEAL WITH AUSTRALIA →

US President Donald Trump assured Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull that a deal signed by his predecessor – which would allow the asylum seekers held on Manus and Nauru to settle in the US – would be honored during the first official call between the two leaders yesterday morning.

The two discussed a variety of issues during their 25-minute phone conversation, but Mr. Trump sought to allay fears that the refugee deal would be scrapped after months of uncertainty.

Australia has been detaining more than 2,000 refugees on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea and on the island nation of Nauru and sent a handful of refugees from Nauru to Cambodia in a much-maligned 2014 deal that largely fell apart when all but one decided to return to their home countries.

The refugees who came to Cambodia under the $30 million deal alleged bad  living conditions, little assistance from the government and lies told to them before their arrival about the kingdom and what compensation they would receive.

Despite reports in October of three more refugees were slated to come to Cambodia under the deal, Kem Sarin, a spokesman for the general immigration department, declined to comment on the future of Cambodia’s pact with Australia in light of the US government’s stance.

Tan Sovichea, the refugee department director, did not respond to requests for comment.

Chak Sopheap, the executive director of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, said the deal was doomed from the start considering Cambodia’s track record with its own refugees.

“While the neglect suffered by those refugees under the deal in Cambodia may pale in comparison to the reports of abuse coming from Nauru, the fact remains that many of the refugees have opted to return to the countries from which they fled, suggesting strongly the extent of the neglect they were subject to here,” she said.

In November, then-US President Barack Obama agreed to bring all of the refugees on both islands to the US pending extensive background checks and interviews. Due to Mr. Trump’s outspoken stance against immigration during his election campaign, many believed the deal would be scrapped once he took office.

But officials from the US State Department have already gone to both Nauru and Manus to interview refugees ahead of their resettlement on orders from Mr. Trump’s administration.

Mr. Trump’s backing of the agreement came as a surprise to many analysts and commentators in the US considering his recent executive order suspending the entry of all refugees to the US for 120 days, banning Syrian refugees indefinitely and stopping the citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the US for 90 days.

Many of those being held on Nauru and Manus are from the seven nations on Mr. Trump’s list of now-banned countries, including Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

Thousands of protesters crowded American airports in defiance of the order on Saturday after people from those seven countries who had obtained all of the documents and approvals needed to visit or live in the US legally were arrested and held by customs agents in countries across the world.

A court order late on Saturday night temporarily stopped the US government from enforcing the order after a lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union.

Legal experts in the US have criticized the measure, as it runs afoul of a number of long-standing US laws. It is in direct violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which made it illegal to discriminate against immigrants on the basis of national origin.

The law was passed in an effort to remedy a series of race-based government edicts enforced in the early 1900s, the most notable of which – the Asiatic Barred Zone Act of 1917 – was aimed primarily at banning immigrants from Southeast Asia, China and Japan from entering the US and becoming citizens.

*This article as featured in Khmer Times on January 30, 2017: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/34868/trump-backs-deal-with-australia/

PRESS FREEDOM RANKING LOW BUT RISING

Cambodia ranked 128th in Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) 2015 ranking of press freedom in countries across the world, the watchdog said yesterday on its website.
 

RSF, which has been compiling the rankings yearly since 2002, said press freedom worldwide had seen a disturbing downturn as governments attempted to crack down on print and online news dissemination.
 

“The climate of fear results in a growing aversion to debate and pluralism, a clampdown on the media by ever more authoritarian and oppressive governments, and reporting in the privately-owned media that is increasingly shaped by personal interests,” RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire said.
 

“Guaranteeing the public’s right to independent and reliable news and information is essential if humankind’s problems, both local and global, are to be solved.”
 

Using journalistic independence, self-censorship, transparency, abuses and a number of other criteria, RSF compiles its list after sending out surveys to reporters and lawyers in every country.
 

Despite the low ranking, Cambodia actually rose 11 spots compared with last year. But RSF said reporters, especially those covering illegal logging and trafficking of any kind, still faced government stonewalling and overt threats of violence from powerful stakeholders within the country. RSF also mentioned the highly controversial Telecommunications Law, which they say has the “aim of closely regulating Internet use.”
 

Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan had not read the report, but dismissed claims that the Telecom Law was intended to stifle dissent, saying its purpose was to protect privacy and prevent hacking.
 

“The draft law is not a threat to freedom of speech,” he said.
 

Executive director of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) Chak Sopheap said it will have an effect on journalists’ ability to cover difficult issues plaguing the country.
 

“While the implementation is yet to be seen, it is likely that this law is intended to provide the government with yet another tool to crack down on freedom of expression, which of course will impact independent journalists disproportionately,” she said.
 

Executive Director of the Cambodian Center for Independent Media Pa Nguon Teang echoed Ms. Sopheap’s comments last year, when he said: “The Internet, once Cambodia’s last open and free medium for press freedom and free expression, is now becoming increasingly restrictive and subject to government controls that have for so long limited the country’s mainstream media.”
 

In spite of the disagreements over the Telecoms law, Mr. Siphan said he was pleased to hear that Cambodia had climbed in the ranking.
 

“I think it is important to evaluate Cambodia in a regional context,” he said. “There is more freedom of the press here than elsewhere in the region,” he explained, saying journalists are free to report “without fear or favor.”
 

“The government always respects freedom of speech and does not censor,” Mr. Siphan added. He also said ministries were working to improve communications with the media by appointing and “empowering” spokespeople.
 

The prime minister is also using social media to create direct communications with the public, Mr. Siphan added.
 

Undersecretary at the Ministry of Information Ouk Kimseng acknowledged that covering illegal logging was dangerous, but said journalists had to be aware of the risks involved in their job.
 

“I think that if reporters want to be careful, they should not go into the forest searching for illegal logging alone,” he said. “They should go with a group of people and not just go alone.”
 

Ms. Sopheap of CCHR said Cambodia’s continually low ranking was not surprising at all.
 

“Cambodia is a dangerous place to be an independent journalist, with brave journalists regularly risking their lives and liberty,” she said, citing the deaths of 13 journalists for their reporting since 1994.
 

“We have seen a spike in threats and arrests against social media commentators as Internet penetration increases exponentially across Cambodia. The huge proportion of media outlets which are owned by individuals who are well connected to the ruling party also undoubtedly contributed to this ranking,” she added.
 

For the situation to improve, Ms. Sopheap said the government should enact the Access to Information Law, which she said would “improve transparency and offer better protection to journalists.”
 

But most importantly, she believes press freedom lies in the hands of the government and the country’s judicial system.
 

“For Cambodia to enjoy genuine press freedom, the judiciary and government need to stop targeting those who dare to expose corruption and criticize the powerful,” she said.
 

Additional Reporting by Srey Kumneth.

This story was featured in print on April 20.

OBAMA NOMINATES NEW AMBASSADOR TO KINGDOM

US President Barack Obama announced William Heidt as his choice for ambassador to Cambodia on Tuesday.

Mr. Heidt is a career diplomat currently serving as Executive Assistant to the Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment at the Department of State, a position he has held since 2012. 

This won't be Mr. Heidt's first time working in Cambodia. He served as Economic and Commercial Officer at the US Embassy in Phnom Penh from 1997 to 1999.

He has worked in embassies across the world, with stops in Indonesia and Poland as well as a post working for the US delegation at the UN in New York. 

If he is confirmed for the post, he will be replacing William Todd, who has worked as ambassador to Cambodia since 2012.

This story ran on April 8, 2015.

DIP, DUCK, DIVE AND DODGE: PHNOM PENH’S ONE AND ONLY DODGEBALL GROUP KEEPS GROWING

A crowd starts to circle around a court as a young man in black shorts and a black shirt stares across a line of cones to the opposite end of the court; five people, each holding two rubber balls of their own, glare back at him.
 

Two of his adversaries step forward and fire. He dodges both before striking one of them with his own shot. Two more people attempt to hit him, but he again dodges both and grazes one of their legs with his counterattack. 
 

Eventually, he manages to survive until it is just him and one opponent on the court. Despite his eventual loss, the crowd gives him hearty round of applause, not only for his survival skills, but also for putting on a good show.
 

“If you haven’t played in a dodgeball tournament, you haven’t lived yet,” says John Munger, the mastermind behind the burgeoning dodgeball scene in Phnom Penh. His dodgeball group meets twice a week to play matches and held their second annual tournament last weekend, an affair fully outfitted with teams, jerseys and sponsors.
 

“To me, this is what really differentiates dodgeball from other sports. It gives us an avenue to bring our own unique character and creativity into the game and competition,” he said. “Plus, it’s one of the funniest things you’ll see.”
 

The San Diego-native started the group in July 2014 after moving to Phnom Penh for a job at Passerelles Numeriques, an international education NGO. Despite the prevalence of the sport in the US, Munger didn’t really start playing dodgeball until he moved to Ho Chi Minh City in 2011. On his first day at work in Vietnam, he met a fellow American who invited him to play.
 

“I was hesitant at first, but I went one time and really liked it. I played dodgeball in Saigon for two years,” he said.     
 

After his move to Phnom Penh, Munger spent six months living a dodgeball-less life, eventually realizing how big a role it played in his time in Vietnam. Prodded by his dodgeball crew in Ho Chi Minh, he decided to set up a small group here, posting notices on expat Facebook pages and praying for responses.
 

Twenty people showed up on the group’s first official night, and since then it has grown, expanding to two nights a week and leading to the creation of an official tournament once a year. 
 

The roots of the sport are murky, with a number of countries and cultures claiming ownership over its popularization. But most historians agree that the sport got its start more than 200 years ago when Dr. James H. Carlisle, a missionary working throughout Africa, saw a more vicious version of the game being played between villages and communities. 
 

He took the idea back to England, replacing rocks and stones with a leather ball, and the sport was born. 
 

Despite its violent origins, the draw of the sport in Phnom Penh is more social. It is a great way to exercise, to meet people and to blow off some steam, and Munger was attracted to the idea that both women and men could play at the same time.
 

“It’s not common that you can have a co-ed sport where girls are as good as the guys and even better,” he said. 
 

Phaline Taing, who initially joined the group because one of her co-workers helps organize the weekly meetings, believes the sports underlying message is more important than the entertainment.
 

“I found that it’s courageous to implement this kind of sport in Cambodia where the culture is very different from the States. In Cambodia, sports are very discriminated,” she said. “Girls play this sport, boys play this sport. But dodgeball is great, both sexes can play together.”
 

Costing only $1.50 for foreigners and $0.75 for Cambodians per meeting, many of the group’s most ardent followers revel in the sport’s ability to provide a good workout and a venue to meet people.
 

Shelby Jones, a 26-year-old from England, said the sport and the people involved helped him cope with a personal tragedy. 
 

“I needed to find company, make some friends and do something to take my mind off things,” he said. “Dodgeball was perfect. Everyone there is so welcoming and friendly. It’s not just a place to play some sports. It’s a place to make great friends from all over the world.”
 

The most avid members of the group say it has evolved beyond just a twice-weekly meeting into a tight-knit, full-fledged community.
 

“I think the biggest attraction for people is the dodgeball community,” said Giovanni Todaro, a 28-year-old Texas native. “Most of the people that play dodgeball spend time together outside of it. We go to movies, eat dinner and go out with each other on the weekend. There is a family vibe in the dodgeball community.”
 

The widespread diversity of the community has only helped it to grow even larger, pulling in people from across the world and locals alike.
 

“Through dodgeball, I can meet lots of people from different backgrounds,” Taing said. “And it’s the only time that I can throw balls at people and they keep laughing and smiling when they get hit.” 

This story ran in Khmer Times' Weekly Magazine on March 24.

AUSTRALIAN MINISTER STILL DEFENDING CONTROVERSIAL NAURU REFUGEE DEAL

Only $1.4 million of the original $40 million deal with Cambodia has been spent on refugees sent from the island nation of Nauru to Phnom Penh, Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said in a radio interview yesterday morning with a local station.
 

Most of the funds for the deal were to be spent on the National Election Committee (NEC) and other election assistance, landmine clearance and agricultural production, he said. 
 

A total of $11 million was planned for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to help them settle refugees and cover the costs for housing, healthcare and employment.
 

Now that all but two of the refugees have left Cambodia and returned to their home countries, the controversial deal is in jeopardy of falling apart. 
 

Australian ministers have slammed the deal as a waste of money, with the Australian opposition party’s immigration spokesman Richard Marles saying earlier this week: “The inability of this government to secure a meaningful resettlement arrangement with a credible third country is a serious failure.”
 

The revelation is another black eye for the much-maligned deal signed early in 2015. Australia hailed it as a solution to its long-standing issue with refugees. They have refused to accept any refugees arriving by boat, instead detaining them in a facility run partially by IOM on Nauru. 
 

The facilities have also been criticized by human rights advocates, with repeated cases of alleged abuse, rape and malnourishment happening to those detained there, according to an Australian Immigration Ministry report. 
 

Since five refugees arrived in Phnom Penh in June and July last year, two Iranians and one Rohingya from Myanmar have returned to their home countries, citing difficulties with the language and seclusion as the reason behind their decision to leave. Now, only one Iranian and one Rohingya remain in Cambodia.
 

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy spoke harshly about the deal last August, telling an Australian media outlet that Cambodia should not be a “dumping site for refugees.”
 

Cambodia was widely criticized for accepting the deal, with many NGOs and civil society organizations here claiming that Cambodia’s own record with human rights makes it ill-suited to take on the task of caring for refugees. 
 

Kerm Sarin, a spokesman for the General Department of Immigration at the Ministry of Interior, said neither he nor any other government official knew the exact amount Australia spent on the refugees. 
 

The expenses for the refugees are handled by the Australian government and IOM, with Cambodia only involved in providing legal documents for them, he said. 
 

“The resettlement in any country is dependent on the favor of the refugee. If they want to live in Cambodia, we will organize the legal documents or other paperwork for them and facilitate their integration into society,” he said. “Any expense in relation to the resettlement and training courses does not involve Cambodia.” 
 

Mr. Sarin said the refugees who resettled in Cambodia have every right to return home and their decision will not affect the deal. 
 

“Whether they want to live here or go back has no effect on the agreement. They are volunteering to go back to their countries,” he added.
 

But the Australian architects of the deal have hailed it as a success, saying that since detaining most refugees on Nauru and only offering them the chance to reside in Cambodia, they have seen a decrease in the number of boats carrying migrants trying to make it to their shores.
 

“The fact that we’ve had no drownings at sea and no successful boat arrivals I think is a pretty good outcome,” Mr. Dutton said in his interview yesterday.

This story ran on March 10. 

KEM SOKHA SACKED AS VICE PRESIDENT OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

The CPP-dominated National Assembly (NA) sacked key opposition figure Kem Sokha as deputy leader of the Assembly in a legally-disputed vote that was boycotted by the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP). 

“According to the vote, I would like to announce that Kem Sokha has been removed as National Assembly vice president during the assembly session on October 30,” NA President Heng Samrin said following the vote this morning. All 68 CPP members voted in favor of the measure to remove Mr. Sokha.

The NA session was only supposed to involve votes on the upcoming commune election and internal NA rules, but early this morning, three CNRP members of the permanent committee fought the inclusion of the vote against Mr. Sokha to the agenda to no avail. The CPP holds the majority of seats on the permanent committee.

NA spokesman and CPP lawmaker Chheang Vun said the CPP was waiting for the CNRP to select a new vice president. He denied reports and statements from members of his own party that Mr. Sokha was removed because of the violent protests against him, instead claiming that they made the move because “it was necessary to protect the culture of dialogue and agreement.”

Despite Article 87 of the Constitution, which states that NA presidents or vice presidents can only be replaced in the event of a death or resignation, the CPP defended the legality of the move.

“Mr. Sokha was promoted by the CPP, so he can be removed by the CPP based on an absolute majority vote,” Mr. Vun said.

CNRP members and the party itself have released statements slamming the action, claiming it directly violates the Constitution and the political agreement between both parties.

“55 CNRP lawmakers could not join the NA session today which violated the Constitution and the political agreement between both parties,” the statement read.

CNRP lawmaker Eng Chhay Eang said the CNRP wanted to have a meeting with the CPP before they submitted a new candidate for vice president.

“If we don’t talk with each other clearly, it will be useless to promote a new candidate,” Mr. Chhay Eang said, adding that the CNRP’s members plan to wait for party president Sam Rainsy to return from Europe before they nominate anyone to replace Mr. Sokha. He said the party will continue to boycott the NA if the Constitution continues to be violated by the ruling party.

Foreign Minister Hor Namhong met with ambassadors from a number of countries, as well as the EU and UN, this afternoon to quell fears of another political stalemate similar to the one that ended in July of last year.

Mr. Sokha is also deputy leader of the CNRP. Tensions between the government and the opposition dramatically heightened this week when CPP-aligned groups held a protest against Mr. Sokha that turned violent. After protests against him in France last weekend, Prime Minister Hun Sen promoted the protest against Mr. Sokha a day before it occurred.

Two CNRP lawmakers were dragged out of their cars during the protest and beaten as they exited the NA during a lunch break. Both have been sent to a private hospital in Bangkok with multiple broken bones and other injuries.

Mr. Sokha himself said in a statement yesterday that he is afraid to return to the country after protesters threw rocks at his house for six hours during the protests against him while his wife stayed locked inside calling the police to no avail. 

This story ran on October 30.

CNRP LAWMAKERS FILE COMPLAINT OVER ATTACK

Lawyers for two opposition lawmakers attacked last month outside the National Assembly filed a formal complaint against their alleged attackers yesterday at Phnom Penh Municipal Court, jump-starting the investigation into an attack that some observers have claimed was orchestrated by the government. 

The complaint is signed by Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) lawmakers Nhay Chamroeun and Kong Saphea, who are continuing to receive treatment at a Bangkok hospital.

It brings new charges against the three suspects who turned themselves in last week. The complaint accuses the men of aggravated assault, property damage, and attempted murder. Together, the crimes carry a possible sentence of 35 years in prison. The two lawmakers are also requesting $25,000 in compensation each. 

Sam Sok Kung, a lawyer representing them, said that the new, more serious charges make it likely that it will take more time for the case to go to trial. It may be between four and six months before the suspects go on trial, he said.

 
The three suspects – soldiers Chay Sarith, Mao Hoeurn, and Soth Vanny – have been detained at Prey Sar prison. They confessed last week to participating in the attack, videos of which has been circulating online. Mr. Chamroeun and Mr. Saphea were dragged from their vehicles and beaten, following an anti-opposition party rally. In the videos police can be seen nearby. The videos also show a large group of attackers, who remained in the area after the anti-opposition protest moved to the home of CNRP vice president Kem Sokha. Only the three suspects who turned themselves in have been arrested so far. 

Meas Cheanpiseth, a deputy prosecutor at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, said that the investigation is ongoing. Among other witnesses, the police have also brought the two legislators’ drivers to court for questioning, he said, declining to comment further.In their complaint, the two lawmakers urge the government to cast a wider net. Mr. Kung called for speedier justice. “The court has to speed up the process,” he said. “They need to conduct an unbiased investigation, and bring the suspects to trial.” 

This story ran on November 10

NEED A HAIR CUT? HEAD TO THE STREET

Photos by Fabien Mouret.

Below the corrugated tin roof shading his chair, mirror and desk, Kim Bounthan lightly taps the edge of his razor precisely against the miniscule hairs on the back of a customer’s neck. As he put down his clippers and picked up a pair of scissors, Mr. Bounthan joked that he became a barber because he had no other choice. 

Many of the barbers who populate the streets of Phnom Penh trace their hair-cutting roots to their time living under the Khmer Rouge, where either because of their parents or out of pure necessity they were tasked with handling the universal need of trimmed hair.

Mr. Bounthan, a 54-year-old Svay Rieng native, thought back to his childhood when he began cutting hair at 10 years old for other children living in a Khmer Rouge work camp. Back then, he said, he would not have even called himself a barber because of the crude, rudimentary haircuts he used to give his friends.

“Because there were no schools at the time, I learned how to actually cut hair from my father, who was also a barber,” he said. “I’ve been cutting hair ever since.” Mr. Bounthan said he has been cutting hair in Phnom Penh since 1993, and although he is starting to have health issues as he ages, he said he loves his job. Charging 6,000 riel per haircut, he says he earns 50,000 riel a day and has been able to put both of his children through school with the money he makes.

Because of their relatively cheap prices, the street barbers see a wide variety of customers. Both locals and expats use these barbers, who charge anywhere from 4,000 riel and 6,500 riel per cut, for a wide variety of styles.  

Sixty-five-year-old Kim Tith began cutting hair in Phnom Penh in 1983. Mr. Tith got his start during the Khmer Rouge as well, where he was forced to cut everyone’s hair in a camp where he lived. 

“I worked with two women who cut women’s hair, and I cut men’s hair,” he said as he lightly shaved the sides of a customer’s head. “I cut everyone’s hair; soldiers, prisoners, old, young. It did not matter. But I was afraid to cut the soldiers’ hair because I did not know what would happen if I made a mistake.” 

Despite having seven adult children who already have families of their own and a wife living in the US, Mr. Tith still cuts hair at the same stand because he loves his work. 

“At my age, this job is perfect because it is easy for an old man like me to do,” he said. “It will be good because now I can save up and retire soon.”

This story ran on October 23, 2015

PM APPOINTS SON TO TOP-LEVEL MILITARY POST

Prime Minister Hun Sen promoted his second-oldest son, Hun Manith, to director of military intelligence for the Defense Ministry in a sub-decree last month.

Mr. Manith is the second of Mr. Hun Sen’s sons to be appointed to a top post in the military. His eldest son, Lieutenant General Hun Manet, leads the counterterrorism department.  

Maj. Gen. Manith will take the position from Chea Dara, a four-star general currently serving as the deputy commander in chief of the army, after being the department's deputy. General Dara will keep his position as deputy commander in chief.

Critics of the move have called it nepotism and an effort by Mr. Hun Sen to solidify his family's place in the government and army.

Meas Ny, a political analyst, said that Mr. Hun Sen is afraid of losing control of the military if the Cambodian People's Party loses the next election. The premier has already warned that civil unrest could be sparked by a victory of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party in the next national election, which is scheduled for July 2018.  

“The Intelligence position is very important,” Mr. Ny said. He said the appointment was not merely part of a plan to install a successor for Mr. Hun Sen. Being on top of all information gathered by the military will have an effect on the stability of the government, Mr. Ny explained.  

Dr. Ny added that Mr. Hun Sen was preparing his family for the possibility of an end to CPP rule. Because the prime minister cannot simply select his successor, he is making sure that no matter who is in power, he will still be in control of the upper echelons of the military, Dr. Ny said.

In an interview broadcast in Australia earlier this week Mr. Manet was asked whether he aspired to replace his father. He responded that it was up to the people of Cambodia to choose their leader.

Speculation that one of the prime minister’s sons is being groomed to replace him has escalated in recent weeks.

This story ran on October 23, 2015

MEKONG TIGERS TAKE CBL CHAMPIONSHIP IN FINAL GAME NAIL-BITTER

In a game that was well worth the price of admission, the Mekong Tigers put a stop to a furious Extra Joss Fighters rally to take the CBL Championship's final game 82-80 on Saturday afternoon.

The Tigers looked like they were cruising to an easy championship win at halftime, and by the beginning of the third they had a 20-point lead. Matt Van Pelt saved his best for last, draining 6 three-pointers in the game and keeping the offense moving smoothly with crisp passing. He led the Tigers with 28 points, and would have had more than his 6 assists if some of his pinpoint passes had been caught and put away for scores.
 

But Stephen Siruma and Jomar Santos refused to go out with a whimper, almost singlehandedly bringing their team back in a furious rally at the end of the 3rd quarter. With Siruma taking over at point guard, Santos erupted half way through the third with 17 points. Despite double and triple teams once it was clear he had the hot hand, he was unstoppable, scoring both from inside and outside. 
 

Santos finished the game with 41 points, more than half of his team's entire output. Siruma had 24 points.
 

"The reality is Siruma and Santos are great players for this league and they went on a tear, and the Tigers couldn't stop them, plain and simple," said Mekong Tigers owner Josh Galt.
 

By the end of the third, it was a one point game, and within a few minutes, Extra Joss had built up a five point lead. But Jermaine Lattimore, the Tigers' rock down low, and Van Pelt refused to let the game get away from them. Lattimore was a monster on the boards again, and despite some inspired play from Extra Joss big man Ken Gadaffi, almost every rebound found its way into his hands. 
 

The game stayed close throughout the 4th quarter, with both teams trading points back and forth until the last seconds. But a big three pointer from Santos was followed up with an equally clutch three from Van Pelt, and foul shots from both him and Lattimore gave the Tigers a two point lead. 
 

Extra Joss kept fans on the edge of their seats with some tight defense, but in the end they ran out of time. 
 

"They gave us a battle, a lot of credit to Extra Joss. They made us work for it, so it definitely wasn’t easy," Van Pelt said after the game. "It feels good to get a close victory like this."
 

The Tigers, who have been without a head coach for the finals, have had to rely on their assistant coach Sambath Phanchan and player-coaches Van Pelt and Phann Dara for game planning and management, and a few key changes made the difference.
 

"We went to a 3-2 zone this game instead of man-to-man like last game. It worked in the first half, but their shooters came alive in the second half," Van Pelt said. "We also put in more of a framework on offense."
 

Lattimore also cited the move to a zone defense as a key change that helped propel the Tigers. "The move to a 3-2 helped us stop Santos and Siruma from getting into the lane," he said.
 

Gadaffi said Extra Joss was hurt by the slow start, but was proud of the way the team battled back and kept it close until the last seconds.
 

"We didn't start well, and the Mekong Tiger came out smoking in the first 2 quarters. Down by 20 points, we had no choice but to fight back to avoid a humiliating defeat," he said. "It was disappointing in the end, but we are proud of our achievements. The stakes are higher now and Cambodia basketball is definitely improving."
 

For team owner Galt, winning the third CBL championship ever and securing the 12 million riel prize were great accomplishments, but he was also proud of the league itself for putting on such a great game.
 

"Championships should be hard-fought, exciting, and full of suspense. It should be up to the players, decided by whatever team makes just one more play at the end," he said. "That's what makes sports so great, and that's why you have to play the games, sometimes it's just a matter of how the ball bounces, and who puts themselves in position to make that one final play to take advantage of it."

This story ran on September 20.

WAT LANGKA SEEKS LOST FAMILIES FOR URNS

As families gather for the Pchum Ben holiday to celebrate their loved ones who have passed away, rows of aging, dusty urns sit on a shelf in Wat Langka Pagoda, waiting for someone to bring them to their rightful home.

These urns were hidden in a brick nook behind the main hall of the pagoda as families fled during the Khmer Rouge invasion and evacuation of Phnom Penh in 1975.

Venerable Vy Raksmey with some of the unclaimed urns At Wat Langka Pagoda. KT/Fabien Mouret

These families were unsure of what lay ahead for them, and believed the pagoda, which was the second largest in the city, was the safest place for their loved ones. The alcove was not discovered until decades later, when monks living in the pagoda were looking for somewhere to hide valuable urns made of gold and bronze.

But the discovery of these urns this year was big news here, with the hope that families who had lost urns during the confusion of the evacuation would be reunited with them. 

After decades of being hidden away, the faded hues of the urns’ designs make them almost impossible to identify, and any name tags or signatures faded away years ago. It is also bad luck in Khmer culture to open another family’s urn, making it even more difficult to identify them. 

In addition to the numerous difficulties in identifying them from the outside, many of the people who hid them in the pagoda passed away before notifying family members of where to find the urns of loved ones, leaving some of these urns family-less.

More than seven months after their discovery, very few of the urns have been picked up by families, and the shelves, built by a team of USAID workers and US Navy construction teams, may be their final resting place.

DC-Cam Effort

After the discovery, the Document Center for Cambodia (DC-Cam) has been searching for the families of the people cremated in each urn. 

There are 464 urns, most of which are made of bronze, stone, clay and ceramic. The urns were moved from the brick alcove to a temporary shrine elsewhere in the pagoda.   

After being rediscovered, USAID and the US Navy builders working on community construction projects throughout the country offered to construct eight cupboards for the urns, DC-Cam’s Executive Director Chhang Youk told Khmer Times.    

“USAID and the US Navy united and have donated money to take care or publish the documents for the urns in order to facilitate the relatives of the urns to find their lost ones,” Mr. Youk said. “So far, only a few people have asked and brought relative’s urns to reunite their families.” Mr. Youk said that only a few of the urns had signs or tags with a name and death date. “Only a few of urns were from the Vietnamese minority,” he added. 

“In the past, only dozens of people, including Cambodians living abroad, have visited and asked to search for their relative’s urns,” Venerable Vy Raksmey said.

Although many of the urns have not been picked up by families, the pagoda will construct a special stupa and shrine for the urns inside the pagoda, Mr. Youk said. The ashes held in the urns were from people whose ages ranged from 10 to 80 years-old, according to analysis. 

This story ran on October 8,2015

TINY TOONES: BREAKDANCING INSPIRES KIDS TO LEARN FROM KIDS

PHNOM PENH (Khmer Times) – When teenagers living in New York City slums in the ‘70s started spinning on their heads and dancing in ways never seen before to music never heard before, they had no idea that 40 years later, the culture they started would reach Cambodia and literally save lives.

Tiny Toones, a non-profit based here, has pulled its goals and message straight from the genesis of hip-hop culture. 

In the same way kids in the ‘70s used the emergence of hip-hop as an avenue to express frustration about racism and poverty, Tiny Toones uses music, dance and art to turn the energy of at-risk youths into something positive. 

US Deportee Brings Breakdance

“It really grew organically,” said Chhoeung “Shhort” Reuth, general manager and creative coordinator of the organization. “It all started with KK.”

In 2004, founder and director Tuy Sobil, known as KK, came to Cambodia after being deported from the US. Growing up in Long Beach, California, breakdancing had been a big part of his life.

Soon after his arrival in Phnom Penh, he rented an apartment near the White Building. Neighborhood kids began showing up at his door asking for dance lessons. He shooed them away at first, but more and more came each day, asking him to teach them breakdancing.

He relented, turning his apartment into a dance studio. Mr. Sobil coined the “Tiny Toones” moniker after seeing children dance, likening them to cartoon characters imitating American breakdancers.

After teaching the kids a couple moves, he started to wonder why they all had so much free time.

 
“This was 10 or 11 years ago, so a lot of these kids weren’t attending school, some had dropped out, some had been kicked out of their homes, others were dealing with abuse, drugs and alcohol in their households,” Mr. Reuth said. 

“At first, KK just wanted these kids to be able to read and write their own names,” he said. “He wasn’t even thinking about all the computing and English language classes we have now.”

A Grant Gets it Going

In 2007, KK won a grant from Bridges Across Borders, an international aid group, and Tiny Toones was born. He opened a studio and slowly expanded his organization beyond just dance. Now, Tiny Toones serves more than 100 kids per day. Half come in   the morning and half come in the afternoon. Children range from five to 24 years old.

The morning/afternoon split stems from the fact that Tiny Toones has gotten many kids back into school. Only 20 percent of the kids in the program are not in school. Most of these are children too young to go.

Many children live near the Tiny Toones headquarters in Chbar Ampov Pir in southern Phnom Penh, near National Road No. 1.

The NGO sends vans and tuk-tuks to pick up kids who live too far away. The majority of Tiny Toones’ funding comes from private donors and grants.

Classes in English, Math and Science

Mr. Sobil established educational programs, with courses in math, English and science – all for free. 

“Years ago, KK and I asked a lot of these kids what they wanted to be, and almost all of them said they wanted to work in a factory or work in a restaurant,” Mr. Reuth said. “Now, when we ask them the same question, they say they want to be pilots, doctors and teachers.”

On the artistic side, kids pestered him about music, specifically rapping and singing. So he started music-making classes.

“This gave them a platform to express things they’ve always wanted to say,” Mr. Reuth said. But they never had a way of expressing it, until they heard rap lyrics and identified with the struggles in the music. It’s about the world seeing your version of what you’re going through.”

Not satisfied with just music and dance, some kids wanted art, so KK and his team started teaching graffiti and traditional art courses.

“The youth told us what they needed – we just try to provide it,” said Mr. Reuth.

Now that Tiny Toones is gaining worldwide attention through press stories, they hope to one day to provide university scholarships.

But for now, the organization is a vehicle for children to learn from each other. 

“These kids think they’re the only ones struggling, the only ones going through what they’re going through,” Mr. Reuth explained. “But then they come here and see kids like them thriving. 

“So really, this all has nothing to do with us. Its kids inspiring kids. Youth inspiring youth,” he said.

*This story ran on July 22, 2015

RULE OF LAW INDEX: CAMBODIA AT ASIA’S BOTTOM

PHNOM PENH (Khmer Times) – Cambodia has been ranked a lowly 99 out of 102 countries in the “Rule of Law Index 2015” released by the World Justice Project (WJP).

The global index, released this week, measures how citizens perceive and experience the laws on the books and their enforcement in their own countries.

The WJP report ranked Cambodia alongside of Afghanistan, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

Among Asian countries, Cambodia scored last in these categories: Constraints on Government Powers, Absence of Corruption, Order and Security, Regulatory Enforcement, and Criminal Justice For Civil Justice, it ranked last of all 102 countries. Cambodians responding to the survey were particularly skeptical of judicial independence. Responders also gave low scores when asked about the ability of the government to respond to civil complaints, and the ability of the police and judicial systems to provide justice to victims of violence. 

The WJP interviewed 1,000 citizens and legal experts in each country to construct the index. The Washington-based independent body calls it the most comprehensive of its kind and the only one to rely on primary data. 

In the 2015 survey, these countries were at the top – Sweden, New Zealand and Norway. The United States came in 11, and France came in 17.

*This story ran on June 4, 2015

UNION PRESIDENT CHEA MONY TO STEP DOWN

PHNOM PENH (Khmer Times) – Chea Mony, president of the Free Trade Union (FTU), has decided not to seek reelection after leading one of Cambodia's largest trade unions for 11 years.

Mr. Mony was elected in 2004 after his brother and founder of the union, Chea Vichea, was assassinated in Phnom Penh following his dismissal from the INSM Garment Factory for starting a union at the factory.

In a meeting at the FTU headquarters in Phnom Penh Sunday, Mr. Mony announced his decision in front of over 100 representatives from factories across the country.

Despite rules stating that presidents can only stay in office for two consecutive three-year terms, Mr. Mony ran again in 2010 after saying he would retire due to health concerns.

He expressed remorse for staying in power for so long, but said he felt he needed to run again in 2010 due to ongoing strikes his union was involved in at the time.

Mr. Mony's time as president was marred by defections and claims that he used the union to make himself rich. But under his watch, the FTU contributed to the effort to raise Cambodia's minimum wage and secure certain benefits for factory workers.

The FTU helped kick start Cambodia's labor rights movement 20 years ago and currently has 60,000 members, most of whom are garment factory workers.

*This story ran on July 20,, 2015

SPEECH THERAPY COMES TO CAMBODIA

PHNOM PENH (Khmer Times) – For more than 600,000 people in Cambodia with speech and swallowing disorders, assistance and solutions seem distant and even nonexistent at times. 

Outside of a few speech therapists from the UK and US working for local NGOs, there are no Cambodian speech therapists and no college programs educating physical therapists on how to deal with these issues.

OIC: The Cambodia Project is trying to change that.

Pilot Project

Helping people with disabilities throughout the Kingdom for many years, the Cambodian NGO Capacity Building for Development Cooperation (CABDICO) realized that almost 70 percent of people they work with could use some form of speech therapy. 

With no local speech therapists and training programs, they turned to Weh Yeoh, an Australian development worker with physiotherapy qualifications.

He started a pilot project with CABDICO that gave their community therapists some tools to help people with speech disorders. OIC (an acronym for ‘Oh, I See!’) grew out of that to directly address speech related issues throughout the country. 

“There’s been a big lag behind speech therapy arriving here, and the top four disabilities among children are non-physical,” Mr. Yeoh said. “We’re still a little bit in the dark ages when it comes to finding and dealing with people who have these issues here.” 

After the pilot program, an independent evaluation asked people involved about their thoughts on the program. One of the most common things said was, “How has Cambodia gone so long without this therapy?”

Locally-led Angle

OIC is trying to solve this problem by raising awareness about speech and swallowing disorders in communities and schools, while making speech therapy a legitimate profession for Cambodians.

If compared to the ratio of speech therapists to people with speech disorders in the US, Cambodia would need 6,000 therapists to handle the population in need.

A few NGOs have brought speech therapists from other countries to Cambodia, but OIC is approaching the project from a different angle, hoping to eventually have enough locally-based speech therapists to teach a course on it at a university and train a new generation of therapists.

“Instead of bringing services that Cambodia doesn’t have, and then leaving when we think our work is done, we’re setting up speech therapy as a locally-lead profession,” said Emma Blint, fundraising MANAGER for OIC.

They have already set up a partnership with an Australian university to build the capacity for speech therapy courses and majors at schools in Cambodia. 

They hope to have a university speech therapy course up and running by 2020.

Unseen, Unheard

Many children with speech and swallowing disorders don’t go to school. Even those who do are at a disadvantage, because most teachers don’t know how to handle the issues these children have.

“A lot of these children have communication problems, but their intelligence is normal and yet their potential is not being tapped because they’re being written off, just simply because they have communication issues,” Mr. Yeoh said.

Just the awareness about what speech therapy is and what speech disorders are has changed how many families view their children who have these issues.

“Without the knowledge of what speech therapy is or what a communication problem is, they’re not really ever found, they’re just invisible,” Mr Yeoh said.

OIC has already seen progress when it comes to community-based disability therapists. Many of those who were involved in the pilot project have said it changed the way they deal with their patients and improved their ability to help them.

“It has made me more confident in my ability to help these children, their families, teachers and communities,” said Chea Phearom, a community rehabilitation officer with CABDICO since 2006.

“I was able to give these kids the confidence to speak up in school, and let their parents and teachers know that there are ways to interact with them that can help and improve how you teach them.”

OIC has started a fundraising campaign, called ‘Unseen, Unheard’, ahead of a meeting with the UN and Cambodian government officials, hoping to use the stories of 20 children they’ve helped to illustrate how urgent a need speech therapy is.

“Speech therapy is about helping people communicate, but it’s also just about helping people be active members of their communities,” Mr. Yeoh said.

For more on OIC and their project, go to oiccambodia.org. To donate, go to startsomegood.com/unseen_unheard.

*This story ran on April 19, 2015

DAVE WALKER DISAPPEARANCE: ONE YEAR LATER

SIEM REAP (Khmer Times) – Just over a year ago, on Feb. 14, 2014, two housekeepers came by Dave Walker’s room at the Green Village Angkor Guesthouse to clean.
The Canadian filmmaker lived at the guesthouse, so he knew the process would take about 20 minutes. That Friday afternoon, Walker put his computer to sleep, put his cell phone on its charger, and walked out the door. 
The receptionist was eating his lunch by the pool when he saw Walker – donned in a black top with black trousers and grey sneakers – pass through the restaurant and pool area, cross the parking lot and out the main gate.
He would be one of the last people to report seeing him alive.
Walker had nothing on him. His cellphone was in his room. He wasn’t wearing a watch or jewelry. He wasn’t known to carry much money, just a small bottle of water. 
Ten weeks later, on May 1, the water bottle he was last seen carrying was found in woods near Angkor Thom’s Victory Gate, about 11 kilometers from Siem Reap. Lying nearby was Walker’s badly decomposed body. He was still dressed in black and wearing his gray sneakers. 
Walker’s body was transported to Thailand for an autopsy at the request of the Canadian embassy on May 23. By Sept. 15, his body was cremated in Bangkok. 
Beloved Member of the Community
As evidenced by the shock and grief, Walker was a beloved member of the Siem Reap community.
As a journalist and filmmaker, he opened up Animist Farm Films in Siem Reap and had completed a number of short documentaries about locals. He was in the process of completing another film before his disappearance.
He was known in Siem Reap for his generosity and love of the country. When news of his disappearance broke, expats in both Siem Reap and Phnom Penh mobilized to determine what happened.
In Canada, relatives and colleagues pushed Canadian authorities to investigate the disappearance. When his death was confirmed, they pushed the Canadian embassy in Bangkok to investigate.
Unanswered Questions
But, one year later, close friends still ask the same questions.
His cousin and next of kin, Tammy Madon, has stopped commenting publicly about the case. 
Last January, the Journal de Montreal quoted Ms. Madon as saying: “The autopsy report is inclusive. We are moving on...turning the page.” 
Two days later, Madon clarified: “That is not what I said at all. I have not even received the report. The only official document I have is the death certificate, which states death caused by loss of consciousness.”
One year after his disappearance, there are more rumors than facts about the reasons for his death.
The Canadian Embassy in Thailand sent a representative to Siem Reap. Siem Reap provincial immigration chief Chao Mao Vireak said the Embassy also sent:  “Thai examination experts, four doctors, two autopsy experts, a cameraman and an assistant.”
Cambodian doctors performed their autopsy at Siem Reap’s provincial referral hospital. 
“After the autopsy, our doctors concluded that the victim died as a result of a heart attack and we did not see any injuries caused by someone or evidence of any kind found on the body that would point to this being a murder,” Touch Malai, deputy chief of the provincial technical and scientific police unit, said in a statement. 
Asked how Walker’s body ended up in the Angkor temple complex, Malai responded: “We have not investigated how the victim came to be in the Angkor Thom area because we believe that he walked there by himself.” 
Walker was known to have bad knees, and the temples are a two hour walk from his guesthouse. 
The provincial police chief, Sort Nady, said police working with Apsara Authority discovered no clues as to how Walker entered the park. 
“We are still concluding that the victim died of a heart attack,” Nady said. “Because there is not enough fresh air in that forest and it is easy for people to fall unconscious.”
‘Nothing But Rumors’
One year later, many concerned about Walker’s death have given up and moved on. Yet Peter Vronsky, a friend of 20 years, is still looking into the case. 
After one year of investigations through friends of Walker in Cambodia, Vronsky says even he is unsure of what actually happened.
“My belief is that there are multiple circumstances that could have led to Dave Walker’s death by foul play,” he reflected. “But knowing Dave for 20 years, there is a very good chance that Dave fled those circumstances to avoid their escalation and might have died of natural causes that afternoon while avoiding a confrontation, perhaps even from the stress of the looming confrontation.”
There are suspects and people of interest in Siem Reap who Vronsky believes may know more about what happened to Walker. But he said that without the backing of Canadian and Cambodian authorities, these leads are not being pursued.
“There is no evidence, to my knowledge, or witnesses, to Dave Walker being abducted – not a single sighting,” he said. “That’s why I say it’s 50-50.  The other 50 of course, is the possibility that Dave was abducted in front of his hotel, and there were no witnesses. Or they did not come forward.  Certainly there were sufficient motives for Dave to have been targeted. We just don’t have any substantial clues or evidence for it. Nothing but rumors.” 

*This story ran on Tuesday, February 17, 2015