Cambodian Voices

... Paving the way on inclusion and on ethnic minorities …

During the week of June 16 - 20, 2014, MondulKiri Province (and other provinces) were visited by a ‘bubbly‘ group of Ph'nong/ Khmer media: newspaper, magazine, television and radio reporters and, who came from the Delegation of the European Union in Cambodia (DEU) in Phnom Penh.   The

purpose of the visit was to highlight the role of the EU in supporting Education in Cambodia. They wanted to document the stories of educators across Cambodia with a focus on inclusion and on ethnic minorities. 

 
In courtesy of VSO, I hosted, gave a presentation (on ‘Strengthening Education’ in MondulKiri), coordinated meetings and visits (with the media delegation) to two rural Village Schools and one elementary school in Sen Monorom town.  Below are brief interview excerpts that were conducted with teachers, school directors and the POE director.

PouLong Village School, approximately 20 kilometres from Sen Monoron Town is a privileged and a well-equipped ‘model’ rural school where 169 children are predominantly Ph’nong.   Last January 2014, this village school received an award at the ‘MondulKiri Annual Congress’ meeting for its many attributes and its exemplary for other Village Schools.   PouLong School is a lucky school.  It gets a high level of support from several NGOs, including VSO! This includes a fully operated library; ample teaching resources; a nutritional breakfast, a health sanitation and dental programme. (Child Friendly School Programme: Dimension 3 - ‘Living Hygienically’), and receives much more. 

The school director and teachers who were smartly dressed in colourful outfits, a reflection of their school, were both excited and nervous with the anticipation of being interviewed by the ‘bubbly’ group of reporters.  Whilst being interviewed we heard a sense of accomplishment in the voices of the school director and teachers.  Through their expressions and laughter, we could even hear the excitement in their voices when they were telling their story of the successes of PouLong Village School.  

Sot Chanthoeun the school director proudly announced ‘At one time the enrolment was low.  Parents and students didn’t ‘ know‘ the value of education.  Now, most of our children come to school’.  They want to learn!’  

Beamed with delight the grade 1 Bunong teacher told the reporters  ‘We have breakfast here!’  And, pointing to the toothbrushes lined at the back of her classroom wall, she excitedly declared.  ‘After the children eat, they brush their teeth outside by the fence and use their own water bottles, hung on a clothes line, to rinse’.    

Moved by the teacher’s enthusiasm, which intrigued the reporters further, was the teacher librarian who was in the midst of preparing a story for the grade 1 students.  The Ph’nong librarian who shyly smiled at the camera also echoed the success story of PouLong Village School, and, of her ‘smart looking’ little library.  During the course of her testimonial, the grade 1 students softly ‘tip toed’ into the library (some with a book in hand, discreetly passing them to the front for the teacher to chose from), and sat on the floor, quietly waiting for the librarian to read them a story; a regular event at PouLong Village School.  After her interview, and, conscientious of her eager cross legged little brood, the librarian happily picked up one of the books placed in front of her, comfortably held her baby in one arm and began to read a story.  

PouTaing Village School is a more typical underprivileged and poorly supported rural school where children are predominantly Ph’nong.   The village school lacks teaching resources and has no water supply or latrines.  There is no breakfast programme for its 84 students.  However, the Ph’nong children at the school have the unique opportunity to attend an

after school English for Cambodia classes with a retired Ph’nong local teacher.   Loyt Chanty, school director of the school noted 2 important positive factors in his school; benefiting in education.  First, he claimed that ‘Progress in Early Childhood Education in the Northeastern area is a bit slow, but better than before. He also pointed out that his Bunong students were benefiting from the Khmer language curriculum and English lessons  ‘Previously, no one knew Khmer, or English, but Ph’nong children now know how to speak, read and write Khmer’.  With a grin and poise, he added  ‘And, they know some English too!   

Hu Sen-Sen Monorom Primary School is the largest school in MondulKiri province.  It is well funded by education and several NGOs.  The school has adequate teaching resources, a nutritional breakfast, and a health sanitation programme for its 933 students who are predominantly Khmer.   The day of the interview, the sun glowed on the school director’s well-pressed pastel ‘coral’ shirt;  a rarity for MondulKiri’s sometimes-dusty weather that will keep clothes permanently stained in saffron red.  While the children played and squealed with delight, Sang Ra, school director, took the reporters on a school tour and proudly showed off the school’s well manicured gardens, the classrooms, the health facilities and much more.  He spoke softly and eloquently to ensure that the media absorbed every word he uttered, suggesting that his school was the best in all of MondulKiri province!  

Tim Sangvat, POE director of MondulKiri province, proudly gave an overview of the capacity development partnership fund and spoke of its purpose, framework and benefits.  ‘Some of the results are very good.   As a result of EU’s funding, as a result of UNICEF and, VSO’s great support since 2005: school dropout rates have decreased; students’ attendance, particularly girls’ attendance has increased, professional development workshops for teachers and school directors have improved and much more’.   However, Sangvat

expressed a concern about the partnership fund that was created in 2011 and was sadly expiring by the end of 2014.   He also reflected on the needs of many village schools (in particular, Bunong remote village schools) in MondulKiri province. ‘Some of the things here in our province are still lacking.  MondulKiri is in much need of an extended Province Wide Breakfast Programme’.  With some optimism and some certainty in his voice, he added.  ‘We hope that the EU will help us!’  

 

Since the interview took place early last summer, the financing agreement for the EU-Cambodia Education Sector Reform Partnership 2014-2016 proudly announced that the EU have now funded Cambodia double the money they had initially received during the last 3 years to support the education sector in Cambodia.  (More information can be  found in

the Cambodian Daily).   

More later ... :)

Introducing some of our housemates ...

Gecko growing a new tail and chasing MayPleans in our kitchen

With the rains came the MayPleans. These ant like winged insects, were attracted in their thousands by the light on our verendah and were greedily recieved by our housemates  

A young rat joining in the MayPleans' feast

He - she (the rat) may also be the culprit that later chewed a hole in my sweater and, started building a nest in our bedroom.










 Three legged Tokay Gecko getting some of the action

This Tokay Gecko caught something larger for dinner

Moulting Tokay Gecko - looks like it's in the 'Klan' member

Giant Cicada - You learn to duck when these big boys are in coming ...

Praying Mantis waiting for dinner on our food cabinet

... and in his throne in our bathroom

Visiting bat in our living room which came nightly to eat its berry harvest

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Our Prince  (tree frog) on his throne in our living room ...







Nana on our front steps -DuK-DoR her husband is off duty sleeping as usual!





More later ....

Going the extra mile …

 
the hearts `the minds of my comrades

In one of our previous post, I talked about this past ‘incredible’ year and the fun people we met along the way. I must admit that I feel very lucky to be still sailing along the hearts, the minds of my comrades.  Meet some delightful people that have gone the extra mile for us ….

BoPhy the guardian...  In my books the most important person at work is BoPhy, a fun loving lady who without fail comes to everyone’s rescue including mine!   She’s the guardian of the education complex and looks after everyone’s interest –she’s the nuts and bolts that hold the key to our requests.    That is to say that she holds the keys to the large gate (when someone like me eagerly comes to work on one of the countless statutory holiday); She holds the keys to the rooms we need for meetings, workshops, conferences …. And more.    With a twist and a turn voilà the key is ours for the week.   She is the person that will ensure that the halls and rooms are cleaned, properly set up for the events with food and water provided.  Added to the multitude of jobs she is accounted for, BoPhy takes care of the grounds, the water supply and the maintenance of the several water-harvests throughout the complex.  During the wet season, she regularly checks that the water pipes are in good repair and functional to fill the large urn with water.  In the dry season the urns are properly sealed and sparingly used to guaranty us all with water supply throughout the dry season.   And, she does it all with a smile often saying  ‘Ote paniaha’ No problem 

Novuth, my colleague…   There are six of us who share the office with Novuth and I’m the only one who speaks English. (It was  Novuth’s idea to place an English speaking person with Bunong/Khmer colleagues under the same roof in hopes that we’d communicate in Khmer/English.   Slowly, but surely it’s working!).  Novuth has a wealth of knowledge and everyone goes to him for advice, even yours truly.  This individual inspires me to no end. He laughs a lot and is always positive about everything.  Through my translator, we talk about everything and anything.  family, work,  government regulations and so forth.   When I’ve had some uncertainties about a situation at work I know that I can count on him for his advice.  He is always here for me.   He happily attends all my workshops, my meetings and will ‘bat’ for me in any way he can.  Recently, for one of my workshops Novuth translated a poster from English to Khmer in his beautiful Khmer handwriting.  Novuth is a hard working individual and you can be certain that he will go the extra mile for you... 

Sokhun/Savy, our landlord/ landlady…   When we were first looking for a place to live, everyone hesitated to tell us about the house in the lower dam.  We were forewarned that the owners were ‘money hungry ‘ and that they didn’t care much about their tenants.   And to make matters worse we were told that previous VSO volunteers broke their contract for one reason or another and left without notice.    Because of the unsettling experience everyone was feeling from both sides, the owners were just as hesitant to rent their house to anyone again in particular to the VSO gang.   After some convincing that we (Kevin and I) were reliable tenants, Sokhun/Savy were sold and rented the upper level of the house to us.   However, through lost in translation, we have indeed had our moment with them (they wanted more rent and in turn we contemplated moving out).  Still, in spite of the one bad experience we decided to stay put in order to pave the way for other volunteers.   Besides, Kevin and I like living here alongside our owners and, being part of the little community down below.   Our so-called ‘camping grounds’ is more like a palace to us compared to those who live in simpler ‘humble’ accommodation in the villages where I work.   Over the year we have earned Sokhun//Savy’s trust.   At noon, Sokhun  has his friends over for a meal that will last the whole afternoon and he often invites us to join them for his wife’s delicious cooking.  Savy the big boss of the household (who will orchestrate the ins and outs of the household) has even woken her husband up one early morning to drive us to the bus station.  And, Sokhun will gladly do so.    They will bring food up to our apartment, they will tell us where they're going (if they're leaving town) and will even drive us to and from the bus station.

Kevin my friend, my life line…   As you know by now Kevin is my husband and in VSO/Cuso terms he is known as my accompanied partner.    Whilst I’m at work, he plays many functions.  After breakfast, Kevin will walk with me partway to work before he turns off to the market to buy produce for lunch and dinner.  He makes the most delicious meals that I always look forward to especially on my return from the villages. (See below Kevin’s pumpkin soup recipe).  Added to this, the house is always spick and span, the floors washed, clean laundry is put away and more.  When Kevin isn’t a ‘wife’ at home, he accompanies me to the villages, assists with workshops, activities ... you name it he does it.   And, in his spare time he teaches English.    Kevin’s a very good listener and in a sense is a ‘punch bag’.  We have our usual arguments about everything and anything…  as friends that’s what it’s all about and it clears the air too.  We talk a lot about work, about the challenges and frustrations that I deal with on a daily basis.  However, Kevin has a knack at making things better.   It's nice to come home to someone that understands me inside out.  I really don’t know how I would have managed without him.   I’m so lucky to have Kevin here with me.  He ’s my friend, my lifeline and everything that you can possibly imagine.  He is definitely a Keeper! 

Kevin’s Pumpkin soup anyone?

Sauté 5 minutes

-        a whole onion

-        head of garlic

-        tablespoon of cumin seeds

-        1/2 red chilli pepper

Add

-        chopped pumkin

-        water (just enough to cover the pumpkin)

-        chicken stock

Boil 'til tender 

Blend/puree

-        pumpkin

Add

-        water to bring to the right consistency

Garnish with

-        basil

On that note,  We wish all you Good Health, Happiness, and a Prosperous New Year 2015   Alice/Kevin

More later …

Dara Than’s Story

Before the Laughter Began 

 A few months ago, a colleague sent an article of Dara’s Than’s Story and I thought I would share it with you. During our first two weeks in Phnom Pehn Dara was our VSO/ Cuso  Khmer teacher.  He was smart, witty and fun to listen to.  He had a way of making us laugh when he knew that we had had enough with our Khmer lesson.  He also told us ‘unthinkable’ stories he experienced during the Khmer Rouge regime.  Dara was a great story teller and a romantic.  Dara sadly passed away last June 2014.   Below is Dara’s story.  Enjoy!

********************  Dara's Story - Before the Laughter Began

Deep furrows run from the corners of Dara Than’s eyes. They come from countless smiles that cause his face to contort as he bashfully covers his mouth, as wheezy explosions of laughter wrack his rotund body when something strikes him as funny.

His is a face created to smile and laugh; dark brown eyes dominating a round face topped by closely cropped hair. Yet a shadow creeps across his brow as he reflects on his past, his gaze drifting and his expression somber.

“The word refugee is a beautiful word,” he says. “It sounds lovely and it’s easy to say. But the reality of it is like being buried alive”.

Dara’s brown eyes cloud over as he recalls the 12 years he spent in a refugee camp on the Cambodia border in the 1980s. Gone is the jovial laugh and constant sparkle which identify him among the expat community in Phnom Penh as a good-humoured Khmer teacher. Instead, there’s a rarely-seen seriousness and a touching poignancy to his speech as he talks about his past.

Small wonder, as this gregarious, fun-loving teacher recalls a past punctuated by loss, hardship and uncertainty. It’s a common tale among survivors of the Khmer Rouge. But what makes Dara special is where his life has taken him and what he has made of a future he often was able to define, let alone predict.

There were days when he was not sure if he’d see tomorrow. Hours spent working in rice fields, trying to survive. Months on the front-line, holding a gun, in defense of his country that was being torn apart.   “I never thought I’d return to this kind of life,” he says, sipping an iced cappuccino in a Phnom Penh coffee shop. “I just lived from day to day. There were no plans. It was all about survival”.

Today, Dara is a successful Khmer teacher in Phnom Penh and, in a field crowded with competitors, stands out not only for his remarkable teaching skills but also for his engaging personality and that bubbling, unforgettable laughter.  Years later, his students recall that quality.  “His style was encouraging and fun.” said Anji Loman Field, a British film-maker who worked with Dara more than a year ago. “We had a lot of laughs and – in contrast to my lessons with other teachers – the words Dara taught me have stuck with me to this day.” Daniel Saver, an American law student, has a similar recollection.  “For me, the most memorable part of Dara is his characteristic laugh,” he said. “When he laughs, a huge smile comes across his face and he bounces up and down ever so slightly, sort of like a Cambodian Santa Claus.”  And, while Dara thought he’d never see the day when laughter would be part of his world, his eyes still twinkle when he talks about some experiences of days gone by.

Like the tattoo – a roughly-drawn picture of a mynah bird perched on a branch – which one of his fellow refugees etched onto his left forearm when Dara was 21. “I wanted it to attract the girls,” he said. A mischievous glimmer flits across his face, his eyes start to twinkle and he erupts in a bellowing belly-laugh that rocks his body.

He’s not sure where the laugh came from but puts it down to having an appreciation for getting through the dark days. “I look at what I have now and it makes me feel stronger,” he says. “In the camps, I was very low. I survived mentally by comparing my life to others and knowing I could get through it. That everything comes to an end.  “Sometimes when I talk about those days, I can’t stop the tears. After 30 years, it may be forgivable but will never be forgettable.”

Dara was only 10 when war broke out in Cambodia and 15 when the Khmer Rouge invaded. His mother had given birth three days earlier to a baby boy, who his parents named Santapeep (“peace”) because they thought the country’s troubles were over, but suddenly the family was thrust into the chaos and tumult of a country ripped apart by conflict. Dara’s mother was forced to escape with a newborn baby, his father was imprisoned in a labour camp and Dara sent to work in the rice fields.

Two years after the invasion, in an attempt to find his father, Dara was arrested by the Khmer Rouge. He was marched to an abandoned rice mill, shackled and locked in a dark room. Later that night, the door opened and he was pushed outside with an AK47 at his back.

Walking barefoot through a banana plantation, he feared his last moment had come. He’d heard the Khmer Rouge killed people in these fields because their decaying bodies made good fertilizer and he fearfully anticipated the gunshot.  It never came.  Instead, he was marched to a Khmer Rouge prison where he was chained together with dozens of other prisoners and shackled to a steel bar.  “I knew I had to escape,” he said. “I checked out the fence when I slipped away to urinate while the other prisoners were having lunch and decided I would try to get over it”.  Urged on by his desire to escape, Dara sprinted toward the fence, leaped over it and kept running. Once back in his village, he looked for his mother who’d been sent away to work and, after he found her, learned she’d been told 

Dara had been shot, his liver eaten and his body dumped in the river.  “I was so angry that I joined the army,” he said. “I had no experience or training in how to shoot a gun but I was right on the frontline every day. I saw several of my friends get shot and, one day, I was walking with three friends when a mine exploded, killing all of them. That was the day I decided to leave the army”.

In the meantime, his family was living in Battambang and starving – five people surviving on handfuls of rice. They heard they could get handouts of free rice from a town near the Thai border so Dara walked – at night, along with hundreds of people, barefoot, 100 kilometers to the border – to get rice for his family.“We were allowed 15 kilograms at a time,” he said. “My shoulders were red and swollen from carrying it so far, but there was nothing else I could do”.

At that point, Dara moved to a refugee camp where, in 1983, be began learning English and applied for a job with the United Nations Border Relief Operation (UNBRO) to teach in primary school in the camp.  By 1989, he was working as a translator and interpreter, landed a job editing a bi-weekly bulletin and began teaching Khmer to foreigners who worked in the camp.

But his troubles were still not over. He wrote a petition for a neutral refugee camp, signing it with a pseudonym as protection, since he could be accused of working for the Vietnamese for spearheading this activity. Later that year, he was interviewed by a Time magazine correspondent who promised to protect his identity, then broke his promise and revealed his name in the magazine. One month later, Vanity Fair magazine not only used his name but published his photo in an article, with the caption “This is Mr. Than Dara, who wrote the petition for a neutral camp.”  “I will never forget the name of that journalist,” Dara said. “I could have been killed for being identified and I did not expect to be betrayed”.

Since it was no longer safe to remain in the camp, he paid a guide to get him across the border and navigate a route through the mine fields. He finally made it to Phnom Penh, without ID documents ,where he found his uncle and grandmother but was turned away from their home as they feared for their own safety by harbouring him.  On his uncle’s advice, Dara went to the police and confessed he’d escaped from a refugee camp. He was immediately arrested and spent the next 17 days being interrogated before he was set free.

A week after leaving police custody, he found a job with Save The Children Norway where he earned $250 a month for translation services and, in 1991, started working as a contract teacher for the VSO after the Paris Peace agreement was signed. He taught the first group of eight volunteers who came to Cambodia and worked as a contract translator and language instructor for OXFAM, VSA, OSB and other organizations.

The rest, as they say, is history. Dara now lives in Phnom Penh, travels to the provinces on teaching projects several times a year and raises two children with Sarah, his partner of 17 years, who he met in a classroom. He’s been interviewed by the BBC about his life, written about in a number of publications and earned the respect of his peers and students.

So what about his heroes? Who does Dara look up to and respect?  “Oh,” he smiled, wistfully, his face softened in reflection.”There’s someone very special I admire most who lost a husband, raised four children alone and never remarried or left her kids to have a life of her own.

 

 ”That’s my mum”.

Gabrielle Yetter, July 27, 2011

BBC Mondulkiri Hill Tribes

Look up the beautiful Hills of Mondolkiri in one of Sue Perkins BBC series: 'The Mekong River'.

Episode two (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04q07wj) features some of la vie quotidienne of Mondulkiri and its hill-tribes, waterfalls, wild life, the Mekong and more ...  Enjoy!  

Unfortunately, the you tube link recently became inactive - apologies …

More later ...   

A theatre of humanity

… never a dull moment!

It’s raining, and hard at that!   My translator assured me that it is indeed the dry season. With a nod and a grin he repeatedly says. ‘No rain for a long time’…  It is likely that we’re still in a transitional stage with either warm sunny days, cold blustery days or rainy days.   Kevin is in denial of the cold wet weather.  He still wears a short sleeve shirt while I on the other hand have a sweater on.

It’s Sunday.  On weekends we traditionally walk up the hill (working an appetite) for a delicious breakfast at the market.  Our usual order is cordial soup with pork and for yours truly, smoked pork on a bed of rice with ice tea. The market is the perfect place to watch the goings on – the to and fro, the vendors selling their produce, to listen to a word or two in Khmer and, to listen to this jovial individual (with his big horn) trying to sell bus tickets to anyone on a motorbike or passers-by.  Our jovial friend always acknowledges us when he sees us enter our favourite local restaurant, and, without fail he wants to know if we plan to take a local bus somewhere …  As we’re having breakfast we’re further entertained with buses being loaded with motorbikes, chickens, heavy bags of rice and other produce, including numerous passengers packed like sardines before departing to their various locations.  Bursting at it seams, the seemingly lopsided bus drives around the town at least twice –if not three times to pick up more passengers …   before its final parting to its destination ... while all the while we marvel as to ‘how is it possible for the driver to fit more people in and on top of his bus?’  We’ve now been going to the same local place for the same breakfast for a year to enjoy the delicious food, to pick up a Khmer word or two from the charming people around us, to watch the market turn into a ‘theatre of humanity’.

On our return from the market we find the landlord in our kitchen attempting to fix our water tap in his underwear!  While Savy, (our landlady) grabs me by the arm escorting me to her petite clinic to introduce me to her new electronic massage beds and insists that I have a try.  She lies down on the massage bed beside mine and convinces me that I should like it.  

Further, an ‘after thought’ has risen for their petite clinic.   The landlord/landlady have just added a side verandah that looks right into our verandah and, into our bedroom.  Now they are in the midst of building a short wall and a driveway.  After my massage, in her complete splendour, Savy orchestrates the workers to do what she wants.   In the rain, under a ragged canopy; two women attempt to manually sift sand in unison while two wide eyed children gaze with wonder; a young boy is lifting pales of heavy concrete for the other two men to catch ready to level off the drive way; with out a doubt, the supervisor in his perfect element, (though in charge of the workers and oblivious to his surroundings), attempt to polish his car in the rain.  Despite the rain and the orchestrated sound fading away in the background, the workers break into a song.   By 11 o’clock everyone’s stops for lunch and Savy and Sukhon happily joins them.

Voilà!  This is just a brief account of a typical morning at the Sen Monorom VSO Boulevard district.  There’s never a dull moment …   

More later ...

A constellation of this and that

- and here and there …

Cows and buffaloes are cooling off in the lake – they stop briefly to scrutinize us as we walk pass before they return to there personal activity.  Children echo ’Hello’ and wait for a response from us. They cover their mouths with loud sounds of laughter turning to their comrades for confirmation after we echo ‘Hello’ back.   Everyday, after work Kevin and I will go on our usual walk on the saffron dirt road not far from where we live. 

November was filled with a constellation of this and that and here and there …  Open Day Ceremony, working in the field, cassava harvesting, yes- the return of the dust, the Water Festival, and welcoming a new visitor.

Open Day Ceremony, the first day of school was held, (after the school enrollment campaign) in every corner of Mondolkiri Province.   At the POE complex in Sen Monorom town the Governor of Mondolkiri delivered a speech.   He also announced that only 80 out of 195 students in the province had passed after two attempts at the grade 12 national examinations. 

My VA and I visited several schools in the villages to follow-up with the school enrollment campaign, to find out if more students have enrolled, to observe classes and to co-teach.  I’m still in ‘awe’ with the students’ behavior in class.  They are eager to learn; they clap when someone ‘bravely’ gives an answer and giggle shyly when they are asked to participate as a class -to make a circle and to hold hands.  

On the way to and from our visit in the villages cassava harvesting has began.  The farmers are digging out cassava from the fields, weigh them, filled them in baskets and haul them on trucks to deliver them to various sites for peeling and drying before shipment.  Some roads are already lined with fresh cut up cassava.

The Cambodian Water Festival marked the reversal of the Tonlé Sap.  The 3-day festival takes place once a year, in November on the full moon of the Buddhist month of Kadeuk to celebrate the end of the rainy season and the reversal of the flow of the Tonlé Sap.   School is closed and most people go on holiday.  The biggest attraction took place in Phnom Penh with boat racing along the Tonlé Sap.

Yes the dust is back! Alas, we have quickly transitioned to strong winds and dust.   There was not time to enjoy the warm dry weather before getting cold.  The landscape has rapidly changed from semi-tropical green lush vegetation to dry red fields with bush fires all around us. 

We now have a new visitor amongst our midst.  We’re not sure if we’ve adopted him or he’s adopted us!  Every evening our new visitor flies in our house without a care in the world and hangs upside down on the kitchen light to groom himself.  Our little friend, this grey little bat has decided to make our home his home and every night he settles in quietly on the light until morning.  

More later ...