Karaoke girls’ sad song

Friday, 24 August 2012

Princess Soma Norodom

 

Karaoke is one of Asia’s favourite pastimes. The creator of the karaoke machine is Japanese, but a Filipino businessman, Robert del Rosario, takes credit for the invention because he was smart enough to patent it.

From Taipei, Jakarta and Manila to Hanoi and Hong Kong, karaoke (KTV) is very popular, and Phnom Penh is no exception.

There are so many karaoke bars throughout our city, but it was difficult to find one that was appropriate for my friends, their parents and me to go to.

Eventually, I found a family-style KTV bar, and it was what karaoke should be about: singing along to the lyrics of your favourite songs.

In many KTV bars in Cambodia, customers enjoy singing, dancing, drinking and having a great time. In most KTV bars, men enjoy other perks with young women.

Many karaoke girls augment their income by moonlighting as prostitutes. Young women from rural areas earn the respect of their villages by sending money home, despite the fact they work in karaoke bars, massage parlours and brothels.

Customers of KTV bars range from tourists, expats and foreigners to local Khmers, and sexual exploit-ation of girls in Cambodia has increased as a result of the financial crisis.

Many women have entered the sex industry because of declining working conditions in the garment sector, where they endured long hours and low pay.

They can easily earn more money, and enjoy good working conditions, by becoming prostitutes in KTV bars.

Some karaoke-bar owners run a clean operation, but many of them hire girls to perform sexual acts with the customers.

Clients negotiate a price, pay a bar fine to take girls off the premises, and enjoy a few hours, or a night, with them. Asian customers like Vietnamese women, who dominate Phnom Penh’s sex scene, because of their preference for pale skin and fine features.

Prostitution is illegal in Cambodia, and the government has banned songs that encourage infidelity from being played in KTV bars.

But with thousands of go-go girls and karaoke hostesses, this country is famous for sex tourism.

That image must change, and it will take more than the government to correct it. It takes the community, and the people, to reduce supply and demand in this trade.

I recommend more vocational-training programs education that focuses on skills related to a specific career or trade.

After that training, these women can be placed in a job-assistance program and earn money without having to sell their bodies.

Vocational training tends to be less expensive than academic educational programs, but it should be affordable, or free, to anyone who wants to escape the sex industry.

NGO Acting for Women in Distressing Situations (AFESIP) provides skills training in fields that include sewing, housekeeping, hairdressing, weaving, handicrafts, small-business management and social work.

The program enables participants to attain self-sufficiency and financial independence, with the opportunity to find employment or run their own business.

At the family-style KTV, we sang the song She Works Hard for the Money, about a waitress who won’t do anything sexual to make money.

There is hope. And if you have hope, you have a chance to make money the respectful way.

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The Social Agenda with Soma Norodom
The views expressed above are solely the author’s and do not reflect any positions taken by The

Cambodian students fear losing jobs to ASEAN neighbours

Monday, 27 August 2012

Justine Drennan

 

The vision regional leaders have for an ASEAN Economic Community by 2015 may become clearer after this week’s Economic Ministers meeting in Siem Reap, but not everyone has a rose-coloured view of what such integration might mean for Cambodia.

“My peers are really concerned that other countries have many more skills and higher study levels,” National Institute of Business student Chan Kakada, 22, said yesterday, ahead of Prime Minister Hun Sen officially opening the meeting today.

Students who have not mastered the English language also fear employment opportunities will fade into the face of stiffer competition for English skills, Kakada, who hopes to one day open her own travel agency, said.

“If Cambodian students can’t compete with other ASEAN countries, maybe in the future [Cambodians] will be jobless after ‘ASEAN-alisation’,” she said, using a term coined by one of her professors, who urges students to study hard and choose their subjects carefully so they can compete in a regional labour market when the AEC’s free movement of skilled labour agreement comes into effect.

The AEC’s proposed labour agreement – to facilitate work permits and relax foreign worker quotas – being discussed at the economic minister’s meeting only includes certain skilled sectors: architecture, engineering, accounting, surveying, medicine and tourism.

University students may have reason to fear, experts say. But, ultimately, few Cambodians have technical skills that will be impacted under the AEC labour agreement, Kang Chandararot, head of the economics unit at independent analyst group Cambodia Institute of Development Study, said.

“The issue is how many skilled labourers we can produce when 80 per cent of labour in the economy is in rural areas,” he said.

“Because of seasonal unemployment and the dependence on a subsistence economy of Cambodian rural households, it is very difficult to promote the benefits of acquiring more skills,” Chandararot said, emphasising that for Cambodians to upskill into technical fields like surveying or medicine, there needed to be a tangible incentive to do so. Without such an incentive, the Cambodian labour market will “not be able to absorb benefits from integration”, he said.

In a country where 50 per cent of the workforce has not finished primary school, AEC integration will be a challenge for Cambodia, but also a chance to catch up, according to Sok Siphanna, adviser to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

But Moeun Tola, head of the labour program at Cambodian NGO Community Legal Education Center, said, “What I can see at the moment is Cambodia has not done anything yet in terms of improvement of human resource quality, in terms of skilled workers and knowledgeable people, in order to pick up good jobs.”

Under current conditions, as ASEAN economies integrate, Cambodia may get stuck supplying other countries with unskilled labour, which current agreements don’t regulate or protect, while foreign workers take skilled jobs, Tola said.

“2015 is a little bit early for Cambodia [to integrate] if you look at the situation,” he said.

Even professionals from sectors included in the labour integration agreement said they were unaware of the pending changes.

“Especially private businesses, they just think of themselves, not with respect to ASEAN or 2015,” Koam Sinoun, who is a dentist in private practice and also a Ministry of Health official, said.

“[Private practices] are working to improve, not with respect to the ASEAN plan, but just separately, for the needs of the country,” Sinoun said. However, this two-steam approach is ultimately counterproductive in the face of regional integration and the Asian Development Bank and labour and education ministries are trying to encourage private businesses to implement regional standardised certification toward an AEC “common framework for quality assurance”, said Mar Sophea, ADB senior social sector officer.

A Labour Ministry and ADB initiative, for example, offers technical and vocational education and training certification to secondary level students at 38 sites across the country.

This program, which focuses on construction, car repair and internet technology with business applications, faces a tough task, since even aspiring professionals tend to pursue administrative rather than technical skills, according to ADB and ministry materials.

ASEAN programs like the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) also are encouraging skills acquisition in Cambodia, said director of ASEAN’s integration monitoring office Aladdin Rillo. The IAI’s investment and development programs broadly seek to close the “development gap” between the original “ASEAN-6” and the less-developed member states of Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar.

“But these are actually national issues,” Rillo said. “If countries are not able to implement these changes, they will still have the same problems.” For this reason, he said, “I think realistically there will be some short-term adverse effects of the economic integration.”

អ្នក​វិភាគ៖ វិស័យ​អប់រំ​កម្ពុជា គុណភាព​នៅ​មាន​កម្រិត

ដោយ ទីន ហ្សាការីយ៉ា

2012-08-22

នៅ​សង្គម​កម្ពុជា អ្នក​ដែល​មាន​ចំណេះ​ដឹង​ខ្ពង់ៗ ពួក​គាត់​មាន​ឱកាស​តិចតួច ដែល​អាច​ចូល​បម្រើ​ការងារ​នៅ​ក្នុង​ជួរ​រដ្ឋាភិបាល​បាន ដូច្នេះ​ការ​អភិវឌ្ឍ​ប្រទេស​ក៏​មិន​អាច​វិវឌ្ឍន៍​ទៅ​បាន​លឿន​ដែរ។ ម្យ៉ាង​ទៀត វិស័យ​អប់រំ​នៅ​កម្ពុជា គុណភាព​នៅ​មាន​កម្រិត​នៅ​ឡើយ​នោះ។

ថ្វី​ត្បិត​តែ​នៅ​សង្គម​កម្ពុជា នៅ​ក្នុង​រយៈពេល​ប៉ុន្មាន​ឆ្នាំ​ចុង​ក្រោយ​នេះ សន្ទុះ​សិស្ស​និស្សិត​បាន​ហក់​ចូល​ក្នុង​វិស័យ​អប់រំ​ច្រើន​ក្ដី ប៉ុន្តែ​វិស័យ​អប់រំ​នៅ​ក្នុង​ស្ថានភាព​បច្ចុប្បន្ន​នៅ​កម្ពុជា ស្ថិត​នៅ​ក្នុង​ស្ថានភាព​មួយ​គួរ​ឲ្យ​ព្រួយ​បារម្ភ ដោយ​សារ​តែ​បញ្ហា​គុណភាព។

ក្រុម​អ្នក​ជំនាញ​ខាង​អប់រំ និង​អ្នក​វិភាគ​បាន​លើក​ឡើង​ថា វិស័យ​អប់រំ​ជា​កត្តា​មួយ​ដ៏​សំខាន់ សម្រាប់​ឲ្យ​ពលរដ្ឋ​កម្ពុជា​គ្រប់​រូប ចាប់​អារម្មណ៍​នឹង​វិស័យ​អប់រំ និង​ទទួល​បាន​ការ​អប់រំ​ឲ្យ​បាន​គ្រប់ៗ​គ្នា ដើម្បី​ឲ្យ​ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋ​មាន​ការ​យល់​ដឹង​ខ្ពស់ មាន​ការ​ផ្លាស់​ប្ដូរ​ផ្នត់​គំនិត ធ្វើ​ឲ្យ​មនុស្ស​មាន​ក្រម​សីលធម៌ សេចក្ដី​ថ្លៃថ្នូរ និង​ធ្វើ​ឲ្យ​មាន​ទំនាក់​ទំនង​ល្អ​ក្នុង​សង្គម​ជាដើម។

ប្រធាន​គ្រប់គ្រង​ផ្នែក​អប់រំ នៃ​អង្គការ​សង្គ្រោះ​កុមារ​នៅ​កម្ពុជា (Save The Children) លោក កែវ សារ៉ាត់ មាន​ប្រសាសន៍​ថា ការ​រក​ចំណូល​សម្រាប់​ផ្គត់ផ្គង់​គ្រួសារ ឬ​សង្គម​ជាតិ អាស្រ័យ​លើ​សង្គម​នោះ​មាន​ធនធាន​មនុស្ស​ច្រើន ការ​អប់រំ​បាន​ស្មើ​ភាព​គ្នា និង​លទ្ធផល​អប់រំ​មាន​គុណភាព។ លោក​បញ្ជាក់​ថា ការ​អភិវឌ្ឍ​សង្គម ចាំ​បាច់​ណាស់​ត្រូវ​ការ​មនុស្ស​មាន​សមត្ថភាព ដើម្បី​ទំនាក់​ទំនង​នៅ​ក្នុង​សង្គម។

ទោះ​បី​ជា​សព្វ​ថ្ងៃ​ចំនួន​កុមារ​បាន​ចូល​រៀន​ជាង​៩០%​ហើយ​ក្ដី ពីព្រោះ​ថា វិស័យ​អប់រំ​ដែល​មាន​គុណភាព​នោះ ជា​កត្តា​ចាំ​បាច់​សម្រាប់​ជំរុញ​ឲ្យ​មាន​ការ​អភិវឌ្ឍ​ប្រទេស​មាន​ការ​រីក​ ចម្រើន​ឆាប់​រហ័ស តាម​រយៈ​ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋ​នៅ​ក្នុង​ប្រទេស​មាន​ជំនាញ​ច្បាស់​លាស់ និង​មាន​ចំណេះ​ដឹង​គ្រប់​គ្នា។ ផ្ទុយ​ទៅ​វិញ មាន​ករណី​មួយ​ចំនួន​ដែល​ធ្វើ​ឲ្យ​វិស័យ​អប់រំ​នៅ​កម្ពុជា គ្មាន​គុណភាព ទោះ​បី​ជា​មនុស្ស​គ្រប់​រូប​យល់​ថា វិស័យ​អប់រំ​ជា​ផ្នែក​មួយ​ដ៏​សំខាន់​ក្នុង​ការ​អភិវឌ្ឍ​ជាតិ​ក្ដី តែ​ភាព​ធូរ​រលុង នៃ​ប្រព័ន្ធ​អប់រំ ពិសេស​នៅ​ពេល​ប្រឡង។

របាយការណ៍​ស្រាវជ្រាវ​របស់​អ្នក​ស្រាវជ្រាវ​ផ្នែក​អភិវឌ្ឍន៍​សង្គម បាន​រក​ឃើញ​ថា សិស្ស​ប្រឡង​មធ្យម​សិក្សា​ទុតិយភូមិ ឬ​បាក់ឌុប សិស្ស​ចំនួន​៧៨%​បាន​ឆ្លើយ​ថា ពួក​គេ​ចម្លង​គ្នា​ទៅ​វិញ​ទៅ​មក​ក្នុង​ពេល​ប្រឡង។ កូន​សិស្ស​៦៧%​បាន​ឆ្លើយ​ថា ពួក​គេ​បាន​ចំណាយ​ប្រាក់​សម្រាប់​ការ​ប្រឡង គិត​ជា​មធ្យម​ក្នុង​ម្នាក់​ចំណាយ​លុយ​ប្រមាណ​៣០​ដុល្លារ សម្រាប់​រាយ​ឲ្យ​គ្រូ​ពេល​ប្រឡង។ ចំនួន​សិស្ស​៩២%​ឆ្លើយ​ថា ពួក​គេ​ប្រមូល​លុយ​ក្នុង​ថ្នាក់ សម្រាប់​គ្រូ​អនុរក្ស​ពេល​ប្រឡង ដើម្បី​មាន​សិទ្ធិ​លួច​ចម្លង​គ្នា និង​បើក​មើល​កំណែ​បាន​ជាដើម។

អ្នក​ស្រាវជ្រាវ​អភិវឌ្ឍន៍​សង្គម លោក កែម ឡី បាន​សម្ដែង​ការ​ព្រួយ​បារម្ភ​អំពី​កត្តា​គុណភាព​អប់រំ នៅ​មាន​កម្រិត​នៅ​ឡើយ​នេះ ដែល​ជា​ហេតុ​នាំ​ប្រទេស​កម្ពុជា​ពិបាក​នឹង​ប្រកួត​ប្រជែង​ជាមួយ​ប្រទេស​ជិត​ ខាង នៅ​ពេល​អនាគត ពិសេស​នៅ​ឆ្នាំ​២០១៥ នៅ​ពេល​ប្រទេស​ជា​សមាជិក​អាស៊ាន នឹង​ធ្វើ​សមាហរណកម្ម​សេដ្ឋកិច្ច​ក្នុង​តំបន់។

ក្រុម​អ្នក​វិភាគ​បាន​លើក​ឡើង​ថា ដើម្បី​ឲ្យ​ការ​សិក្សា​មាន​គុណភាព​ទៅ​បាន​នោះ មាន​កត្តា​ជាច្រើន ដូច​ជា ត្រូវ​កែ​ប្រែ​កម្មវិធី​សិក្សា ចាប់​ពី​មត្តេយ្យ​សិក្សា​ដល់​ឧត្តម​សិក្សា រដ្ឋាភិបាល​ត្រូវ​រៀបចំ និង​មាន​វិធានការ​ច្បាស់​លាស់ គុណភាព​គ្រូ និង​សិស្ស បរិស្ថាន​នៃ​ការ​សិក្សា តួនាទី​របស់​រដ្ឋាភិបាល និង​ការ​ចូល​រួម​ពី​សង្គម​គ្រួសារ តាម​រយៈ​ការ​ចំណាយ​ថវិកា​ទៅ​លើ​កូន​ឲ្យ​ចំ​ទិសដៅ។

គុណភាព​អប់រំ​នៅ​កម្ពុជា នៅ​មាន​កម្រិត ជា​កត្តា​រាំងស្ទះ​នៅ​ក្នុង​ការ​អភិវឌ្ឍ​សង្គម​ជាតិ ពីព្រោះ​ថា ការ​អប់រំ​មាន​តួនាទី​សំខាន់​ណាស់ ការ​អប់រំ​ឲ្យ​មនុស្ស​មាន​ក្រម​សីលធម៌​វិជ្ជាជីវៈ បណ្ដុះ​ឲ្យ​មនុស្ស​ស្រឡាញ់​ជាតិ បណ្ដុះ​ឲ្យ​មនុស្ស​ជា​ឆ្អឹង​ខ្នង​ទ្រទ្រង់​សង្គម បណ្ដុះ​មនុស្ស​ឲ្យ​ស្គាល់​សីលធម៌ និង​សច្ចធម៌ នៃ​សង្គម បណ្ដុះ​មនុស្ស​ឲ្យ​ស្គាល់​នូវ​វប្បធម៌​របស់​ខ្លួន បណ្ដុះ​ឲ្យ​មាន​ការ​ផ្លាស់​ប្ដូរ​ផ្នត់​គំនិត និង​ផ្សេងៗ​ទៀត។

អ្នក​ជំនាញ​ផ្នែក​វិទ្យាសាស្ត្រ​នយោបាយ និង​ជា​អ្នក​វិភាគ​ឯករាជ្យ លោក​បណ្ឌិត សុខ ទូច មាន​ប្រសាសន៍​ថា គ្រប់​ប្រទេស​ទាំង​អស់​នៅ​លើ​សកលលោក ការ​អភិវឌ្ឍ​ប្រទេស គេ​ពឹង​ផ្អែក​លើ​វិស័យ​អប់រំ ជា​បញ្ហា​ចម្បង ពោល​គឺ​ប្រទេស​នោះ គេ​ទាម​ទារ​អ្នក​មាន​ចំណេះ​ដឹង។ លោក​អះអាង​ថា ដើម្បី​រំដោះ​ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋ​កម្ពុជា​រួច​ផុត​ពី​ភាព​ក្រីក្រ ក៏​ត្រូវ​តែ​ទាម​ទារ​នូវ​វិស័យ​អប់រំ​ដែរ។

លោក​បណ្ឌិត សុខ ទូច បាន​ពន្យល់​ថា ការ​ដឹកនាំ​ប្រទេស​មួយ​ឲ្យ​មាន​និរន្តរភាព​នោះ រដ្ឋាភិបាល​ត្រូវ​ទាម​ទារ​ឲ្យ​មាន​អ្នក​ជំនាញ​តាម​ផ្នែក​នីមួយៗ ជា​អ្នក​ផ្ដល់​មតិ​យោបល់ ដើម្បី​បង្ហាញ​ផ្លូវ និង​មាន​ចក្ខុវិស័យ​វែង​ឆ្ងាយ។ លោក​បណ្ឌិត សុខ ទូច បាន​ហៅ​ការ​អភិវឌ្ឍ​បែប​ជំហាន​គីង្គក់​របស់​រដ្ឋាភិបាល​បច្ចុប្បន្ន មិន​មែន​ជា​ការ​អភិវឌ្ឍ​ដោយ​បែប​អប់រំ​នោះ​ទេ។

ទាក់​ទង​ទៅ​នឹង​បញ្ហា​នេះ អ្នក​ជំនាញ​ផ្នែក​អភិវឌ្ឍន៍​សង្គម លោក​បណ្ឌិត កែម ឡី បាន​លើក​ឡើង​ថា ទោះ​បី​ជា​អ្នក​មាន​ជំនាញ និង​ចំណេះ​ដឹង​មួយ​ចំនួន មាន​ឱកាស​ចូល​បម្រើ​ការងារ​នៅ​ក្នុង​ស្ថាប័ន​រដ្ឋាភិបាល​ក្ដី ប៉ុន្តែ​ពួក​គេ​ទាំង​នោះ​មិន​មាន​សិទ្ធិ​ក្នុង​ការ​ផ្ដល់​យោបល់ និង​សិទ្ធិ​ក្នុង​ធ្វើ​ការ​សម្រេច​ចិត្ត​ពេញ​លេញ​នោះ​ទេ ដោយ​សារ​តែ​ហេតុផល​នយោបាយ។

ទោះ​បី​ជា​យ៉ាង​ណា​ក៏​ដោយ ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋ​កម្ពុជា​នៅ​ក្នុង​រយៈពេល​ប៉ុន្មាន​ឆ្នាំ​ចុង​ក្រោយ​នេះ បាន​បញ្ជូន​កូន​ចៅ​ទៅ​សាលា​រៀន​មាន​សន្ទុះ​កើន​ឡើង ទោះ​បី​ជា​វិស័យ​អប់រំ​នៅ​កម្ពុជា គុណភាព​នៅ​មាន​កម្រិត​ក្ដី។ លោក កែម ឡី បាន​បង្ហាញ​របាយការណ៍​ថា ក្នុង​ឆ្នាំ​២០១២ សិស្ស​ចាប់​ពី​បឋម​សិក្សា​ដល់​ថ្នាក់​វិទ្យាល័យ​មាន​ជាង​៣លាន​នាក់។ និស្សិត​នៅ​ថ្នាក់​ឧត្តម​សិក្សា មាន​ជាង​១០ម៉ឺន​នាក់។

ក្រុម​អ្នក​ជំនាញ​ខាង​អប់រំ បាន​ព្យាករណ៍​ថា ប្រទេស​កម្ពុជា​នឹង​មិន​មាន​សន្ទុះ​អភិវឌ្ឍ​គ្រប់​វិស័យ ពិសេស​វិស័យ​សេដ្ឋកិច្ច​បាន​លឿន​ទេ ប្រសិន​បើ​រដ្ឋាភិបាល​មិន​យក​ចិត្ត​ទុក​ដាក់ និង​ធ្វើ​កំណែ​ទម្រង់​លើ​វិស័យ​អប់រំ​ទេ​នោះ ពីព្រោះ​ថា សង្គម​មួយ​ត្រូវ​ការ​អ្នក​ប្រាជ្ញ អ្នក​មាន​មុខ​ជំនាញ​វិជ្ជាជីវៈ​ច្បាស់​លាស់ និង​អ្នក​ដែល​បង្កើត​គំនិត​ថ្មីៗ​ច្រើន នៅ​ក្នុង​សង្គម៕

Priest tried to warn of Cambodia's insanity

By Erika Colin
CNN


PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (CNN) -- Francois Ponchaud was a newly ordained Catholic priest when he arrived in Cambodia in 1965 from a small village in France.
He was sent to do missionary work. But within a decade he would become a crusader against the worst genocide since the Holocaust.

"I was staying by the Cambodian people's side," Ponchaud said, "through the good and the sadness and the suffering."

When he arrived at age 26, Cambodia was a peaceful place: a bucolic land of villages, peasants, rice paddies and Buddhist monks. Ponchaud studied Cambodian history and Buddhism, became fluent in Khmer, made friends and immersed himself in the culture -- falling in love with the country and its people.

But the peacefulness was short-lived. By 1970, Cambodia was descending into chaos as the Vietnam War spilled across its borders. In the countryside, the Americans were carpet-bombing Vietcong outposts. In the capital, Phnom Penh, Washington was propping up a corrupt government.
From the jungles, a sinister and brutal communist rebel group called the Khmer Rouge was fighting to overthrow Cambodia's U.S.-backed regime.

On April 17, 1975, Phnom Penh fell to the Khmer Rouge. They began to reinvent Cambodia according to an insane blueprint. They emptied the cities, including some 3 million in the capital, forcing all the residents into the countryside -- and toward a dark future.
"As of noon, all the people started leaving," Ponchaud said. "Then I saw all my friends who were leaving. ... There were hundreds of thousands of people who were trudging along a few kilometers an hour. It was truly a staggering sight. Incredible." Watch Ponchaud describe the exodus from Phnom Penh »

Ponchaud was told to stay at the French Embassy, where thousands fleeing Phnom Penh desperately sought asylum. One of the few foreigners able to communicate with the Khmer Rouge, he spent days at the embassy gate, trying to negotiate. Watch Ponchaud discuss the significance of the embassy gate »

In the weeks that followed, the Khmer Rouge let him leave the embassy twice. Both times he searched for clues about what was happening in the country. But Phnom Penh was empty. Read a reporter's notebook of his journey through Cambodia's killing fields »
Ponchaud was expelled from the city in the last evacuating convoy, as the Khmer Rouge forced all foreigners onto trucks and out of the country. At the border, Ponchaud broke down, weeping.
"It was as though we had gone mad," he said. "We were getting out of a country of the living dead."
With the country sealed, the Khmer Rouge went about creating their new Cambodia -- and the killing began in earnest.

The Khmer Rouge envisioned a return to Cambodia's medieval greatness -- a "pure" nation full of noble peasant farmers.

For that, though, they had to purge everyone else: the rich, the religious, the educated, anyone from a different ethnic group.

"All those who were opposed to the government were killed," Ponchaud said. "And all those who didn't work quite hard enough were killed."
Hundreds of thousands were worked -- or starved -- to death. "Perhaps a good chunk -- a solid half -- died from sickness and lack of health care," he said.

By September 1975, Ponchaud was back in France and ready to resume his work. His missionary society in Paris asked him to keep track of events in Cambodia. He quickly became the "go-to" person for Cambodian refugees arriving from Thailand, and he began documenting their stories.
At first, Ponchaud had a hard time believing the accounts of execution, torture, deportation, forced labor and starvation. Read how a Khmer Rouge survivor is documenting the genocide
"They were burning villages ... sending people into the forest without giving them anything to eat," Ponchaud said. "It went beyond my wildest imagination."

Horrified, Ponchaud devised a plan to gather more information: A friend living on the Cambodian border would record and send him broadcasts from Radio Phnom Penh -- the official voice of the Khmer Rouge -- in which the government described its transformation of the country. Read a former Khmer Rouge member's account of the killings

Ponchaud found that the broadcasts substantiated the refugees' claims. As unbelievable as those claims were, the broadcasts told of the same policies. What the refugees were saying was true.
"I decoded the radio -- the official declarations. And then the refugees would give me the 'experienced' side. It matched up," he said. "On one hand, the ideology, and on the other, the lived experience." Watch Ponchaud describe how he was able to decode the Khmer Rouge ideology »
For months, Ponchaud gathered and documented information, repeatedly denouncing the Khmer Rouge. His testimonials appeared in the French press as early as October 1975.
He also wrote to the president of France and Amnesty International, and appeared before the U.N. Commission on Human Rights. Watch Ponchaud discuss his efforts to alert people to the genocide »

In 1976, angered by inaccuracies in Le Monde's reporting on the Khmer Rouge, Ponchaud fired off a letter to the newspaper's editor -- along with a dossier of refugee accounts and radio transmissions. He was contacted immediately and asked to write for the newspaper. His articles were published in February 1976. Watch Ponchaud tell the Le Monde story »
Though few accounts of Cambodia's nightmare were appearing in the press, the U.S. government was receiving frequent briefings about what was happening there. In a meeting in November 1975, then-Secretary of State Henry Kissinger acknowledged the brutality of the Khmer Rouge. But he also knew that they shared an enemy with the U.S. -- Vietnam.

"Tell the Cambodians that we will be friends with them," Kissinger told an official in the region, according to a declassified State Department account. The Khmer Rouge "are murderous thugs," he said, "but we won't let that stand in our way." Read Kissinger's words in the declassified State Department document (pdf)

By 1977, the Khmer Rouge had been in power for two years, and much of the world remained unaware or uninterested. Many who did hear accounts of Khmer Rouge brutality found them hard to believe. Even prominent liberals and intellectuals doubted that a supposedly egalitarian peasant movement would perpetrate such horrors on their own people.

Ponchaud then published a startling book called "Year Zero." It was one of the first to expose the brutal totalitarian regime of the Khmer Rouge to the world. Still, no help came for Cambodia.
"I was pretty frustrated," he said. "The governments did not react. You know, countries don't defend human rights. They are always subservient to politics."

In January 1977, the inauguration of President Jimmy Carter promised a change. Carter vowed to put human rights at the center of U.S. foreign policy. But it would take 15 months for him to publicly condemn the Khmer Rouge as the world's "worst violator of human rights."
Even then he took no action to stop the slaughter. Invasion, he said, was not an option for a country still recovering from the Vietnam War.

Instead, in December 1978, Vietnam invaded Cambodia after years of cross-border skirmishes. The Vietnamese quickly overthrew the Khmer Rouge, who fled back into the jungle.
The world would finally start to see that all Ponchaud had said was true. More than 2 million Cambodians were dead. The scope of the catastrophe quickly became clear. In the fall of 1979, Carter responded, raising $32 million to help the refugees.

Today, Ponchaud is back in Cambodia, continuing his efforts for the Cambodian people, building schools, holding Mass and working on local projects. Often referred to as "the friend of the Cambodians," he is considered an expert on the country. But this time he has no illusions.
"No one defends human rights," he said. "Governments are cold beasts looking out for their own interests."

Degrees Are Earned, Not Sold

By Susan Long | Adjunct Professor, South University

There is an old saying that, “Education is the only purchase people make where they complain if they get too much for their money.”  Although everyone can complain about something relative to higher education, in my opinion, the largest problem today is the decline in the level of education provided compared to 20 or 30 years ago.  We, as educators, have allowed the students to determine how much education is enough in any given course.  We have also, in many cases, allowed grade inflation which, to some extent, has fueled the decline in the level of instruction.

Thirty years ago the volume and depth of material covered in an introductory class was much greater than it is today.  Students complain if they are required to research and write a 20 page paper written in proper English with proper punctuation. The common complaint heard is, “This is not an English class.” We, as professors, have coddled our students, given them grades they did not truly earn, and written them recommendations they did not deserve.  We do all of this for several of reasons. First, the student goes away happy and we have less hassle.  Second, if the students go away we can get back to our research which will earn us a raise and promotion while teaching gets us neither. Third, the department head/dean gets no complaints and therefore believes all is well. Fourth, it is easier.
We need to make students more responsible for their education.

 We need to give only grades that are truly earned and we need to have the guts to tell a student, “I cannot write you a glowing recommendation because you did not perform well in my class and that is the only basis I have for recommending you.”  These are not fun things to do and they do not lead to raises and promotions.  But, if we are to provide quality education we need to begin doing these things again.

We also must stop being afraid that our students will say we are not fun in class.  In this light, however, we must be sure that we speak coherent English, cover the material in full, and keep it from being boring.  We need to accept that those students who do assimilate most of what we try to teach will use only what we provide. The students will sleep during class if it is boring or not attend class at all.  And, most of all, if we bore them to death, we need to know they will not learn

Because this country has decided that everyone is entitled to a college education, we have bent over backwards to make it possible for all students to get a college degree.  That should not be what we do.  We should agree that everyone who wishes has an opportunity to earn a college degree.  However, we should not provide college degrees to those who do not earn it.  There is a huge difference between providing an opportunity to earn a college degree and ensuring that everyone who wishes gets a college degree

We need to ensure that students take more responsibility for their education. What happened to telling the students, “Look to your right and look to your left, only one of your will be here on graduation day.”  Yes, as an entering freshman that was a scary message. But, it did encourage the students to take responsibility for their education and degree.  It also let the faculty and staff know that it was okay to fail a student who is not producing.

Both faculty and students have to stop believing that because a student enters college, they are entitled to a degree.  We need to provide valid and interesting information.  We need to grade what is appropriate and we need to admit that not everyone who enters college will earn a degree.  We also need to remember that degrees are supposed to be earned and not sold.

Main Campus and Continuing Education: Together Again

By Ken Coates | Canada Research Chair in Regional Innovation, University of Saskatchewan

Nowadays there is a shadow over post-secondary education in Canada. Most people who work and teach at universities feel the pressure: insufficient institutional funds, over-crowded classrooms, difficulties with students’ transitions to university and—more seriously—to the workforce after graduation, questions about the relevance of academic research and teaching, and many other issues and problems that reflect a growing disconnect between the university and its many constituencies. And, alarmingly, the situation is likely to get significantly worse in the coming decade. One section of the university, however, is in a position to show what can be done in lean times.

Continuing education units, once held up by institutions as critical to universities’ connections with their communities, have also faced difficulties in the last decade. Financial shortfalls have meant that traditional academic pursuits of research, teaching and graduate supervision have been funded at the expense of less central functions. The continuing education enterprise has often responded by generating a greater share of its own funding. This, in turn, has made these units more engaged, more pro-active and much more market savvy than the much more conservative disciplinary-based departments. In the long run, this process of compulsory self-reliance and entrepreneurship might well end up serving both the continuing education sector and the universities as a whole extremely well.

Academic entrepreneurship has typically not flourished in the Canadian academy. The most high profile practitioners—business schools—are often flush with cash and contacts, but have trouble being fully accepted on campus. Continuing education units, in contrast, have campus-wide responsibilities, are able to draw on expertise wherever they find it at the university, and have community-wide outreach capabilities. Moreover, these units have, of necessity, developed the market awareness and cost-recovery mentality that must inevitably become the hallmark of the university system as a whole.

If continuing education divisions were wise, they would carefully but aggressively integrate their operations across campus as widely as possible. If the universities as a whole were equally wise, they would be reaching out to the continuing education units for advice, guidance and educational partnerships.

Continuing education units have some of the best, if not the best, off-campus connections, market-based programming, and entrepreneurial cultures within contemporary Canadian universities. The national university system urgently needs a healthy dose of these same elements. If Canadian universities do not learn how to communicate with their local and regional audiences, if their programming is not more responsive to local economic opportunities and challenges—and if cost-recovery, fee-for-service programming is not expanded dramatically—the traditional university functions will soon find themselves short of cash and largely detached from the citizenry.
At present (at least in my experience at Canadian universities) continuing education divisions have allowed themselves to become too separate from the rest of the academic enterprise. This is perhaps by necessity, as they are often the only units on campus that have to fund a large portion of their salaries and expenses from “profitable” course, workshop, training and program activities. They do, nonetheless, hold a crucial key to the revitalization of the Canadian university system.

Where traditional academic departments can be aloof and inwardly focused, continuing education reaches out. Where the academy, in general, runs with an entitlement mindset, continuing education has learned to flourish through entrepreneurship and responsiveness. Where universities are slow moving, programmatically conservative and largely unresponsive to a fast changing economic and social reality, the successful continuing education divisions are fast-acting, creative and attentive to market needs.

The biggest question, however, is how to ensure that mutual learning and mutual respect emerge in the coming years. When the base budget cuts came to many continuing education units in Canada, the traditional departments rarely rushed to their defense. Now, as the traditional departments feel the budget squeeze and worry how to bridge the relevance gap, it is hardly surprising that the continuing education enterprise does not see it as its responsibility to rush to help.

Both sides of the divide need to appreciate that the pace and direction of societal change around post-secondary education is going to bring them closer and closer together. The client-based department of the university is going to want more and more of their academic programming in continuing education-type packages. Career-ready training is rapidly taking over from traditional academic preparation.

The university world is shifting. Continuing education, having been pushed to the margins of the academy and forced substantially to fend for itself, will be drawn increasingly into the middle of the campus. After all, the institution needs its expertise, community awareness and academic entrepreneurship in order to attract students, public support and government investment. It appears likely that the university will have to adjust significantly to meet the needs of a rapidly changing world.

Continuing education units can and must play a lead role in outlining the possibilities, processes and pedagogy of working with people where they are, rather than assuming students will simply adapt to campus realities. Done properly, the next decade can see the expansion of continuing education and the transformation of traditional academic programs and delivery models. Done poorly, both the continuing education units and the universities themselves will suffer severely.

Citizen journalism is a moral responsibility

Wednesday, 22 August 2012

Ou Banung

 

As technology develops, our world is getting smaller. News from one continent to the other can be passed on in seconds.

In the past, getting news took months. The news agenda was set by professional journalists. But now, everyone who knows how to write and take photos can be a citizen journalist. But what is a citizen journalist and what do they do for society?

Keo Chan Sopheap is a university student who posts many pictures to her Facebook page and writes about them – does that make her a journalist? “Personally, I love taking photos. I’m always taking photos everywhere I go, as well as writing down words that show my opinion on them,” she said.

The established media makes use of people like Keo Chan Sopheap to make news reports and radio shows. Pen Samithy, editor in chief of Rasmey Kampuchea newspaper, says that ABC Cambodia is a great example of a citizen journalist talk show.

Its makers use networks of people around the Kingdom to collect news - not professional journalists. “The advantage of making this show is that we get news quickly and transparently, which is rare among other media sources," said Samithy.

Businesswoman Leng Ni Mol listens to ABC everyday. She said: “When I listened to ABC, I was told that there was a traffic accident along the way to a province. A moment later, I heard that someone was arrested because of the show. It’s not just accidents, but other issues like people who lose their children, or find an unidentified child – they can announce it on the radio. Citizen journalists can have a very positive impact in their countries.”

Professional journalists are not able to be everywhere, and locals can report the news faster. But how effective and accurate are the reports from citizen journalists? And what challenges do they face?

Samithy says that citizen journalism is a new, exciting concept for Cambodia but there are some drawbacks. “There are not many people who completely understand it yet.” But there are some limitations”, she added.

Citizen journalists have no training on how to report news accurately. There are also legal obstacles – there is nothing stopping people reporting unethically, or libeling others.

Lots of people post pictures and share news on social media unaware that their actions could have legal consequences. Siv Meng, who uses Facebook in this way, said: “I just post and share news that I find interesting and useful. I post it publicly on my wall but I have no idea that I could face trial because of it.”

Professional journalists can be punished for illegal behaviour by the Ministry of Information but there is no law that covers citizen journalists yet. Still, citizen journalists may fall foul of other criminal laws, according to Samithy.

LIFT suggests that the citizen journalist should clearly and publicly identify himself. Those who like to post on Facebook or other social media networks to comment and critique should do so on group pages but not in public, in case it causes problem for the writer or the person he criticizes.

Pornography viewing on the rise among youths

Wednesday, 22 August 2012

Menghourng Ngo

 

Since the internet was introduced in Cambodia, pornography has become much more widely available and accessible.

Now, young Cambodians have been caught watching pornography in class on mobile phones, prompting education experts to call for better sex education provision in schools.

One 17 year-old boy, a student at a high school in Phnom Penh said: “I watched video sex in the class via my mobile phone because I was bored with my teacher. He was teaching alone, and he did not know what I was doing since I took a book to hide my mobile phone. I’m not the only one who was doing it.”

“We weren’t shy about it! A big group of boys watched it, and the girls watched it in their own group too.”

Another 19 year-old girl, who studies at a private university in Phnom Penh, said that the boys in her class always watch pornography on their mobile phones and sometimes throw it to the girls to watch.

I wrote a research thesis on the subject which found that most Cambodians use mobile phones rather than computers to watch porn as they’re small and portable.

Some of my interviewees said that watching porn increased their sexual desire. Many could control it, but some said they sought out prostitutes – which could put them at risk of contracting HIV/AIDs and other STIs. Previous studies like World Vision Cambodia’s reports in 2005, 2006 and by Child Welfare Group in 2003 came to the same conclusion.

Moa, 22, a male high school student in Phnom Penh said he sent violent pornography to friends via Bluetooth. He also showed them new websites where they could download porn, and sent pictures to female classmates.

“I loved watching violent video porn and wanted to practice it too. It made me feel excited,’ he said. “I lied to my parents that I needed money for studying in order to get $5 or $10 to have sex with prostitutes.”

Pung Chhivkek, president of Licadho and Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) said the country needs proper sex education.

“School is a place for students to study, not to watch porn. The Ministry of Education should make a strict rule to punish those students,” she said. “The teachers should be careful. They should ask students to put all electronic tools on the desk.”

“Our country should have sex education that will educate Cambodian youths in order to prevent all immoral activities,” she added.

Thoung Kep Bunnate, planning officer at Phnom Penh Municipal Department of Education said that the Ministry has not yet created sex education programs as much of Cambodian society retains conservative attitudes towards sex.

“We just introduce sex education program step by step rather than suddenly make it otherwise, Cambodian youth will be too overjoyed like it’s suddenly Valentine’s Day. We want to add sex education to the education about the morality of society,” just insert fickle sex education to education about morality of society,” he said.

“We have to educate and announce about this issue widely. We cannot ban youth from using pornographic material because it is their rights, but we can minimize the utilization of those supply via verbal of teachers,” he said.

Somchan Sovandara, a university lecturer in Phnom Penh, stressed that it was a minority of students who watched pornography in class. Most played games and looked at celebrity photos, he said.

“During my class, I collected all of the electronic material from my students in order to make them to concentrate on my lessons. If there is something strange, I go to check up in order to prevent students from viewing pornography in the class.”

University students covet media studies

Wednesday, 22 August 2012

Ven Sakol

 

Media is the backbone of our interpretation of the world, whether in rich or developing countries. This is why we notice that bachelor degrees in Media and Communication are very popular among students in university.

The Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP) began teaching media and communication courses in 2001. Since then, private universities have also started teaching in this field. As the result in 2012, we can find out that not only RUPP but also Limkokwing University of Creative Technology in Cambodia and Pannasastra Univercity of Cambodia (PUC) have this major in their course study.

It has been over 3 years that PUC had been providing Communication and Media Arts (MCA) and named as the last university in Cambodia that educates students in this field, according to Mr. Raymond, dean and professor of Media and Communication Arts at PUC.

He adds, “We just started but we focus on the quality; as the result, the number of students increases 50 percent per year, which is very interesting to us.”

Speaking slowly but surely, Mr. Raymond remarks that there were only two students in the first generation, but the number reached to 55 students in the last generation, while the two seniors is going to graduation Bachelor of Media and Communication Arts at the end of this year.

PUC has divided MCA into three majors: mass media, business for communication, and interpersonal communication. Mass communication can guide way for students to be spokesmen, journalists, or TV program producers. On the other hand, business for communication is for those who want to specialize in marketing, create advertisement, or work as public relation. For interpersonal communication, students will be able to work for social development, community service, or other NGOs.

Students studying MCA at PUC cangain not only knowledge from theories but also experience from practical by internship. Mr. Raymond explains, “At least, students have to complete an internship before graduated. It is a good chance for them to show their ability in working field by using the theories from school.

All in all, he gives some comments to students: “There are more available jobs for those who are knowledgeable at Media and Communication Skills. So, you have to find a place where you can gain both quality and profession for your own future.”

Professional skills needed for ASEAN 2015

Wednesday, 22 August 2012

Sen David

 

The Ministry of Labour is launching a new training program to prepare Cambodians to compete in the integrated ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) slated to come into being in 2015, ministry officials said yesterday.

The “Skills Bridging Program” will offer training in standard professional skills to youth in grade levels seven through nine across the country.

“Many youths across the country are dropping out of school and taking jobs without finishing their education, so they do not have skills comparable with workers in other countries,” Pich Sophan, secretary of state at the Labour Ministry, said yesterday.

“This worries us, because our country will face job competition with other ASEAN countries starting in 2015. We hope that this new program will make us competitive in the ASEAN job market. We have enough human resources and do not want to see other ASEAN labourers overwhelm our country.”

Sophan said that of Cambodia’s seven million current workers, a full 50 per cent dropped out of school at the primary level. Rural areas, where standards of living are generally lower, have especially high dropout rates.

Ouk Davany, director of the Technical Standard Institute, said the Skills Bridging Program should prepare these students to work in the fields of electronics, car repair and construction.

He noted that currently “most students want to study subjects that involve office work, but do not seem to focus on professional technical training, which means that other countries have an edge”.