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Release of 13 Cambodian Women a 'Victory for their Community'
Human Rights Organization Renews its Call on Authorities to Overturn 'Baseless' Convictions
(Washington, D.C.) -- Amnesty International said today the decision by Cambodia's Appeal Court to release 13 women imprisoned for peacefully protesting is a victory for their community, but called for their convictions to now be overturned.
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The fireflies of Kampot
The waters of the Kampot River lapped at the sides of our long-tailed boat as we made our way north in search of one of nature's tiny nocturnal wonders.
The Kampot is full of fresh water in the river this time of year (in an interesting quirk of nature, the river running from Kep to Kampot and to the north is fresh water for six months, and salt water for the rest of the year), which means the phytoplankton aren't in the water to offer passersby a waterborne light show.
Not to worry. The fireflies are in charge of the night's entertainment.
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Snow on the Tonle Sap
When Australian Aboriginal art meets Angkor, the result is stunning. From within a myriad of perfect dots, a jumble of Hanuman monkey warriors emerge in the shape of a sacred elephant storming to battle, its feet floating on a carpet of flowers and stars. Each flower alone is formed from at least four tiny dots of brightly coloured paint. Ian 'Snow' Woodford's work is even more remarkable because the working class Australian boy from Sydney is colour-blind.
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Local Election on 3 June 2012 – really “local”?
Looking to the reports in several newspapers about the beginning of the election campaign on the way towards local elections to be held on Sunday, 3 June 2012, I found mainly reports about the activities planned by the 10 parties competing (though not in all provinces and communes) using figures: how many people and trucks and cars and motorcycles moved around Phnom Penh campaigning - “showing off” but hardly any reference to local issues raised while appealing to voters. The emphasis is on the names of the political parties and their leaders.
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Flour power in the heart of Phnom Penh
When I think of Cambodian dessert, I don’t think of cake.
I think of mango. Or sticky rice. Or fried banana nuggets.
But I’ve recently discovered there’s a huge market in this part of the world for cake.
Here are a couple of stats that may surprise you. One of the larger hotels in Phnom Penh sells about $1,500 worth of cake daily. And Bloom, the wonderful cake store and café, which opened its doors this February on Street 222, sells between 120 and 500 cupcakes every day!
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POTW Garden Villa in the City
Traditional Cambodian wooden stilt houses are beautiful and practical, with the area under the living area providing a multi-use work and social space open to the flow of air but shaded from the sun. However, wooden houses are not suited for city living in the modern age. We wanted to maintain that indoor-outdoor connection of the Cambodian house. And to emphasize the beauty of the wood.
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The ESL Scene in Cambodia – Part 1: The Teachers
The reasons people give for deciding to move to Cambodia to teach English are as varied as the characters that walk into English institutes here and call themselves “teachers”. Many people start as English teachers after coming to Cambodia as tourists. The unsuspecting immigrant finds it all so intriguing and they decide to make a home out of their newly found paradise. Most foreigners, lacking the ability to speak Khmer, generally aren’t qualified to do anything else in Cambodian society, so teaching English seems a natural immediate fit. Others use teaching English as a means to an end.
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