tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80016383533110897292024-03-08T08:31:59.054+00:00Eric On The MekongEric Scanlonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04411548387560603699noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001638353311089729.post-86335727509645574282014-09-22T23:00:00.000+01:002014-09-22T23:01:18.192+01:00SCAO Football Team<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Thanks for reading! Its been awhile since I posted here and I'm already feeling nostalgic!!<br />
<br />
So as many of you know I worked as a volunteer development officer for the SCOOP Foundation in their Cambodian partner organisation, SCAO, from January to August in 2012.<br />
<br />
It was an incredible experience and I have continued to stay in touch with SCAO. I recently heard that they have created a new football team in their second school, where I lived and worked. They now need some football equipment and kit for the team and I have offered to fundraise for them. The community were extremely friendly, hospitable, and generous to me (and all the volunteers) and I would love to give something back.<br />
<br />
The kids are football crazy and I know they would feel an immense pride in representing their school and community every time they put on this new football kit, while also having great fun in the process. See a message from the guys in SCAO below.<br />
<br />
I hope you can make this happen by donating to this cause. Jerseys, shorts, socks, balls, and runners are mainly needed and they have sourced the items locally. To kit out the 15 kids aged 11-14 it will cost €250.<br />
<br />
Please contact me on eric,scanlon2@gmail.com for more info or if you want to donate.<br />
<br />
Also check out <a href="http://www.savepoorchildreninasia.org/">www.savepoorchildreninasia.org</a> and <a href="http://www.scoopfoundation.com/">www.scoopfoundation.com</a> for more info on SCAO and SCOOP<br />
<br />
Many thanks,<br />
Eric<br />
<br />
<i>"Kids all over the world love football. But especially here in Cambodia, a country where people still live in extremely poor conditions and which is still feeling the effects of years of repression and civil war, practising a sport might be more than a simple hobby or break from the daily routine.</i><br />
<br />
<i>"Som Roung is a poor rural village located 20 km north of Phnom Penh. The village is mainly composed by children and young adults aged 0-25. Since S.C.A.O. school was built in 2011 the vast majority of children in the village found a safe a place where receive not only education and vocational trainings but where have fun, making new friends or watch a movie together.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"In this context the idea of creating an official football team of the school has been enthusiastically embraced by our team and particularly by the kids of the village. Thanks to teacher Daro's support a team made of 15 kids aged 11-14 has been shortly put together and with permission of the local school an open space of 50 square meters is currently used for training and matches.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1jSz18VffWs/VCCXeBd9NoI/AAAAAAAAAOA/GVcfQ8M3IIo/s1600/DSC06522.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1jSz18VffWs/VCCXeBd9NoI/AAAAAAAAAOA/GVcfQ8M3IIo/s1600/DSC06522.JPG" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
<i><br /></i>
<i> </i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 27px; white-space: nowrap;"><b>Cheun (13) and Sompous (13) playing football</b></span><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Started over a month ago, S.C.A.O. football team is regularly training 2 days a week. The kids are improving day by day and they are reaching an outstanding level of synergy and team spirit. They really love playing football and being part of a team means a lot to the kids in terms of personal development and relationships.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jmkujcqUQUA/VCCXjiCpTYI/AAAAAAAAAOI/yIWxW9XcMZ4/s1600/DSC06527.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jmkujcqUQUA/VCCXjiCpTYI/AAAAAAAAAOI/yIWxW9XcMZ4/s1600/DSC06527.JPG" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
<i> </i><br />
<i> </i><b>Piseth (14) and Sen (12) during training</b><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Soon a friendly game with the local school team will take place. On this occasion the kids will have a chance to play in a real competition, testing their preparation and physical form. One of our future goal is to take part as a team to the Human Rights Football Tournament organised by “CIA FIRST International school” an international school based in Phnom Penh which every year host the tournament.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E1wIz2HFMcU/VCCXolrQTQI/AAAAAAAAAOQ/1bmvoTSVUcE/s1600/DSC06531.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E1wIz2HFMcU/VCCXolrQTQI/AAAAAAAAAOQ/1bmvoTSVUcE/s1600/DSC06531.JPG" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<i> </i><b>Sok peah (13), Vottanak (13) and Sen (12) during a game</b><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Now the biggest challenge faced by the team is finding a sponsor and get some football equipment. T-shirts, shorts, socks, balls, and shoes are the main items needed, although playing without shoes and equipments has not stopped the kids playing football so far!"</i><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
Eric Scanlonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04411548387560603699noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001638353311089729.post-73936363877506833412012-05-08T08:22:00.000+01:002012-05-08T08:22:50.909+01:00Cambodian New Year and Travelling<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Firstly sorry for the delay in writing a new blog, it has
been a busy few weeks.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Secondly, thanks for all the birthday wishes 2 and a half weeks
ago. It was my first birthday away from home, so was lovely to get some
birthday messages. And don’t worry I still managed to sneak in a few bottles of
Guinness ;-)!<br />
<br />
Anyway we had 2 weeks holidays from work from the 8<sup>th</sup> of April for
Cambodian (Khmer) New Year so I was finally able to do some travelling around
Cambodia. Luckily my friend from Ireland who I was in Kenya with,
Aisling Phelan, also visited Cambodia at this time, so I had a travelling
buddy. We began our trip by first visiting the SCOOP school, one of the two
schools of the organization I work for, SCAO. There was no school because of
the holidays, but the school in located in a scenic rural area 20km north of
Phnom Penh, so we were able to go for a relaxed cycle around the area and meet
the extremely friendly local people. However two hours in the intense Cambodian
sun meant we our Irish skins were a lot redder when we returned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VcERXr5pVwI/T6jGXxt6K5I/AAAAAAAAADM/KkbvfgjNbVM/s1600/P1060408.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VcERXr5pVwI/T6jGXxt6K5I/AAAAAAAAADM/KkbvfgjNbVM/s320/P1060408.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The next morning we set off for Kampot. A small sea and
riverside town based in the south-west of Cambodia. It was originally a holiday
resort for the colonial French and its 19<sup>th</sup> and early 20<sup>th</sup>
architecture, as well as its sleepy and relaxed atmosphere, gave it a unique
charm.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">We explored some of the town on our first day, but there is
not much to see so we decided to hire motorbikes for the next day, so that we
could drive to and explore Bokor National Park which is only 8km from the town.
After some initial test drives around the town, we were ready to hit the main
road and the park. The park has an illustrious list of flora and fauna, but at
the moment it is half a national park and half a construction site. The
Cambodian government has actually sold off some of the land to a Chinese company
to build a massive 5 star hotel and casino, to primarily cater for rich Asian
businessmen… All within the grounds of one of its major national parks! This is not an isolated case of the
destruction of Cambodia’s beautiful and fragile environment in pursuit of
corrupt dollars, many of you might of heard at the end of April the most high
profile Cambodian environmental activists, Chut Wutty, was shot dead by military
police (click here for more information </span><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2012/may/01/death-cambodian-forest-activist-chut-wutty?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487" style="line-height: 150%;">http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2012/may/01/death-cambodian-forest-activist-chut-wutty?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487</a><span style="line-height: 150%;">
).</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YJkb5FMcqD8/T6jGk32xZfI/AAAAAAAAADU/JKMrfhBuom8/s1600/P1060573.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YJkb5FMcqD8/T6jGk32xZfI/AAAAAAAAADU/JKMrfhBuom8/s320/P1060573.JPG" width="320" /></a>However the park is still
impressive and once you drive the 50 odd km to the top of the mountain there
are some fantastic views, accompanied with an abandoned colonial French hill
top resort. It was also the scene of vicious between the Khmer Rouge and the
invading Vietnamese military trying to topple the despotic regime.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HF5D0Crt6p8/T6jGuwDth_I/AAAAAAAAADc/eTWiXISV2Ow/s1600/P1060574.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HF5D0Crt6p8/T6jGuwDth_I/AAAAAAAAADc/eTWiXISV2Ow/s320/P1060574.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
After our trip to the mountain we
decided to explore some of the caves the lie just outside Kampot. We didn’t
know what to expect and thought we would just wander about. But as soon as we
pulled up two very friendly local teenage boys offered to show us around the
caves. The caves where dotted with religious iconography and many of the rock
formations have formed into shapes which accurately depict animals. They said
it happened naturally, but Ais and I are less sure.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
The caves also acted as a safe
haven for innocent people to hide during the Khmer Rouge autocracy. In fact,
the grandparents of one of the boys only survived the regime because they could
hide in the cave and eat whatever small animals and insects made their way into
the cave. After showing us around they told us we could climb to the top where
there would be splendid views of the surrounding area. They weren’t wrong about
the views, but the climb was certainly a hair raising experience! <span style="line-height: 150%;">They also
told us about ‘secret lake’ which is a beautiful lake surround by mountains on
all sides. We could have swum, but it was getting late, and driving unfamiliar
and unkempt roads in Cambodia </span><span style="line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 150%;">at night isn’t
the best idea.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BtnpnhtRiAw/T6jG2P-4iXI/AAAAAAAAADk/64zdS9sOu20/s1600/P1060610.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BtnpnhtRiAw/T6jG2P-4iXI/AAAAAAAAADk/64zdS9sOu20/s320/P1060610.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
The next day we headed off to Kep
which was originally the main seaside resort in Cambodia, until Sihanoukville
was built in late 1950s. The beaches definitely leave a lot to be desired, but
we weren’t staying there long as we were catching a 30 minute boat to the
isolated and white sanded Rabbit Island, where my friend from SCAO Alexis was
staying.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rtHPtXnF84o/T6jG7rC-5qI/AAAAAAAAADs/chEs6zUXBMk/s1600/P1060628.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rtHPtXnF84o/T6jG7rC-5qI/AAAAAAAAADs/chEs6zUXBMk/s320/P1060628.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A8XEn_Z7kJQ/T6jHDYcBJPI/AAAAAAAAAD0/JfUVq_bDuHE/s1600/P1060630.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A8XEn_Z7kJQ/T6jHDYcBJPI/AAAAAAAAAD0/JfUVq_bDuHE/s320/P1060630.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Rabbit Island is definitely a great spot for
rest and relaxation and just what I needed to recharge the batteries. Kep is
famous for its crab so one of us definitely had to order it for lunch!!<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">We headed back to Kampot and meet some Irish friends of mine
for a party, which went into the wee hours of the morning, as usually happens.
After a couple of hours of sleep we headed off to Sihanoukville. Sihanoukville
is basically Cambodia’s version of Thailand; full of western tourists and all
about the beaches and partying. It was now Friday and the Khmer New
celebrations were in full swing. Aisling’s friend Camilla also just arrived in
Cambodia and came down to see us in S’ville, as well as Gaia, a friend of mine
from Phnom Penh. So after a bit of rest on the beach we chose to check out the
nightlife, which didn’t disappoint. I even got an ice bucket full of a mixture
of sprits for $10… the rest is, as they say, history. After another day in
S’ville it was time to leave a head back home to Phnom Penh, were I spent the
next week working in a different school as a substitute teacher.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">We are defiantly back into the swing of things at the moment
in SCAO, with some very exciting projects in the pipeline, with everything from
hairdressing training for the community, to a health fund for the school
children, and increasing are usage of solar panels. We are also extremely short
on volunteers at the moment so I have been back doing some teaching. So anybody
looking to come to volunteer in Cambodia, now is the time </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">J</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">! I also bought a moto for myself so
it’s a lot easier getting between the two schools and centre, as well as in and
out of Phnom Penh. And it is also great fun to drive!<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PIx-86Pkivs/T6jHKhZWjdI/AAAAAAAAAD8/XtKw_zzdz20/s1600/P1060638.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PIx-86Pkivs/T6jHKhZWjdI/AAAAAAAAAD8/XtKw_zzdz20/s320/P1060638.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Sin é! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Thanks for reading,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Eric <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
</div>Eric Scanlonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04411548387560603699noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001638353311089729.post-16817387275960489362012-03-21T08:21:00.000+00:002012-03-21T08:22:14.223+00:00The Khmer Rouge<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<style type="text/css">
<!--
@page { margin: 0.79in }
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in }
A:link { so-language: zxx }
-->
</style>
</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>
<style type="text/css">
<!--
@page { margin: 0.79in }
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in }
-->
</style></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Its
impossible to escape the legacy of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. It is
an extremely dark and disturbing history, which reminds of us how
cruel humans can be to their fellow humans. In general Cambodians are
an extremely friendly and hospitable people who are rarely seen
without a smile on their face, which makes the Khmer Rouge era more
confusing.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The
Khmer Rouge regime came to power in 1975 after the Lon Nol regime,
which overthrew the post-colonial monarchical government of Sihanouk.
Sihanouk was quite a popular king so his overthrow in a military coup
by Lon Nol, was not popularly supported and Sihanouk took exile in
China. A lot of the Khmer Rouge leadership were educated in France
and this was where they were introduced to communism. On their return
they joined the Communist Party of Cambodia, nicknamed the Khmer
Rouge, which was aiming to seize power through a Maoist revolution
and a rurally led guerilla war.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Their
power base was among poor rural peasants and they held their own in
some rural areas, but never really threatened the central power base
of the government. However this mostly changed in 1973 when Sihanouk
seen the Khmer Rouge as his best route back to power, and probably
because Chinese persuasion, he felt that he could control the Khmer
Rouge when they took power. Thus he broadcasted a message over the
radio where he encouraged Cambodians to join the revolution and fight
for the Khmer Rouge.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Acting
on this message people began flooding into the ranks of the Khmer
Rouge and they went on an offensive against the government. Another
major recruiting tool for the Khmer Rouge was the heavy bombing of
eastern Cambodia by the American army, who were attempting to disrupt
supply lines to Viet Cong fighting in southern Vietnam. However, the
bombing largely failed and only served to heap massive destruction on
a poor, rural and innocent population. Recently released American
military files show that America dropped over 2.7 million tons worth
of explosives on Cambodian territory. To put that in perspective, the
Allies dropped just over 2 million tons worth of explosives in ALL of
world war two!! The Khmer Rouge had a strong anti-imperialist and
anti-western ideology, and thus became increasing popular after
Cambodians seen their fellow citizens coldly butchered by the
American army.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Initially
when the Khmer Rouge conquered Phnom Penh and seized power people
were celebrating in streets, primarily because it was the end of the
long bloody civil war. But soon the Khmer Rouge turned on the
citizens, particularly educated urban people. First it evacuated
everyone from Phnom Penh, telling them that the Americans were going
bomb the city and they would go back in a couple of days when it was
safe. In reality everyone was sent to work and ‘education camps’.
While here everyone was stripped of their clothes and everyone had to
wear identical pajama like clothes. They were forced to work
incredibly long hours doing agricultural work, particularly in rice
fields. However they were fed very little and most died from hunger,
exhaustion, or disease or all three.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">They
were informed that it was now Year 0 and all the history that
preceded this day didn’t matter and they were building a new more
equal society, when in fact it was a type of social engineering. In
order to do this the leadership decided to kill all formally educated
Cambodians. So all doctors, teachers, artists etc. were executed,
even if you spoke English or French, or had glasses it was enough to
raise the suspicion of the Khmer Rouge organization, and this always
meant death. The Khmer Rouge taught that love was unnecessary and
separated couples, they performed forced marriages only so people
could produce children for the revolution. The Khmer Rouge knew
children could be more easily indoctrinated and controlled, and thus
used them to spy on their parents and torture prisoners. </span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Two of
the darkest places under the Khmer Rouge were the Killing Fields and
S-21 prison. The Killing Fields was where thousands upon thousands of
Cambodians were brought to be brutally murdered and dumped into mass
graves, most just beaten to death with blunt instruments. Having
visited S-21 I can attest to its disturbing and revolting past. Here
over 21,000 people were locked up in the most inhuman conditions
imaginable and tortured with the most brutal of instruments. Some
died under the torture and others were randomly transported to fields
and beaten to death. The conditions were so bad in S-21 that they
placed barbered wire over the front of the three story buildings so
that people could not jump from the top and commit suicide. Of the
over 21,000 men, woman and children that entered S-21 only 7 survived
and only 2 are still alive today.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I met
one of these survivors on my visit, his name is Bou Meng. He
originally joined the Khmer Rouge because of King Sihanouk's radio
message. He soon became disenfranchised with the Khmer Rouge after
the took power but kept his head down and worked hard at odd jobs in
order to survive. One day Bou Meng, his wife and two children were
rounded up and thrown into S-21. He never seen his wife and children
again, and it is believed they were brutally murdered soon after
entering. He was placed in the disgusting and inhumane prison, and
tortured so much he lost consciousness many times and nearly died.
This was all done to try force him to sign ludicrous confessions that
he worked for the CIA and KGB to try overthrow the Khmer Rouge. In
reality he was just working in a engineering school and as an artist.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">One day
he was dragged into the office of Duch, the man who ran S-21 and has
just received a life sentence for his crimes, and asked to draw a
painting of Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge leader. Bou Meng was a very
talented artist but he was told that if he didn’t draw the picture
well enough he would be killed. He done a good job and after this he
was moved to better living quarters and was kept alive so he could
continue to draw iconic pictures of the Khmer Rouge leaders. He
stayed there long enough so that when the Vietnamese attacked Phnom
Penh to overthrow the Khmer Rouge regime he was transported away with
guards and could soon escape. Today he earns very little on a state
pension and travels to S-21 nearly every day to tell his story to
visitors and sell his autobiography, as well as to visit the photo of
his wife in the museum and kiss and touch it. </span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Bou
Meng’s story is harrowing but not uncommon. During the Khmer Rouge
regime 2 million people died from murder, starvation, exhaustion, and
preventable diseases, and this was one-quarter of the population.
Every family experienced massive tragedy and some had to go through
harrowing experiences to survive. This has created a massive loss of
trust between Cambodian people and many psychological problems within
the population which has never been treated. </span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">All
this happened while the west sat back and done nothing. It took the
intervention of the Vietnamese to overthrow the despicable Khmer
Rouge, both because of their crimes and no doubt for their own
benefit. The Khmer Rouge were not totally defeated and fled to
countryside to continue a civil war until the 1990s. While they
continued to attack and murder people, western countries used their
influence in the UN to insure the disposed Khmer Rouge leadership
maintained Cambodia’s seat in the UN and not the new government
installed by the Vietnamese. While one can appreciate the Vietnamese
for their intervention they continued to colonalise Cambodian for 10
years until 1989, but keeping the UN seat for the Khmer Rouge is a
ludicrous act.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Most of
Cambodia’s population is under 25 and haven’t lived under the
demented Khmer Rouge regime, but the legacy of a lack of trust as
well as the reality that most of the leaders of the Khmer Rouge were
never brought to trial still hurts. In Ireland we talk a lot about An
Gorta Mor and the legacy it left. That genocide (not a famine as
there was enough food in the country) killed 1 million and forced 1
million to emigrate, also one quarter of our population. But this
happened over 160 years ago and under a brutal colonial regime so it
is easy to explain. For Cambodians it is extremely difficult for them
to explain how their fellow Cambodians, who were overwhelmingly the
same ethnicity, who had the same religion and who spoke the same
language decided to brutally exterminate about one quarter of their
population just over 30 years ago. Most crimes against humanity occur
by whipping up a hatred of other ethnic or linguistic groups,
nationalities and/or religious groups. While obviously still a brutal
act its explanation as radical racism/sectarianism can give
some sort of closure after peace and reconciliation programmes. Cambodians can't get this type of closure and no such peace and reconciliation programmes were initiated. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Thanks
for reading.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Eric
</span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span>
</div>Eric Scanlonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04411548387560603699noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001638353311089729.post-83714746421525639272012-02-18T08:41:00.000+00:002012-02-18T08:42:17.473+00:00Settling In And Starting Work<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<link href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CADMINI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"></link><link href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CADMINI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"></link><link href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CADMINI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"></link>
<m:smallfrac m:val="off">
<m:dispdef>
<m:lmargin m:val="0">
<m:rmargin m:val="0">
<m:defjc m:val="centerGroup">
<m:wrapindent m:val="1440">
<m:intlim m:val="subSup">
<m:narylim m:val="undOvr">
</m:narylim></m:intlim>
</m:wrapindent><style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Wingdings;
panose-1:5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;
mso-font-charset:2;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:0 268435456 0 0 -2147483648 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;
mso-font-charset:1;
mso-generic-font-family:roman;
mso-font-format:other;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:0 0 0 0 0 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:swiss;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:10.0pt;
margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;
mso-ansi-language:EN-AU;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
mso-default-props:yes;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;
mso-ansi-language:EN-AU;}
.MsoPapDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-bottom:10.0pt;
line-height:115%;}
@page Section1
{size:595.3pt 841.9pt;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;
mso-header-margin:35.4pt;
mso-footer-margin:35.4pt;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
-->
</style>
</m:defjc></m:rmargin></m:lmargin></m:dispdef></m:smallfrac><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-AU">So I am well settled into Cambodian life by
now. Its actually not that hard eating rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
And the weather has been a lovely 34 degrees and sunny almost everyday. However
my phone got pick-pocketed and at the moment I’m not feeling great, have a bit
of a vomiting bug. But overall its been amazing.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-AU"><br />
<br />
The organisation I am working for SCAO, was basically set-up by Mr. and Mrs.
Samith who both really wanted to help impoverished and orphaned children from
Cambodia. It got its official government charity licence in 2004 and opened a
SCAO centre and school in 2007, about 7km from Phnom Penh, but quite remote.
There are 17 children living in the centre at present and they come from all
over Cambodia. Only a small minority are orphans, most have at least one living
parent, but their families are unable to provide adequately for the children.
Thus they come to the warm and loving atmosphere of the SCAO centre, where they
get food, clothing, shelter, and of course access to education. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-AU">The SCAO school is located a stones throw
from the centre and here over 240 children from the local area receive free
English classes to supplement and improve on the education they receive in the
government schools. It is extremely difficult to underestimate just how
important English is to the future of these children, whether they go on to
study in university, get a trade or move into Phnom Penh looking for work. At
the moment in the centre there are 11 classes ranging from kindergarten to
advanced and conversional English. These classes are thought by 1 former child
of the centre, 2 current young adults from the centre, and volunteers from all
around the world. The children of the centre also rely on overseas donations to
further their studies after secondary school.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-AU">In July 2011 the SCAO opened a new
school about 22km from Phnom Penh. This school is a fantastic 3 story building
with two well-equipped classrooms and 5 rooms for volunteers to sleep in, with
up to 10 beds overall. No students live in the centre but almost 450
disadvantaged children come to school daily to receive free English classes,
also to supplement what they learn in the government schools. This school was
heavily funded by the SCOOP foundation, who sent me here, and is known in the
SCAO as the SCOOP school. The children here are taught by volunteers as well as
2 local Cambodians. There is also 11 classes ranging from kindergarten to
advanced and conversional English. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-AU">Basically my job here is to help the SCAO
plan and develop sustainable. It is totally dependent on private donations and
has reached a point where it can attract
fantastic donations from people worldwide. But obviously it needs an
organisational plan put in place in order to receive this money and grow
sustainable, reaching out to more children. I am also in charge of organising
new learning workshops for the children and adult community based on everything
from HIV/AIDS to road safety, and gambling to domestic violence, and much more.
So the plan is to build on contacts the SCAO has with other NGOs that work in
these fields and see can they deliver workshops in the Khmer language in both
schools. I will also be assisting in helping to spread the computer learning
and sowing classes which started in the SCAO school to the SCOOP school, as
well as possiblely developing barbering/hairdressing classes as well. Lastly I will be acting as a volunteer
manager for SCAO, as we get lots of volunteers visiting the centre for varying
lengths of time and with quite different previous volunteering experience. At
the moment we are a bit short on volunteers in the SCOOP school so I have been
mostly just teaching, but I am here for 9 months so plenty of time left </span><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: Wingdings;">:-)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-AU">Have also seen some of the sites linked to
the Khmer Rouge, which were very disturbing, will update on that next.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-AU">Thanks for reading!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-AU">Eric</span></div>
</div>Eric Scanlonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04411548387560603699noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001638353311089729.post-21310069689096040172012-02-01T10:22:00.000+00:002012-02-01T10:23:47.303+00:00The Arrival<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So I have finally arrived safe and sound in Cambodia, albeit via a marathon journey and an epic last minute fundraising night. Thanks to everyone who came down to Mac's in Trim on Friday night. It was a legendary night and we raised 1,700 euro, which will go a really really long way in helping me complete my work here!! So thanks a million to Mark Brady, Paul Carroll and Paul Genockey who organized everything on the night, to everyone who got their head shaved (I'm still getting used to having my hair this short), and everyone who contributed on the night. It really was so heart warming and humbling for me.<br />
<br />
The marathon journey began with a near perfect flight from Dublin to Abu Dhabi (AD) until we began our descent and were then told that we could not land in AD because of heavy fog, which had made one plane have a minor crash, and so we had to land in Doha and wait for clearance. I had only two hours of a change over in AD to get to my Bangkok flight, but was told I should still make this as no flights could leave the airport. However when we landed and I entered the airport I seen the bedlam that the closure had caused! It took 3 hours of "queuing" (basically wrestling) to even talk to someone. She told me I could get 5pm flight (it was now 1pm) to Bangkok and I could catch a flight to Phnom Penh from there but I had to go to through immigration and to another Etihad desk to get my boarding pass for this flight.<br />
<br />
Two hours of queuing later and I got my boarding pass, just to get pass security and find the flight was delayed till 9.30pm, I would now miss the Phnom Penh transfer from Bangkok! That wasn't too much of a problem, what really messed thing up was when I was checking which gate I was boarding from an hour before the flight and it flashed up that the flight was delayed till 9.30am... I marched off to a wee quiet corner to rest my head for the night. I finally made it Bangkok and had just enough time to get my flight to Phnom Penh, however chances were my bag wouldn't make it.<br />
<br />
43 hours since I set off from Dublin I arrived in Phnom Penh at 11pm, bag less, but relived to be here. Was a lovely balmy night and outside I meet my contact Andre. He is a German man who lectures in Cambodia and is on the board of the organization I will be working for, the SCAO. They are a partner organization of the SCOOP foundation who have sent me here. I have left links to both of these organizations on the right of the page.<br />
<br />
He brought me from the airport along two pristine and immaculate roads, with massive buildings either side. I was surprised and taken aback by this until I was informed that all the buildings were government ministries and thus government officials travel along these roads everyday, thus there perfect condition. The massive government corruption I had read about was plain to be seen. Down all the side streets one seen the masses of make shaft shacks and uncollected rubbish. The real Cambodia for a lot of its citizens.<br />
<br />
We stopped for a beer, the local dark stout because I am Irish :-), and then headed to the guesthouse/hostel were I stayed last night. I am meeting Andre tonight for dinner and a long chat and will then head out to the SCAO school and community centre in the morning with one of the volunteers, where I will stay for the rest of my time here. Will update the blog once I have visited the centre and got more details on my job. <br />
<br />
Thanks for reading (will keep it shorter next time!)<br />
Eric :-)<br />
<br /></div>Eric Scanlonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04411548387560603699noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001638353311089729.post-37427705310296133742012-01-18T01:37:00.001+00:002012-01-18T01:37:36.372+00:00And so it begins...Have finally set up this blog after some serious procrastination on the issue! The role of the blog is basically just to update family and friends on my work during my 9 month placement in Cambodia, as well as my adventures and experiences. I also think it will be a good way for me to catalogue what will hopefully be a very exciting and memorable year for me, and to put into writing my meandering thoughts and reflections during the trip.<br />
<br />
I will post again just before I go and then I aim to post an entry at least every 2 weeks while in Cambodia. Would love to hear any feedback after posts so feel free to comment below. You can also subscribe to the blog by putting your e-mail in the bar below. This feature insures that you will receive an e-mail when I have updated the blog.<br />
<br />
Thats all for now.<br />
<br />
Sláinte mhaith,<br />
EricEric Scanlonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04411548387560603699noreply@blogger.com2