Continued from here ...

My point in all this? To vent frustration mainly, I suppose. Frustration over five years coming and going since the imposition of a sentence on innocent children that imprisons thousands and removes so much chance of ever having a family has me about to pop today ... that and the realization that it's no closer to ending now than it was ages ago ... so thank heavens I can blog, heh?

Not... more

Continued from here.

I'm not alone in my doubts about the Holt report giving the definitive look at last year's Cambodian orphanage situation. Others have pointed out that they know of many orphanages the Holt report did not include, some very near Phnom Penh, so much more difficult to miss than those more far-flung. If so many easy to locate facilities were ignored, how many in the provinces were left out of the tally?... more

The slug-fest (and I'm talking the cyber version of balled fists, not banana-like slimy mollusks ... is "slimy mollusk" redundant?) that is the back corner of the Cambodian adoption sandlot is once again gaining popularity as a venue for opening old wounds and pounding a jagged point into new ones. Possibly, I'm a bit tender and quick to bruise after spending last Sunday surrounded by the living, breathing proof of just how wonderful Cambodian adoption... more

Continued from here ...

For more on who's jumping on the Cam offshore oil bandwagon, here's a link to an update on countries lining up for exploration licenses. Former US Ambassador to Cambodia, Charles Ray, has been addressing... more

Continued from here ...

Sihanoukville's airport is open again. As one part of of Cambodia's strategy to increase tourism, it's hoped that people visiting temples and such will add a beach stop to their itinerary, thereby increasing their time ... and expenditures ... in the country.

And speaking of tourists,... more

Cambodia and Vietnam are getting around to establishing a working group to begin executing a 2005 agreement on the prevention of trafficking in women and children.

A Vietnamese report said that police had arrested over 450 traffickers in 2006 and rescued 966 women and children.

Another 750 victims had been rescued in other countries or had escaped themselves.

The crime was most rampant in southern Vietnamese provinces bordering... more

Continued from here ...

And speaking of blowing up cows ... (Now, there's a segue I never thought I'd catch myself writing .. )

This story is disturbing on way too many levels.

For the cool price of $555, Lan Kosal will escort a client to a remote location in the Cambodian countryside to blow up a cow with... more

Continued from here ...

Others who not only lived through the KR years, but profited from them and used the time and connections to build a power base that still exerts great influence are supposed to be tried this year. In a move typical of official razzmatazz (read, Newspeak), the Cam government has "reiterated its pledge... more

Weekly news from Cambodia ranges from the annoying to the astonishing, and from the infuriating to the inspiring. This week's will begin with one of the inspiring flavor. From Chennai, India, comes this report of a musician who survived childhood of Khmer Rouge abuse, torture and a steeping in the genocidal brew that was Cambodia to become an internationally recognised human rights leader, speaker and trainer.

Arn... more

Continuing the week's news from Cambodia ... A 14-year-old Cambodian girl is about to undergo surgery in Hawaii that will allow her to walk for the first time.

Sythan Leam lives in Anglong Thor, a small village about 80 miles northwest of Phnom Penh in Kampong Thom province in Cambodia.

When she was 2 months old, she suffered severe burns on her left leg. There is no doctor or medical care in the village and, when her... more