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: Keo Phal, The TeamPicture and Ann Creevey. |
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has never
forgotten his roots. They are deep in the Laotian
countryside. His family, he said, was very poor
when he was growing up. He joined the army. Then
the war in Vietnam and Cambodia came to Laos.
"I fought in the airborne division in Laos
from 1960. And in 1975, after the war, myself and
my immediate family were taken to America. My sister
and brother stayed behind in Laos. I never forgot
my family, or where I came from. I never stopped
wanting to help stop poverty," KB, as his friends
know him, recalled.
So in 1998, he founded the International Foundation
for the Humanitarian Assistance and Advancement
of the People of South East Asia.
And in June 2001 he came to Cambodia with American
chief advisor for the foundation, Gene Prater, to
assess the situation.
For three weeks in June, the two visited a number
of Cambodian provinces, including Banteay Meanchey,
Pursat, Preah Vihear, Siem Reap and Battambang.
Interviewed at the end of their visit, the two said
they were deeply moved by the plight of many Cambodians
and were determined to return with help as soon
as possible.
"We are going back to the States now with video
tape and pictures and documentation to show donors
and we hope to come back with donor money to help
Cambodia," Mr Khambang said. He added that
he was optimistic.
Mr Khambang said he will return to his home and
the NGO's head office in Nashville, Tennessee and
after he has made reports to the US Secretary of
State, President and Congress, he would be asking
potential donors for US$51 million.
The two said they met with Deputy Prime Minister
Sar Kheng and a senior advisor to Prime Minister
Hun Sen while in Cambodia and believed the responses
to be very positive.
Mr Khambang said the foundation was already active
in Thailand, operating a health station on the border
of Ubon Province.
"The main needs we identified here were health
and education. We will be asking donors for enough
money to set up a mobile health station, train a
mobile medical team, provide at least one helicopter
and set up a central medical facility in Phnom Penh,"
Mr Khambang said.
He said they would also look into providing health
care in schools, perhaps in the form of a dispensary.
Mr Khambang said he wanted to help Cambodia for
two reasons.
"Historically, Cambodia and Laos have been
like sisters. Our history goes a long way back,
just like Cambodia and Thailand," he said.
The second reason is a promise made to him by senior
people in the Laotian government.
"Of course eventually I want my operations
to expand into my own home country. I want to help
Lao people. But the Lao government is slow to trust
people who come in from outside, even people who
were born there. But I have been told by people
there that if I am successful in Cambodia, and the
government here accepts us, the Lao government will
accept us too," he said.
"And of course, ultimately, that is important
to me."
In the meantime, he said, the Foundation has officially
registered in Cambodia and they will be working
to raise money to join the ranks of active Non-government
Organizations working within the Kingdom's borders,
trying to help in their own small way. |
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Cambodian
Tourism Forcing Ahead
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Tourist
numbers visiting Cambodia have increased for three
consecutive years, and the industry's strong positive
growth will continue, Ministry of Tourism officials
said this month.
Ministry of Tourism statistics released recently
show that the number of foreign tourists who visited
Cambodia from January to May this year rose to about
117,640 _ a leap of 28 per cent over the corresponding
period last year.
In the whole of last year, 466,365 foreign tourists
visited Cambodia, up 27 per cent over 1999.
In a breakdown of the year 2000 figure, Ministry
figures sited 72 per cent as on holiday, 25 per
cent as here on business and the remaining three
per cent on short visits such as stopovers.
Predicting that annual overall revenue generated
from tourism 2000 would double and maybe even triple
by the year 2005, Ministry of Tourism officials
said that greater efforts and funds should be to
develop all aspects of the tourism industry to cope
with this predicted influx.
There are already 240 hotels in the luxurious, standardized
and moderate ranges in Cambodia, with a total of
nearly 10,000 rooms. These are concentrated in the
major tourism centers of Phnom Penh, Siem Reap province
and Sihanoukville.
About 100 out of the almost 500 restaurants located
in major provinces are considered of acceptable
standard for international tourists.
Special packages to suit travelers' demands are
provided by some 213 licensed travel agencies and
branches, according to the Ministry.
Besides the marvels of the Angkor Temple complex,
Ministry figures record that Cambodia as of early
this year had up to 1,281 tourist destinations,
including 1,147 historical-cultural attractions,
94 natural resorts and 40 arranged sites. This does
not include the 3,810 pagodas dotted across the
country.
Mr. Yang Van, Director of The Tourism Department
of the Ministry of Tourism, said that the ministries
of Tourism, Rural Development and Culture and Fine
Arts had joined forces to develop more tourist projects
in addition to the Angkor Wat Temple zone.
Examples of this include the temple sites of Prasat
Sambo Prey Kuk in Kampong Thom province, Prasat
Koh Ker in Uddar Meanchey province, Prasat Preah
Vihear in Preah Vihear province and Prasat Banteay
Chhmar in Banteay Meanchey province.
The ministries of Tourism and Rural Development
are also conducting feasibility studies into guiding
tourists to natural areas for ecotourism purposes,
such Prek Toal, a wetlands area on the Tonle Sap
Lake at the junction of Siem Reap and Battambang
provinces which supports numerous species of rare
birds.
Tourism Ministry sources added that the boom in
the construction of hotels and casinos along the
Cambodian-Thai border also brought in a considerable
number of short-stay visitors to those areas, but
that the trend did not contribute to overall national
tourism revenue.
Mr Nuth Nin Doeun, Secretary of State for the Ministry
of Tourism, said visitors should be only be considered
as tourists if they spend a minimum of three days
and two nights in the Kingdom. He said visitors
who came to experience Khmer culture, including
Angkor Wat, were tourists whereas those who came
specifically to gamble were not and should not be
considered as such.
In other issues, the Tourism Ministry heard delegates
recently regarding good progress made in development
strategies for Boko Hill in Kampot, Bou-sra Waterfalls
in Mondulkiri, and Beung Yak-lorm, the famous volcanic
lake in Rattanak Kiri province.
All these developments are expected to be in full
swing by year 2003.
Security in major tourist areas of Cambodia, considered
suspect in places until as recently as three years
ago, is now considered good by most international
embassies, Tourism Ministry officials observed. |
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Thank you
for your wonderful publication. I have very much
enjoyed each issue and cannot wait until each new
edition comes out to run and buy it.
As a Khmer and a young student, I love to know more
about my culture.
Some of the stories in Leisure Cambodia touch on
aspects of my culture that are new even to me _
the Five Pinnacles of Angkor Wat story in Issue
One contained information I had never heard before
and so helped broaden my knowledge on something
that is very important to me as a Cambodian.
Other stories, which are aimed at visitors to my
country such as the story about the Wat Phnom elephant,
make me proud because there are so many wonderful
things for visitors to see and do here.
But my problem is that I want to share these things
with my family and friends.
My parents are elderly and cannot read English.
My friends do not have the level of English needed
to understand clearly everything in Leisure Cambodia.
I read to them when I can, but being read to by
a student is not the best way for them to hear about
ancient beliefs and rituals.
There must be many more families and high schools
like mine where no one reads English so they cannot
hear these wonderful stories and facts about Cambodia.
Could you please consider printing a Khmer version?
I want people of my parents’ generation to
be able to read and comment on what you write first-hand,
and I want friends to have access to a wonderful
reference, even if they have chosen not to study
English, because they are Khmer.
Please consider my request. I am sure I am not the
only person who has made it. It would mean so much
to me and my family to be able to read about this
country in our own language, and many, many others
I am sure.
Sincerely,
Ieng Sothi, Kompong Cham
(This letter has been edited) |
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The staff
of Leisure Cambodia is pleased to announce that
even before you penned your letter, the wheels were
in motion to provide a Khmer version your parents
and thousands of other Cambodians can enjoy.
Scores of people from all walks of life _ from public
servants to students to market vendors _ joined
you in your request, and our writers and designers
were keen to oblige.
So Issue Four of Leisure Cambodia, available on
newsstands in August, will carry a Khmer language
supplement!
We are proud to announce it will be prepared by
Mr Heng Sopheap, Chief of the Department of Tourism
at one of Cambodia's most respected educational
institutions, the National Institute of Management.
Students and members of that institution will assist
him.
The supplement will carry translations of our stories
exploring Khmer culture, travel pieces and more
so that more Cambodians can read and enjoy and perhaps
even learn from our stories and discuss them with
their friends.
We look forward to comments and suggestions from
all our readers, whether in Khmer, English or French,
regarding what you would like to see included in
this supplement and in Leisure Cambodia in general
and what you enjoyed about our publication the most.
So keep sending your questions, comments and requests
to us. We love to hear them and when we can, we
act upon them. Leisure Cambodia is your newspaper
too.
Please help by giving us your feedback and advice. |
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