Last year's success inspired this small, growing technology community in Cambodia to discuss openly issues important to them. BarCamp Phnom Penh has now become an annual technology conference in this nation's largest capital city, inviting some participants from across the country and the region, many are tech enthusiasts from Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore.

In a blog post on CNNGo, technologist and traveler Preetam Rai, who visited this year's participatory workshop-event, wrote about Cambodian women in technology that:

It should be said that women are very prominent at Cambodian Barcamp events, and seeing such large numbers of women at tech meetings still surprises their male attendees. But the women aren't just showing up — they're running the show.

How BarCamp Phnom Penh ‘09 is run, organized and contributed is uniquely interesting. It does introduce Cambodians a new way, if not a breakthrough, in which learning, collaboration, sharing and networking can take place here in Cambodia.

Group photo of participants at the end of the weekend-long at Paññasastra University of Cambodia
Photograph taken by: Tharum Bun

A prolific Vietnamese blogger, Nguyen Anh Hung, who participated Cambodia's BarCamp last year, is traveling to the Cambodian capital with more of his fellow friends for this BarCamp Phnom Penh ‘09.

“It’s here again. We (the folks in Ho Chi Minh City) will be flocking to the capital of beautiful Cambodia once again to attend the largest technology unconference in the country to date. Last year it was a greatly successful event attended by some 300 people from around South East Asia.”

Not only this annual event plays a role to foster open communication in Cambodian society, but it helps build a strong foundation for Cambodia's future in the area of Information and Communication Technologies.

Going to conferences is about getting inspired. It’s about getting some new ideas swirl around in your head. During that event, we will see skilled speakers with a lot of experiences and confidence on stage giving a talk on a topic that they really want to share, wrote Samnang Chhun, a Phnom Penh-based Software Developer.

Like many other developing countries, debate on free/open source software as an alternative to propriety software will not end any time soon. Despite the two-day conference offered mixed results to every participant, online discussion has not finished yet.

Michael Smith Jr., from Yahoo Inc., wrote in an email:

[it] looks like a good turnout. I would hope that for any future ones Yahoo Inc. can get more involved to sponsor and maybe have a session.

A-two-minute video clip (taken by German new media consultant Thomas Wanhoff) of Cambodia's BarCamp can be viewed here.

BarCamp, an innovative “impromptu” gathering that began in 2005 in Palo Alto, California, helps “open source” enthusiasts share information about technology in an informal setting. The idea quickly spread from California to the rest of the world, arriving in Bangkok in 2007 and now in Phnom Penh.

Not only the “Great Firewall of China” that is known to many people, democratic country like Thailand also blocks a large number of Web sites; in Vietnam, its Ministry of Information and Communication has recently released a circular to regulate and enforce blogging rules in the country in late 2008. With rules and regulations in place, these governments have developed and deployed their own censorship machine to control how citizens publish and access online contents.

Although Cambodia has the lowest Internet penetration rate (70,000 users as of 2007), artists, however, are more recognized not through offline exhibitions, but their presence on the world wide web. This increasing use of blog to reach out larger audiences attracts more than attention and support.

A former freelance editorial cartoonist for Far Eastern Economic Review from 1997-1999, Bun Heang Ung presently lives in Australia. Observing his home country Cambodia from the other side, the 57-year-old cartoonist launched Sacrava Toons blog in 2004, nearly a decade after he published ‘The Murderous Revolution : Life and Death in Pol Pot's Kampuchea,' his first book of black and white line illustrations that tells his very own experiences of the Khmer Rouge regime. In voicing his opinions, the talented cartoonist publish his drawings of all things that matter to him on the Web. In one of his recent posts, he used ‘I have a dream' as a backdrop for his illustration of Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States.

Barack Obama, illustrated by Bun Heang Ung

Recently, according to Wikileaks, the political cartoonist's blog is being blocked in Thailand, where its Ministry of Information and Communication Technology is in charge of banning Internet sites that violates its Kingdom's lèse majesté.

Cambodian blogger Thom Vanak, at Blog By Khmer, made his point on the issue:

Regarding Lèse majesté, although I think it's archaic and outdated law in this day and age, but nevertheless, it's still Thai's law. If I ever set my foot on Thai soil I would respect their laws. The same if I'm to visit any other country, I would respect the local laws of that country.

While the prominent cartoonist's blog appears on censorship list (as of 20 Dec 2008) by Thailand, the Cambodian Ministry of Women's Affairs, in December last year, threatened to block a Web site that contains artistic illustrations of bare-breasted Apsara dancers and a Khmer Rouge soldier. The attempt to shut down reahu.net (or at least to filter it by Internet Service Providers in the Cambodian capital) was echoed by a human rights activist, who was quoted as saying that “the Web site should be shut down because it appealed too much to young Cambodians.”

Reahu.net is currently not accessible by Internet visitors in Cambodia, while there is no issue with access in the U.S. The error message appears:

Screenshot of reahu.net site being filtered by Cambodia's Internet Service Providers

Cambodia's most prominent anonymous blog author at ‘Cambodia: Details are Sketchy' wrote about the controversial issue:

“If anyone should understand the value of free speech, the deputy director of communication and advocacy at Licadho seems a likely candidate. It is disheartening that Vann Sophath supports censoring Reahu’s illustrations”

Artist Reahu posted a note on his site, recently becoming popular after gaining media attentions in the past few months, in response to his critics:

Judging from the complaints, I wonder how we as Khmer will be able to make it in the 21st Century. Please be open-minded, you must be able to see beyond the four walls surrounding your hut.

As the news of the inscription of Cambodia's 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple announced by the World Heritage Committee early this month in Quebec, Canada, a large number of text messages were sent via cellphone to share the exciting news during the midnight (Phnom Penh time).

People of the two countries witness the power of pride and nationalism, again, particularly at the time that Cambodia heading to national election on July 27 and that Thailand is struggling with her own internal politic.

Not surprisingly, as the world is more connected, at least virtually, Thai and Cambodian citizens begin their discussions on the Internet for the first time. A post of link with title “Preah Vihear belongs to Cambodia,” appeared on Global Voices Online on June 24, attracted 70 comments (at the time of writing this post).

Nationalism versus Rationalism
Somongkol Teng, a former Fulbright scholar, proudly announced the official news of the newly inscribed temple on his blog, which has attracted a number of comments from his readers, including people in neighboring country Thailand.

A comment left by a Thai citizen, who identifies as Tavorn Kamboonreang, on Somongkol's blog post, has led to a long, heated discussion.

On July 10, 2008, Tavorn commented:

Dear Khamen(Cambodian) Neighbors,
You think you win the Preah Vihear World Heritage now but soon you will see that you lost because UNESCO will send 7 nations including Thailand to “invade” your country. UNESCO ripped our two countries apart by siding with you and your foxy politicians. You know where you belong. Look at Phnom Penh which was built to model after Bangkok by King Narodom who lived and worked in Bangkok under Thai Royal Patronage for years. Rejoice now but be prepared to get back to be under Thailand’s protection again because you need to be where you belong. I am your Thai neighbor and it’s my duty to help you get back to your good sense. Remember who help you when your country was under the Khmer Rouge-Pol Pot and your refugees had nowhere else to run to but Thailand. Please take care and be grateful.

Does an individual opinion reflect the Thai society in general? Thai native Isriya Paireepairit, a technology columnist for a number of Thai newspapers and magazines, wrote a post on the issue in Thai language (he also provides translation here) that:

I quoted the follow up article by Dr. Charnvit Kasetsiri. He stated that Preah Vihear is definitely belonged to Cambodia from both historical-archaeological and legal. The Thai claim (geological) has never been supported by World Court.

Another blog post of his deals with one of his friends, who lives in the United Kingdom. Isriya asked an interesting question in response to a campaign running by his friend who wants to claim back Preah Vihear temple for Thai citizens.

I quoted my conversation with my Thai friend (I'm living in UK at the moment) to demonstrate the general public's view on this incident. This friend now wants to “bring back Preah Vihear” to Thai people. I question them as ‘is Preah Vihear really belonged to us? (So we can
get it back). I also quote Thongchai Winichakul, a famous Southeast Asian History Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He wrote an article about nationalist. The title can be translated as “Preah Vihear will be yet another racism timebomb”

Phnom Penh, Cambodia: Several thousand people gathered at Wat Phnom to celebrate the day. Savada Khmer [in PDF], a song composed by Samdech Sangha Raja Jhotañano Chuon Nath (1883 -1969).

Savada Khmer translated into English
All Khmers, please remember the root and history of our great country
Our boundary was wide and well known
Others always thought highly of our race
And always placed our race as the elders.

We have great heritage and culture
Which has spread far and wide in the Far East.
Religion, arts and education,
Music, philosophy and strategies are all that we have spread.

All Khmers, please remember our roots and history
Which speaks of the grandeur of our great race
Make up your mind and body and try hard to rebuild
In order to lift the value of our nation
To once again rise to the greatness that we once had.

Is the power of nationalism as strong as the power of love? So far, at least two public events organized in the Cambodian capital to celebrate the important event as well as to reclaim the so called ‘unity' for the country. Donations have been made, largely by Phnom Penh-based business people, to help military at the Cambodian-Thai border. Cambodian journalism lecturer Moeun Chhean Nariddh takes a look at the history of nationalism used in the mainstream media to fight against French colonialism, then the Chinese and Vietnamese dominance. The opinionated media trainer wrote an op-ed to a daily newspaper that:

…Nevertheless, the media’s role in promoting nationalism is not new. The pioneer of Cambodian media started the first Khmer-language newspaper in 1936 with the explicit mission to promote nationalism and engage in Cambodia’s struggle for independence from French colonial rule. A nationalistic Cambodian press appeared first to challenge French rule, then the Chinese and Vietnamese dominance in Cambodia’s economy and politics, and also American “imperialism,” until the Khmer Rouge came to power in 1975.

Richard, an observer and blogger at Connecting the Dots, wrote a blog post that the current Thai government, under-fired for it first supported Cambodian government in getting the temple listed, which it later withdrew due to an injunction issued by Thailand's Administrative Court to suspend any move endorsing Cambodia's bid to list the ancient temple as UNESCO's World Heritage site:

Although the court ruled against Thailand, many Thais never accepted the ruling in their hearts. As a result the signing of the documents between Thailand and Cambodia was all it took to set this off. Thailand’s ruling party the People Power Party (PPP) is under attack for a variety of reasons, this signing became just another avenue of attack. The signing was ruled to be in violation of the Thai constitution in that parliament was excluded. The reputation of the PPP of not caring about laws, rules and the Thai people and now also being seen as very possibly giving up Thai soil to Cambodia has set this nationalism movement in motion. This has lead to escalation of conflict ant the site of the temple with both Thai and Cambodian military on the scene. There is no doubt to outsiders that the temple issue is being used as leverage to force this apparently useless Thai government out.

In an article appeared in Bangkok-based Prachatai, an independent online newspaper, Harrison George discusses the history (including what led to an anti-Thai-riot in 2003) of the two countries, both are members of Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

And now our ignorance of Thailand’s history is threatening relations with Cambodia. We’ve seen this before. In 2003, in the run up to Cambodian elections, actress Suvanant Kongying was falsely reported in the Cambodian press (possibly by a rival company to the Mistine cosmetics she was fronting for) as saying that Angkor Wat should be given back to Thailand. ‘Given back’, because it had been stolen from Thailand by the Cambodians.
The Khmers, whose schoolbooks seem to be as nationalistically one-sided as everyone else’s, got understandably irate about this. But so did the Thais. When the news was breaking I was told by 2 Thais who had the benefit of a university education, that Suvanant’s alleged statement was so obviously untrue it must have been fabricated. I asked what they meant. Cambodia couldn’t have ‘stolen’ Angkor Wat from Thailand, they explained, because Thailand had never occupied it.

Live update from Preah Vihear province:
I've just received an update from Geffrey Cain, our Contributing Author, who is currently is Preah Vihear province to cover the news. Here is his message sent to me on July 20, 2008:

Writing from the Thai-Cambodia border where I'm covering the dispute. Needless to say, things out here are incredibly tense. Yesterday we had a major stand-off between Thai and Cambodian soldiers at a pagoda, where they raised their guns at each other and threatened to fire. Today the Thai military has deployed cannons facing our position.

Sopheap Chak is another urban woman with initiatives and ambitions. The 23-year-old, originally from Kampong Cham province, is a prominent human rights activist. When she talks about changes she believes in it's as if she's a new hopeful inspirational leader.

Sopheap Chak, with the computer notebook on her lap, at Cambodia's first Blogger Summit at Pannasastra University
Photo courtesy of David Sasaki

Sopheap holds two Bachelor degrees; one in International Relations from University of Cambodia; and the other one in Economics from Pannasastra University of Cambodia.

In just a few days Sopheap is leaving Cambodia to continue her study in Japan. The blogger is awarded to pursue Master Degree in International Relations at International University of Japan, where she will focus on International Peace Studies. Japanese Grant Aid Scholarship—JDS has made it possible for a number of Cambodian students to have academic research opportunities at Japanese higher educational institutions.

I communicated with gentle Sopheap via email, asking her some questions about her study, work, and blogging.

You are leaving Cambodia for Japan very soon, how do you feel at the moment?

Honestly, since I was a child, I wish to continue my higher education abroad, through scholarship program; and two countries that I want to visit most is the U.S. and Japan. Regardless this commitment and uncertainty of how to achieve this dream, I set plans by working hard on my study to get high grade point average (GPA) plus English language skills to be able to apply for any scholarships. It is very fortunate and excited as it is my first scholarship application and it seemed that my dream have come true. Also, I set plan B if I would had not passed. Finally, I got it and I will be leaving Cambodia for Japan on June the 30th, 2008. Yet, I feel that I mixed up with both exciting and challenging emotion for leaving my family, friends, and be ready to live in new environment.

Could you describe what have you done so far (both education and work)?

I started my first job as soon as I completed high school in 2002 to self-finance and to gain work experience in civil society. I worked for Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace (CICP), a non profit organization working to conduct a series of conferences on social issues, such as democracy, election, poverty reduction, and in pursuit of research and publication. Two years later, I worked for University of Cambodia. I was also an Advocacy Officer at Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR), a non-profit public benefit organization devoted to human rights and democracy. In my perspective, I strongly believe that peaceful civil society movement is a powerful instrument to advocate policy changes for social development. With regard to my educational background, I have a bachelor's degree in International Relations at the University of Cambodia, which I earned since 2006. At the same time, I hold another bachelor's degree from Pannasastra University of Cambodia, where I majored in Economics. Beside that, I initiated a voluntary youth network called Youth Network for Change, which has a mission to work closely with people in rural communities; the network hopes to equip disadvantaged Cambodian children and youth with practical knowledge, skills, and goals to empower their life decisions. I believe in a concept of “We all can make a change”.

How did you prepare yourself for this to be awarded?

Set a goal and seek how to achieve is my secret. As mentioned, I dream of continuing my master's degree study in abroad; Either Japan or the U.S. is my hopeful country. Therefore, I had set my own destination by paving the way to reach that goal at the same time. To study hard, to have English language skills improved, and to graduate my bachelor's degree with high GPA, so that I can be a prospect candidate for scholarship applications.

To access to scholarship information or any programs available to get familiar with the them, and to grab such opportunities is very crucial. We have to get opportunity instead of waiting for opportunity coming to us. Last but not least, confidence and commitment are the key to success.

Any thoughts and advices for younger Cambodians to prepare for such a significant advancement?

Put your desire into action. Simply put, everyone does have his/her own life destination, yet to what extend they want to achieve it or not is a question. Thus, keep up our desire and plan to achieve it.

Access to information and opportunity. We should catch up with latest news and updates so that we can be aware of social trends and we will be always ready for any upcoming opportunities. Like a slogan goes saying that “Before everything else, getting ready is a secret of success”.

Be socialized. No person can be isolated. It is not just getting to know each others, but we may need other’s help, in some case, or they can indirectly or directly impact our life.

Be confident and positive toward yourself and others.

Let's talk about blogging in Cambodia. When did you start blogging? Why?

I began to blog in May 2007. A friend of mine, Chantra Be, gave me a quick introduction to blogging when he promoted how to create and maintain blog during my youth network camping program. I was enthusiastically interested in the tool and found it useful as I like dialogue and debate on social topics, mainly to focus on politics and good governance. Of course, I have attempted to learn more from others, and through self-searching to have create my own blog; it is now online under title “Three Dimension of Life”.

What do you like most about blogging?

From a perspective of a Cambodian, Cambodia's democracy is still young with restricted freedom of expression and media control; I do feel that blog is one of the most exciting and innovative technological tools to exercise the right to expression as well as other fundamental rights. We can share news, express our opinions, communicate with other fellow bloggers for any campaign purposes through blog. It's a great tool in use even in a situation that other means of communications are restricted.

What do you blog about mostly?

My blog is “Three Dimensions of LIfe”, focuses on politics, economy, and social arena, topics crucial in every people everyday life. Mostly I post my opinion analysis on politics, economics, and social-cultural issues in order to express my idea as well as to get other comments on those issues.

What is your most memorable blogging experience?

The first comment from my friend on my blog post makes me to understand that people are communicating with me. Also, other people have written something related to or about me on their blogs, and I feel I got introduced to people to the outside world. In Cambodia Blogger Summit in September 2007, I was invited to be moderator to discuss “Gender and Blogging”. It sounded a little funny for me to be invited at that time since I have just created my personal blog, and that I possess little technical knowledge of blogging, and that I was asked to join with other skillful bloggers.

What do you think about blogging/bloggers in Cambodia?

There is an increasing number of people, both men and women, blogging and creating more networks for bloggers to get to know each others through blog or online community. It is a remarkably positive trend for gender equity since men are considered to dominate in many aspects of life, especially in Information Technology works. Also, the more they interact and keep informed about world events, the higher self-esteem and development they obtain.

Through technology and blogging I think Cambodia has integrated with the world, or the world can now be seen, at least virtually, as a global village. Let me raise a Burma case as an example. I think there would be impossible for a global mobilization for freeing Burma from rights abuse earlier without new technologies such as blog, the Internet, or cellphone. Then, we could see people from different nations had a mutual commitment wearing red color shirt and standing silently in front of Burmese Embassy in their respective countries. Another interesting case is a recent Pakistan political situation that I have learned the news of Mrs. Buddho’s killing from radio, TV, and commentaries on blogs. Thanks to the new technology inventors.

What are your favorite blogs?

http://www.vuthasurf.com/
http://ki-media.blogspot.com/
http://beth.typepad.com/

As a blogger, what's your dream?

I do hope that there will be no restriction on blog or online communication as it plays influential roles in advocating for change in attitudes and sharing information as well as to build more networks. Bloggers will use blog in useful ways, not for only her/himself, but her/his communities as a whole. Let's use blog for change and development!

In Cambodia, the 31 year-old Santel presently works at Phnom Penh International Airport for he likes terminal and pace of busy people.

Born in Kratie, the first province overtaken by Khmer Rouge forces, Santel, in recent years, writes mostly about literature and history. Much known as Khmerbird, he's a prolific writer who has gained attentions from visitors to his Weblog for his short stories, written in local language, Khmer. In 2005, Santel won the 2nd prize of the Nou Hach Literary awards for his 25-pages short story ‘Katouch'.

“Khmerbird is not simply a pen name, but it's also a freedom symbol for me. I dream of becoming a Cambodian independent writer, wrote Santel.”

from right: Santel Phin (much known as ‘Khmerbird')

Here's my email interview with Santel. He discusses how uses Weblog to publish his love fictions and to connect with his readers.

Is Khmerbird your pen name or nickname?

Khmerbird is not simply a pen name, but it's also a freedom symbol for me. I dream of becoming a Cambodian independent writer. I found Khmerbird would be the only pen name that I could use in all my writing. If people really want to find out who I am, there's always a way. I have my personal profile at http://khmerbird.com, so people can find out who really I am.

When did you start blogging? Why?

I started blogging a few years ago, maybe since 2006. The first reason is to publish my writings and share my interest in literature, books, movies, and music on the Web. When you got passion in anything particular, you always want to share it with the rest of the world; I guess I am not the only one. I also start to know people, especially bloggers in Cambodia. It's always fun to share our daily life activities. So you might find many other topics more than my writings at khmerbird.com.

What do you like most about blogging?

A blog, when comparing to the old day, is a diary. So when something comes to your mind, you blog about it. What I like most about blog is that we share information: news, events, party or anything else with our friends as well as other bloggers. They can always come around and find something new whenever they have time.

What do you blog mostly about?

I like reading books and watching movies; beside my short stories, I share my views on new films and new books, not to mention photos from my trip and party. I blog mostly about everything; anything that matters to me I'd blog about it.

What is your most memorable blogging experience?

When I want to move my blog on wordpress.com to a new web host server. It was a nightmare. I could no longer stay on wordpress.com, there's no freedom; when your blog grows up, the room becomes too small. But when you have your own self-hosted WordPress blog, you start from scratch. You are on your own. I spent a lot of time to launch khmerbird.com; it took two weeks of delay, the site was completely down. Yet I'm not satisfied with the current version. I want to have a section for Cambodia related news; I might need to set up customized news feeds and display them on my blog sidebar.

What do you think about blogging/bloggers in Cambodia?

Blog is a basic platform to share information. In the last couple of years, a lot of new Cambodian bloggers (also known as Cloggers in Cambodia) are joining, and it's a positive way of keeping in touch among Cambodian people. There are many young talented people using their blog to discuss all issues, from social problems to personal stuff. It's a way to express idea. And it's good to see Cambodian people starting to express their ideas.

What are your favorite blogs?

Blogs I usually visit are:
http://kalyankeo.blogspot.com/
http://www.xwanna.com/
http://jinja.apsara.org/
http://tharum.info/
http://ijajaja.com/
http://boran.wordpress.com/
http://naraths.wordpress.com/
http://naryphing.wordpress.com/
http://www.khmerlyrics.com/

As a blogger, what's your dream?

I want my blog more sophisticated to provide more useful information to visitors from around the world, and to have it as a new Cambodia face. My dream is to have more visitors, 1000 visitors per day.

You're an engineer by education and profession, but you also write short story. What inspires you?

There's always something disturbing me. Everyday I see a traffic policeman takes money from a truck driver or a motor driver when I'm on my way to my office. At hospital I see doctors and staff only take care of patients who give them money; school teachers sell candy to schoolchildren in class to get extra money… I usually write about something that disturbs me. So what I have in my story is recreation of those things and change them to a different way. Sometimes I shock people in an insane way (in a dramatic way), so that after people read my story I could give them a flash of light, making them to see what they don't really see or care about.

Among all your short stories, what's your favorite one? And why?

I like my latest short story, ‘Malai - Story of my secret lover'. It is a well-organized short story, comparing to the previous ones. The story title is a touching one, and it is very difficult to find a simple way to describe it. It's an insane story. How could a virgin girl come to you and give you her virginity without asking?

So I began to find way to tell the story. The first draft has only 4 pages. People who read the first draft will throw the papers into the bin. It's a trash. It's insane and not realistic. I always work hard when I write the story because I want it realistic. I kept working on the first draft as I started adding things, creating the events, and inviting more characters. There had been a lot of changes from the first draft to the final one. The story is still the same, but everything started to make sense to people. And I paid attentions to arrange the conversation, so that people know who is speaking, and what are the character modes, not to mention their reactions when they're talking. I've never paid such attention in my previous works.

I like the story when every character in the story got their reason and responsibility for what they are doing, and in this one, I have tried my best. And I've learned so much when I was writing this story. I hope people will love to read it.

Sopheap praises the government for the improved press rights and freedom of expression, but wants Ministry of Culture as well as Ministry of Information to ensure that all commercial TV ads should be properly monitored before going on air.

It's not the first time for the young human rights activist expressing her opinion through Op-Ed. But it was until last year when she joined Cambodia blogger community that all her letters (one of which is about Khmer Rouge tribunal), published in English-language daily newspaper The Cambodia Daily, can also be found on her personal Weblog.

In the controversial ads, it appears that several Cambodian sexy women in attractive clothes embracing promotional motorbike Suzuki Viva 2009.

I noticed a recent advertisement for Susuki Viva 2009 is problematic. This advertisement appears to target on sexy girls rather than on the Motor; its content is not consistent and affect the Khmer Culture and disvalue the woman.

Offending or not, Thomas Wanhoff, a German national commented on Sopheap's expressed opinion that:

If Cambodia wants to be part of the global markets, its has to accept one of the oldest rules in advertising: sex sells. But not only that: The whole pop culture in Cambodia is just a copy of what we now from Thailand. Where is the real culture? Look how especially girls are dressed up. Why are a lot of karaoke bars, casinos, night bars, named it. The reality is far from what you decribed not consistent.

This debatable point also appeared in a Cambodia related discussion board, and that a long-time American resident wrote an email saying that

I might suggest you try to get a picture of the offending ad - it doesn't have to be the worst part, or a good picture but it will support your argument. (I wonder if it is on YouTube?) Also, what station is running it?

Not surprisingly, Cambodia has introduced a number regulations and bans in attempt to improve social order as well as morality. Early this year, a song titled “I’m asking for one part of your heart” was requested not to be replayed on TV by the country's First Lady.

In 2006, fear of widespread of pornography among cellphone users, Cambodia blocked some features of sending digital video on 3G network service.

A year later, based on a request from National Election Committee, mobile phone text messaging was blocked during a weekend of 2007 local elections to avoid political unrest. ‘Details are Sketchy,' a blog about all things Cambodia, has a response to the news article:

For starters, Khmer fonts for the average telephone are virtually unheard of. But, really, that’s besides the point. The fact is, an overwhelming majority of the Cambodian population is illiterate. And poor. So in practice such a ban would only effect registered voters who also own a telephone and can read English. That’s a pretty small group. Significantly less than 1% of the population. It is, however, exactly the kind of people that vote for Sam Rainsy. Still, it hardly seems worth the effort.

Last year, Vireak began a weblog called ‘A Cambodian blog by a Khmer guy from Siem Reap!‘. In his very first post titles -'Got away with crimes!,' Vireak described how he encountered his old schoolmates and how he failed to recall their names. Vireak admitted that it is a crime against humanity. A confrontation happened at a wedding ceremony, a childhood friend first smiled at Vireak and told him that he has changed a lot. Vireak, however, couldn't recollect his name.

Like many young Cambodians, Vireak left his home town Siem Reap to look for better education in the largest and capital city of Cambodia, Phnom Penh. He studied Common Engineering at Institut de Technologie du Cambodge in Phnom Penh for two years, Vireak was awarded a scholarship to continue his education in Electrical & Electronics Engineering at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

In a crowd of some hundreds of bloggers here in Cambodia, where blogging is touted as a popular activity among the young people, Vireak has his own way of express about himself and his ideas. He doesn't see himself as a blogger, though he enjoys receiving comments from his friends and readers who regularly visit the weblog.

Here is my email interview with Vireak. He talked to me about his motivations for starting his blog and what he often writes about.

Q: Why do you have a blog?
- I thought it was cool. I started out with a personal flash non-interactive site back in 2003. Back then I found flash fascinating; so I thought “let's see how far I can go”. But I lost interest in flash about a year or so later. Then I saw what I could do with WordPress, I thought of giving another go. But it's not until 2006 when I finally got the right time and frame of mind to do so. Thus Vireak.net was born.

Q: What do you usually write about?
- I'm very selective of what I'm writing. I usually write about somethings that readers especially Khmer youth can relate to, somethings that are timeless without an expiry date tagged to them, where people can still find relevant without saying “hey, this thing is old crap”. So most of things I write are non-event based. You won't get to read what am I doing or where am I going over the weekend; you're more likely be reading what I've got in my head while digging my nose.

Q: For a couple of reasons, you don't consider yourself as a blogger. But what do you see yourself in the next several years when more Cambodians find blogging as a norm in their Internet activities?
- To be honest, I don't really care whether blogging will be a norm in Cambodia or not. I don't see myself writing online for too long.

Q: Do you encourage your friends to start blogging and/or keep blogging?
- Not really. It's not like I'll make their lives happier if I ask them to come online and start blogging or keep blogging. I'm not a believer in online life. To me, the happiest form of life exists off line.

Q: You hope that, with blog, you can maintain contact with friends and to make some new ones. How many new friends have you made so far? Can you pick one story as an example?
- I got to know quite a few although never get to see any of them yet. Can't pick a story and elaborate on that…:-p

Q: Lots of people say blogging is taking off in Cambodia. Do you think so?
- In one of early post of 2007 http://www.vireak.net/2007/01/05/2007-predictions/, I made a bold prediction that blogging bubble in Cambodia will burst in 2007. Like many things that become popular, it will soon fade off. I'll stick with my prediction. I don't know. My instinct told me so.

Q: What's your thought on blogging for Cambodians?
- It's like a khmer pop music to the ears. You get to like when it first comes out. Before long it gets old.

Q: Last May you began publishing your first episode of a fictional romantic story, ‘Operation Heart Hunter'. Can you tell our readers about it?
- What it comes to story involving romance and emotions, you can't just make it gel without putting your heart into it. So it wouldn't feel right if I myself am not a character of the story. That's why. Then again, I got asked whether the story is true…Sorry, can't tell you that.

Q: As an Arsenal fan here in Cambodia, what do you do to support the Gunners?
- Let's talk about Cesc baby
Let's talk about Van-Per-sie
Let's talk about Theo Walcott, Ade-bayor, Rosicky
Let's talk about Cesc
(to the tune of “Let's talk about Sex”)

Borin Ly - Cambodian blogger. Borin blogs at www.borin.ws

Borin uses his Internet-capable mobile phone with his laptop to get online. Borin joins hundreds of Cambodian bloggers on the Web to have his say and to discusses a range of issues - poverty, poor education, corporate social responsibility, food safety and the hight cost of telecoms.

Q: Why do you have a blog?
Borin: At first, my blog is not about Cambodia, it was about web hosting, design, and website promotion. The motivation is revenues from Google Adsense, of course. But after some failures, I shift my blog focus to talk about Cambodia. The motivations are to share knowledge, to express myself, and to exercise my freedom of expression.

Q: What do you write about?
Borin: Most of my blog posts are inspired by everyday experiences. For example, I write my recent post on food safety, because having breakfast with my mother, I started to look at the food and thought “Is it healthy?” then the problem of food safety came in to my mind. I’ve heard many complains from friends about chemical that are not suppose to be in food. Seeing my family, and friends consume those food everyday makes me sad, I have to say some things about it, my blog is a tool to say it out loud and clear. The second type of my post is, sharing knowledge, for example “how to download YouTube video”. Some of the posts are in my field of study: business and economics. Some of my post are responses to blog posts by others in Cambodian Blogosphere.

Q: Which blog software do you use? Why?
Borin: I use WordPress. The reason is availability of professional designed themes. I can download one of them, customize it for my own blog. Another reason is my current hosting account has a Fantastico feature that allow me to install & update WordPress easily. To make things easy, I also publish my posts using Microsoft Word 2007, which has a feature to publish a blog post directly from the program.

Q: How many hour online do you spend a day?
Borin: Well, I spend the average of 5 to 6 hours a day. To make it easy I use internet with 3G mobile phone. For blogging, spending time online is not as important as spending time writing contents.

Q: How do you find new blogs?
Borin: I find them by blogrolls in those blogs I’ve already known. Some of them are found by blog search engine such as Technorati, Google, and of course Global Voices Online, using keywords such as Cambodia, Phnom Penh…

Q: What is your advice for new Cambodian bloggers?
Borin: Here are my advices:
1) Write whenever you want. Do not care much about your English, as long as reader can understand that’s ok. Blog doesn’t have to be perfect. But also edit your writing before hit the publishing button.
2) Write even if there’s no reader. It takes time before reader come to your blog regularly.
3) Viewing writing is a kind of entertainment, not work. Enjoy it, writing will improve after a period of time.
4) Most new bloggers tend to focus more on website design, but the true success of blog comes from content. So spend more time on writing rather than designing.

Thousands of people - Internet users, IT professionals, computer enthusiasts and bloggers will gather at an event taking place at Raffles Hotel Le Royal, the premier hotel in the Cambodian capital on 19th and 20th May. In cooperation with Mobile Phone Magazine, Internet solution provider Manich Enterprise expects to host about 5000 attendees for an exhibition on all things Information Technology. The exhibition is called ‘Internet Party and this is the second time the event is being organised. The organizers are offering participants some exciting and entertaining sessions including an Internet Queen contest. Like previous year, vibrant Phnom Penhers are hoping to enjoy the social networking event.

In schools, talking about the latest mobile phone, fashion, or even car is a now a trend. The excitement is not because they are catching up with the rest of the world but they are glad to embrace and use what they can afford. Many Phnom Penh residents know too well that they were left behind some other nations in the region in terms of living a trendy life. However, after the rapid change in last couple of years, globalization and the nation's free market has made its effect felt, particularly among those who are living in the urban areas.

Some years earlier, doing business in IT sector was a challenge due to small consumer market and low demand etc. In 1997 when the Internet just arrived in Cambodia, sending a message cost $0.15 per kilobyte(about 150 characters of text). It cost a news reporter US$160 to receive an email with a 400K graphic file attachment from his friend at that time.

In early 2003, the Asia Foundation partnered with USAID and Microsoft and established a network of Community Information Centers in 22 provinces and municipalities across Cambodia. The Internet-enabled Information Centers across the country provided greater access to news and information for provincial citizens. And that led to the first-ever blogging training in some provinces of this small South East Asian nation.

A practice session after an Introduction to Blogging workshop at a computer lab of Pannasastra University of Cambodia. Image from Chantra's Flickr.

Following the first large-scale effort to bridge the digital divide through the establishment of Community Information Centres, on April 24, GTZ (the German Technical Cooperation) working in collaboration with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the German software firm net-Com AG and the Royal Government of Cambodia launched two Khmer-language web sites. The sites provide business information on Siem Reap, the country's most popular tourist destination and Battambang, the second-largest city of Cambodia. The sites also hope to offer local citizens useful information on the work and organisation of the district administration. Other offering is the One Window Service Office that includes services like fees, processing times, downloadable forms, etc. The site also serve as a source of information for local and foreign visitors and investors. Local businessmen can advertise on the site to increase visibility and to develop new clients.

Several key players are creating new markets with the support of government agencies. In April, Phnom Penh hosted the Digital & Electronics World Expo 2007. This event was supported by the Office of the Council of Ministers, Ministry of Posts and Telecommunication, Ministry of Commerce Phnom Penh, Municipality of Phnom Penh, and Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of Cambodia. The three-day event saw resellers, distributors, and dealers of big-names brads promoting their products to a large number of potential users.

Last year the country also saw the arrival of WiMAX, a broadband wireless service. Media Ring, a Singapore-based VoIP company, officially launched its Angkor Net ISP in Cambodia. Angkor Net is the first ISP in the country to offer WiMAX wireless broadband services. WIMAX allows the new-startup Internet Service Provider to offer broadband internet speeds without installing telecoms infrastructure.

In many Phnom Penh Internet cafés one can find foreign tourists behind flat screen monitors and sitting next to them are Cambodian university students spending half a dollar for an hour for the net access. The next big thing for many Phnom Penhers is probably accessing internet at home.

As part of its Information and Communication Technologies policy, the Cambodian government hopes to embrace and exploit ICTs to increase the quality of peoples' lives and also to fight poverty, disease and illiteracy in the country.

In 1979, at the largest Cambodian/Thai border refugee camp, Kao I Dang, Phatry was born to a well-to-do family, where he spent his early years before his family migrated to the United State via Philippines to escape from a prolonged nightmare. Phatry, at age 4, was raised, educated, and acquainted with American children as well as other Khmer refugee families growing up in a small town named Kelso before moving to Seattle, Washington, when he was 18. There, he learned Khmer from older neighbors, but couldn’t catch up easily. His father, once a businessman in agricultural productions, thought his young son rather learn English than Khmer. When he was a teenager his curiosity grew tremendously for his parents' native country, which his father seldom spoke about. In college, he began to learn the Khmer language, traditions, and history, in particular. Studying Cambodia as an American student, was probably the most fascinating thing for him, says Phatry. His family held one thing in common with other Cambodian-Americans: Cambodia is their history; the U.S. is their future.

In which Phatry journeys home
It took the Cambodian-born American two and a half decades before visiting his parents' home for the first time. Phatry believes his three-year residency in Cambodia will enable a first-hand understanding regarding his immediate ancestry rooted in a land known for its contradictory and tumultuous history of cultural glory and ethnic peacefulness until most recently, Pol Pot's violent genocidal chapter scarred and still shadows present-day Cambodians.

“I have waited for more than 25 years,” said Phatry, “Today, I will set foot for the first time on the soil of my parent's home province of Battambong.” In response to family, friends, and former girlfriends in the States, he claims that “…life in Cambodia has blessed me with the opportunity to travel more— to see the beauty and darkness that fills every corner of my country.” Staying in Cambodia by himself, even at his age, concerns Phatry's parents because he is the youngest son in the family of seven children. Not only is this his first time venturing into a foreign, post-war country— additionally, he has no living local relatives to ask for support, especially in emergency.

There was a time when his mother reminded him that “at night, locals will rob you because you're a foreigner.” But, in his reply to these worries, he says (in his online journal), “Yes, much of Cambodia is “lawless” but lawlessness, in my view, implies “anarchism.” Surely, not here in good ol' Phnom Penh. You can piss outside and you won't get whipped like Singaporeans or ticketed for indecent exposure like in the land of Uncle Sam.

When offering Khmer concern and advice, Phatry's mother is not alone. Commonly, local conversations include “don't talk to any girls there. Most of them are prostitutes and their only intent is to get you drunk so they can steal your money!”

‘Who am I?’
In his second trip to Siem Reap, gateway to ancient temples and the nation’s rich history, the young fellow is more than fascinated by century-old temples. “This second trip will not serve as my last to Angkor. Surely, I hope to visit again in the coming months. What I look forward most on my third trip is visiting a small temple that bears my name. Really, no joke. If my name is unique as it is, it was a pleasant surprise to make the discovery on the map. I wonder what the history behind Prasat [temple] Patri is. Does anyone know?” wrote Phatry. It may take him longer than three years to establish his very own identity.

In Kampong Speu province, Phatry standing with schoolchildren and university students, where the group of youth delivered books and pencils to the rural kids

Traditionalism in a trendy society
On one of several return trips from Cambodia, Phatry’s mother gave him a photo of a young, beautiful, Khmer woman, who lives in his mother’s home town Battambang. His mother, like most other Cambodian parents, still believes in a traditionally arranged marriage. For many decades, this ancient cultural norm has survived through generations and its practice continues with a large percentage of international Khmer business families, in spite of their living so far from home. He, however, like most contemporary educated youth, did not entirely accept his mother’s proposal. As a compromise, he promised to find a future daughter-in-law for his mother from Cambodia, but on his own. Although his mother was reluctant to accept this decision, she, too, is influenced by global modernity and 20 years' living in American society. In Cambodia even today, archaic tradition still often supersedes personal evolution, or contemporary social thoughts and beliefs. Khmer parents use economic dependence to enforce control over their children. Only educationally or financially liberated Southeast Asians can hope to escape parentally arranged marriages.

A revolution of self-destruction
When the Communist Khmer Rouge attempted to transform Cambodia into a purely agrarian society, or the largest rice field worldwide, the country was ironically re-named Democratic Kâmpuchéa (DK) to reflect a non-existent democratic regime. More than 2 million Khmer were tortured and enslaved at gunpoint. Many died from executions, sickness and starvation. Others were starved, beaten, raped, and separated from family members to labor 12 hours daily in the countryside, often aimlessly digging roads and ditches to nowhere, occassionally, their own graves. Unlike Hitler's Germany during 1939-1945, no organized concentration camps were equipped with gas chambers and mass ovens to erase the evidence of “ethnic cleansing” in Cambodia. Cambodia's genocide has been the only time in history when people actually killed millions of their same native kinsmen. There were no Jews to hate and discriminate against, but Cambodia’s largest native religion, Buddhism, was forbidden and replaced with mandatory adherence to the laws and dictum of an invisible, all-powerful, non-existent entity, named “Angkar.” Hundreds of thousands Cambodians fled to safety across borders into neighboring Thailand; while some survived in overcrowded, ill-equipped U.N. refugee camps, later to be re-settled globally, thousands were also executed at their border arrival, and some still (elderly and children alike who risked their lives staggering toward the dream of freedom in Thailand, under the cover of nightly darkness, in silence, for weeks) were hurled to their deaths at gunpoint off the Thai mountaintop cliffs. Others still, were forcibly returned to land occupied by Khmer Rouge soldiers to discover an alternate fate.

A bridge from America to Cambodia
The Khmer Rouge's genocide, not yet one generation old, created a river of tears with personal, economical, and cultural impact surpassing the magnitude of Mekong. The ripple-effect of unhealed war trauma still invisibly breeds within each new generation. During Phatry's wandering in Cambodia he will record what he recovers about the past and current social order and social disorder. On a charity trip to Prey Veng province, like all other days, Phatry jotted down thoughts and observations when a group of university students delivered books and pencils to rural schoolchildren. As Phatry's foundational perspective regarding his homeland evolves, he will return to the United States to pursue a four-year Juris Doctor program. A prolific writer, Phatry hopes his three-years' experiential work, will become the masterpiece that opens a magical window inviting younger generations of Khmer-Americans to understand Cambodia as their home country, rather than a tourist destination where they can enjoy cheap beer at nightclubs during school vacation.

Upon his JD graduation, Phatry plans to live in Cambodia permanently. He envisions himself architecturing long-term relationships between Khmer and Khmer-American. The war-torn nation's economy presently depends heavily on international aid, adding to its native agricultural industry, manufacturing and garment industries, and most recently; its new tourism industry. The country’s long term sustainability and growth will be vastly dependent upon its population, a generation of young Khmer, for human resources. This generational “human resource” engine could fuel more options for local and international commercial growth, especially if the same war-torn generation of overseas-born Khmer can connect. Together, though geographically diverse, Khmer youth could build educational and corporate resources, re-affirm cultural connections, and create unknown opportunities where none now exist. Perhaps in time, they could even mend one small seam, of the smallest broken heart torn apart a generation ago— thereby opening a floodgate of intergenerational healing.

After a few months of preparation, the workshop of Personal Information Technology has come to the stage. The first one was held at International University (IU) on Aug 21 with some 50 participants and the second was at Pannasastra University of Cambodia (PUC) with more than 400 students…

In August 2006, Mean Lux, the blogger advocate who introduced the term Clog and Clogger for Cambodia blog and Cambodia blogger, launched a workshop named Personal Information Technology to provide training that include several sessions such as: how to use email, browse the Web, and more importantly how to create and maintain blog. Up till now, more than 2000 university students participated in the organized workshops.

In the largest and most vibrant Cambodian city, Phnom Penh a large percent of people speak English and have access to computer and the Net at Internet café. The workshop organizers and their sponsor are optimistic that they can play an active role in conducting the workshops for participants from as many higher education institutions as possible. The blogging workshop has been made possible with technical assistance from one of the Internet Service Providers, CityLink. Besides providing the cost of producing training materials, the ISP also make the Internet connection available at every practice session.

Mean Lux, his four other blogger evangelists (Kalyan, Virak, Chantra and younger Kalyan) are able to run the workshop with the recognition and appreciation of university lecturers who reserve conference hall for over one hundred attendees as well as some computer desktops that connect to the CityLink’s internet link. At Build Bright University in Siem Reap, about 200 student attendees took the course.

Clogger, a term coined in 2004 that derives from “Cambodia blogger,” is now widely known to 2370 university students in Cambodia. Months before blog became popular in the country that year, an early Cambodian blogger began a series of training in some provinces, offering IT enthusiasts an introduction to use personal publishing tool to post opinions and ideas.

Presenter Kalyan gave her personal impression after a workshop in Cambodia's largest university that attracted 400 student:

Yesterday our workshop on Personal Information Technology was held at PUC, and beyond our expectation there were about more than 400 participants including the Deans and the lecturers. I was very nervous…

Automated publishing services like Blogger and WordPress are free for users from a commercial point of view. Personal presence on the Web is no longer for elites, academics and geeks. New voices of these Internet story tellers, thoughts and opinions are common and has become central point for conversations spurred by opinionated readers that begins dialogs. The interaction may not be real- time, but still, the two-way communication is another effective way of critical idea exchanges on a particular issue. With all these, suddenly, there are many more voices reporting information. While this explosion is bound to cause some confusion, it also means many more ideas, viewpoints, and opinions are available to the public. The result can only be a better-informed world, one where no centralized entity can control what others can learn.

Clog refers to a heavy shoe traditionally made of wood when talking about attire. This term also means something that works against somebody as an obstacle or hindrance. Metaphorically, what Camobdia blog aka Clog is about is hardly understood.

When the Internet arrived in Cambodia in 1996-97, several years after China and about two decades after the Internet was invented, a few Cambodians, working alongside the expatriates from international aid agencies, for the first time, experienced electronic mail, then a new revolutionary way of communication. And about a decade later it is heartening to see more Cambodians embrace these new high-tech services, one of which is blogging.

Image from Wikipedia article on King JayavarmanVII

In a series of interviews aired on Khmer Radio Free Asia, Keng Vannsak, now in his 80s, claimed the ancient king was “an utterly ruthless monarch; and that it was he who caused the downfall of the Khmer empire by building too many temples.” A young poet, who often quotes the literary works of the scholar, was astonishingly disappointed by the claims as he expresses that

“As a well-respected scholar, Mr. Vannsak should know which source is worth quoting or analyzing. In this case, however, he shows a complete disregard for academic standards. And it serves him nothing but to weaken his credibility.”

Yet, Thom Vanak believes the pro-French scholar's comment makes sense to him. Rather being silent, he sent a supportive letter to Radio Free Asia editor to keep broadcasting the interview even though it has outraged many and sparked criticism.

Dear Khmer RFA,
Professor Keng Vansak is well respected by majority of us here in Srok Khmer. His insightful research is well received everywhere. Please continue to have the interview session with the professor or otherwise we would be left with the annals of darkness in our Khmer history. Sincerely,
Thom Vanak
Svay Rieng

History has its shadow. Historians study past human activities by making attempt to answer historical questions through the study of written documents, although historical research is not limited merely to these sources. Scholars of ancient Khmer civilization have practically no written records to draw on significant parts of the king's life. However, in historical fiction titled the King's Last Song, Canadian-born author Geoff Ryman describes how the legendary Jayavarman VII (Victory Shield) united the nation and founded the great temples at Angkor. This is simply what Cambodians in this 21st century believe. In the novel, Jayavarman VII is perceived as the great civilizer, while Pol Pot as the great destroyer.

Blogger Sopheak felt both Radio Free Asia and Khmer-language academic should apologize the Khmer nation.

The rapidly changing cityscape of Cambodian capital city Phnom Penh, once under French colonial rule, attracted the attention of Sopheak. The local blogger, surprised by the new buildings springing up recently, posted his comment with a series of pictures.

The 24-year-old local blogger also talked about the issue of misspelling in Khmer language as he wrote with concern that:

Perhaps Harvard University in the United States is very much known to most Cambodians that there is a high school in Cambodia named after it. But for the blogger who posted a picture of the English and computer school is note sure why the name was chosen. The banner reads: Hard Word High School offers foreign languages class: English, Chinese, Thai, and Computer.

Wait … It’s not the prestigious Harvard University but it’s Hard Word High School. I really don’t know what they mean by naming it “Hard Word“. Photo is courtesy of Mungkol

Tom, a Cambodian computer programmer in the United States, is proud of his father. His father's book is titled ‘The life of a physician under the Khmer Rouge Regime'. Based in Missouri, the 26 years old Khmer-American hopes the book will be available in English and that the world will learn about the 1975-1979 genocide through their own eyes.

“This book, which was just published recently in Cambodia, was written by my father. As the title suggests, the book is about his surviving experience during the Khmer Rouge regime from 1975 to 1979 that killed almost 2 million Cambodians.
As a son, I am very proud of you and your work Pa. It makes me appreciate life more after reading about your hard life during those years. Thank you for this wonderful gift. I hope it will be published in English soon. I want the world to read it and see the Khmer Rouge regime through your eyes.”

Somongkol was so thrilled that he began his weblog post with the words “Dengue fever, an acute mosquito-borne tropical disease with a geographical spread similar to Malaria, rocked Pailin City Restaurant in Lowell, Massachussetts, tonight,”. Somongkol was reporting on the show of a Khmerican music band at a Khmer restaurant in Lowell, U.S.A.

The Cambodian Fulbright scholar talks a lot about his student life in the United States as well as Cambodia affair in the news.

“Somehow the charismatic force that holds this fantastic band together is a famous Cambodian singer, Chhom Nimol, whom the band recruited after scouring the scene in Long Beach , which is home to the largest Cambodian population outside Cambodia, for a front woman to interpret the Khmer-language songs that so compelled them.”

Reacting to the death sentence of infamous dictator Saddam Hussein, local blogger Vanak commented

The strongman dictator Saddam Hussein of Iraq was hanged. He was operating the country like he was running a mafia business. Corrupted to the core. The army was his. The police was his. The court and the law were his. His family, brothers, sons appointed in high government positions.

And do you want to know how Cambodian news reporters in newsroom of the Cambodia Daily - Cambodia's leading English newspaper take their lunch-break?
Juan Antonio Giner posted two pictures to tell the story.

His last email to his mother, Jo, on 24 October mentioned that he was looking forward to returning home in East Sussex. Eddie Gibson did not appear when his family went to meet him off the plane, which left Bangkok on 1 November.

After 2 years his mother is still desperate for news of her beloved son. “I think the answer lies with the Cambodians, and I still believe that somebody in that country knows what has happended to Eddie,” she wroted and post all relevant information on a web site dedicated to the mystery of the missing of the former Leeds University student.

His parents, Mike and Jo, have setup the site, Eddie Gibson Missing in Cambodia, to provide necessary information as part of their efforts in the search that involves local authorities, a private investigator, and UK police.

Posters of the missing UK national Eddie Gibson distributed in many parts of Cambodia. Picture originally posted by: Sopheak

Cambodian blogger Sopheak, who usually writes in Khmer, amplified the news:

Guy De Launey, BBC News correspondentwrote: Cambodia is becoming increasingly popular as a holiday destination for backpackers and gap-year students who are interested in the low cost of living that makes for a cheap long-term stay. Although Cambodia has been at peace for seven years, there are still hazards for visitors.

However, Saha, Cambodian-born blogger in the United States commented on the news of the mysterious disappearence of the young English fellow:

It is obvious the son fled his parents on his own free will. However, there might be some foul play, as Eddie was apparently involve in gambling. He may have owed someone lots of money. Even so, his parents are well off, and he had enough connections to escape. This leads me to believe that he “chose” to flee his parents. For whatever reason, he does not want to be discover. I feel sorry for his parents because it is difficult when your child disappear without a good reason.

In Cambodia, for every three boys, only one girl attends secondary school. In most parent's minds, for some reasons, this discrepancy in thinking exists because families consider education of a boy to be more economically rewarding. They think that over-education of a girl can be a handicap to her marriage prospects, and that the liability of a girl getting abducted while commuting to secondary school is great. Many cannot afford to keep their daughters in school, and as cultural gender biases favor the education of boys over girls, many young girls in Cambodia drop out of school after grade 6.

“Nowadays, younger generations have access to a better lifestyle. There are more opportunities for them in areas such as education as more scholarships are being offered. However, I can see only a few of them realise this and are trying hard to grab these opportunities,” said young graduate Keo Kalyan.

However, with the success of more women, in particular many graduates from abroad, a turning point is about to happen. They are not going to change the old tradition, but to shape it for this new millennium.

At age 22, Keo Kalyan is a trend-setter. Born in Kandal, a province that shares border with Phnom Penh, she moved to the Cambodian capital city with her parents, where she was raised and schooled. Kalyan now lives a more fashionable life than those living in rural areas. Like the vast majority of Cambodians, Kalyan is friendly and wears a smile - not something one would expect from citizens of a country recovering from decades of war and conflict.

A new generation of Cambodia: Keo Kalyan

Unilke most young women of her age who are at home doing housework, Kalyan, both studies and works hard to fill her hunger of knowledge and experience. She holds two Bachelor degrees, one in Business Administration from National University of Management, and the other in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) from Institute of Foreign in Language. Currently, the determined graduate works as a teacher of English at a private language school, and is actively involved in several social work projects, one of which is advocating young people to realize open communication using the available basic digital technology: blogging. The need of dialogues between people is vital to the development of the nation although debate is still something new to this country.

“By having this blog, I can share my daily activities and thoughts with my friends and with other people around the world.”

As an admirer of Angelina Jolie, an American film actress and a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency, Kalyan, also known by her nick name Vanilla, knows what she can contribute to her home country that was torn apart by several decades of armed conflict. Believing that her home country should be more active in diplomatic relations on the international stage, she is thrilled to be part of the early stage of rebuilding.

Having recently passed a preliminary test for the Fulbright scholarship, Kalyan hopes to set off for the United States to major in a public administration masters degree.

I talked to Kalyan, asked her some questions to get more insights about her life, her Fulbright scholarship as well as her views on young people.

ThaRum: Would you please tell me more about yourself?
Kalyan: I was born in Ta Khmao, Kandal province; but I grew up and started school in Phnom Penh. My father works at the Ministry of Education, Youths and Sports and my mother is a seller. I am the only daughter and also the youngest one in the family as I have two elder brothers.

I finished high school in 2001, and at the same year I passed a scholarship to study BBA, majoring in Accounting, at the National University of Management (NUM). In 2002, I started another degree, B.Ed, majoring in TEFL, at Institute of Foreign Languages (IFL). In 2004, I was selected as one of the four Cambodian fellows to join the SIF-ASEAN Students Fellowship in Singapore for 20 weeks. During that time, I was also taking some Accounting courses at Singapore Management University (SMU). Two weeks upon my return from Singapore, I flew to Australia for an exchange study under the Peace Scholarship Trust, initiated by IDP Australia. I spent 2 semesters studying at University of Tasmania (UTAS) in Hobart, Tasmania. Recently, I have just graduated from IFL and NUM.

Beside academic study, I have also been very active in participating in a number of extracurricular activities, community services and voluntary work. I am one of the founders of the Volunteers Without Borders (VWB), established by the Cambodian Alumni of the Fellowship in Singapore. I am also a member of the Australian Alumni Association (AAA) in Cambodia. Currently, I am also a teacher at New World Institute (NWI).

ThaRum: Recently you have passed Fulbright scholarship’s preliminary exam, what have you done to prepare yourself for this?
Kalyan: To get a scholarship, it is important that your academic background, particularly your study records, must be outstanding. I have always been one of the top students since primary school. When I was little, I would always have an ambition to pass the scholarship to study abroad - the US, the UK or Australia. Thus, I told myself to study hard and paved my own way to get to my ambition. I knew that the first step was to enhance my English proficiency and accuracy. Then, beside strong academic background and English, I also had to broaden my general knowledge and being active in participating in any extra-curricular activities in schools and in any community services or voluntary work in the community. And finally and foremostly is to improve my personalities and communicational skills. To get the scholarship you need to be interviewed and during the interview, personality is one of the crucial criteria in judgment.

ThaRum: Any thoughts and advices for younger Cambodians to prepare for such a significant advancement?
Kalyan: As mentioned in the previous question, academic background is very important because they will ask for a submission of your transcripts. Thus, if you aim to get a scholarship, as I have already mentioned, you need to study hard and be an outstanding student. Also, it is important to start early! I mean shape your path to your aim very early. You need to know what you want and then try to find ways how to achieve what you want. Draw a milestone for your future.

Beside strong academic background, you need to be very active in helping the community by participating any extra-curricular activities or voluntary work in the community. This also helps build your communicational skills and personality, especially in teamwork.

One more thing is that you need to be knowledgeable in various issues in the world. Being an outstanding student, it doesn’t mean that you should only focus on one issue that is your major or specialization without caring to know other issues associated with or even not associated with. It is important to broaden your general knowledge, especially about the outside world and more importantly widen your network.

ThaRum: What is your opinion about the younger generation of Cambodia?
Kalyan: Nowadays, young generation can access to better lifestyles, in particular there are more opportunities for them such as better education and more scholarships being offered. However, I can see only a few of them realise are trying hard to grab these opportunities. On the other hand, most of them are being too much entertained by the pop cultures and pay less attention to school work. I have observed so far that the quality of education among the young generation has significantly decreased. However, I am still optimistic that the future is not going to be worse. I believe that those young people are very bright, creative and enthusiastic. They have more access to new technologies, better health care and resources. I hope that one day they will change their attitudes and realise the opportunities they can grab for their future.

ThaRum: Coming to blogging, you started to blog back in March 2005, why did you start having your own weblog?
Kalyan: At first I was introduced to weblog by my friends in Singapore, and that was back in 2004. However, at the time I was not very interested in blogging as I was at the time also designing my own website using frontpage and flash media with the help from my senior in Singapore. Besides, I was busy with the fellowship program. However, when I was in Australia, I was getting a bit bored, so I usually went online and browsed through this and that. I came across a few nice blogs of Cambodian students overseas, so I got interested and also my website was not hosted yet as I couldn’t find any free web hosting for my website. By finding out that blog is just like a website and it’s very easy to post and upload pic, so I decided to give it a try. Since then, I forget bout my website and I have developed my blog and it’s been very popular. ;-)

By having this blog, I can share my daily activities and thoughts with my friends and with other people around the world.