Women on the rise

Not a global matter per say but still relevant to the country we live in and to empowering women. Not only has Hilary announced her plans to run for president but Carly Fiorina has announced her plans to run as well! Amazing, who would have thought that one day two women would be running for the position of highest power in our country. Not only does it give confidence to other women to reach for their goals but it is a step in the equality for men and women. AND even better is my father likes her and that is saying something (;

http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/04/politics/carly-fiorina-presidential-announcement/

Child solider

Last night my boyfriend and I watched the movie "Machine Gun Preacher" starring Gerald Butler. The movie is actually based on a true story of Sam Childers. Childers once a gang banger biker drug addict turned preacher started to help defend the children of Africa that were affected by the civil war. This movie was very powerful because the war in Africa is not something that is taught in schools. The most common things that people hear about Africa is how poverty stricken and disease filled it is. But people rarely hear about the destruction of families over there. And many do not understand that the violence is perpetrated by children who are kidnapped and have seen their families murdered. They are purely acting on survival instincts.

If you would like to watch this movie it is on Netflix.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_Gun_Preacher

Hunters anyone?

Hunter boots are the rage in a typical girl wardrobe. However, I don't think many people know that Hunter boots originated from England and are called Wellies. Over here in the PNW the boots are a convenient fashion accessory, they make rainboots finally look good and god knows we need them here in WA the rainy state. But in England the boot means so much more. The boot is a symbol for charity in England of a lifeguard organization that has saved many lives. If I never had looked into what was going on in England I never would have known that the boots I wear almost everyday in the winter mean more than I would have guessed. It reminds me of the show company of TOMS whose proceeds go to help children in Africa.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-32582118

Side Tracking

Now I know that I had focused more than 50 percent of my blog posts on the news in Cambodia. And I still have interest in the area; however, I have decided to change it up a bit and blog about something new. I will be leaving for study abroad in the summer (leaving in two weeks so exciting!) so I wanted to do a little research about the area and blog about it! recently as you may know the Princess just had a baby! The new baby was born not very long ago and I am wondering if the new arrival will have an influence on my trip while I am over there. It is interesting to me how people came become so obsessed with the birth of new royalty. Maybe I will try and sneak into the royal place and see the new bundle of joy. It will be very interesting to see the dynamics surrounding the new baby while I am over there and I will have to make notes!
http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/03/europe/new-british-princess-meets-relatives/

A come back

This article that I found gives me hope! After the devastating genocide that Cambodia had to face it was questioned whether or not they would ever be able to bounce back. This article talks about the growth of a group of Cambodian students who are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to freely study whatever they want without persecution. This growth that can be seen in their youth can be paralleled with Apartide. Their stories remind me the education opportunities that arose in Africa. This also is a creative way for the youth to express their personal feelings about what happened in Cambodia and how it affected them as individuals.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/f4a77476-b2c6-11e4-a058-00144feab7de.html#axzz3YoxsZxRt

Australia and Cambodia

Cambodia is a country that is already full of its own problems, it does not need to take on anymore from outside sources. But that is not stopping Australia from trying to settle a business deal with Cambodia to send their refugees to Cambodia. This is not a good idea because Cambodia still struggles with violence within their own country, making it an unsafe place to send people who are, shocker, looking for safety. However, Cambodia would be receiving a huge profit from this deal through development help from Australia. Australia is misrepresenting life in Cambodia and glorifying it to the potential refugees moving there. The poor people do not know or understand what they are getting into and are fast tracking their asylum status to make the move happen quicker. I still am not sure why Australia is so adamant about sending these people to Cambodia. It is interesting that so many things are happening in this country that may people do not even about because no one cares to educate themselves on what is happening here. After visiting here, it forever changed my life. I really had a chance to understand just how good of a life I actually have and how much people take for granted.

http://www.hrw.org/news/2015/04/29/australia-stop-transfers-cambodia

Domestic Violence in Combodia

In another one of my English classes, I am creating lesson plans for a unit on domestic violence. I chose this topic because of the booming social media responses to the Ray Rice incident. A part of my curriculum is that I want there to be global perspective. I want my students to be able to critically analyse DV globally and see how it either compares or contrasts different countries in the world. Thus, expanding their own cultural awareness in the hopes that they will feel some sort of connection to people all over the world. I found this book (link show below) that details domestic violence in Cambodia. A different form of DV however because it talks about the relationship with the citizens of Cambodia with the government, but this only adds to what our definition of Domestic and Violence is. Overall the goal of the unit would be to make DV into a global issue rather than just something that is happening within our own borders. 

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4373.First_They_Killed_My_Father

Sex in Cambodia

Something that goes unnoticed in Cambodia is all the poor under aged girls who are working in brothels. Women in general have very little rights in Cambodia and with their bodies but young girls have it even worse. They get into this cycle where they are constantly being sold and owing money. There seems to be no end for these girls, no escape. Because they start at such age they miss out on the opportunity to earn an education. Their own family members will sell them to brothels because they are so desperate for money. This human trafficking is a problem in so many countries. When I was in Cambodia I would have mothers come up to me all the time asking me to buy their baby from them because they wanted them to have a better life. That is heart breaking. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJzI1_jX5RI

The Dam

So the Prime Minster of Cambodia has delayed the building of the Dam till 2018. When I was there talk about a dam was happening and it seemed to be pretty divided on whether or not the dam should be built. It was basically if you had fallen victim to the brain washing of the PM you were all for the dam and if you were against him and his ruling over Cambodia you were against the building of the dam. I thought it was interesting because this article talks about how the PM deported a man from another country who was protesting against the dam. I thought this was interesting because it made me think that the PM was abusing his power (yet again) and was taking away from his people the right to know both sides of every story. He did not want his people to have a different opinion than him or any motivation to act upon it because that would threaten his security of power. It made me wonder if there are things like that that happen here in the US that we just never hear about.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/cambodia-deports-outspoken-spanish-activist-29176590

The Floating Village

Now this is a travel page that talks about the floating villages in Siem Reap, Cambodia. And quite frankly it makes me very angry. I went to the floating village of Chong Kneas. Yes it is a scam and actually my family was given fake change back that we later found out at a restaurant. But the reason why this travel page upsets me so much is because it could deter anyone from going to see that village. I believe that people need to see that part of the village because it houses some of the poorest people in the world. The other villages which are beautiful and nice and plush will not show you culture, or show you the reality of the countries despair which news flash is a government that would rather scam its citizens out of money than help them. You need to see that the children their are suffering. You need to see that the government is making profits off of its citizens poverty. But sure go to the other villages and only see what you want to see because real life is too hard for you.

http://tripleacambodia.com/siem-reap-floating-villages-what-to-expect-and-why-choose-to-go-to-kompong-khleang/#.VO5LV_nF8uc

Help for Cambodia

Cambodia is considered to be one of the poorest countries in the world and often referred to as a recovery land. I am thankful that the Heifer program has started in Cambodia. Because for some time the only support that the country was receiving from social media was from Angelina Jolie. After she visited the country she feel in love with its people (as I did) and started adopting children from their and providing them with charity. This program sheds light onto the struggles of poverty in Cambodia and gives them a way to start a life. When I was there I saw first hand just how hard these families and parents work to put their child's through school because they see how education can change ones life. Just like in many of the books/short stories we are reading (Nervous Conditions) education is something that is very important and a lot of the times taken for granted. Many people in the U.S today do not think "I want to go to school because at least while I am there the Khmer rouge will not kill me or my family".

Join the hashtags, join the movement

#JOINTHECONVERSATION 

http://www.heifer.org/ending-hunger/our-work/asia-south-pacific/cambodia.html

WIT#HEIFER

The Sentences

The two oldest remaining leaders of the Khmer rouge have finally been sentenced to life in prison for their crimes against humanity...30 years later. However their punishment will never be sufficient enough for the crimes they committed. The title of this article is so appropriate because the Khmer rouge, even though they have lost almost all of their power, still holds fear over the people in Cambodia. I especially liked that this article provided a bit of back ground information of what it was like to live in Cambodia at that time. Just like in many of the books we are reading in class, and the debate about language oppression by edited standard English, the Cambodians were forced to give up their traditional way of life and live how the Khmer rouge say fit. This ethnic cleansing almost led to the complete extinction of an entire culture. It reminded me a lot of Things Fall Apart when the "Albinos" came into the African villages about wanted to convert everyone to Christianity.




http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/08/07/why-the-world-should-not-forget-khmer-rouge-and-the-killing-fields-of-cambodia/

Dith Pran

This video is the last interview of a Cambodian named Dith Pran who was a journalist in Cambodia who was captured by the Khmer Rouge and held hostage in the killing fields. The Cambodian genocide is something that is not talked about. Before I went to Cambodia and saw for myself the evidence I would never have known that this was something that took place. I saw brick houses filled with bones of innocent people killed by the Khmer rouge. I saw the fear in peoples eyes and more importantly I saw the genuine compassion that those people had for all of human life. They worried for us American's being in Cambodia because they feared the Khmer rouge would harm us. Even though these people had been through so much they still had compassion for my family and I because we are all people. I commend Dith for his dedication to voicing what happened to him and his people.


http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/multimedia/20080320_DITH_PRAN_LAST_WORD_FEATURE/#section1

Cambodia and Domestic Violence

My senior year of high school my dad who is a Commanding Officer 05 in the U.S Navy was stationed in Singapore (South East Asia). While he was stationed there I went and spent the summer traveling south east Asia with him. We went to Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia and Cambodia. I am not sure why but out of all those places, culturally, Cambodia was the area that touched my heart the most. My eyes were opened to what real poverty is, and what real fear of your life is. Because the Khmer Rouge is still present in Cambodia. So when I stumbled upon this article about women I immediately wanted to write a blog about it.

DV against women is becoming a popular campaign in the United States so it was cool to see how the same topic translates into other countries and the similarities or differences within the same genre. I also liked the fact that in a country that is so poverty stricken with an abusive government (according to our tour guide Lee) that even though this system or law is flawed because it is only considered violence if they shed blood, but that SOMETHING was happening. it is a start at least in some sort of direction.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jinamoore/cambodia-domestic-violence#.qaOLKn5xWp