Explosions next to PHARE Art School
Was saddened yesterday to recieve an email from Sylvain Mozie, who has taught comics and kamishibai at PHARE Art School in Battambang. An ammunition warehouse near the school exploded.
PHARE is one of the few truly independent art schools in Cambodia, independently supported, equivalent to USA concept of a ‘magnet’ school for the performing and visual arts. They also house numerous social programs including those in support of abused children.
I've been fortunate enough to see the comics workshops at the school, and visited Battambang just two weeks ago to discuss some art workshops. It’s a bit of a shock to hear that a program so dynamic can be affected so quickly. I will leave it to others to philosophize about the legacy of war in Cambodia; for now PHARE needs immediate and practical help.
Sources from PHARE indicate that damage to the school totals about $5000, while damage to the nearby community is much higher, about $15,000. PHARE will be coordinating benefits in the service of both the school and the community.
Watch this space: http://jinja.apsara.org/phare
- J
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Cambodia Ammo Warehouse Blast Kills 6
By Associated Press
March 30, 2005, 11:02 PM EST
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- A military weapons depot exploded in northwestern Cambodia early Thursday, killing at least six people and triggering an
hours-long spray of shells and bullets, officials said.
The explosions erupted around 2:30 a.m. about a mile outside the town of Battambang, said Pen Rithy, a provincial deputy police chief.
At least six people died in the blasts, he said, adding that the victims included three villagers who lived near the warehouse. Details about the
three other victims were not immediately available.
Cambodia's co-minister of defense, Tea Banh, said officials were investigating the cause of the blast.The warehouse held a variety of ammunition, including mortars and heavy artillery shells, used during Cambodia's civil war, Pen Rithy said.
He said blasts of heavy weaponry lasted several hours but sporadic explosions of small ammunition used for rifles and machine guns were still
being heard after sunrise.
"Some heavy ammunition flew away and was reported to have landed about 12 miles from the warehouse," he said.Kry Chamroeun, who works at a provincial television station, said the explosion was so powerful that it broke glass windows at many houses in the nearby provincial town.
He said his television station, located about a quarter-mile from the warehouse, had been hit by stray ammunition, and that its roof and antenna
have been damaged. "Last night people were fleeing the town in panic, like when the Khmer Rouge came to power" Kry Chamroeun said, referring to the genocidal regime that ruled Cambodia from 1975-79.
Battambang province was on the front line of conflict during Cambodia's civil war with the Khmer Rouge insurgency. The province is located 155
miles northwest of the capital Phnom Penh.[End]
Dear friends of Phare Ponleu Selpak (PPS),
At war times, the Battambang province was heavily bombed and last night events remembered this war to all the people here who already suffered so much from it.
An ammunition Depot on military ground located near our village, less than one kilometre away, started a fire last night. Explosions lasted for 4 hours, four very long hours with one especially intense hour of continuous blasts. Children living on our ground where immediately moved to our administrator house in downtown Battambang, and happily they all made it safely.
Victim’s figures are still to be estimated, as a lot of the nearest villager houses that where located closer to the site where totally burned down. We do know that PPS-helped families went away from the dangerous area shortly after the first explosions. PPS staff spent the whole night trying to reunite families that were separated during their escape. On this side of things, the morning proved successful, with no one close to PPS missing – Staff, staff families, beneficiaries, all the people that use to be working with us or that we use to help trough our various programs are safe by now.
Now for the material damage. While the most important thing certainly is that nobody around PPS was harm, and some uncertainties survive on the destiny of individuals living in the village without being known to us, several buildings on our compound where severely damaged. Rooftops from the Circus school, public school and art school are totally or partially destroyed, ceiling from our offices and toilets fell down damaging the computers. At the time of writing “’we need to secure the rooftops before the rainy season comes”, a heavy rain started, which is probably right now spoiling our pedagogic materials even further. We where caught in a cold, and sure all of us are trying to protect and shelter what they can, but we lack essentials so much. The circus school especially took so many years to achieve its current level of performance. It could be a financial disaster as well, as Circus performances represents a highly significative part of the gross income for PPS.
We are estimating an approximate budget of 5.000usd of damage to the buildings, a figure that should be refined trough a serious entrepreneur opinion, but this is only for the buildings damage; we still have to go through the loss in materials (computer, circus equipment, classroom’s furniture…)
While the young children are still away (the area is still presumed at risk), PPS is sheltering three families that cannot return to their homes, as a safety zone has been established that encloses their homes. The risk still going on is some concern from the military authorities that even more explosive stockpiled in the basement may still explode. There are actually 49 families who totally lost their housings. These families need support to rebuilt their houses and face elementary needs.
Overseas friends can help by sending money to
Comite de Jumelage de la ville de Torcy
Pour Battambang
Jean-Pierre Ossorio
36 rue du jeu de paume
77200 TORCY
Or, for those of you living in Cambodia, straight to us, at :
Phare Ponleu Selpak Income
Canadia Bank LTD. / Battambang Branch / Compte Numéro 04 00 306 001372
Phare Ponleu Selpak will keep you updated with the actual use of your money in total trensparency. Please state if you intent this money to be spent on emergency issues for the villager or to contribute to the rebuild of Phare damaged properties (rooftops, school expenditures, etc…)
On behalf of all the people here at Phare Ponleu Selpak,
Jean-Christophe Sidoit.
Mobile: 012 482 005
jcsid@free.fr
Should you need any more information on Phare or an update on the actual situation in our village, please feel free to contact:
Jean-Philippe Monteiro,
(Phare representative in Phnom Penh)
Mobile: 012 561 005
Jean-Philippe.Monteiro@Freebel.net
. . .
