Webbed Feet, Web Log

Bulldozers, Start Your Engines

Jan 14th, 2009 by Jinja

Some pictures from last year: breakdancing at the community center, 7NG company representatives watching the event.

Note the prominently placed picture of the Prime Minister. Residents maintain that they are defending land that was given to them by the current administration, and defending it on their behalf against private interests.

A flurry of text messages today: apparently Kung Nei and another musician have taken settlement options offered by developers. With these high-profile residents out of Dey Krahom, moving out the other residents can begin in earnest – some say as soon as tonight. Stay tuned.

http://cambodia.ka-set.info/powers/news-dey-krohom-red-lands-dey-krohom-land-conflict-7ng-evictions-resettlement-phnom-penh-090113.html

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2009011423622/National-news/Green-light-to-evict-Dey-Krahorm-residents-city-officials-developer.html

Postscript: Wednesday ten families relocated in an offer, village representatives say 152 families remain, the municipality maintains 91 families officially remain. (PP Post, Thursday 15 January).

Tags: cambodia,evictions,khmer,society

Posted in current events, music, news, Photo Wednesday, urbanization | 2 Comments »

Endings and Beginnings – Cambodia Style

Jan 13th, 2009 by Jinja

The last few weeks have been a busy time.

In addition to the first (of three) New Year celebrations, we saw gifted artist Svay Ken pass away.

Svay Ken was aware his days were short, and requested his family and friends come visit him. In local Buddhist thinking, passing away should ideally be a peaceful time as the spirit prepares for rebirth into another incarnation. For a life that has seen so much change and turmoil, I’m pleased he left the stage in the manner he felt was appropriate. (Below: a very shaky video of the end of the funeral.)

The firecrackers were a little startling, signifying the start of the cremation process and the end of the funeral rituals. I like the idea of celebrating the life that’s past (as in a wake) and heck, when my time comes, I wouldn’t mind some fireworks.

Also during this time Monika and Yeng have been gearing up for their wedding, which they celebrated this last Sunday. It was a great party, mixing the best elements of east and west. The happy couple is now off for a few weeks of honeymooning and catching up with relatives.

(Cheers to Kylie and Phill for the great photo!)
Tags: cambodia,buddhism,khmer,funeral,wedding,

Posted in current events, more stuff, Other Goodies, photography | No Comments »

Bloggies 2009 – Vote Cambodia!

Jan 9th, 2009 by Jinja

Well, in addition to the Weblog Awards currently being voted on, we also have the 2009 Bloggies Nomination opening up.

Off the top of my head, I’ve nominated a stack of Cambodians or Cambodia related blogs – just a handful here:

http://www.tharum.info (Best Photo Blog)

http://www.andybrouwer.co.uk/blog/ (Best Asian Blog)

http://detailsaresketchy.wordpress.com (Best Gossip Blog)

Beth Kanter (Best Computer weblog) (for NPtech tips)

http://camblogdia.blogspot.com/ (Best Topical Weblog)

http://akina.com.au (Best Fashion Blog)

http://whisper-from-heart.blogspot.com (Best Writing)

Cambodia Alumni Elizabeth Briel (Best Photo Blog), Phil Lees / Last Appetite (Best Food Blog), Kalabird (Best Kept Secret) …

There were many more, I should have saved my notes! I nominated pretty much everyone I read regularly for every category that would fit, scrolling through my feed reader. The deadline is Monday.
http://2009.bloggies.com

Tags: cambodia,news,blog

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Happy ‘Victory Over the Genocidal Regime’ Day

Jan 7th, 2009 by Jinja

Today is a government/bank holiday which has an interesting history.
http://everydaysaholiday.org/2008/01/07/victory-over-the-genocidal-regime-day/

In 1979 Khmer and Vietnamese forces claimed victory in seizing back a large chunk of Cambodia from the Khmer Rouge. The following ten years saw a strong Vietnamese presence in Cambodia, and a protracted war against the Khmer Rouge and allied factions.

Some see January 7 as rather positive, others mark it as the beginning of a client-state dependency on Vietnam.

Above is the Cambodia-Vietnam Friendship monument. Its chunky socialist realism style is so massive that it survived a dousing with gasoline and damage by protesters in 1998.

Despite a wide range of opinions, I haven’t seen anyone turn down a vacation day in protest.
Andy Brouwer notes a huge celebration at Olympic Stadium – broadcast early this morning. This evening, fireworks.

Tags: cambodia,vietnam,khmer

Posted in current events, history, news, Photo Wednesday, visual art | No Comments »