Vansy - a credit to her family

Nearly three years ago I met Vansy at a children's party. She was kicking lumps out of the boys and me in a game of football and did it with a beaming smile and a wicked laugh. She won me over immediately. I've subsequently caught up with Vansy and her family on my last two visits to Cambodia and she's growing up to be a daughter to be proud of. Her family live in a typical wooden home on stilts and even regular schooling for a few hours each day isn't guaranteed. Nevertheless, like so many schoolchildren of her age, she's determined to learn English and is making good progress judging by our conversation in January. I've just received some recent photos of Vansy - the value of mobile phone technology shouldn't be understated - and I'm looking forward to a stint in front of her school-class on my next visit to Cambodia. To find out more about Vansy, click here.

Putsata Reang - journalist, author & teacher

Putsata Reang (pictured), journalist and author, was born in Cambodia thirty years ago and has now returned to the country of her birth to help train investigative reporters of the future in Phnom Penh, having received much acclaim for her own book, Deadly Secrets: From High School to High Crime, published in 2001. Born in Ream, Cambodia, she escaped with her family in 1975 and was raised in Corvallis, Oregon, where she worked for several newspapers, including the Seattle Times, the Spokesman Review (Spokane, WA), the Oregonian (Portland, Oregon) and the San Jose Mercury News. As a reporter she covered the crime, the investigation, the trial, and it's aftermath of a series of brutal murders by two high school dropouts which she illuminated in her book, Deadly Secrets.

She returned to Cambodia in February 2005 on a journalism fellowship through the Alicia Patterson Foundation to write a series of stories on land issues (namely land grabbing). Now living in Phnom Penh, Putsata is currently working as the resident advisor for the Internews Network, which has implemented a series of journalism training activities for Khmer-language print journalists and editors. The project’s core focus has been on strengthening the ability of Cambodian journalists to pursue in-depth, balanced, investigative reporting and her work, which began in November 2005, is soon coming to an end. She and her assistant advisor Moeun Chhean Nariddh have worked closely with a dozen journalists, providing guidance as they select story ideas, formulate and carry out work plans and write and publish investigative stories. Its all designed to raise the standard amongst the top journalists working in Cambodia today and to utilise the experience and expertise of a successful writer like Putsata. After the program ends, she'll be heading home for a holiday and to resume her own career as a journalist.

Cambodia on TV

Last night on Channel 4 television in the UK, the Alive series brought us the story of Chris Moon, the British de-miner who was captured by the Khmer Rouge in 1993 and lived to tell the tale, in Kidnapped in the Killing Fields. It was a dramatised reconstruction with Moon himself providing most of the commentary. As the credits rolled at the end, I saw that my pals Kulikar Sotho, as the programme's Fixer, and Nick Ray were involved in supporting the filming in Cambodia, which they tell me took place in July 2005 and lasted about two weeks. The location for the filming was the village of Tahan on Phnom Kulen, which was used to replicate the Khmer Rouge stronghold that Moon and his interpreter and driver were taken to and held captive for three days. My blog post on Chris Moon contains more information about the programme.

Kulikar (pictured) and Nick, who include the films Tomb Raider and Two Brothers amongst their feature film successes in Cambodia, and a host of other documentary and television credits, also have a few other current tv projects in the offing. Filming has recently ended for a BBC Horizon drama on bird flu, they're working on a programme based around war tourism which will include Cambodia and Vietnam, The Lost World of Albert Kahn is based on his majestic photographic collection that includes both countries, whilst 1,000 Places to See Before You Die will feature both Phnom Penh and Angkor. When they're not involved in making these programmes happen, they're responsible for leading tour groups for their own company Hanuman Tourism and Nick also finds time to write the odd guidebook or six, as editor of the Lonely Planet, and others. You can read more about Nick Ray here. Meanwhile Kulikar has other strings to her bow, one of which I'll tell you about in the next day or two.

Even more music

Continuing the music theme, I watched a small part of the Birmingham ArtsFest last night, in Centenary Square, and particularly enjoyed the drumming from Handsworth's Dhol Blasters, the excellent guitar work of Slowburner's Mike Bannister and an acoustic set from Gabbidon. The latter was my main reason for attending this year's event, which regrettably doesn't include ReggaeRockz, though I'm reliably informed that part of ArtsFest will return in 2007. The set from Gabbidon contained six songs including Satta Massagana, Respect For Jah and Exodus, with Basil Gabbidon and Faisal on guitars, Colin on conga drum and Leonie Smith (pictured) and Sonia on backing vocals. Much later in the evening, at the after-show party at The Drum, Gabbidon re-appeared after a nice reggae set from Rockstone and the Y2K band. Joining the acoustic line-up was Paul Beckford on bass with Gabbidon belting out the same set as earlier in the evening but with a real reggae-rock kick. Don't forget that Gabbidon will be appearing at the Jam House in Birmingham on Wednesday 27 September - its well worth making the effort to get along and enjoy this top-notch band. And you can read more about Leonie Smith here.

More music

Yaz Alexander and The Tribunes paid a fitting tribute to the memory of Mikey Powell in last night's 3rd Anniversary Event at the Rainbow in Digbeth, Birmingham. Mikey Powell died in police custody in 2003 and his family and friends ensured that last night's event turned into a night of celebration of his life alongside the launch of a new CD from the makers of the film Injustice, featuring tracks by both artists and many more. Yaz had the crowd on their feet with another typically powerful vocal performance of tracks including This World, Freedom and I. To read more about the Mikey Powell Campaign for Justice, click here.


Tomorrow night, Gabbidon will take the stage in Birmingham City Centre as part of the city's annual ArtsFest, at 9.30pm. The band is the brainchild of ace guitarist Basil Gabbidon (pictured), who has been a leading light in the city's music circles for the last thirty years, having co-founded reggae legends Steel Pulse and had success with his own bands, including Bassdance. Basil plays a key role in the ArtsFest, having lured his old companions, Steel Pulse, back to play an open-air gig at last year's ReggaeRockz event. Gabbidon also have two future gigs lined-up at The Jam House in St Paul's Square, Birmingham on Wednesday 27 September and again on Wednesday, 29 November. I recommend you get along and enjoy their absorbing mix of reggae, ska and rock.

Another date to note in your diaries is Sunday 19 November when reggae singer-songwriter Jean Mclean, backed by the Memphis band, will take centre-stage at the Ipanema Bar in Broad Street, Birmingham, singing her own material as well as a tribute to Dennis Brown. Find out more about Jean Mclean here.

Odds and sods

A few hours ago I finally got to watch the feature film, Fateless, a Hungarian production focusing on the life of a young Jew who was forced to endure life in the concentration camps of Auschwitz and Buchenwald. I was expecting a real tear-jerker, especially as it was accompanied by the haunting melodies of the greatest film composer on the planet, Ennio Morricone - and there's no-one else alive who can bring tears to my eyes just by listening to their music. However, I was surprised by a film that is very much understated and low-key and which chooses to tell its story without sensationalism and whilst it is beautifully filmed, it doesn't strike to the heart as much as I'd normally expect from a holocaust movie. Nevertheless, well worth watching. To read more about the film, click here.

A few dates for your musical diary: Yaz Alexander is performing later tonight (7 September) at the Rainbow, Digbeth, Birmingham, start at 8pm as part of the 3rd Anniversary Event in memory of Mikey Powell who died in police custody. A new CD from the makers of the film Injustice will be launched at the event, featuring music, spoken word and poetry, and will include Yaz's This World track. Yaz has some other gigs lined up including a session at the Ipanema Bar in Broad Street, Birmingham on Sunday, 17 September, and an appearance at the African Heritage Arts Day in Birmingham City Centre on Saturday 21 October.

This coming Saturday (9 September), Birmingham's finest reggae sons, Steel Pulse, will be meeting and greeting the public as they take part in the grand re-opening of the Handsworth Public Library at 2pm. The day begins at 10am and continues until 4.30pm including various workshops for all ages. Handsworth is the district where the band members went to school and grew up. Saturday also sees the annual Birmingham Arts Festival and later that evening, at around 9.30pm, Gabbidon will take to the stage in Centenary Square with their fusion of reggae, rock and ska.

Making A Difference - Hanuman & Camcaf

Two organisations that have recently taken up the challenge to make a real difference to the underprivileged and impoverished in Cambodia are my old friends at Hanuman Tourism and The Cambodian Children’s Advocacy Foundation. Hanuman, already well-established as a top provider of tourism services in Cambodia, have now set up a charitable body called The Hanuman Foundation to support grass-roots anti-poverty programmes in the more remote areas that their tours visit. They plan to concentrate on the fundamentals first, providing access to cleaner water for communities by drilling wells and supplying water filters, providing protection against life-threatening diseases such as malaria through the provision of mosquito nets and improving the quality of materials in remote local schools. They will focus on communities in Preah Vihear and Siem Reap provinces initially, as well as initiatives to assist the disadvantaged ethnic minorities of the northeast, including the Pnong people of Mondulkiri and the Jarai of Ratanakiri. Hanuman also plan to work with a selected group of NGOs and have chosen a combination of causes to ensure they assist in areas such as healthcare, education, child welfare, landmine clearance, heritage preservation and the promotion of arts and culture, working with their partners to make tourism a force for positive change in Cambodia. To find out more about Hanuman's plans, click here.

Meanwhile, The Cambodian Children’s Advocacy Foundation (CCAF) is a grass-roots Khmer NGO established earlier this year by Hing Channarith, a former Country Director of Veterans International for the past decade. The primary mission of the CCAF is to support the children of single mothers in the areas of schooling and education, intervention and the prevention of child labor and trafficking. In addition, the nutrition and health of these children must be improved and skills developed to enable mothers and their children to generate an income for their families. The same support will also be given to children with disabilities. Early successes have included the provision of water sanitation and mushroom-growing projects. The pilot target area is currently the Banteay Meas district and in Kampot province. You can find out more about CCAF here.

Images of the Gods

Vittorio Roveda's latest publication, Images of the Gods, is an impressively comprehensive undertaking which presents the author's own meticulous research into the meaning and messages of the vast array of Khmer motifs and myths portrayed in the temples of Cambodia, Thailand and Laos. On lintels, pediments, statues and in bas-relief, the lives and legends of Hindu gods, adopted and transformed from Indian sources and Buddhist themes, come to life. And in this encyclopedic tome, Roveda examines those themes in rich detail.

An expert commentary of the Hindu myths is presented in sections on Vishnu, Krishna, the Mahabharata, Rama and Shiva. The lives of lesser gods and deities like Brahma, Ganesha, Garuda, Indra, Rahu, Yama and Hanuman are explained. The majority of reliefs illustrate mythological and religious narratives, some dealing with real life events such as battle scenes and royal processions, others show scenes of daily life and tapestry reliefs with floral motifs and figures. Decorative elements on lintels, walls, pilasters and door-frames include apsaras and devatas, dvarapalas, kalas and makaras and free-standing sculpture such as nagas and lion guardians. In addition, the Buddhist legends reveal sacred text from the Jatakas and the life of Buddha, as well as the cult of Lokeshvara, most famously celebrated at Banteay Chhmar and other temples built by Jayavarman VII.

In the second part of the book, this incredible array of visual narratives are described and illustrated as they appear at over 100 Khmer temples at different locations throughout Cambodia, Thailand and Laos. In each section of the book, Roveda includes numerous photographic examples to accompany his descriptions and to enable readers to identify the myths for themselves. In fact, no less than 2,400 colour images are included in the text and on a supplemental DVD. River Books of Bangkok published the book earlier this year, it has 544 pages, and is an essential companion for anyone with more than a passing interest in Khmer mythology and symbolism.

Roveda is currently collaborating with Dawn Rooney on a guidebook to the temples of Cambodia, that'll cover both Angkor and beyond, a book that will benefit from both authors' insatiable love and respect for Khmer history. For more on Vittorio Roveda, click here.

O'Reilly examines early Cambodia

A new publication called Early Civilizations of Southeast Asia will be released in November and will contain an analysis of the prehistoric societies and events that shaped the Southeast Asia region in ancient times. Its written by HeritageWatch Director Dougald O'Reilly and is to be published by AltaMira Press. The book examines the proto-historical cultures of Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia and Vietnam. O'Reilly's interest in this subject began while he was earning his doctorate from New Zealand's University of Otago, where he focused his dissertation on the Bronze and Iron Ages in Thailand. As a UNESCO lecturer at the Royal University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh - and later as Director of Heritage Watch - he has continued this study by excavating major Iron Age sites in Cambodia such as Phum Snay and Wat Jas. Over the next three years, O'Reilly (pictured) will further investigate this era in Cambodian history with the University of Sydney. Regrettably, such research grows more difficult by the day as Bronze and Iron Age sites are being looted and destroyed at an unprecedented rate throughout Southeast Asia - a fact highlighted by HeritageWatch at their website.

Sage - supporting kids in Siem Reap

Brit Andy Booth lives in Italy with his family and like so many before and after him, fell in love with Cambodia on his first visit. He was so impressed with the professionalism of his guide on that trip that he joined forces with Siem Reap-based guide Phalla Chan, to form Sage Insights, a travel company with a difference. They pride themselves on providing a quality service tailor-made for their customers, whilst giving half of their profits to the Sage Foundation, a charitable trust focusing on providing education for orphans, street kids and children from the poorest families. You can read more about Sage Insights here. Taking time out from visiting his parents nearby, I spent this afternoon with Andy at the Gloucester versus Bath rugby match where the talk was all about Cambodia rather than the rugby.