Sorry, got to go...I've a plane to catch

Talk about rushing around like a headless chicken...why is it that when you want a quiet few days with hardly any e-mails, that everyone and their dog wants to ask you a question...normally I wouldn't mind, but I'm supposed to be packing for a month away in Cambodia! Not to worry, I travel pretty light, so I'll do it just before I leave!
Okay, so unless I get the chance to blog in an internet cafe in Phnom Penh or Siem Reap, you may not hear from me for the next month. I leave tomorrow at 6am and get into Phnom Penh at 9.05 on Friday morning. You might catch me in Phnom Penh, Battambang, Siem Reap, Kompong Thom or up north in Preah Vihear province and then back to Phnom Penh before I return home on 7 February. If you do see me, say hello.

Safe travels everyone.

Redfern on show

Photographer Jerry Redfern will open up two exhibitions of his photographs at the Popil Photo Gallery, located on Street 19 in Phnom Penh next month. I urge you to visit whilst you're in town. The gallery was opened in October 2005 and exhibits local and foreign photographers on a permanent and temporary basis. US-born Jerry, and his wife, writer Karen J Coates form a great team and have collaborated on pretty much anything and everything in Cambodia, the tsunami in Phuket and Khao Lak, human-elephant conflict in Sri Lanka, Hmong loggers in Vietnam, unexploded US bombs in Laos that continue to kill villagers today, and much more. They also joined forces for the book, Cambodia Now: Life in the Wake of War, one of the best books I read last year. However, its Jerry's work that will be on show, with an exhibition opening on 9 February entitled Tuamada - It's normal, which focuses on Cambodian kids at work and he follows that up with a slideshow on 16-18 February, An Eternal Harvest: Unexploded Bombs in Laos. Read more about this dynamic partnership at redcoates.net.

Boeing fly the flag in Cambodia

Some great news for The Cambodian Children’s Advocacy Foundation (CCAF), who've just secured a $45,000 grant from the world's leading aerospace company and the largest manufacturer of commercial jetliners and military aircraft, Boeing, to help out with their on-going project to implement a Day Care Center/Early Childhood Education, School Integration and Community Development Programs in Banteay Meas, in Kampot province. CCAF is a grass-roots Khmer NGO established last 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. You can find out more about CCAF here.

The story of cartoonist Bun Heang Ung

The following story appeared in The Sydney Morning Herald in Australia on July 20, 1985:

Life under the Vietnamese-occupied Cambodia: The story of Cambodian Cartoonist Bunheang Ung

by Peter White

A set of Vietnamese buck teeth brought a Kampuchean illustrator and cartoonist, Bunheang Ung, within a hair's breadth of arrest and "political re-education". Bun, who escaped from Kampuchea in 1979, now lives in Australia and works for a film animation company. In 1979, after surviving the terror and slaughter of the Pol Pot regime, he was working in the Ministry of Information in Phnom Penh. Like all areas of government, the ministry was controlled by the Vietnamese forces and Bun had been given the task of drawing cartoons for animated propaganda films lauding the benevolence of Vietnam in liberating Kampuchea from the Khmer Rouge. Before Pol Pot's victory in 1975, Bun had worked for 5 years as a political cartoonist for a leading independent Phnom Penh newspaper. With a typical cartoonist's liking for humorous exaggeration and caricature, he had developed a style of drawing Vietnamese with rabbit-like front teeth. Unfortunately, Bun was unable to suppress this tendency when drawing for the propaganda films of his communist masters. He was accused of deliberately poking fun at the Vietnamese. His job, according to his Vietnamese masters, was to show smiling Vietnamese soldiers helping Kampuchean peasants. They claimed Bun was secretly in sympathy with the prohibited policies of the former regime and was trying to stir up nationalist sentiment against the Vietnamese. The charges were serious and Bun's fellow workers were assembled to criticise Bun's work. Imprisonment and deportation to a re-education camp seemed inevitable.

The story of Bun's struggle to survive against the odds is a remarkable one. It is one in which his profession sometimes brought him close to death but at other times was his salvation. Bun was born into a prosperous middle class family. From a young age he wanted to become an artist, hot art bad little status among the Kampuchean middle class. When he entered the Phnom Penh school of fine arts it was against a chorus of complaints from relatives who felt he should be pursuing a career in law, medicine or engineering. That rebellious decision was to be Bun's salvation. When Pol Pot's forces burst into Phnom Penh in 1975, Bun fled with his family into the countryside. He threw away his pen and paper and worked in the rice paddies to provide enough food to keep the family alive. But no-one was safe. The Khmer Rouge began a systematic persecution of the former professional classes who were held to represent the decadent bourgeois values which had no place in Pol Pot's new Kampuchea. Doctors, engineers and lawyers were tracked down and executed. As a former fine arts student, a career usually followed by the poor and lower classes. Bun escaped suspicion. "When I started fine arts, my uncles blamed my father for allowing it. They said I should follow a proper career. But when Pol Pot came, they were always being chased by the Khmer Rouge; their lives were always under threat. I'm sure that if I had become a doctor or an engineer as they wanted that I would never have survived," he said. And while it was Bun's art work that angered the Vietnamese, it was also his artistic skills which enabled him to escape. After the incident over the buck teeth, he did his best to placate his outraged Vietnamese bosses. "I said, 'Yes I am terribly sorry for drawing like that'. I said that it was because there must be something wrong with my brain, that all my suffering under the Khmer Rouge must have damaged my brain and that was why I drew the Vietnamese like that," he said. But he knew that his days were numbered and so turned his artistic skills to forging official travel papers which would enable him to travel freely into the countryside. His copy was a good one and he and his family arrived safely in a town near the Thai border. From there it was only a short Journey to the safety of a Thai refugee camp and then, six months later, settlement in Australia. Now Bun has co-operated with the former Australian Indo-China correspondent Martin Stuart-Fox to write and illustrate a personal account of his experiences under Pol Pol and the Vietnamese in a recently published book called The Murderous Revolution.

You can read more about Bun Heang Ung here. You can also see his handiwork, focused on yours truly, here.

Cambodia - here I come!

Like a runaway train, my next trip to Cambodia will be here before I know it. I catch my flight on Thursday of next week (11th January) and will be walking through the doors of Pochentong Airport into the heat and humidity of Phnom Penh the next morning. So its been a tad busy at my end in the last week or so, hence my tardiness in posting blog articles. My sincere apologies to my readers.

In addition to prepping for my forthcoming trip, I've had an exam at work (I thought I finished my last exam during my O-level's some thirty years ago!) and there's also another topic that's been taking up most of my free time...though for the moment I'll keep that one under my hat. I'll announce it when I get back from Cambodia in early February.

In the meantime, I'll post a couple of topics, including a newspaper report from 1985 that popped up on the Sacrava Toons blog today, all about the exceptional cartoonist Bun Heang Ung, a friend of mine who lives in Australia and produces biting satirical political cartoons about the current situation in Cambodia. Bun also produced the animated banner at the top of my personal website with a visual of me on a moto in Cambodia. I still owe him a cheque!!! Seriously, I love it. There's a chance he might come to London in February - I'd love to finally meet him in person. We've emailed many times and I penned this webpage about him, a couple of years ago. Click here. The book he wrote of his experiences under the Khmer Rouge is a dramatic read and has a wealth of his cartoons in it, so make sure you get a copy if you can.

Doug comes to the rescue

I was really pleased to see an article on the newswires yesterday which highlighted the efforts of one man to almost single-handedly drag the Cambodian fire-fighting department into the 21st century. That sounds a bit dramatic but Doug Mendel has done more than most to equip the Sihanoukville fire department with up to date equipment including a fire-truck no less! You can read about his incredible efforts here. Doug is a former fire-fighter himself, lived in Colorado until recently and captures most of the funds for his work through the Douglas Mendel Cambodian Relief Fund, which you can visit at www.dougmendel.com. The donated fire-truck arrived in Cambodia in April last year after Doug raised $18,000 to pay for the freight and insurance costs. He's now managed eleven trips to his favourite part of the world after his first trip back in 1997, and his next trip is in April, no doubt brimming with as many supplies as any one man can carry. This year he hopes to raise $20,000 so he can have water tenders built for two remote fire stations and his aim is to build a fire station from scratch in the most needy location. And when he's not doing his bit for safety, he helps out with funds and toys for two projects in Sihanoukville, the Starfish Project and M'Lop Tapang, who both give support to the seaside resort's poor and needy. I've been in touch with Doug via e-mail over the last few months and I know how committed he is to his personal mission - Doug I salute you.

Classic Cambodia comes to London

The Lakhaon Khaol classical male masked dance, Weyreap's Battle, performed by members of the Amrita Performing Arts company will come to London in March 2007. Originally revived and produced with funding from the Embassy of the United States in Phnom Penh in February 2004, this production has toured to Bangkok and the 2005 Melbourne Festival In Australia and will be featured at the 2007 Barbican Bite Festival with performances on March 30, 31 and April 1 in London, at The Barbican, one of the most prestigious theatres in England. Amrita Performing Arts is an international performing arts production company based in Cambodia. Derived from the Sanskrit word meaning 'eternity', Amrita works to promote and sustain the revival and preservation of all forms of traditional Cambodian performing arts. Find out more here. The ANZ Bank in Phnom Penh is the first corporate sponsor for Amrita Performances. Their generous contribution will help Amrita mount three weekends of performances at the Chenla Theatre in the Cambodian capital featuring various forms of dance and theater in January 2007. I'm in Phnom Penh myself in January, so I hope to catch one of the shows.

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One exhibition that I will definitely visit when I get into town on 12 January are the Auguste Rodin drawings at the National Museum in Phnom Penh. The exhibition opened last week and contains 40 (out of 150) of the sculptor/artist's most famous drawings, which he completed in 1906 after being captivated by the Royal Ballet dancers of King Sisowath, who were visiting France at that time. The French government are sponsoring the exhibition (which will run through til 11 February) to celebrate the 100th anniversary of King Sisowath’s visit, and to house the fragile works on paper, a wing of the National Museum has been renovated and a room with temperature and humidity controls room constructed. The Rodin exhibition will be some compensation for about 100 of the best pieces at the museum that are currently out of the country and on display in Bonn, Germany. However, their absence has allowed another 100 items to be taken from the museum's storeroom for a rare display. Every cloud has a silver lining.

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If you haven't yet heard of a documentary film by Socheata Poeuv called New Year Baby, I'm sure you will, very soon. The film's world premiere took place on 25 November in Amsterdam at the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), the most prestigious documentary film festival in the world. An audience of over 200 viewed the film and gave Socheata (pictured left) a standing ovation at the end. In addition, it received the Amnesty International - 'Movies That Matter' Human Rights award - the highest international human rights honor the film can win. The jury named New Year Baby a tour de force with universal appeal. Its success has seen other screenings in the Netherlands and Amnesty have expressed interest in supporting the film for more international screenings. You can read all about the film here. And I urge you to get out and see the film when it comes to your neighbourhood.

Reggae-Ska explosion

Gabbidon vocalists, Leonie Smith (Left) & Indigo

Birmingham's Jam House was the place to be last night for any self-respecting reggae, ska or two-tone fan with a superb show by regular house-band Gabbidon, led by Steel Pulse's founder Basil Gabbidon, alongwith special guests Ranking Roger and Neville Staple. The place was buzzin' with a large crowd and with a selection of music that you just had to dance to, the dancefloor was packed solid. Gabbidon played a host of reggae revival favourites in the 50-minute first half of the show, kicking off with Rise Up and following that with Respect For Jah, 54-46 Was My Number, Bad Man, Love & Affection, My Boy Lollipop and Could You Be Loved amongst others before vocalist Indigo took the lead for her excellent rendition of Walk On By. Next up was her vocal partner Leonie Smith with Police & Thieves before Lee Alexander finished the first half with Wear You To The Ball and Mister Bojangles. Gabbidon are a tight unit with talented musicians like Paul Beckford on bass, Colin Gabbidon on drums and band leader Basil on lead guitar and vocals. They also carry a brass section that includes Alvin Davis that adds that little bit extra to each live performance, alongwith the vocals that are shared amongst four gifted singers.

For the second fifty minute show, Gabbidon returned to support the two main guests of the evening. First up was Ranking Roger who went straight into Tears Of A Clown, and supported by Leonie and Indigo, carried on into a medley of The Beat classics, Hands Off - She's Mine, Ranking Full Stop and Mirror In The Bathroom. Roger handed the mic over to former Specials' frontman Neville Staple, who despite a car accident a few days earlier, gave his normal storming performance with Simmer Down, Do Nothing and Message To You Rudi. The two good friends returned for a joint effort of Enjoy Yourself, leaving the stage to loud applause, before Gabbidon closed the show with Love & Affection and Longshot - Kick The Bucket. Another night of great entertainment to keep the winter chill from the audience's bones. Roll on the next one.

Cry No More deliver the goods

Last night Cry No More did what they do every Christmas and gave a fantastic performance for their vociferous fans at the Turks Head in Twickenham. They never fail to deliver and despite Roy Hill's constant threat that this was their final reunion gig of all time, watch out for another sometime in the first quarter of 2007. My gig review is below but the photos will take a few days. In the meantime, here's one of Chas Cronk (left) and Roy Hill at their Dec 2005 reunion. To read about their previous gigs, click here. I recommend you get along to their next appearance - you never know it could be their last!

Review: Turkey, mince pies, chestnuts roasting on an open fire, the final Cry No More reunion gig of all time – each a Christmas tradition that we know and love and the 2006 version of the latter left no-one disappointed. The Cry No More formula for success is straightforward – excellent musicianship, a cupboard full of quirky, catchy songs, enough ad-libbing to fill Santa’s sack, guaranteed audience participation, all meshed together with the wit and repartee of Roy Hill and his fellow minstrel Chas Cronk. It doesn’t get much better than this, and all for a tenner, at The Turks Head in Twickenham.

So what did we get for our money? The first of the two sets was an hour long, consisting of ten kosher songs, half a dozen recognisable ad-libs, a Bob Dylan impersonation and a rousing version of Falling to take us into the break. Roy kicked off with his nefarious Sheep adventures and swept into his back-catalogue with Piccadilly Lights, recalling his solo days of the late ‘70s. Stories of Roy’s childhood and a letters section served as a breather between the rest of the musical gems on offer including one of my personal favourites, Don’t Leave Me Here, a slow version of Boy and that stirring rendition of Falling. The set-list (ad-libs in brackets): (Sheep/Tinkerbell); Piccadilly Lights; (Diggidy Dog); Keep Away From Me; (childhood/Bob Dylan); Just Too Late; Jenny Takes A First Look At Life; Don’t Leave Me Here; Man Overboard; (letters); Taller of The Two; Boy; Every Single Time; Falling.

The Turks Head crowd, old hands at these reunion events, really got into full voice for the second half of the show. Barber Jim began the set with Roy relying on the audience for the words to the first song, On Holiday. They followed it up with FASHION and a sackful of other CNM choice cuts with Steve Whalley joining them on stage for George’s Bar. Templar and Wooden Heart brought the gig to a close and the crowd to its feet – aside from those that were already dancing – before Roy & Chas returned for an encore of the Robin Song and I Like I Like I Like – a total playing time of 2 hours 20 minutes. Fantastic entertainment, and well worth the 200+ mile round trip. The set-list: (Barber Jim); On Holiday; FASHION; Trashy Doll; I Love Roxy; Cry No More; Lying In A Strangers Bed; (signed by EMI); Sleep; Forgotten Now; More; First Kiss; Caveman Rock; George’s Bar; (Life in Hollywood); Sixties Baby; Oh Sharon!, Templar, Wooden Heart. Encore: (Robin Song), I Like I Like I Like.

There’s talk of another get together in March or April 2007 to plug a DVD release and also some long-awaited Roy Hill solo gigs and CD releases from his extensive back-catalogue. Watch this space.

Heritage Watch calendar & more

The folks at Heritage Watch, based in Phnom Penh, know a good lensman when they see one. How's that...'cause they've employed the services of a pal of mine, Garrie Maguire from Australia, as one of the two photographers for their brand new 2007 calendar. It'll showcase the Angkorean temples through beautiful black and white photographs, taken by Garrie and German photographer Doris Boettcher. Both have photographed extensively in Southeast Asia, and have exhibited their work both in Cambodia and overseas. I've previously highlighted the important role that Heritage Watch are playing in doing their utmost to save Cambodia’s cultural legacy and other plans in the pipeline include the following; at the ancient temple complex of Koh Ker, they aim to start an innovative project combining preservation with sustainable tourism development. Also, HW will further its educational efforts with If The Stones Could Speak, a storybook promoting heritage preservation that will be a key part of a planned youth education program. You can read more about their efforts here. And you can take a look at Garrie's photography here, where I found this photo taken in the FCC a few years ago, of Garrie (left) and yours truly, regaling each other with our temple adventures!

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A 35-minute documentary film dealing with the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge regime has been shown in Phnom Penh and is due to go on tour around the country early next year. The film, Wanting To See The Truth ('Chang Kheun Pit' in Khmer) includes interviews with Cambodians who describe the forced labour, starvation and mass killings under Pol Pot's rule. But it also shows footage of young Cambodians who do not believe stories of the atrocities of the late 1970s.The period is not taught in schools, and the film's producer, Tara Urs, plans to screen it around the country to boost awareness particularly amongst the younger population. Throughout the film older Cambodians describe the horrors of life under the Khmer Rouge, when up to two million died because of the regime's brutality. The camera then pans to giggling teenagers who declare that they do not believe a word of what their relatives have just said. Wanting To See The Truth was produced by the Open Society Justice Initiative in collaboration with award-winning filmmakers Rob Fruchtman and Lex Fletcher, and the Khmer Institute for Democracy. The film is intended for a Cambodian audience as an outreach tool.

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A new book just published, Building Cambodia - New Khmer Architecture 1953-1970 by Helen Grant Ross and Darryl Collins, describes the flowering of Khmer architectural genius - namely, the New Khmer Architecture that emerged in Phnom Penh amid the heady national pride that followed Cambodia's independence from France in 1953. The book documents the tragically short-lived style that resulted in a spate of striking buildings until its demise amid civil war and genocide not two decades later. Taking seven years of research to complete, and packed with rare photographs and illustrations, the 334-page hardback pays tribute to this remarkable cultural interlude and focuses on the work of people like Vann Molyvann who designed such significant landmarks at the Independence Monument, the Council of Ministers and the Chakdomukh theatre, amongst many others. You can see some of his work here.