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Friday, December 31, 2010

Migrant Labor: Cambodia's Daughters to Malaysia - Part 3

Pich Samnang and Brian Calvert, VOA Khmer
Friday, 31 December 2010

Sal, who lost her parents and went to Malaysia to support her uncle and siblings, was raped by her employer there.



She tells of electric shocks and being drugged and abused for a year before she returned to Prey Veng province in southeastern Cambodia. Her aunt says she is ruined for life.

Migrant Labor: Cambodia's Daughters to Malaysia - Part 2

Pich Samnang and Brian Calvert, VOA Khmer
Friday, 31 December 2010

Sokhea, who is 17 and still in high school, convinced her illiterate mother to sign the paperwork that would fake her age and allow her to go to Malaysia.


She got as far as the Phnom Penh recruiting center before prison-like conditions and the warnings of another village girl convinced her to flee and return home to Preah Vihear province in northern Cambodia.

Migrant Labor: Cambodia's Daughters to Malaysia - Part 1

Pich Samnang and Brian Calvert, VOA Khmer
Friday, 31 December 2010

Champei begged her mother to let her go, but when she arrived in Malaysia, she was mistreated from the beginning.



She ate poorly, had boiling water poured on her hands and wound up in a psychiatric hospital before she returned to Cambodia. She is now traumatized, her parents devastated.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Few Protections for Migrant Workers: Expert

Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer
Thursday, 30 December 2010 

From left to right: Ya Na Wuth, Ngem Kim Hoy, and An Bun Hak.
Migrant workers abroad who face abuse from their employers have little recourse, a safety advocate said Monday.

“Who should a victim complain against, the company or her employer there?” said Ya Navuth, executive director of Caram Cambodia, as a guest on “Hello VOA.”

Seven Thais, Including MP, Charged for Illegal Entry

Pich Samnang and Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer 
Thursday, 30 December 2010

A Thai parliamentarian and six supporters were charged with illegal entry and ill-intent in Phnom Penh court on Thursday, after they were arrested Wednesday near the northern border.



VOA Khmer's Chun Sakada reports from Phnom Penh with footage from VOA Khmer's Pich Samnang, APTN and Reuters.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Rural Daughters Risk Abuse to Earn Money in Malaysia

Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer
Saturday, 18 December 2010 

Sokhea is making a fire to cook rice.
Every day after school, Puoet Sokhea comes home to a ramshackle hut in Rovieng district, Preah Vihear province, and begins her daily chores. She stokes the fire, washes pots and pans, sets the rice to boil.

She has nine brothers and sisters, her parents and an aging grandmother—and few opportunities to help support them.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Economists See Boon for Agriculture in 2011

Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer
Wednesday, 15 December 2010

Local Cambodian villagers plant rice in a farm field during the rainy season in Prakar village.
While other sectors took major hits in the 2008 economic crisis, agriculture gained the attention of many economists as it helped prop up the country’s flagging economy. That could lead to a shift in focus toward more agriculture, economists here say.

“I think it did create a certain awareness among a lot of policy makers,” Peter Brimble, chief economist for the Asian Development Bank, told VOA Khmer.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Remorse, as Fiancée Succumbs to Bridge Injuries

Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer
Thursday, 09 December 2010

Res Marina was taken to a private hospital that night, along with hundreds of others.
Res Marina had dreamed of getting married next year. That dream was buried with her on Saturday.

The 23-year-old Cham woman died of internal injuries at Calmette hospital, where she had been since the Nov. 22 bridge stampede, becoming the 353rd victim. Nearly 90 others remain in the hospital.

Government Held 7th Day Ceremony for Victims of Diamond Bridge Tragedy

Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer
Thursday, 09 December 2010

The Cambodian government held a seventh day Buddhist ceremony Nov 29 for victims of the Water Festival stampede at the site of the tragedy, Diamond bridge.

More than 350 people died the week before as revelers attempted to depart an island at the conclusion of a three-day national festival in Phnom Penh.

 Deputy Prime Minister Yim Chhayly and Pung Khieu Se, primary developer of Koh Pich
island, declined to answer questions posed by a VOK Khmer reporter.

The government announced that no officials would be held accountable for the deadly incident. "Samdech (Prime Minister Hun Sen) already made comment on this issue. It is not necessary," Yim Chhayly said. Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer, reported from Phnom Penh.