New Film Exhibit Gives Khmer Rouge a Voice

Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer
Monday, 28 February 2011

An unidentified former soldier looks on near the once Khmer Rouge-stronghold border town of Pailin. The video installation, co-produced by filmmakers Thomas Webner Carlsen and Jan Krogsgard, runs 43 hours in total and examines the lives of the former so

Low-ranking Khmer Rouge cadre, 30 in all, will have their say and then some in a massive video installation opening this week in Phnom Penh. The “Voices of the Khmer Rouge” exhibit contains 30 lengthy interviews with former Khmer Rouge now living in pockets along the Thai border, as men and women aged 38 to 70 give their reasons for joining the movement. And staying with it.

Rice Experts See Better Prospects in New Seeds

Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer
Friday, 25 February 2011

With more than 2.7 million hectares of cultivatable land, agriculture experts hope new methods and seeds can help the country reach a goal of 1 million tons of annual rice export by 2015.

For five years now, Yin Narong has used a new method to plant rice. Instead of planting from the seeds of the previous year’s harvest, he buys new seeds from a local company. The difference, he said in an interview, has been a boost in yield of 200 kilograms of rice each harvest on one-fifth a hectare. “Now with pure seeds we get up to 900 kilograms,” the 52-year-old farmer in Phnom Penh’s Dangkor district said.

Social Media Here More Social Than Political: Researcher

Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer
Friday, 25 February 2011

VOA Khmer on Facebook currently has more than 5000 fans.

Cambodia’s low number of Internet users make a social-media fueled revolution here unlikely, an Internet researcher says. Cambodia’s more than 200,000 Facebook users mostly use the website to connect with friends and maintain professional social networks, said Saray Samadee, who recently co-authored a report for the Cambodia Communication review.

In Northern Preah Vihear, Lao Is a Way of Life

Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer
Saturday, 19 February 2011

Kampong Sra Lao II consists of four villages with more than 380 families, nearly 2,000 people living along the Mekong.

In a remote corner of Preah Vihear province, an identity shift is under way. Here on the border, where the Mekong river spills over rocky falls from Laos into Cambodia, a younger generation is increasingly adopting a Lao way of life. “Their parents only speak Lao with them,” said Neang Phann, an eldery villager in Kampong Sra Lao II commune, in Chaep district. “Some parents aren’t even able to speak Khmer.”

Companies Asked ‘To Curb’ Critical Websites

Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer
Friday, 18 February 2011

Cambodians surf the Internet at a coffee shop in Phnom Penh.

Internet service providers have received an e-mail from an official at the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications reminding them to “take action” against several anti-government websites. The e-mail, a copy of which was obtained by VOA Khmer on Thursday, is a follow-up to a Feb. 10 meeting between the ministry and service provider representatives.

Cambodians Flee Fighting Near Border Temple, Face Food, Shelter Shortages

Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer
Wednesday, 09 February 2011

Cambodian civilians who fled the fighting between Cambodian and Thai armies near Preah Vihear Temple are facing displaced shortage of food and shelter. VOA Khmer's Pich Samnang reports from Siem Reap.

Thai-Cambodian Clash Requires Intervention

Pich Samnang and Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer
Tuesday, 08 February 2011

The fighting on the Thai/Cambodian border is the most serious conflict ever seen between two Asean countries. VOA Khmer's Pich Samnang and Men Kimseng report.