Cambodian seniors growing a little taste of home

By Greg Mellen, Staff Writer

Phannakka Sou churns the soil on a plant in the garden at Ernest McBride Park. The garden tended by Cambodian senior citizens was recently relocated from the Mt. Carmel Catholic Church. The group received an award from Corner Bakery Cafe restaurant to improve and upgrade the garden. (Brittany Murray / Press Telegram)

LONG BEACH - It's not quite like the old farming days in Cambodia. The soil is different. The seeds and vegetables aren't quite the same. Farming from pots can't equal a plot of land. And yet, the Cambodian seniors who tend to the Sokpheap Community Garden are thrilled for a chance to till the soil.

"Sabay chet, sabay chet," or "happy, happy" the seniors say when asked how it makes them feel to be able to grow vegetables, herbs and fruits that remind them of home.

Every weekday morning, Kea Cheng, Bun Gnuon, Saruot Mien and Phannakka Sou turn the soil at the garden's current home behind the gym at Ernest McBride Park.

There they grow dragon fruit, lemon grass, peppers and spices. They also grow eggplant, beans, tomatoes and so forth.

The farmers say they would like to find seeds from Cambodia to plant and tend, but have been unsuccessful thus far.

The garden was chosen by the Corner Bakery Cafe restaurant chain as one of 20 nationwide community gardens it is supporting with grants for the summer.

The restaurant says it will donate a portion of proceeds from sales this summer from their "Get Fresh" menu items. There is a restaurant in Lakewood at 5312 Clark Ave.

The restaurant group gave the group a $500 award last year and an equal grant this year.

The funds are used to buy fertilizer, soil and tools for the project.

The Cambodian elders who work in the garden are members of the Asian and

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Pacific Islander Older Adults Task Force. The four gardeners are paid a stipend from a grant from the National Asian Pacific Center on Aging.

The project originated at the Mt. Carmel Cambodian Center, a Catholic church near Martin Luther King Jr. Park, and was overseen by Mary Blatz, the pastoral director there.

A portion of the church's grounds were provided for the garden.

However, Blatz left the church in April and the Cambodians were forced to find a new home for the garden. They uprooted what plants they could and placed them in buckets.

Serey Hong, who works with the elders, said the new home for the garden is only about half to a third of the size of the original and many plants did not survive the transfer.

Through translation Gnoun, one of the gardeners, said "the plants over here are smaller. If we had a big field we'd be happy."

The gardeners say they wish they could could plant tamarind trees, which produce a fruit used to flavor many Cambodian soups, banana and palm trees, but lack the space.

Experiments to grow certain other Cambodian delicacies, such as types of mushrooms, have been unsuccessful.

Still, on an early summer morning, several tomatoes were starting to grow on one plant, eggplants were taking shape, other plants were in flower and some incendiary looking peppers were sprouting.

Aaron Va, community specialist for the group, says the garden "promotes happy, healthy lifestyle."

He said the hope is that the group can find a permanent plot of land for the garden.

"We'd like to expand and make a little money (selling produce,)" Va said. "The problem is we need land and the funds."

He added that a larger garden would also enable more members of the task force to join in on the gardening.

There has been discussion of opening a plot in a garden slated for Martin Luther King Jr. Park.

Sixth District Councilman Dee Andrews said he may also explore the idea of setting land aside at McBride Park after the upcoming expansion is completed.

And Blatz, who is running a nonprofit organization called Friends of Mt. Carmel, says her group is looking for ways to create funds to expand the project.

Whether or when any of that will occur is unknown.

For the time being, however, the gardeners are making do as best they can. Occasionally they are able to sell small amounts of produce to group members and on occasion the food will be used for larger gatherings of the elder Asians.

In addition to food, the fledgling garden also helps promote community, the members say.

"Sometimes when we plant, we all get together and talk," an elder said.

And those are moments that make all involved "sabay chet."

greg.mellen@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1291

Kea Cheng waters the plants in the garden at Ernest McBride Park. (Brittany Murray / Press Telegram)

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Cambodian PM and 3 ministers treated for swine flu

By SOPHENG CHEANG (AP)
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and three other Cabinet ministers have contracted swine flu and the premier is recovering after several days of medical care, the health ministry said.
Hun Sen, 59, required "urgent treatment" after Friday's weekly Cabinet meeting, the Public Health Ministry said in a brief statement released late Tuesday.
"After receiving treatment from medical specialists, the health of Prime Minister Hun Sen is back to normal," the statement said.
The prime minister publicly mentioned last week he had come down with fever and flu-like symptoms, and he was absent from the 59th anniversary of his ruling Cambodian People's Party on Monday.
"Prime Minister Hun Sen has canceled some of his schedule because of his health," said government spokesman Khieu Kanharith.
He said Hun Sen was still receiving medical attention, but gave no details.
The statement also said that Yim Chhay Ly, one of several deputy prime ministers, and two other Cabinet-level ministers — Chhay Than and Tao Senghour — had caught the H1N1 virus. It did not give details about their condition.
At least six Cambodians have died from swine flu and at least 600 have contracted it since the virus was first detected in the country last June.
Hun Sen has been at the center of the country's politics since 1985, when he became the world's youngest prime minister at age 33. He has held or shared the top job ever since, bullying and outfoxing his opponents to stay in power.

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Cambodia launches optical cable with Laos

PHNOM PENH, Jul 05, 2010 (Xinhua via COMTEX) --
Cambodia on Monday officially launched the operation of the fiber-optical cable network with Laos, officials said the cable operation would help to develop telecommunications between the two countries and help boost economic development among the countries in the Greater Mekong Sub- region.

The Cambodian Minister of Posts and Telecommunications So Khun said that the construction of the fiber-optical network in Cambodia section, under the soft loan of 17.5 million U.S. dollars from the EXIM Bank of China, had begun in December 2007 and finished in July 2009, with the length of 651 km along the No. 6 Road from Skun town to Siem Reap, and No. 7 Road from Kampong Cham to Trapeang Kreal of Stung Treng province bordering Laos.

The fiber optic cable network has formed as a backbone connecting Cambodia to the existing fiber optic cable in Laos, Thailand, China and Vietnam.

"This is a new achievement in telecommunications sector in Cambodia," said So Khun. "It would boost the development of trades and tourism among those GMS countries."

The GMS consists of six countries -- China, Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia.

"The optical fiber network would absorb additional benefits, for instance, increasing national income, promoting development of ICT, exchanging new technology and information, transmitting the traffic -- voice, video, data, and internet, and all other telecommunicating services within and widely to the world with the acceptable price," he said.

Khamlouat Sidlakone, minister and president of National Authority of Posts and Telecommunications of Laos, said that the operation of the cable would improve economic development between the two neighboring countries.

"It would facilitate the development of economy and trades between the two nations and people of the GMS countries would take advantages of this project."

The GMS-IS (Information Superhighway) Network was initiated by China and the MOU was signed by the six nations in December 2004, in the hope of establishing a high capacity optical fiber backbone network and the expansion of telecommunications from cities and towns to rural areas for servicing the need of the community.

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'Red leaders betrayed us'

THE two Thai terrorism suspects repatriated by Cambodia yesterday told police that red-shirted leaders had tricked them into taking the rap for plotting a bomb attack on Bhum Jai Thai Party headquarters.

"The couple said these fellow red shirts called them out of their hotel room only to be arrested," Lt General Assawin Kwangmuang Assawin, assistant National Police chief, told reporters.

Warisriya Boonsom and her husband Kobchai Boonplob were taken into custody in Siem Reap last Saturday and detained for two days in Phnom Penh before they were put on a plane for Bangkok.

The couple accused Payap Panket and DJ Aom, Kanyapak Maneejak, of betraying them, Assawin said.

Warisriya was seen crying upon her arrival at Suvarnabhumi Airport before the pair was whisked to the Department of Special Investigation (DSI)'s office under tight security.

'WE ARE BEING FRAMED'

She said she and Kobchai were being framed, as they had nothing to do with the bomb plan, even though they had sheltered other suspects before the attempted attack.

Evidence shows that Warisriya and Kobchai left Thailand on June 23, just one day after the homemade bomb exploded prematurely and wounded Anek Singkhunthod, who confessed to planting the bomb and implicated many others including Dejpol Puttajong.

Dejpol is a red-shirt guard, and the couple knew him enough to let him stay at their home. Dejpol told police that the couple had paid him to carry out the bomb attack.

Assawin led a team that waited for Warisriya and Kobchai at the airport.

Phnom Penh contacted Thai authorities about sending these two suspects back without a prior request from the Thai government, Assawin said.

He said he did not know why they agreed to give up the couple so easily, but Chavanond Intarakomal-yasut, secretary to Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, and East Asia Affairs Department director-general Kittipong na Ranong might have more information since they had direct contact with the Thai embassy there.

Chavanond told The Nation that Cambodia has a firm policy to work with other countries in overcoming terrorism and the case of the two Thai suspects was very clear.

"The Thai government would like to express its gratitude to Cambodia for the cooperation," he said.

Phnom Penh did not demand anything in exchange for the two suspects, he said.

It was considered unusual for Cambodia to arrest and deport anyone who has or might have connections with the red-shirt movement or fugitive former prime minister Thaksin, who is an adviser to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Phnom Penh rejected a Thai request last year to extradite Thaksin on grounds that it was politically motivated and Thaksin has personal relations with Hun Sen.
BAIL REQUEST TO BE OPPOSED
DSI director-general Tharit Pengdit said investigators plan to oppose any bail request since these two suspects had shown their intention to flee the country.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said he would like to thank Cambodia for its assistance in the affair.

"We will seek further cooperation if investigations show more Thais in Cambodia are involved," he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban declined to comment on reports that red-shirt leader Arisman Pongrueangrong was also in Cambodia but had not been arrested.

"We have to look at the facts," he said.

The Thai embassy in Cambodia has not reported on how many Thais wanted on various charges in their home country are living there now, he said.

Maj General Amnuay Nimmano, deputy Metropolitan Police commissioner, said Warisriya and her husband had started providing useful information like details about other suspects whom they had contact with.

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Cambodia's banking sector sees boost in deposits, loans

Deposits and loans at the commercial banks in Cambodia increased by 12 percent and 8 percent, respectively, in the first five months of this year, local media reported on Tuesday, citing the figure from the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC).

From January to May this year, customers'deposits at Cambodia' s commercial banks increased by 12 percent to 3.7 billion U.S. dollars from 3.3 billion U.S. dollars at the end of 2009, whilst outstanding loans rose by 8 percent to 2.7 billion U.S. dollars from 2.51 billion U.S. dollars at the end of last year.

In Channy, Acleda president and chief executive, was quoted by the Phnom Penh Post as saying that the growth was a clear sign of the Kingdom's recovery from the financial crisis.

Acleda received deposits of 796 million U.S. dollars, up 16 percent from 684.68 million U.S. dollars at the end of last year, while outstanding loans increased to 603 million U.S. dollars, up 12 percent from 539.7 million U.S. dollars, according to the NBC's January to May figures.

Cambodia has 28 commercial banks today.

Cambodia's economy has begun to recover since late last year. Garment exports, tourism and agriculture, the three out of the country's four pillars supporting its economy are recovering, except real estate sector that still has a downturn.

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