Mekong Shadows
In 2012, a collection of short stories called ‘Phnom Penh Noir’ was released, edited by the highly talented Christopher G.
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Commentary
Decision 2017 – should we be worried, and what can we do?
As tensions mount ahead of Sunday’s important local elections – and set the tone for the run up to 2018 – Tim LaRocco offers some wise advice to expats keen to get involved in the local political process. Don’t!
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2016 – The Khmer440 year in review
2016 has been a hell of a year, with the underdog, the anti-establishment figures and the disaffected finding themselves the
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Back on track in Cambodia
For me, the sight that most encapsulated the rebirth of passenger services in Cambodia was the two young children, travelling
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Encyclopedia Cambodiana
Let’s be honest; Cambodia isn’t the most literary country on the planet, and it’s rare to find genuine scholarly works
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Cambodia graduates from Low Income Country status – how will that affect international aid?
There is a concern that Cambodia’s graduation to LMIC status means it is likely to lose a large amount of much needed aid. A number of leading international NGOs have spoken out recently about the classification process in general, and how it is linked to aid. It is feared that by ‘graduating’ and losing access to still very much needed aid dollars, there is an increased risk to reverse growth trends and then ‘reverse graduate’ and fall back down the ladder.
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Dying to get to work
The most lethal challenge to Cambodian workers comes not from poor ventilation or industrial machinery, but the challenge of getting to and from the sweatshops 6 days a week. It’s kinda a case of hard work never killed anyone, but the commute might just be deadly.
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The pastor and the monster
Christopher LaPel’s father was a Brahman priest serving Cambodia’s king in his role as the earthly incarnation of the god
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Charlie Chaplin’s Cambodia
Charlie and Paulette were big news, the reporters descended, and Charlie entertained them “with much courtesy and charm” in the hotel bar (presumably the Elephant Bar). Phnom Penh, he said, was charming, the palaces and pagodas delightful, the Cambodian houses picturesque. He felt he had to question whether French Colonial villas (the ones the Europeans lived in) were perhaps a little suburban and uncomfortable, but the wide boulevards, built over newly-reclaimed canals, were the equal of those in Paris. Asked if he might consider making a movie in Cambodia, he didn’t rule it out, but also didn’t see it happening in the immediate future. He would, however, undertake to publicise Indochina as a tourist destination on his return home.
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Plagiarism, phonyism and buffoonery at the Khmer Times: Part 2 – The fake letters to the editor
The Khmer Times fabricated these letters in an apparent campaign to manipulate public opinion, by deceiving its readers about what other members of the community were really saying about Cambodia’s most important political issues of the day. This scheme demonstrated a blatant disregard for journalistic ethics, which are based on telling readers the truth about what is happening around them, rather than trying to hoodwink them. The fact that Mr. Mohan actually thought his clumsy campaign of deceit would work is a profound insult to the intelligence of the Khmer Times’ readers.
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