The Youngest Monk

Same neighborhood, different world.

Oct. 5, 2009
By Mariel Waloff
Philadelphia Weekly (Pennsylvania)

Horn Pa was twelve years old when his family settled in South Philadelphia, seeking refuge from the war plaguing their native Cambodia. His mother reminded him daily how lucky they were to live in the peace of the United States, where there was fresh water and readily available food.

As Horn came of age around Seventth and Jackson streets, however, he witnessed a different sort of war zone where gangs, violence and drugs threatened to ruin the lives of young Asian refugees like himself.

While Horn’s parents regularly attended the Palelai Buddhist Temple at Seconnd and Greenwich streets, Horn himself wasn’t interested. By the time he was 17 he had dropped out of high school, and began using drugs regularly. “I didn’t know no better, you know, just smoke weed, this and that, I didn’t know." Things began to change when he was arrested on a drug charge and spent the night in jail. Realizing his future looked bleak Horn decided to change his life.

Seeking guidance and a space to clear his mind, Horn went to the Palelai Temple—the same one his parents attended. He told the head monk that he wanted to stay for one week and they welcomed him. A year later, Horn still shaves his head and wears the orange robes of a Buddhist monk. His mind is clear, his parents are proud. He hopes to inspire positive change in other young Cambodians he sees around the neighborhood, making some of the same mistakes he did.

As the monastery’s youngest monk—and the best English speaker—he serves an important role as the linguistic and cultural interpreter between the older monks and the community around them. He has also had a large role in maintaining the plot of land the temple owns at 58th and Lindbergh Boulevard in Southwest Philadelphia. While they await permits to build a new temple complex, Horn and the other monks have planted gardens and built a pagoda and other small structures that overlook the Schuylkill River. The peace and quiet of these gardens serve as the perfect respite for a monk. The lush greenery contrasts sharply with their brilliant orange robes and it seems as though they are worlds away from the rest of the city.

Read more!

The golden rule of remembrance

This weekend, Columbia students and members of the larger New York community gathered together to learn more about genocide and its long term consequences, as described in Tiara Delgado’s documentary “Fragile Hopes at the Killing Fields.”

If you have ever endured trauma and lived to tell the tale, you’re likely to be considered what The Cambodia Project Chapter’s guest of honor, Ambassador Kilong Ung, calls a “golden leaf,” a phrase he coined to describe and unite people who have survived despite extreme odds. Ambassador Ung would call himself, and roughly six million other people who lived in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, a “Golden Leaf,” a title he trademarked to describe a survivor of the Cambodian genocide. It is Ambassador Ung’s hope that the use of this phrase will also help raise awareness about one of the worst genocides of the 20th century, one in which so few people show interest.

Of course, this is information that attendees of “Survivors of Genocide,” which took place in Lerner C555 last Saturday, already know. “Survivors of Genocide” is one of many inter-school events organized by the Cambodia Project Chapter, a Columbia student-led group, which aims to raise awareness surrounding development issues with a focus on Cambodia and the larger Southeast Asian region. This weekend, Columbia students and members of the larger New York community gathered together to learn more about genocide and its long-term consequences, as described in Tiara Delgado’s documentary “Fragile Hopes at the Killing Fields” and a presentation given by Ambassador Ung on his personal experience during the genocide in 1975 through 1979.

As part of the introductions to the night’s somber topic, Delgado’s film featured a brief clip on how the Khmer Rouge came to power in 1975. Although her documentary focuses on the Cambodian experiences of a Cambodian genocide, Delgado’s film begins in the White House in the presence of Richard Nixon. The audience members watched as the former president directed their attention in the grainy black and white film to the eastern half of a map of neutral Cambodia, where he and former National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger organized secret bombings. According to Yale historian, Ben Kiernan, the United States dropped 2,756,941 tons of bombs on Cambodia, roughly 700,000 tons more than the Allies dropped during World War II. These frequent bombings may place Cambodia first among the most heavily bombed countries in history and are likely to have led to the rise of the Communist Party in Cambodia. Before delving into the personal struggles of a young writer, a painter, a land mine remover, and a Californian refugee, Delgado’s narrator, Susan Sarandon suggests that the U.S. bombings played a role in creating a tangible external enemy through which the Khmer Rouge were able to effectively garner support from the rural, heavily bombed areas of the nation. That greater political powers outside Cambodia were responsible in helping the Khmer Rouge come to power partially explains the staggering lack of awareness surrounding this genocide, although it occurred no more than 30 years ago.

Another contributing factor to the lack of awareness about the genocide and its modern-day consequences is the sheer absurdity of the survivor tales. The daughter of another genocide survivor interviewed in “Fragile Hopes” stresses the importance of evidence in order to convince youth of the genocide occurrence. Painter Vann Nath explains how he survived S-21, a torture prison with a 99.96 percent death rate by painting propaganda featuring the Khmer Rouge leader, Pol Pot. Today, he uses his memories and his art to educate people about the atrocities that occurred in this prison. Ung is a genocide survivor and president of the Rotary Club of Portland, Ore. He is also a knighted member of The Royal Rosarians, an Ambassador for Peace, and author of his life’s story, “Golden Leaf.” As such, he was The Cambodia Project Chapter’s unsubtle attempt to bring this “evidence” in its most modestly eloquent and sincere form to Columbia University.

Watching and listening to the Ung’s presentation, one would never guess that he learned English in high school, suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, and was subject to an extreme disregard for human dignity by Khmer Rouge soldiers. Ung recounted the incident when he was caught by soldiers no older than he was for stealing a coconut out of extreme hunger. Cornered by two AK-47 rifles, he wet his pants from fear. His voice trembled when he spoke about his little sister Ali, the secret smiles they exchanged under the totalitarian regime, and her premature death from starvation. The living example of the American Dream openly confessed to the audience that he, too, shed tears while watching Delgado’s documentary. Ung left students with an inspiring message of hope, urging us to use our leverage so that the suffering of those who died during the genocide and of those who are still being targeted is not in vain.

Read more!

Poor planning blamed for Philippines flooding

PHOTO

Houses destroyed by flooding after Typhoon Ketsana passed through Marikina City, east of the Philippines capital Manila. [ABC]

Wires

Philippine officials are blaming poor urban planning for the extreme flooding caused by two recent typhoons that killed nearly 300 people.

President Gloria Arroyo's spokesman, Cerge Remonde says lapses in urban planning saw housing estates and shantytowns spring up near reservoirs and lakes.

He says widespread devastation by Tropical Storm Ketsana and Typhoon Parma shows the urgency of re-planning Metro Manila.

Mr Remonde says problems that need solving include insufficient drainage, clogged waterways, uncontrolled housing development, and the proliferation of slums along riverbanks.

Ketsana dumped a month's worth of rain over Manila within a few hours on September 26, triggering the country's heaviest flooding in 40 years.

Flood water has been slow to recede in the capital.

Parma, hit Luzon eight days later, boosting the stagnant flood waters and ruining vast areas of rice fields.

Relief effort

Meanwhile, the American military says hundreds of its troops are involved in the flood relief effort in the Philippines.

Officials say marines and sailors posted in the Manila area have been helping to clear roads, deliver supplies and provide basic medical care.

Gwendoline Pang, of the Philippine Red Cross, says continuing bad weather is hampering progress.

"In the evacuation centres, it's so congested, and they've been there for more than a week already, almost two weeks. Also the clean-up effort is becoming very challenging, because before we can clean up the area, another typhoon is coming again," said Ms Pang.

Cambodia death toll

The death toll in Cambodia is at least 17 after Typhoon Ketsana swept through the country.

But the National Committee for Disaster Management believes that number is likely to increase still further.

Ketsana caused widespread flooding in Cambodia, destroying homes and crops, and displacing thousands of families.

It passed through after earlier battering Vietnam and the Philippines, where hundreds of people died.

Read more!

Goods and tourists now moving more quickly between Vietnam and Cambodia

06/10/2009

VietNamNet Bridge – A Vietnam and Cambodia border agreement is boosting exporting and tourism and making the future existence of a three-country visa a possibility.

Phnom Penh, Cambodia (Photo: AP)

Following the agreement, which took effect on September 30, goods consignments carried overland between Vietnam and Cambodia will be able to cross borders without having to change vehicles as before.

According to Pham Xuan Thu, head of the supply division of HCM City-based Saigon Paper Company, the changes make it much faster for his organisation. Before it meant considerable delay and borders and a change of vehicle.

Now, Thu says, the company is planning to carry goods directly from Vietnam to Cambodia and further lower time and cost.

It is expected that with the new road transport agreement, it will take Vietnamese businesses 15-30 minutes only to fulfill administrative procedures at the border gate.

One director explained that previously businesses had to spend two days and one night to carry goods from HCM City to Cambodia through Moc Bai border gate in Tay Ninh province, 70km northwest of HCM City, including half a day to load and upload goods. In order to bring goods to the centre of Phnom Penh, he had to pay $2,500-$2,800 as a transport fee for every 12 metre-long vehicle which is equal to a 40 feet container vehicle.

A sales agent of a plastics company, said that as vehicles can now go straight to Cambodia across the border - the risks in cargo carrying are minimised. He says that the changing of vehicles at the border gates often led to the theft of goods on the way.

The road transport agreement has been welcomed not only by producers and traders, but by tourism firms as well.

Currently, Vietnamese tourists mostly go to Cambodia through Moc Bai international border gate. As most of Vietnamese vehicles are not allowed to enter Cambodian territory, tourists have to walk through the border gate to fulfill administrative procedures and then take Cambodian vehicles to continue the trips, which is really inconvenient to tourists.

Nguyen Van My, director of Lua Viet Travel Firm, said that most tourists want to stay in the same vehicle throughout their trip. It’s hoped the agreement will also boost tourist numbers.

So Mara, a senior official of Cambodian Ministry of Tourism, emphasised that the road transport agreement is an important step in applying the one-visa scheme for three countries, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

It is believed that this would greatly increase tourism all round.

VietNamNet/TT Read more!