The hot and sticky summers in April, May and June bring the season of the best fruits of the tropics. This naturally includes durian, which of course you must eat with mangosteens (arguably one of the better things about Asia) or else your body temperature rises too much. But then again, this is when mangoes are falling off the trees on the roads and there’s just too much for consumption including exports. So I guess I can handle that waft of durian odor once in a while….
Life
Market scene at Phnom Oudong
Notice the eggs to this seller’s right? These are newly hatched Khmer delicacies (post-Khmer Rouge) sold only on the streets by a man pushing a barbecue cart, blasting a recording: “Eggs, they’re good for you and yummy too”. A small hole is cut into the shell and the egg is sucked out, mixed with lots of spices, stuffed back in, skewered and barbecued. I’ve seen it done, it actually works. I don’t personally like the taste of these things, though I am a big fan of eggs.
This couple has a barbecue stand, along with all the other barbecue stands selling all manner of meat. She is wrapping up my lunch purchase (chicken) in a lotus leaf. The ones roasting nearest is a stuffed frog– ground pork or beef mixed with onions and serious spices.
This family sells palm fruit at the market at Phnom Oudong. They’re the transluscent square or oval shaped pieces of fruit in the glass fruit cocktail jars at Asian markets in the US. Filipinos love these in their fruit salads. I’ll get a close-up next time.
More photos in a later post (I will steal my husband’s pro shots and post them here hehehe). I’m getting sleepy.
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Websites for Khmer Rouge tribunal updates
A few people have asked for some news feeds of the proceedings, now that the Khmer Rouge tribunal has finally begun. Here are some blogs, news coverage and expert commentaries on the Extraordinary Chamber in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC):
Cambodia Tribunal Monitor, with webcasts of the proceedings and video commentaries, by Western legal and academic experts on the Khmer Rouge or Genocide.
Ka-set is the Khmer-ization of the French word for newsmagazine. This news website aims to promote quality journalism, and is a project started by four journalists (Cambodian, French and Belgian), affiliated with Cambodge Soir (French-language newspaper in Phnom Penh), in 2007.
Documentation Center of Cambodia is a rights group advocating for greater access to information.
From the Phnom Penh Post (the English language newspaper of Phnom Penh) is the Khmer Tribunal Report, a blog on progress at the ECCC.
This is the official site of the Extraordinary Chamber of the Courts in Cambodia (ECCC), in English, Khmer and French. Unfortunately it is down quite often (but that may just be for connections in Cambodia).
And here is the controversial website of Ieng Sary’s defense. It fuels debate about confidentiality in the UN-backed court. Ieng Sary was the former Khmer Rouge’s Foreign Minister.
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what liberal media bias? ;-)
And here I thought there’d be no fodder for comedy under an articulate, competent African-American president! Not that I’m a Democrat, but the GOP sure is providing a good stream of material these days!
Rachel Maddow on (what I didn’t know was a liberal-leaning) MSNBC about Bush and Cheney being wanted men in the State of Vermont. It’s the only state not visited by Bush during his administration… 06 Feb 2009
Jon Stewart eviscerates Rick Santelli and CNBC 05 Mar 2009
(@jayrosen_nyu) Rush as the face of the GOP brand. Good for the Democrats. “No, I am” Steele says. Better! “No, social conservatives are the brand.” BEST. LOL!!! 28 Feb 2009
Dialogue and the Khmer Rouge tribunals
Photo courtesy of the Far Eastern Economic Review, article cited below.
One of the recurrent topics at a meditation group in Boeng Keng Kang with some teens is the culpability of the Khmer Rouge soldiers. The KR period is not a dialogue that younger generations born after the atrocities actively engage in. It’s a concern of many advocates and the international community here that some young adults are ignorant of the fact that it ever even occurred. There are several factors at work.
One is that while a lot of aid is allocated to feel-good causes taxpayers back home like, eg HIV, private sector development, democratisation, conservation etc, there is little committed to other needs, like mental health. It just isn’t sexy enough. So despite the high prevalence of PTSD (so soon post-conflict), the advocacy and attention given this problem and opening a greater dialogue or forum has no momentum.
Another complaint, which has been gaining more voice, is the lack of efforts to educate Khmers on the significance and progress of the KR tribunal. The tribunal finally began after years of setbacks and conflicts. But for many, it’s almost as if the trials are a matter of course rather than for the benefit of the Khmers. There’s no shortage of interns, academics and legal aids pouring into the country from abroad, each coming with high fees and expenditures. But to host townhall meetings, debates or panels?– the efforts are sparse.
It’s truly a wasted opportunity. Khmers emerged from this period with a cultural identity crisis. The country is caught up in a rapid development pace that even this global crisis won’t impact as much as other countries of similar development stage. Teens affiliate more with “western” culture than with their own, in the quest to modernise and westernise as quickly as possible, while elements of their heritage and traditions are increasingly lost.
The meditation group (impressively) discussed the culpability factor, when executioners are under orders on threat of a gruesome death themselves. And to see these kids crying after being told (by foreigners) of the facts of their history that their elders won’t discuss with them (understandably to a certain level).. it’s unsettling.
Recently these articles appeared in the NY Times that addressed this culpability issue. How do you mete out justice to the pee-ons while elements of the Khmer Rouge still sit in the current administration?
Trials in Cambodia Expose the Cogs in a Killing Machine
At Trial, a Plea for Rights of a Khmer Prison Official.
Locally, thanks in part to people like Chea Vanthan and arts communities like at Meta House, there has been increased advocacy to engage young people in this very important dialogue about their history. And since the tribunals have begun, people are now starting to engage.
On the political level, from the Far Eastern Economic Review is a good article on the issues plaguing the legitimacy of the tribunals: Judging the Khmer Rouge Tribunal. Some of author John Hall’s recommendations:
1) Limit opportunities for political interference in judicial decision making.
2) Create an independent investigation mechanism for accusations of wrongdoing.
3) Human rights monitors, NGOs and reporters must be allowed to keep their sources confidential.
4) Ensure adequate whistleblower protections for those reporting wrongdoing.
for Intl Women’s Day: women-owned beauty biz
It’s still International Women’s Day in Cambodia (holidays falling on weekends are observed on the next working day), and today’s topic is natural beauty.
About the time I got married 5 years ago, I was on an organic / natural makeup and skincare kick. I don’t normally use makeup, but around a year ago people started asking if I were tired, since I’ve started to develop dark undereye circles. Yikes– back to those companies I used for my wedding makeup! Here’s a list of my favorite women-owned small-business eco-friendly natural makeup and skincare lines:
Markey has a lot of raw materials for the do-it-yourself skincare enthusiast. In recent years she’s begun to offer finished formulations, and now she opened a storefront location in Arizona. I’ve used other ‘natural’ lines before which are just natural botanical products for the sake of using natural materials. Markey’s products are effective and she really knows how to synergise ingredients. The customer raves aren’t hype, the products truly do work (in synergy with a good overall skincare routine, that is)!
Camellia Rose is also a natural skincare formulator, and very knowledgeable with years of research into the raw materials going into any product that touches your skin. Based in California, Jen has been working with Markey for years, and their products really do complement each other. Jen specialises in skin conditions like rosacea, acne, eczema etc.
Solarkat’s Eco Blog is a graduate student in the environmental sciences and will soon open her own line of natural skincare. She collaborates with the above women and shares her passion for eco-friendly botanical-based skincare products.
Monave is a company based in Baltimore, MD. Debbie, its owner, shares a space with Botanical Skinworks (also a good line). Her line of mineral makeup is great for me and other ethnic skintones. I stopped by while she was there once and she gave me a complete makeover. Was a very nice treat!
This stat is often seen: The average woman applies at least 150 different chemicals to her body through her skincare and cosmetics everyday. “Many of these chemicals are hormone disruptors, carcinogens, and toxic heavy metals”, says the Natural Solutions magazine editor Linda Sparrowe. Check out this magazine’s 2008 Beauty With a Conscience Award Winners.
There is a noticeable clearing of conditions (eg rosacea, acne, eczema etc) and brightening of skin when non-toxic drugstore or department store brands are removed from the routine. The Essential Day Spa and Garden of Wisdom forum users can provide some info and experiences with going natural. This is also a good place to start with articles on natural beauty products: All Natural Beauty.
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As an aside (since these aren’t necessarily women-owned products), yesterday Keith and I explored the outskirts of Phnom Penh by renting a motorbike ($4/day!). I’d have avoided this kind of extended tropical sun exposure if I hadn’t had my trusty little tubes of natural sunscreens. Didn’t know there were “natural” sunscreens out there? Check these products out, and don’t take my word for it, google for reviews:
Lavera, a German-based natural cosmetics company. Their spf20 facial sunscreen doubles as a moisturiser. There is still a whitish cast if you don’t blend the cream in well, but it’s light, non-greasy and good especially for oily skin types as it can be drying.
Dr Hauschke, a UK-based natural cosmetics company. I don’t agree with all of their skincare philosophies but the products are very nice. And I have yet to try their sunscreens, but they now have a spray which I’ll get when I go back to ‘civilisation’ this summer on my annual leave back to the US.
Devita has a GREAT product that I am so happy to find. This is the lightest sunscreen facial formula I have ever tried, and sinks into my skin really well.
For a more thorough review of these and more natural sunscreens as well as shampoos, mineral makeup, and other natural products, see my friend’s Solarkat’s Eco Blog.