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Roman Wanderaugh - National Radio Text Service
Shinawatra's red Shirt followers create concern and unrest - Are there killers on the loose in Cambodia? - Mith Samlanh's Friends restaurant help build futures for some of Cambodia's discarded street children - TOP 5 MOST READ TRAVEL TIPS COLUMNS
Thursday December 31, 2009 THAILAND ON THE ALERT Thailand continues to be a country of unrest. Authorities are prepared to stop any unruly conduct by Thaksin Shinawatra's Red Shirt followers. During last New Years celebrations there was a bomb attack and the powers that be are determined not to have a repeat of that type of disturbance. CAMBODIA HAS SAFETY ISSUES The Cambodia Daily newspaper is the most spot on English language publication available for hard news regarding what's going in the real world of Cambodia. They report on the land grabbing by so called VIP's aka high ranking officials and how the poor Cambodian people are suppressed and pretty much discarded. Kudos is due to the Daily for their report in their Weekend Magazine edition December 26-27 regarding an NGO that is making a difference to better the downtrodden Cambodian people. They reported on Mith Samlanh who train street children how to cook, waitress and do other jobs in the restaurant business. They also have a restaurant called Friends which is situated near the Royal Palace. Over the years many of these children have moved on and secured jobs with hotels, restaurants and other restaurant related industries. In doing Mith Samlanh has saved many of these children from a possible life prostitution or drug dependency. They have built these young men and women to have a high self esteem and self worth. Should you visit Phnom Penh and the Royal Palace this is an excellent choice to enjoy a meal and help a good cause. Your participation in the program will inadvertently help teach these young people in better communications and possibly improve their English language skills. The Friends restaurant is located at Street No 13, House # 215 just two blocks from the riverfront and the FCCC and one block from the National Museum. Web site: www.streetfriends.org The Daily did drop the ball when it came to following up on a random shooting by a 25-year-old RCAF Lieutenant into a crowd near the Royal Palace resulting in deaths. The Palace is a heavily trafficked area for tourists. On the Cambodia Daily's web site (www.cambodiadaily.com) in a piece from October 7, 2008 edition page 25 titled 'Victims, Lawyers Haggle Over Shooting Payoff' by Saing Soenthrith with additional reporting by Douglas Gillison. The web site article does note that the RCAF Lieutenant randomly shot into a crowd opposite the Royal Palace killing one person and leaving two injured. His outrage stemmed from his being angry that his Lexus SUV was damaged by a group of men who smashed his rear windshield. He's was at large his lawyer approached family members of the three victims to offer amounts between $3,500 and $4,000 but the families were seeking $10,000 to $8,000. The meager sum offered wasn't expected to cover medical expenses, which included $400 for a single operation for one victim and $50 to $60 per day of medical care. One of the victims husband said his wife was in the emergency room and that they at that point had spent over $1,500. The Daily has failed to follow up on the story that is critical information for public safety and particularly for unaware tourist who frequent the area of the murders. It is not known at this time if justice has been served and the Lieutenant was jailed or remains free but his whereabouts are unknown. The questions are, is their a killer on the loose and if a Khmer's life is worth only $3,000 what is the value of a tourists life? It raises the question does US taxpayer money contribute to corruption and MURDER? It also raises the question what kind of salary does a RCAF Lieutenant make that enables him to purchase a Lexus SUV? Where did that money come from for what? Why is the US funding a country which has failed to prove that they have a fair system of law and order?
TOP FIVE MOST READ TRAVEL TIPS COLUMNS We've been publishing out Travel tips columns since our dangerous experience in the middle of a water crossing with a con man boat driver. The piece was title Cambodia By land & Sea. Since that time many news organizations have used our title including the bottom feeding CNN Network. Therefore this month we are featuring the top five most read of our Travel Tips columns and that story as an Archive feature.
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