Science of Life 24/7 NGO Promo Video

This is the promo video I produced for the NGO Science of Life 24/7, Cambodia during my three months working with them in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

If you know anyone who is interested in getting involved with some voluntary work in a developing country, or get teaching experience...this is a great organisation. You can also make a much needed donation.

Visit sols247.org to help.

Besos,

Stevie G x

LIFE FEATURE: Mehr Fardoonji: A living marvel

I speak with Mehr Fardoonji about her life including her move from India to England, her time working for the Ghandi movement as well as owning Oakcroft organic gardens in Malpas, Cheshire and her views on some environmental and social issues affecting the world today.

Photo: Mehr working her land, Oakcroft Organic 
Farm, Malpas, Cheshire.

I met Ms. Fardoonji on the rows in Watergate Street, Chester, on a very dull Friday afternoon in December. I was faced by a small, well spoken lady who told me I had thirty minutes to interview her before it got too dark - she does not like to drive home at night.  She then proceeded to guide me to the back of a tiny storeroom in the shop of a mutual friend where we met.  Next, she pointed out a place for me to sit and asked me what I wanted to know – ten minutes later and that December afternoon did not seem so dull anymore.

Born in 1930 in Lahore, she grew up in Multan, India (now Pakistan), to Parsee (Zoroastrian) parents. Mehr, now 82, came to Manchester with her mother and brother at the age of seven – her father passed away when she was five. After living a happy childhood and completing a degree at the London School of Economics she longed to return to her homeland, which she did at the age of 23, alone and by land.

“I recon I was one of the first women to do it on my own.

“I wanted to see the world. I spent seven months travelling with £70. I went across the channel and through France. I then went to Germany which was occupied by various countries at the time because it was after the war. After that I went to Vienna where I met a friend. I was hitchhiking most of the time but she and I and her boyfriend went to Yugoslavia by car. They left me there and I got the Orient Express to Istanbul, stopping in Northern Greece.

“I stayed in Istanbul for a while and travelled to some other parts of Turkey as I was interested in seeing education there. After that, I took a boat to Israel. I carried two passports (British and Indian) because I wanted to visit Arab counties as well. I stayed there for three months working on the land and things.”

Mehr then went on to Cyprus, Lebanon and onto the city of Damascus in Syria.

“I stayed in Damascus for a while. I had contacts from university where I met a lot of foreign students, so I got addresses of people who lived here, there and everywhere. After Damascus I took a bus across the desert to Bagdad and stayed there quite a while because I had to wait a long time to get a visa to enter Iran because I was using my British passport and the Brits weren't too popular there at the time.”

“I eventually went through Iran in the month of February, when it was very cold. I got to the east side and from there I wanted to go by train to Pakistan – it was India at the time, now its Pakistan.”

Upon return to India, Mehr spent five years working in a Ghandi inspired land-gift (Bhoodan) movement – a voluntary land reform movement – fronted by a man called Vinoba Bhave. Mehr became convinced that land was the basis of life and organic farming the only way to the health of land and people. She then spent four years settling landless labourers and working in a Bhoodan village in the Himalayas.

1959 was the year that brought Mehr back to England due to family reasons.  This is when she moved to Cheshire where her brother had been employed as a civil engineer.

“We left Manchester during the war, and my brother was employed by the government, because in any case my mother wouldn't have sent him into war because we were pacifists.”

She was twenty-nine now and travelled through England, working at different market gardens to gain experience. In 1962 her brother bought her the piece of land in Malpas known as Oakcroft which she transformed into an organic haven.

From then on, Mehr sustained a living from her organic farming. It was her livelihood. She would sell the organic fruit and vegetables she cultivated at Chester market and various farmer markets, which she said wasn’t an easy living. Sadly, in 2006, she fell unable to carry on with the work.

Photo: Mehr on the Watergate Rows, Watergate Street, Chester.

“I married very late – in 1990 – and my husband was quite a bit older than me. He got Parkinson’s at the beginning of the century, then I started looking after him and I found I couldn't go on with the gardens – so I gave it up.

“Since then I've had people come work the land for me, but it’s not been very successful.

“I want to find someone to work my land – the right person. I’m hoping that I can find the right people.

“My husband died, and I have decided that after my death I am going to give the Oakcroft land, and the house, to the Soil Association Land Trust, of which I am a trustee, so that it will never be built on.”

Mehr keeps herself busy these days teaching yoga and philosophy and is also working on becoming an organic market gardener – which is something she says she is very dedicated to, along with the idea of equality, and the whole environmental aspect.

I was interested to find out what Mehr thought about various peoples attempts to sustain the environment, and also what things were most important for her in life.

“There are two things that are most important to me in life. Non-violence is the first. I believe people should learn about this topic from childhood and how to deal with it and be a non-violent person. The second is to be ecologically aware, which includes all organic things, not destroying the environment and planet. Those would be the two most important things for me and they are actually rather interlinked as far as I’m concerned.

“The government are certainly not doing enough, and as for environmentalists, some are doing a great deal, and some not. Organisations like Greenpeace do a great deal, but it’s very difficult to do it alone without the support of the Government.

“I would say one of the things governments should do would be in relation to energy. Nuclear energy should definitely be phased out completely and renewable energy should be more encouraged. That’s only one point, there are lots of other things too.

“I think consumerism is one of the biggest evils we have in society – the encouragement to have money and spend spend spend. I am strongly against growth and I think we could have a sustainable way of living, rather than a growth all the time.

We then spoke about the topic of religion and its connection between much of the violence happening in the world today. Mehr was born into a Hindu related religion, but she is no longer practicing.

“It is definitely related to violence. But I don’t think it’s that simple. I think it is enhanced by it however, I think people’s attitude is the bigger problem. I have had so many people come through my garden to help me with help from an organisation called willing workers on organic land. All these people had great ideas, but putting them in practice they’d never learnt. They were always hitting out at people, verbally, rather than looking at the beam in their own eye – like the pacifist outlook of turning the other cheek.

“So, I would say I am not against religion – the basic ideals – but I am against religion in the way it is practiced."

We were now twenty-five minutes later, and I thanked Mehr for her time.

“Oh, is that the time already. Well, you got a lot out of me, didn't you?” she joked.

A beautiful person, with a heart of gold, who deserves every bit of credit for what she has worked for and the values that she has supported during her lifetime.   

Besos,

StevieG x

How much money does USA invest in Israel/Palestine?

In the midst of a frantic search to catch-up on the recent atrocities happening in Gaza, I came across this very interesting article (via Global Post) about the stark contrast of foreign aid that the US provides to Israel and Palestine and the differences for which it is used.

Click the link below to read. 

Israel/Palestine foreign aid article

Photo: Gaza yesterday (Sun 18 November) - Last week conflict
between Israel and Palestine flared up again.

Belfast residents want Peace Walls to remain

The Belfast Telegraph has posted an article based on a recent survey of local residents in Belfast living near the peace line.

The peace lines were erected in Belfast in the early 70's during the height of The Troubles (an era of heavy political conflict throughout Northern Ireland) to divide the fighting and lower tensions between closely situated Catholic and Protestant neighbourhoods.

They were intended to be temporary structures while the British government found another solution, although due to their effectiveness they became permanent structures and many more were built in other parts of Northern Ireland.

What do YOU think about them still existing today?

Read the full article by following this link below:

BELFAST TELEGRAPH: PEACE WALLS


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Syrian children mistreatment

TODAY the BBC has published a story focusing on Save the Children's charity findings about children in Syria.

They say that Children are being subjected to APPALLING torture, imprisonment and abduction, and the charity believes that this issue needs urgent attention.

The conflict in Syria has been going on for 18 months now with not much foreseeable hope of ceasing.

An extract from the article reads:

"One 15-year-old told the charity he had cigarettes put out on him when he was imprisoned in what used to be his school.

Another described being given electric shocks and sharing a cell with decomposing bodies, while a third teenager, Wael, said he had seen a six-year-old die after being tortured and starved."

READ THE ARTICLE HERE:

 BBC NEWS - SYRIAN CHILDREN REPORT

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Sam Bacile - The Muhammad video

"I wonder how smart US 'film maker' Sam Bacile feels now after the death of Libya’s US Ambassador as a result of his offensive and unnecessary video. His whereabouts is currently unknown as he has gone into hiding, however his anti-Islamic propaganda has sparked outrage and caused deaths in recent days. When you are lucky enough to come from a country that allows you freedom of speech, is this really how you want to take advantage of it?"

This is the video that was seen by the Arab world, mocking the history of their prophet Muhammad. 

Versions of it circulated with Arabic subtitles, and the result was catastrophic. Riots broke out in Benghazi, Libya resulting in the death of the US Ambassador, J Christopher Stephens, when a group of protesters stormed the embassy.

Protests have spread across the Arab world in countries such as Egypt and Yemen.

Some of the actors in the video have spoken out in disgrace claiming that they had no idea the video was going to be made in relation to Muhammad and they completely deplore what has happened.

What do YOU think about this?

The Killing Fields - A video report

This is my first attempt at video reporting, and I can honestly say I enjoyed it, but from the results I can see that I need to work on my presenting skills haha. To be fair though, it was last minute and completly improvised as a result of the video I wanted to make on the day was made impossible...

People working, living, eating at Phnom Penh landfill.

I tried to go to the Phnom Penh landfill but was turned away by Cambodian government security as they do not want people to document to the outside world on how people are living and working there (children sifting through rubbish, including medical waste) This is because they don't want their foreign aid donors wondering why people are still living in such conditions and where the money they are giving is going to... And one has to ask themselves "where is it, indeed??!!"

SO, in the end I decided to go to the Killing Fields as they were close by to make this short report.

A big thank-you to Vana Hem, my wonderful Khmer cameraman and editor.

Let me know what you think.

Besos,

Stevie G.x

P.S. Less than a week left in Cambodia!!! :(

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Syria most dangerous for journalists

It has been made official by the Comittee to Protect Journalists that Syria is the most dangerous place for journalists in the world at present. 

These statistics come after a Japanese reporter was killed in Apello yesterday and two other journalists have also gone missing in the city.

Last week, CPJ documented the killings of three local journalists and the kidnapping of several others. CPJ research shows that at least 16 other journalists have been killed since November while covering Syria, making it the most dangerous place in the world for journalists. 

SOURCE: CPJ

Choeung Ek – The Killing Fields of Phnom Penh

Situated almost nine miles outside of Phnom Penh’s city centre you will find Choeung Ek, one of the most devastating ‘tourist attractions’ Asia has on offer.

During the communist Pol Pot/ Khmer Rouge regime in the seventies, people were taken from the S-21 prison (see previous blog) after being forced by torture into confessing that they were against the new government. So, the people didn’t really have many options – either be tortured to death, or confess and then be taken away to be killed – THAT, my friends, is a major catch 22 situation. 

It is believed that over 20,000 people were murdered on this site.

The area of genocide is filled with mass graves, many of which have been carefully excavated due to investigation and later Buddhist religion beliefs - the remains taken away to be looked after. Some however still lie untouched. All the graves were shallow, people were thrown in, sometimes still half alive and left to die on top of already dead corpses.

The momumental temple in which thousands of bones of victims are stored. On the back sign
to the right it says: "Would you please kindly show your respect to the many million people
killed under the genocidal Pol.Pot regime."

Today, as you walk around the area, you can still see random pieces of bone and teeth that appear all the time – especially when the ground becomes unearthed during the heavy rainfall in the rainy season.

For a $5 entrance fee, tourists are provided with an audio guide that provides an in-depth guide to all the sights around the Killing Fields with some heart-breaking and disturbing stories about what went on there. One of the most heart wrenching parts are the interviews with the few survivors/ eye witnesses of the crimes committed. You will hear about babies having their heads smashed against trees, people being killed for having soft hands or wearing glasses and about the way in which people were herded up like cattle and made to wait in horrendous conditions to be killed.

Another thing I learnt about during my visit was that the Khmer Rouge didn’t like to waste weapons on killing the victims as they preferred to preserve these for any combat. So, this is the reason for the brutal manner in which they killed people, by beating their heads in, cutting their throats with palm tree leaves (very tough, razor edged leaves) etc.

Skulls on display inside the memorial temple. 

Also, during the time of the killings, they used chemicals in the graves to speed-up the decomposing process as well as to disguise the foul smell from anyone nearby so that they didn’t realise what was going on. I also saw the speaker that was used in the evenings during killing times to disguise the sounds of victims being killed for anyone that was near.

Today most of the bodily remains from the mass graves can be found in the monumental temple that was erected in honour of the victims where they have carefully sorted and placed the bones in different shelves.

Sadly, I have none of my own photos to post from the graves as during my walk around I felt it was inappropriate. I couldn’t believe when I saw some people smoking cigarettes and eating/ drinking around the graves.

Mass grave uncovered, Siem Reap. August 2012
Photo: Phnom Penh Post

I did however take some pictures of the memorial which is situated outside of the main part of the grounds that houses the remains of many of the victims.

Killing Fields and mass graves are not only in Phnom Penh, there are many plotted around different parts of Cambodia. Only last week was another mass grave uncovered near Siem Reap province, read the story by the Phnom Penh Post here… PHNOM PENH POST ARTICLE



A chilling reminder of Cambodia’s retched, and recent history.


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A significant moment of insignificance.

Diary entry: From 8^th August 2012

Tonight I witnessed a motorbike accident in which I saw a young man smeared across a road and killed instantly.

My driver and I had to sit right beside this carnage for five minutes on the back of our moto before the understandable traffic jam started to move. A gushing feeling of emptiness came over me as I watched the aftermath process in a state of shock.

The more I watched, the more I noticed that the people were all too used to this sight – which really got to me. People were standing, looking, smoking, chatting, as if there were critiques at some sort of theatrical spectacle. In the meantime policemen were pushing everyone in sight, and frantically collecting pieces of the victim and soaking up the blood that had escaped onto the road.

I thought about the victim’s family, and the hard times to come for them. I thought about where he was heading to on his moto…and inevitably I thought about if it had have been me. Would I have had such an audience watching me, dead, in the middle of the road while they puffed on their cigg’s and tried to catch the best possible glimpse of me? Would I have been that insignificant too? Would my death just have been another number on the road, something that happens everyday in this city?

As we unsteadily sieved our way through the traffic jam and away from scene of the accident on our moto, I patted my driver on the back to try and evoke some sense of compassion between us for what we had just witnessed.  When finally we began to drive again, I knew that, in whichever language we spoke or religion we followed, we were both thinking the same thing…”That could have been me…Thank God it wasn’t.”

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Scenes like this are all too common in Cambodia.

• The number of registered vehicles in Cambodia now (as of 2009) exceeds 1,000,000, with motorcycles making up 79% of the motor vehicle population.
• Over the past five years, the number of fatalities caused by crashes has almost doubled.
• With 15.1 deaths per 10,000 vehicles, Cambodia has one of the highest fatality rates among the ASEAN countries.
• RCVIS (Road Crash Victim Information System) reports 77% of road traffic casualties in Cambodia are motorcycle riders and 44% suffer traumatic head injuries

NEWS: Greece - Desperate times, desperate measures?

Today international newswires reported that Greece is to deport 1,600 immigrants, all of whom have already been arrested in Athens.

Nikos Dendias, Public Order Minister, said that this is due to the economic problems facing the country and that they couldn't afford an "invasion of immigrants"

They are worried that there will be an increased number of immigrants trying to illegally enter the country as a result of the current war in Syria. Therefore border security with Turkey has been maxed.

More than 6,000 people were detained in recent days, though most were released.

More than 80% of mingrants enter the EU through Greece, which is currently a country in cronic financial downfall.

But what about the immigrants that have been sent back to where they came from? Those of whom have perhaps escaped social hardships or war in their own countries (88 Pakistan immigrants were sent back on Sunday) What is to await them upon their return...? Is it their own fault?... Is Greece doing right or wrong? 


.....?

Angkor Wat

Report coming soon of my visit to the incredible Ankor Wat...
"8th Wonder of the World"

TRAVEL: One day in Kampot.

A bit of a belated blog update, but three weekends ago I visited Kampot, a province in southern Cambodia.

A short report for a short visit…albeit a much needed one after having already lived for 3 weeks at the NGO.

Afternoon, Kampot.

*click photo's to enlarge*

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KAMPOT is situated a 5 hour journey from Phnom Penh by bus ($3.50)

The town is nothing special, in fact it is quite unattractive. The reason to go here is if you want to relax with some good food and see some nice scenery outside of the city.

The mountain’s around Kampot are beautiful and the sunset is one of the most profound I have seen - a very deep colour of orange.

Sunset in Kampot

This region used to be a huge supplier of pepper, something it’s still famous for – although not produced like it used to be. When the Khmer Rouge communist regime came to power in 1975 they stopped the production of pepper (most of which used to be transported to France) and instead they made the people grow rice.

While I was here, with my friend Amaia, we stayed at Belgian owned Olly’s Place. http://www.ollysplacekampot.com/ - an amazingly well priced accommodation right on the river which offered free water activities such as canoeing, windsurfing, paddle boarding etc. $5 a night. We spent some of the afternoon paddle boarding on the secluded river with the relaxing and stunning sights around us.

Olly's Place, Kampot

Paddle boarding, Kampot.

The next day we had a look around the town, where there is very little to see/ do, and not too many westerners around – we had many communication difficulties, which were actually rather fun. We were in search of a place that gave massages by blind people…a way for them to earn a living as there is not much, if any, support for blind people in Cambodia. 

We had no idea where this place was, so we kept going up to local people in shops/ their houses/ anywhere and asking if they knew. We looked like crazy people as we proceeded to put our hands over our eyes and then rub our shoulders while repeating, very slowly “BLIND MASSAGE”. We got some laughs and strange looks, I can assure you. Finally, a barely English speaking tuk-tuk driver was able to point us in the right direction.

–        And as for the massage, WOW. Those people make up for their lack of sight with the use of their hands. Incredible… painful, but incredible. If you ever visit look out for ‘healing hands massage – massages by the blind’ $4/1hr.

At the bridge, just after sunset.

Besos,

StevieG.x

Personal update

So, it's been a while since my last update. I have been busy/ ill with fever.

A quick ramble about what I have been up to here.

I have been contacting people to interview for the documentary/ promo video I am going to be making although it is going very slow - people here seem to do things very slowly, and communication can be a problem. I have had so many irritating telephone conversations with people who can't really speak English over the past weeks. The joy of a Mass Communication internship in a foreign country where you don't speak the language.

The conditions in which I am living are still proving challenging at times. I have super infected feet, due to the mosquitoes frivolous behaviour with them in the evening. Lustful creatures they are - can't really blame them though, I do have gorgeous set of tootsies - Photo, For Example (It looks worse in real life, I just didn't want the other people in the room to worry for my mental health for taking photos of my feet, so I just took one ;)  >>>

Facilities:

Toilet and "shower"

Bed: I sleep in the middle bunk with another person. We are currently nine in the room.

I was ecstatically happy when a Spanish girl arrived last week, but alas she has left. Amaia, from Bilbao. She was another experienced gypsy trotter, although the NGO here was not for her, and to be honest it really isn't what I expected either in terms of what has been offered as an internship as you are basically left to your own devices. But, as I have some personal ventures in the pipeline and the fact that I am simply enjoying absorbing my first time in Asia, I will stick it out. For the week she was here I just talked at her in Spanish, poor girl. We also accompanied each other on a weekend chillout trip to Kampot - I will write a blog about that separately.

Amaia and I. Bless.

Today, July 30th, I met with Jesus and Ana. Two other Spanish friends. Jesus was one of my private class students who used to come to my flat in Zaragoza once a week to practise. He speaks perfect English, he just didn't want to loose it. As we all know my famous quote (with credit to my Spanish teacher Carmen Usategui) "Languages are like relationships...if you don't put the time and effort in, they will never work!"

WOW...off topic. So, yes. He and his girlfriend Ana were going to Malaysia for their summer adventure, so when he found out I was going to be in Cambodia he booked a cheap flight over to visit. I ended up meeting them in the morning and going to the killing fields (MAJOR need to seperate blog article...coming soon)

Ana and Jesus. God love 'em

LUNCH - I have never seen two people look so worried in their lives when we went into this little restaurant near the central market. Just a local place which was very basic and a bit grotty. Beef and fried noodles I ordered, IN KHMER (Cambodian language) - I was so proud of that, haha. Jesus unwillingly ate away while Ana turned it down completely and left her plate full. In the afternoon we headed to the NGO - they found it very interesting - we arrived just in time for the evening prayer where all the students/volunteers/teachers join together in the main hall outside and recite prayers from all different religions.

Anyway, that's just a quick personal up-date. Now that I am feeling better and my face isn't turning bright red every hour (that kept happening last week when I had a fever) I will get back to blogging. so make sure you read. - AND LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE READING  ;)

>> Coming up...Kampot, Killing Fields (Choeung Ek)..and more.

Hope you are all well.

Besos,


StevieG

Some celeb encounters :p

For those of you who didn't have the privilege of ever seeing my wee interview with the stars in London for the premier of the movie Australia, here you go haha.  With Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman and Baz Lurhmann.


Almost 4 years ago now, wow. (Nervous Steve)


Sadly you can't see my lovely face while they are speaking, although you can imagine my eyes popping out of my head, while bouncing up and down hyper-actively (like a coke head) trying to push by all the other journalists trying to grab an interview. Was fun!

Oh, and while I'm at it, I may as well post this treat of a pic with my one and only love...SHAKIRA haha. In Dublin,  Dec 2011 - I look way to happy xD Lookin' cool Steve..NOT xD

There is also a photo existing with Simon Cowell/ Sharon Osbourne and I -  but that is horrendous!

Early Morning Market - Phnom Penh.

At 3.30am this morning I ventured out with  Dararith to a night market. He is the man in charge of cooking the meals for the NGO that I'm at here in Phnom Penh. He does this journey everyday, leaving at 3.45AM and getting back at about 7AM after buying enough food for lunch and dinner for over 330 people.

< < I took this video by a group of children who were laboriously descaling fish 

Apparently by Dararith, the earlier you go the cheaper it is. We travelled there with two students to help carry the goods. One student also drove the motorbike on which we had a cart attached to put the goods and also for us to sit on (see above photo)

She's knackered.

The market was huge, and not for the faint hearted. There were a lot of strange sights and smells - some more pleasant than others. I saw dead pigs being carted around on the back of mopeds, chickens dangling by their necks from every spare space on the stalls and women ferociously chopping away at huge chunks of meat.

Those chicken's have had it! xD

 I didn't know where the market began or ended, it was a complete maze of streets. Seemingly there was a section for each product - i.e. one for vegetables, one for fish and another for chicken/pork/beef etc. It had rained before we arrived so the floor was completely muddy and everybody was slipping everywhere. 

Choppin' away

I didn't see another western face in sight during the 2.5 hours we were there (which was great) - I was drawing quite a lot of attention to myself with my photo taking, that's for sure. I've been to many markets in foreign countries, but this one has definitely been the most fascinating - I was exhausted after leaving, but that probably had something to do with the two hours of sleep I had before arrival.

I took this photo at about 6am just as the sun was rising - It was beautiful.

Dararith and I, on the way back.

Besos,

StevieG. x

Coffee shop conscience

Written from diary, Sunday 15^th July 2012 @ 17.10pm

For almost four hours I have been sitting and reviving myself from a heavy night out. I'm at a modern, western owned café along the riverfront in Phnom Penh drinking my iced latte and eating cheesecake.

There is a full length glass window beside me which shows the small side-street by my sofa to which I have been looking out of for the past hour as though I were at a zoo.

I say this because of what I’ve been watching. Some kind of primal scene, it seems.

I’ve just seen a barefoot woman washing her six-month-old baby on the street. I saw two 20-something-year-old girls sitting while grooming each other for head lice. I saw children the age of six, dodging past cars, trying to sell bracelets and second hand books to passers by.

A feeling of guilt has come over me as I sit here… watching. I know I came here to help, but what can I do for all those people out there? It’s very sad, and even sadder to think that some people are so ignorant to not even know about it – as I was.

Tuol Sleng – S.21 – Genocide museum

The fate of Cambodia shocked the world when the radical communist Khmer Rouge under their leader Pol Pot seized power in 1975 after years of guerrilla warfare.

An estimated 1.7 million Cambodians died during the next three years, many from exhaustion or starvation. Others were tortured and executed.

A basic summary of the aim of this communist Khmer Rouge's regime was to get rid of all educated people and modernity in Cambodia. As soon as they came to power they evacuated all the cities and sent the inhabitants to rural areas to work the land under conditions of slavery and they killed anyone who was an intellectual or anybody who could go against their regime/ beliefs. You could even be killed for wearing a pair of reading glasses.

One of the cells in the S-21 facility where prisioners would
have been chained to the bed and forced into false confessions.

In Phnom Penh there still exists a chilling memory from this time. An old secondary school that was transformed in 1975 into ‘Security Office 21’ under the orders of Pol Pot.

The facility was designed for detention, interrogation, inhuman torture and killing after forced confession from the detainees were received and documented.

The bodies of fourteen victims were discovered by the United Front when they entered Phnom Penh on January 7^th, 1979. The corpses were unidentifiable due to bad decomposition. One of the corpses was that of a woman and these were the last people to be tortured in the S-21 facility before personnel fled as a result of the Vietnamese invading the city.

A list of rules that were enforced at S-21 during interrogation.

This photo shows the barbed-wire that was put outside the
corridors of the cells to ensure that none of the desperate
 tortured prisioners could commit suicide by jumping down.

Many forms of torture were used for interrogation purposes. These methods ranged from electrocution, beating, drowning and the pulling of nails and other parts of the body.

The research into prisoner records of S-21 shows the following number of inmates from 1975 to 1978

• 1975 – 154 prisoners
• 1976 – 2, 250 prisoners
• 1977 – 2, 350 prisoners
• 1978 – 5, 765 prisoners

This photo shows some of the tortured victime of Tuol Sleng
(click to enlarge)

These figures do not include children killed by Khmer Rouge which is estimated at around 20,000.

This museum is a stark reminder of the atrocities that happened in this country, not that long ago!

Visiting the prison was a very intense experience. Although most of the rooms are very bare and haven’t got any information to read, you can use your imagination to see what went on there. A very chilling experience, especially the last room which has cabinets filled with skulls and bones of victims that were found around the grounds of the facility. 

 (All photos taken by me)


Besos,

Stevieg

CLIMATE CHANGE: a week of extreme weather

This map shows some recent weather activity that's been happening around the world.

These incidents happened in the space of only five days, on every continent. Things are changing, and its worrying.

Source: GREENPEACE

To see bigger picture click on link below
GREENPEACE - A week of extreme weather

Besos,

Stevieg x

Cambodia update - Tuk-tuk's, blessings and Ladyboys

So, I have been in Cambodia for about two and a half weeks now. It’s been pretty eventful.

To be honest, I found it hard settling in to my new sleeping habits, that is, sharing a room with six others, and a bed with another person. Also eating rice three times a day was a bit of a shock to the old taste buds..OHH, and showering with a tap and pan. Although, now it’s fine. Still not used to the heat and mosquitoes at night though – sneaky little buggers they are!


Actually, I think the thing now that is most difficult is not having time alone or being able to be in silence. This is because there is always someone wanting to talk to you and practise their English, never an empty space to do what you want and always someone, in awe, looking over your shoulder while you are on your laptop, which is happening right now ;) However, I am sure I will get used to that too.

I didn’t leave the vicinity of the charity (NGO) I am working for until last week. This is because I spent a lot of time getting to know the students and teachers and so fourth. That did kill me a bit inside though - not leaving to explore the city upon arrival. I did manage to get in a few times to Phnom Penh during the week. It’s only a 25 minute drive by motorbike which costs me $3 (it costs locals 2$), which is always an argument with the scamming driver at the end of the journey – but I always win ;) I visited the Russian Market and met up with the guy who is going to help me make a short video for the charity.

The first time I went to Phnom Penh we had an accident on the way back on a crossroad. Another motorbike came flying into the side of ours (my drivers fault...I think), while about 10 cars swerved out of the way. This is all without a helmet too, of course - third world style. Sure enough, for the luck of my driver, the police happened to be across the other side of the crossroad and saw this happening. They pulled him over to fine him and a couple of dollars bribery later, there was a smug policeman with a few extra notes in his back pocket and we were on our way. Corruption. I was later told that police here are many, and they earn a very low salary, something in the range of $50 (£35) a month. I have never seen traffic like it is here in my life. It is so dangerous. You literally do put your life at risk everytime you go out, hence why life insurance is pretty much non-existent here.

 

Another interesting journey home was by tuk-tuk (see photo) – at night. We were happily driving along the national motorway when the motorbikes light went out, so we spent the rest of the journey shitting ourselves that a lorry was going to come up behind us and not be able to see us. Not fun. Make it back safe and sound though, and the driver tried to charge me $5 extra because of what happened, obviously he wasn’t successful.

We had a couple of visitors from Laos last week at the centre. I spent sometime with them and ended up one morning at a Buddhist temple being blessed (see photo below) Cultural experience, indeed.

On Saturday last week (the 14^th) I went to stay overnight in the capital. Had a crazy night. It is a really happening city with lots to do and see. Unbelievably I bumped into someone I knew from England in a little bar where  we saw some Ladyboys performing (you seriously wouldn't know any different haha). I mean, I’m in Phnom Penh…not Costa del Sol, so it was quite a coincidence to see them there.

Today I started teaching English. It’s a lot harder teaching it to people here as their language is completely different and they don’t have anything in common. Plus, I don’t speak their language (Khmer). In Spain, if I couldn’t explain something in English then I could do so in Spanish, but here it’s much more of a challenge.

The people are so friendly and hardworking though. They appreciate education and know that if they learn English they will have a lot of future possibilities.

So, half of the day I teach and the rest of the time I am emailing companies, support groups and charities to help with funding.  Also I am trying to organise ways to promote the organisation and let people know about us as what we are doing is on a wide scale, but because of lack of PR they are very unknown. Science of Life 24/7 is the name of the organisation, by the way.

I will update more about some of the things I have seen and done in later blogs – this is just a short up-date.

Hope you’re all well and happy.

Besos,

Stevieg

Frog-a-hontus

OK so, they eat a lot of interesting things here in Cambodia like chargrilled tarantula and snake, fried cockroach and frogs.

Today I was having my lunch of rice and fish with one of the English teachers and someone came into the kitchen with a bag of Lychees, some seeds and a bag of dried frogs for him. He told me that later he is going to fry them and give me one. I said 'ah ha' and smiled politely xD

A quickie in Bangkok

Bangkok –

CROWDED, sleazy and absolutely bizarre is how I would pin a few adjectives to this place - In other words, a travellers playground.

Arriving on a busy Friday evening after a 15 hour journey from London and Abu Dhabi I met with my couchsurfing host Jake – he’s originally from the Philippines. It was a short 2 day stop off in the city before my Cambodia flight.

The transportation in the city was surprisingly good, I was expecting it to be much more hectic, but it is very well laid out and easy to navigate with the airport link that goes directly to the centre, then their metro system (MRT) and also the newest Skytrain (BTS) which is elevated above ground.

We visited places such as the chatuchak, one of the world’s biggest markets and spans over 35 acres. There you can buy anything your heart so desires, from some fake Gucci, a second hand toaster or a gaggle of geese (the pet/animal part was mind-blowingly huge, with some really interesting animals for sale - see the poor half-dead rabbits in the photo)

At the market you can also find many places to eat. We found a little spot and had some Kanom Jin (green curry and noodles) which was accompanied by hard-boiled eggs, aubergine (‘Eggplant’ for the Americans) and solidified chicken blood. Pretty spicy stuff too. (see photo) Surprisingly I didn’t have to delve into my supply of 60 diarrhea tablets after – I’m sure my time will come soon enough here in Cambodia.

In the afternoon we rested after walking about in the scortching city heat all morning. On the way we stopped at a little side stall and purchased a local Thai drink called Cha Keaow, an interesting and refreshing mix of green tea, milk, condensed milk and crushed ice.

In the evening we took a free 10 minute boat ride to another part of the city called The Riverfront which is a newly developed tousity part of the city with lots of classy shops and eateries. There we ate at asiatique where we sampled a few more local dishes such as:

Om Yun Kung - a spicy soup with prawns)

Pad Thai - stir fried rice noodles with eggs and fish sauce, tamarind juice, red chilli pepper, plus any combination of bean sprouts, shrimp, chicken, or tofu, garnished with crushed peanuts, coriander and lime.

Caw Pad Guy – Which I am not too sure about, but I remember it had very thin gelatine-like noodles and beef with lots of green veg.

After that we headed to the sleeze in Patpong’s famous red light district where we saw a couple of very interesting/explicit sights and shows that I will not go into detail about here – all I can say is, ‘OH MY!’ – Definitely a must see though in Bangkok.

Finally, on Sunday, I spent the day at a hotel in the Pratunam area. This area is filled with windey streets, with small food vendors on the street sides and also hosts another of Bangkok’s famous markets, this one being aimed at tourists comprising of retail and outdoor stalls selling clothes (they say it’s one of the cheapest places to buy clothes in the city)

All in all, the two days spent in Bangkok were filled with lots of new experiences and cultural delights. And I thoroughly enjoyed my tuk-tuk journey back to the metro station on my way to the airport, especially the massive Spanish style argument I had with the driver about the price that he GIPPED me on at the end ;) All  in the fun of travelling.

Tuk-tuk

Besos,

Stevieg