*Dear fellow compatriots,* * *
*Sousdey Chnam Thmey! * * * *I hope you all had a great time during the Khmer New Year celebration. While some of you are still in the festivity mood, I would like to share with you the article below that I wrote and sent in response to Bangkok Post's condescending article:* ''Poor Cambodia not looking so 'poor' any more'' ( http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/287688/poor-cambodia-not-looking-so-poor-anymore ). *I hope it will inspire some of you to take similar action whenever the dignity of our nation is under a virulent attack. * * * *May the year of Dragon bring you and your loved ones, success, prosperity and happiness.* * * *Truly,* * * *DL * ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Davan Long <[email protected]> Date: Mon, Apr 16, 2012 at 8:41 PM Subject: Response to Mr. Pandey's Shocking Article To: [email protected] Dear editors, As a citizen of Cambodia, I feel compelled to respond to the shocking article entitled ''Poor Cambodia not looking so 'poor' any more'' by Umesh Pandey, posted in the opinion section on April 6, 2012. I find it quite odd that such article, which would have been instantly rejected by reputable media outlets in any civilized society due to its offensive nature and sub-standard quality of journalism, somehow managed to find its place in a renowned national newspaper such as BP. Allow me to address some of the points mentioned by Mr. Pandey. It is totally absurd for him to imply that the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC), or the government of any other country on Earth for that matter, sends its citizens abroad to become beggars. Granted that there are Cambodians begging in Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket; but had Mr. Pandey done the slightest background work prior to writing his article, he would have quickly found out that most of those beggars were held captive and forced to beg by the criminals or human traffickers in your country. Scores of Cambodians have been tricked to come to Thailand on the promise of a better-paid job, only later to find themselves held hostage and submitted into all kinds of inhuman treatments in the Land of Smiles. Interestingly enough, I wonder what Mr. Pandey has to say about Thai prostitutes overseas. Have they been exported by your country? Mr. Pandey’s seemingly inadequate knowledge and understanding of neighbouring countries is quite disturbing, given his glamorous job title of Asia Focus Reporter. Like other emerging countries in the World, Cambodia welcomes and is grateful for all foreign aid and assistances to accelerate the development of its human resources, economy and infrastructure. For the record, let there be no doubt in anyone’s mind that contrary to Mr. Pandey’s preposterous statement, the RGC has no “begging bowl”. Since Mr. Pandey seems to find great joy in equating a legitimate recipient of international aid to a beggar, let me remind him that Thailand itself was historically one of the biggest recipients of foreign aid. In fact, Thailand was listed as an economic aid recipient until 2002. During its financial crisis in 1997, Thailand would have arguably become a bankrupt nation had it not received the $17 billion bailout fund from the IMF. In the late 1980s, Thailand was one of the epicenters for the growing HIV/AIDS pandemic according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Without the prolonged financial and technical assistances from foreign donors, Thailand probably still remains one of the epicenters of HIV pandemic today. With regard to Cambodia’s foreign relations, the RGC fully recognizes that it has a special relationship with China. However, contrary to Mr. Pandey’s wild imaginations, that relationship does not hinder Cambodia’s ability and commitment to fulfill its ASEAN chairmanship mandate. Indeed, it is exactly the opposite. As a long-time trusted friend of China, Cambodia looks forward to capitalize on that friendship to promote constructive dialogs between ASEAN and China and to ultimately address the issue of South China Sea sovereignty in a manner that is acceptable to all claimants. Mr. Pandey’s implicit suggestion that China lobbied Cambodia and that some wheeling and dealing took place prior to the Summit at the expense of ASEAN, is utterly misleading and entirely speculative. Ironically, if ASEAN were to apply his logic, Thailand would have been unfit for its roles as ASEAN chairman in 2009 and general secretary since 2008 because of the armed standoff with Cambodia over the Preah Vihear issue. Mr. Padey seriously needs to get a grip and raise the bar for his journalism. Davan Long -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Cambodia Discussion (CAMDISC) - www.cambodia.org" group. This is an unmoderated forum. Please refrain from using foul language. Thank you for your understanding. Peace among us and in Cambodia. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/camdisc Learn more - http://www.cambodia.org
