Chea, a young student at the Cambodian Handicraft Association died last night after a short illness.  Chea was a real character – I would watch her at CHA and she was very perceptive and she would make all the students laugh – she always had love for everyone and could not do any harm. I sat with her on Saturday and Sunday – no one guessed where this would end.  The last think I said to her was “you ok” and she said to me ” I am fine thanks you”.  She was so gentle and loving she will be missed and never forgotten. I built my house beside the wood So I could hear you singing And it was sweet and it was good And love was all beginning Fare thee well my nightingale ‘Twas long ago I found you Now all your songs of beauty fail The forest closes ’round you The sun goes down behind a veil ‘Tis now that you would call me So rest in peace my nightingale Beneath your branch of holly Fare thee well my nightingale I lived but to be near you Tho’ you are singing somewhere still I can no longer hear you – the Nightingale by Leonard Cohen[...]

Tola is a teacher and ex-student at the Cambodian Handicraft Association.  She is a polio victim.  On Sunday 2 March was her birthday and I brought a small cake to celebrate with rest of the people at CHA.  Tola said it was her first birthday party and she really enjoyed it.[...]

Following a request by the Phnom Penh municipality on Tuesday, Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered an “urgent” ban on the use and importation of flavoured tobacco product shisha, as well as smokeless e-cigarettes, leading to crackdowns and voluntary store closures nationwide.After receiving on Tuesday an assessment from the National Authority for Combating Drugs (NACD) maintaining that the products posed a risk to Cambodian youth, Hun Sen wrote on the same day: “Agreed, and please take urgent and firm action. Allow the NACD to lead and implement it.”In his letter assessing the products, Deputy Prime Minister Ke Kim Yan, president of the NACD, also made recommendations on how to curb their use.   “The general public sees that shisha and e-cigarettes are drugs which get youths hooked and make them neglect their studies and work, and may lead to serious problems for the nation,” Kimyan said, before recommending “ceasing use by seizing and destroying the shisha and e-cigarettes, [implementing] banning measures and stopping imports”. These recommendations, which the prime minister accepted, were sent from the NACD to provincial and municipal authorities nationwide, with the order to implement the measures with “high effect”. That “high effect” played out on Tuesday night, as four shisha lounges in Siem Reap town were raided, with authorities seizing shisha and the water pipes used to smoke it, as well as apprehending 31 people who they “educated” on the dangers of the product and then released, police said. Though the NACD itself confirmed that samples of shisha provided by the Phnom Penh municipality contained no illegal drugs – as the municipality initially suggested – NACD secretary-general Meas Virith said yesterday that “they contained nicotine, which could have more effect than [that found in] cigarettes”. “Using shisha and e-cigarettes encourages people to use it [more], and leads to the use of drugs by illegally mixing them with shisha,” he added, noting that the ban only required businesses to stop selling shisha, not to close entirely. According to Siem Reap provincial police chief Sort Dina, of the 31 people detained for education on Tuesday, five were carrying drugs. Shisha lounges in the capital have denied having anything to do with drugs and have called the ban unfair. Even though the ban does not require lounges to close entirely, Lem Oudom, manager of The Sands shisha lounge in Phnom Penh, said yesterday that he would close for the time being after receiving a letter from authorities yesterday. “We have closed our shop for a while, and are just cleaning it,” he said. “We are waiting for the boss to decide what we can change the shop into, but normally, apart from smoking shisha, our shop just serves beverages such as cocktails and other drinks.” From Phnom Penh Post Photo  is Im from CHA[...]

work up this morning to construction noise. On checking the front street saw this constructon going on. Waiting to see whether its a funeral or wedding.  Both will go for three days – the music that plays non stop is slightly brighter for the wedding. It blocks the whole street and is actually hard to get into my gate. Oh well Cambodia.  I heard to day describe as Cambodia the land of wonder – I wondering what will happen tomorrow.[...]

The traffic in Phnom Penh is terrible. On the way to work in the morning at 7  it is building up to real traffic chaos.  The motor bikes are everywhere. A lot of riders use them as they would if they were walking – that is ride them anywhere.  And not to sound to old but the younger riders really don’t seem to concentrate on anything and need to do it fast. This coupled with the Cambodian approach of “just do it and don’t look and it will be ok noone will see you do it” leads to terrific traffic jams – that everyone is very apologetic about. Road rage doesn’t seem to be a factor here yet. Like this little hole in the wall restaurant in the photo we need some magic on the roads here everyday.    [...]

Adelaide was off to school camp for a week today.[...]

CHA celebrated Valentine’s day with a small party with cake and gifts for everyone. Mr Kim organised small gifts of nail polish, lotions, lip balms, etc.  [...]

Strike strategy shifts Thu, 13 February 2014 Mom Kunthear and Sean Teehan In the wake of a Tuesday court decision to deny bail to 21 detainees arrested at demonstrations supporting a nationwide garment worker strike, union groups yesterday agreed to reignite the strike, but to dial back their tactics. On sheets of drawing board paper, leaders of nine union groups mapped out their timeline for the strike, which will not begin until the middle of next month and will call for workers to remain home for the strike’s duration, rather than participate in demonstrations. PHOTO: Marpa from CHA plaiting strings of beads[...]

from the Voice of America- Khmer:  The Cambodian Court of Appeals has denied bail to 21 detained labor protesters, setting the stage for more demonstrations on their behalf.    Following a three-hour, closed-door hearing in Phnom Penh on Tuesday, judge Kun Leang Meng said he would not allow the 21 activists to be released because they posed a threat to public security. The photo is of some of the students at the Cambodian Handicapped Association on Muesday 11 February 2014[...]