Friday, September 26, 2008

Visit to Cambodia in 10/2002

It was the first time that I went to Cambodia at the same time as Boney who came down from Dallas, USA. It was also the first time that Fr. Vincent met him since he left for the USA in 1990.

During that visit we had spent good time with friends in Phnom Penh. We went also to visit deep-Cambodia in Borvel, Battambang with Vansak, Khan Vuthy and Sovannara. It was strange to me to go to visit my birthplace which I didn't recognize. The roads to go there were very very bad and dusty with a lot of potholes. At the end of day, my ass were on fire! The very strange thing to me was that there were plenty of Chinese graves in the rice fields; I didn't think that there were a lot of chinese-cambodians in that area.

We visited also Bangkok where we were greatly received by our friend Sunnary who lived overthere at the time. Thank you Sunnary for your hospitaly!


In a restaurant in Phnom Penh, Friday 25/10/2002


In a restaurant in Phnom Penh, Friday 25/10/2002


In a restaurant in Phnom Penh, Friday 25/10/2002


In a restaurant in Phnom Penh, Friday 25/10/2002



Below are some pictures in Sang Raing, near Borvel. As you can see, the cooks were with us to make our lives easier :-) Thank you guys!






After lunch Sovanara took a bath in the river in front of the house.



In Bangkok with Sunary and her cute kids.




More pictures are available here.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Tourists go to ski

Here are some pictures took when we go skiing in the resorts near Grenoble: Chamrousse and les 7-Laux. If you guys come down here one day, we will bring you up there.

On the road to Chamrousse.


Oh my god, car starts to slip a lot... It was time to put on winter equipment on the car wheels.



Picture below is the top of les 7-Laux ski resort. The black sign behind means that the ski level is difficult. There are 5 ski levels:
- Green : easy, for beginners
- Blue: a little bit difficult, for beginners with some experiences
- Red: difficult, for good practice skiers
- Black: very difficult, for good skiers
- "Out of road ski": very very difficult, do whatever you want in the mountain at your own risk.

Saren, Sakun, Phala, David

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Khmers Surin

Khmers Surin are Khmers who live in the Thai provinces of Surin, Sisaket, Buriram, Trat and Roi Et since Cambodia lost these provinces to Thailand after the decline of the Khmer Empire. Some of these Khmers have tried hard to keep Khmer language and culture alive.

Below are some articles related to Khmer Surin:

- Khmer Surin literacy project: click here

- Khmer Surin hero needs your help

- Un combat solitaire pour préserver l'héritage des "Khmers Surin" (in French)
>>>> In Khmer

- Khmers du Cambodge et Khmers de Surin : des frères qui se méconnaissent (in French)
>>>>In Khmer

A Video on Khmer Surin


Another Video on Khmer Surin


A Khmer Surin's song



Below article was originally posted on http://ka-set.info here

Khmers du Cambodge et Khmers de Surin : des frères qui se méconnaissent
Par Sarah Oliveira
06-06-2008

Khmer Surin - Baray - Sneng © Vandy Rattana
Surin (Thaïlande), le 15 avril 2008. Baray (réservoir d'eau) de Sneng,
à une dizaine de kilomètres de la ville de Surin
© Vandy Rattana

On les appelle les "Khmers Surin", du nom de la province où ils sont notamment établis, mais, pour nombre de Cambodgiens, ils sont en tout point semblables à leurs compatriotes thaïlandais dont ils partagent le nord-est du territoire. Pourtant, les Khmers vivant au nord de la chaîne des Dangrêk sont bel et bien issus de la culture khmère. Ils ont été séparés de la mère-patrie à la suite du recul du territoire khmer au profit du Siam voisin, et possèdent aujourd'hui la nationalité thaïlandaise. Entre eux et les Cambodgiens, la frontière n'est pas qu'un tracé sur les cartes. Elle est aussi dans les têtes.

"Ce sont des kramas siamois !", s'exclame une couturière de Phnom Penh devant des tissus de Surin. Quand on l'informe qu'ils ont été tissés par des "Khmers Surin", elle persiste à faire l'amalgame : "Les Khmers Surin, ce sont des Siamois", marmonne-t-elle. Difficile de concevoir que de l'autre côté de la frontière thaïlandaise, ceux que l'on appelle "Khmers Surin", sont un même peuple, parlent la même langue… Pourtant, selon l'historien et ethnologue cambodgien Michel Tranet, cela ne fait aucun doute.

Une isolation d'abord géographique
Afin de comprendre l'histoire des peuples de la région, il préconise de faire abstraction de toute notion de frontière. Selon lui, la présence des Khmers dans les provinces de Surin, Buriram, Sa Keo, Ubon, Si Sa Ket, Trat et d'autres provinces [sur le territoire actuel de la Thaïlande] est attestée depuis la période du Funan et du Chenla, et même avant. "Ils ont préservé un certain archaïsme de la langue et de la culture khmères car, vivant sur les hauts-plateaux, ils étaient géographiquement isolés", explique Michel Tranet.

Une culture préservée bien que le Cambodge ait perdu la souveraineté sur ces territoires depuis les XVIe et XVIIe siècles (1). Aujourd'hui, les "Khmers Surin" basculent peu à peu vers la culture thaïe, en particulier les jeunes. D'autres Khmers de Thaïlande, notamment dans la province de Nakhon Ratchasima (Nokor Reach Seima en khmer), prise par les Siamois en 1374, se sont déjà fondus dans le peuple thaï. Actuellement, il ne reste plus comme vestiges de l'ère khmère que les temples, dont le plus célèbre est sans doute celui de Phimaï. La culture immatérielle khmère a quant à elle disparu, les Khmers de cette région ne parlant pratiquement plus leur langue d'origine. Un phénomène qui n'est pas unique à la Thaïlande : "En fin de compte, on peut considérer que cela se passe de la même manière pour les Phnongs du Cambodge", souligne Michel Tranet.

Une fissure d'ordre politique
Aujourd'hui, les contacts entre "Khmers Surin" et Cambodgiens demeurent limités. Les ouvriers cambodgiens passent surtout par la porte frontalière de Poïpet, bien plus au Sud, pour chercher du travail en Thaïlande. Quant aux touristes cambodgiens, ils sont bien rares à Surin. Or il y aurait de quoi les impressionner dans la région : des dizaines de temples khmers pré-angkoriens et angkoriens, ainsi que plusieurs Baray (réservoirs d'eau) à la superficie imposante. "Un jour, quelques Cambodgiens des camps de réfugiés de la frontière ont obtenu l'autorisation de se rendre à une conférence à Surin. Lorsqu'ils ont réalisé que nous parlions aussi khmer ici, ils étaient si émus qu'ils nous ont pris dans leurs bras", se souvient Thong Luang, un ancien du village de Phum Ponn, sis dans la province de Surin.

On aurait pourtant pu facilement concevoir que les "Khmers Surin" et les Cambodgiens aient maintenu des liens forts. Une frontière divise mais n'est pas forcément hermétique. Selon Thong Luang, la principale raison de la fissure est d'ordre politique. Il a beau répéter que "les paysans ne s'intéressent pas à la politique", à l'écouter, force est de constater que celle-ci a laissé des traces, notamment l'hostilité de Norodom Sihanouk envers la Thaïlande, précise-t-il.

A cela s'ajoutent de petits incidents et des idées reçues qui ont la vie dure, et ne favorisent pas un réchauffement des relations entre les deux camps. "Dès que je franchis la frontière, ne serait-ce que pour acheter du poisson, je me fais arnaquer alors que je parle khmer avec les vendeurs", se plaint Thong Luang. Quant à la jeune "Khmer Surin" Tim, elle ne sait peut-être pas très bien de quoi elle parle quand elle avoue ne pas vouloir se rendre au Cambodge "à cause des bombes".

Chaimongkol, un fervent défenseur de la langue khmère à Surin, s'inquiète, lui, de l'état de corruption généralisée qui règne au Cambodge, tout en reconnaissant que la Thaïlande souffre également, "mais dans une moindre mesure", de ce fléau. "Pas besoin de mettre fin à la corruption à 100 % ! Une baisse de 20 % suffirait pour le moment. Et pourquoi ne pas créer dans l'année une Journée sans corruption, durant laquelle tout le monde s'engagerait à ne pas recevoir de pots-de-vin ?", suggère-t-il non sans ironie. Puis, sur un ton plus sérieux, il confie : "Si la corruption ne recule pas au Cambodge, je crois que l'on court à la catastrophe".

Preab Sovath à Surin ?
Peu de relations, méconnaissance réciproque, préjugés… Si le Cambodge ne fait guère envie à la jeune Tim, c'est le regard empli d'émotion qu'elle prononce le mot "Angkor". Thong Luang a, lui, déjà eu l'occasion de se rendre au Cambodge, chez les "Khmers d'en bas" comme il dit. Des photos immortalisent son couple posant religieusement ici devant le Palais royal de Phnom Penh, là devant Angkor Vat. En tournant les pages de son album photos, il murmure : "Vous savez, ce n'est pas comme faire un voyage à l'étranger. C'est un peu comme aller dans son propre pays car là-bas tout le monde parle khmer…"

"Miser sur les échanges culturels se révélerait une politique efficace de rapprochement avec les Khmers d'en bas", estime Thong Luang. Chaimongkol ne manque pas d'idées à ce sujet : "Pourquoi ne pas inviter un joueur de chapey du Cambodge ou même Preab Sovath [star de la chanson populaire cambodgienne] à se produire dans notre village de Phum Ponn au prochain Nouvel an khmer ?" Le chef de la commune, Lum Leut - d'origine sino-laotienne mais parlant un peu khmer - confie qu'il n'y verrait pas d'inconvénient. "Seulement, la commune ne pourrait pas financer l'événement seule", précise-t-il. Cette année, lors de la soirée du Nouvel an organisée par la commune, plusieurs chansons khmères de Surin se sont mêlées aux chansons thaïes.

L'artiste Preab Sovath, dont le répertoire comprend quelques chansons de style "kantreum", sait-il que cette musique des "Khmers Surin" est à l'origine une musique de possession ? "Il vaut mieux que les Cambodgiens ne le sachent pas, ils risqueraient de prendre peur et de ne plus écouter de kantreum !" lance Chaimongkol dans un grand rire.

Les recherches s'arrêtent souvent à la frontière
Parmi les historiens cambodgiens, Michel Tranet fait figure d'exception. Il est le seul à s'intéresser de près aux "Khmers Surin". "De nombreux Thaïlandais effectuent des recherches portant sur les Khmers du nord-est de la Thaïlande. Mais leur point de vue est biaisé car ils n'ont pas le choix. Les Thaïlandais étant un peuple de formation récente, leur discours est politisé et emprunt de nationalisme", estime-t-il. Cependant, Michel Tranet ne croit pas que ses recherches ne fâchent les Thaïlandais. Il ne s'agit pas de revendiquer un territoire mais de les aider à mieux comprendre la formation de leur peuple.

Michel Tranet regrette le manque d'intérêt des Cambodgiens pour la recherche. Et quant à ceux, peu nombreux, qui s'y consacrent, il déplore que leur intérêt s'arrête souvent aux frontières ou se limite à la période angkorienne. Il préconise une approche apolitique, non cloisonnée, plus proche de la réalité historique, en étudiant au sens large la culture mon-khmère.

Mener des recherches sur la culture des "Khmers Surin" permet notamment de mieux connaître l'histoire du Chenla et l'évolution de la langue khmère, insiste-t-il. "Ne pas étudier l'histoire d'un peuple sur toute son étendue territoriale et se limiter à une seule époque, c'est l'estropier. La période angkorienne c'est seulement un arbre alors que la culture mon-khmère, c'est la forêt. Mes recherches ont pour objectif de préserver la mémoire collective d'un peuple ancien. C'est en sachant d'où l'on vient que l'on peut retrouver son identité, sa fierté, son âme." En tant qu'historien, il faut se placer au-dessus de la mêlée, des querelles politiques, pour contribuer à bâtir une culture de paix, conclut Michel Tranet.

(1) Histoire du Royaume du Cambodge, Alliance entre les populations khmère et thaïe à partir du XIIIe siècle, Michel Tranet, 2005 (en khmer)
Retour au 3e paragraphe

Vendredi prochain, deuxième volet de ce reportage effectué dans la province thaïlandaise de Surin avec le portrait de Chaimongkol, qui veut remettre au khmer ses pairs, devenus aujourd'hui davantage des locuteurs thaïs que khmérophones.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

JRS tribute to Fr. Vincent

The below article is originally posted on JRS website here.

Cambodia: former JRS staff member passes away

On 4 August, former JRS Cambodia staff member, Fr Vincent Dierckx SJ, died at the age of 87. He had returned to his native Belgium in 2005 after being made bedridden from a fall.

Fr Vincent began working for JRS in the 1980s in camps set up for Cambodian refugees on the Thai border. He worked for JRS until 2001 where he was responsible for a variety of tasks relating to administration and hospitality.

The sad news of his demise was received in Cambodia on 5 August when two Jesuit communities, from Phnom Penh and Banteay Prieb, a JRS technical school for persons with disabilities 25km from the capital, came together for a weekly meeting. Appropriately, the mass was celebrated in the chapel which was Fr Vincent’s former room.

On 19 August, JRS Cambodia staff and friends gathered in Phnom Penh for a memorial service in his honour.

Monsignor Kike Figerado, a close JRS partner, presided at the mass, with the readings in both English and Khmer.

In his homily, Monsignor Kike, who had known Fr Vincent for some 20 years, spoke of how the highly qualified university professor treated everyone with gentleness and made all feel welcomed and loved.

Fr Vincent was a person of great ability and kindness, and he will be sorely missed by those who knew him.

Story dated: 16/09/08

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Young Vincent


Fr. Vincent was born on 13/1/1921 in a big family of 5 boys and 4 girls.
He died on 4/8/2008 at age of 87.

Below are two pictures of him when he was young:


From Left to Right: Marcel, Vincent, Charles and Albert (Colette's Father).
The oldest brother is not on the picture.


Fr. Vincent in 1939 (he was 18).

Monday, September 15, 2008

Pchum Ben / Ancestors' day / La Toussaint buddhique

Cambodia enters a 14-day celebration in memory of the deaths from September 15 to September 30. The last day of this period , i.e September 30, is Pchum Ben (Ancestors' day or La "Toussaint buddhique").

For Pchum Ben day, people cook meals for monks, bring offerings to the temple and pray for their deceased relatives and friends. They put the food near the temple early in the morning as they believe that their ancestors will receive it.

This is an occasion that we can pay our respects to Fr. Vincent...

____________________________________________________________________
Read the follwoing article in French (exerpted from CambodgeSoir):


Pchum Ben, les autorités appellent au respect bouddhique

Les Cambodgiens célèbrent la fête des morts du 15 au 30 septembre. A cette occasion, Mob Sarin, vice gouverneur de la municipalité de Phnom Penh, appelle les responsables à coopérer pour éviter les débordements.
© Pring Samrang
Le comité national de l’organisation des fêtes aimerait que les célébrations se passent pour le mieux. En effet, à l’occasion de la fête des morts, des troubles entachent régulièrement le bon déroulement des cérémonies. Cette année, Mob Sarin souhaite une meilleure coopération entre les responsables des cultes et les autorités locales, afin que ces événements peu compatibles avec la sagesse bouddhiste ne se reproduisent pas.

Ces recommandations concernent avant tout le dernier jour, nommé Pchum Ben (rassemblement des grains de paddy). Après les 14 jours de la période de Kan Ben, le Pchum Ben débute dès quatre heures du matin. Les bouddhistes se rendent à la pagode la plus proche pour asperger les stupas de grains de paddy par l’entremise des moines. Pour les mendiants, c’est l’occasion de tester la générosité des hommes. Mais d’autres en profitent également pour semer le désordre, une pratique malheureusement courante ces dernières années.

En plus d’appeler à la vigilance, Mob Sarin a suggéré que l’on profite de l’événement pour rendre hommage aux victimes du régime de Pol Pot.


Sunday, September 14, 2008

Pictures in 1989, 2000

Below are some pictures I took in 1989 in Bangkok before I left for France and in 2000 when I visited Cambodia.

Sorry for the qualitfy of the images.


On Choa Praya river in Bangkok. August 1989




In a restaurant in Bangkok. August 1989
Fr. Vincent, Sakun, Olivier, Worak


Phnom Penh airport, 2000


Phnom Penh airport, 2000

Phnom Penh airport, 2000

Waiting for friends in Hok's office

Fr. Vincent & Vanak's family, 2000


In a restaurant with friends. Phnom Penh 2000


In a restaurant with friends. Phnom Penh 2000



In a restaurant with friends. Phnom Penh 2000





In a restaurant with friends. Phnom Penh 2000


In a restaurant with friends. Phnom Penh 2000


In a restaurant with friends. Phnom Penh 2000


In front of a restaurant after dinner. Phnom Penh 2000


The pictures below are the souvenir of my trip from Phnom Penh to Battambang in 2000. As you can see the national road was really bad at that time.



Saturday, September 13, 2008

A regret ...

After my visit to Fr. Vincent in August 2006, I wanted to create a blog or a website to put all the pictures I took with him in Belgium, to allow friends to see him and to know how was his life once back to Belgium. Also I wanted to let him know that we will never forget him...

But the blog or the website was never created before he is gone. I deeply regret about this, essentially because creating a blog is not too complicated and drop some lines from time to time is neither a big issue.

This regret will remain in me for always.

Friday, September 5, 2008

Visit to Fr Vincent in Belgium in 2006

Visit to Father Vincent in Belgium on 5-6/8/2006

As all friends, we lost trace of Fr Vincent since he left Cambodia (end 2004?). We knew he was in Belgium but were unable to locate him. I asked friends in Cambodia, France... No one knew where he was.

In the begining of 2006 (I think it was in March or April), Vily forwarded us an email, from Guy Seigneuric, inside which there was Father Vincent's address. Bingo, we got him! Thank you Guy.

The connection with him is re-established. Vily, Phala and Saren were able to organize their visit to him rapidly, at the end of April 2006. They were joined by Sakal from Paris.

I planned to visit him at the end of July but finally pushed to the week-end 5-6/8/2006.
I took Brussels Airlines with my family early in the morning of 5/8 from Lyon airport and arrived at Brussels airport slightly after 9 am.

After crossing the immigration, we were excited. Couldn't wait to see him again! He was not in the crowd in front of us. Where is he? I tried to find him in all directions... I breathed deeply, rose my eyes. I saw then a hand in the air, waving. I followed down the hand... It was him! (He was a bit away from the crowd as they may made him fall accidentally) I reached him rapidly and we shared a warm hug. Oh my god, it was nice to meet him again. Kids & wife were happy to meet him again as well (Maelle was 1 year and saw him for the first time). He introduced us Father Alois who served as the driver! Thank you Fr Alois.

We left the airport to Jesuit House where he lived. Arriving at his home, we took a break together in the dinner room. We discussed... Happy to see each other again.


Fr Vincent played with Pauline

A beautiful smile on a happy face

After the break, we visited his room and he then brought us to our room. Kids were tired of the journey and took a rest in the room. We joined him around noon for lunch. He reserved for us a special room. We were received like the princes! The lunch were delicious and the soup was really excellent!


The excellent soup

Lunch continued and the discussions went on, interrupting from time to time by kids' noises.

After lunch, we went for a small walk then Father went to his room for a rest. We did the same. Kids were excited and played in the room.

In the evening, he brought us to visit the center of Leuven (Louvain). I was very impressed by the architectures I had never seen before. The downtown is really beautiful and is crowded of people who enjoyed their free Saturday to do shoppings, to go out with friends..

Behind is the library of Leuven (I think)

Leuven downtown

A small street with plenty of restaurants

After a small walk in downtown, we went for dinner together in a restaurant.

The dinner finished, we went back to his home. Kids as well as him were tired. Kids were tired because we woke up very early to take the plane. He was tired as he didn't take a nap as usual but he never complained he was tired. He made a tremendous effort to spend his time with us and made us pleasure. We were separated for the night.

On 6/8/2008, we woke up at 8h. We took an excellent breakfirst together and then went for a small promenade. We talked about the past, friends, Site 2, Cambodia. He wanted to have fresh news from Cambodia.


Breakfirst


We talked about his new life here in Belgium. Most of the Fathers in Jesuit House are retired from Congo at the end of their missions. They get a retired pension from Belgium government as their missions are recognized by this latter. Unlike the others, Father Vincent got no pension from the government by that time.

He told about his visit to Father Charles, his sister....

I asked him the reason of his silence when he was back to Belgium. He said baecause I don't want people feel oblige to visit me or to get news from me. I said: it is not an obligation for us to visit you. It is a pleasure! He just smiled and then we passed on to other things.


Run, run Forest (Gump) ...


After the promenade, he took a rest in his room. During that time, we went to visit a beautiful castle not far away his place. The park is huge. Kids enjoyed running around.


After lunch, we went to visit the church (the one where his funeral ceremony happenned) and did a small promenade. We then took a break in our room and made the luggage for our return.

He brought us with Fr Alois back to the airport.


Fr. Alois played with Pauline & Maelle

Fr. Alois played with Pauline.
In the back, Fr Vincent joined us for the airport


At the aiport.Time to say goodbye.

It was hard for us to leave him, to say goodbye...

We were very happy to meet and touch him again. The 2-day visit was short but full of emotions and souvenirs. Thank you for your always warming reception. Thank you for kindness. You know that you are in my heart for always.


Thursday, September 4, 2008

Cambodia's population approaches 14 million

Waouh... 14 million Cambodians! In less than 30 years, you guys have tripled our population. Well done guys!

The only concern I have is that Khmer leaders continue to maintain 13.9 million Cambodians in extreme poverty and do little to protect the nation and its population.

Read the article below.


Sakun

____________________________________________________________________

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Cambodia's population approaches 14 million

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's population is approaching 14 million people, more than half of whom are women, according to preliminary results from the first general census, local media reported Thursday.

"According to the preliminary results, the population of Cambodia stood at 13,388,910 at midnight on March 3, 2008, consisting of 6,495,512 males and 6,893,398 females," Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sar Kheng, who also chairs the National Census Committee, was quoted as saying in the Phnom Penh Post.

The provisional figures at the national level indicate that the total fertility rate and growth rate of the population has slowed down as predicted, he added.

The census also found that while Cambodia remains a largely rural country, more people were living in cities, the newspaper said.

The average household contained 4.7 people, according to census figures.

The projected annual growth rate in 2010 is expected to be 1.54 percent, still higher than that of East Asia, which stands at 1.3 percent.