SwatCambodia

Man, has it been a while.

2011-02-15T11:34:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of updates, folks. It's been a busy senior year for me (the lone senior in the group). But, we all found time to relax and enjoy some delicious Thai food at the Nooddi Thai Chef restaurant in Media this past weekend. Here's a picture of some happy SwatCambodia-ers (they're not quite SwatCambodians haha).

Scratch the Fashion Show...but a N64 Super Smash Tournament? I THINK SO.

Fashion show!

2010-10-12T17:29:00.000-07:00

This winter, we'll be hosting Project Runway (Swat Edition)! Swarthmore students will have the chance to show off their creativity and design

1. an outfit made completely of 'trash'
2. an outfit made of reused clothing
3. an outfit of their own design, made from cloth

There will be snarky comments from judges, hot models, and a cappella groups! And best of all, there will be a chance for you to donate to our cause!

Tentatively scheduled for the evening of November 26th. Save the date!

Cambodia in the news...and it's not good

2010-07-26T20:06:00.000-07:00

Some of the people who were behind an entire genocide 30 years ago have finally been brought to trial...and given a measly 19 year sentence.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/27/world/asia/27cambodia.html?_r=1

He was in charge of Tuol Sleng prison. If you're ever in Cambodia, visit S21, see the torture chambers, instruments, and meticulously documented pictures...and then see if you feel 19 years is enough.

It's been 40 years...

2010-05-24T18:57:00.000-07:00

...since the Kent State massacre. The Ohio National Guard opened fire on unarmed students at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. The students were protesting America's invasion of Cambodia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_State_shootings

Monsters in Cambodia!!

2010-05-11T08:23:00.001-07:00

Well, knitted ones.

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/work-connect/cambodians-knit-monsters-poverty.html

What a great idea!

2010-04-15T08:39:00.000-07:00

As part of Cambodia Week 2010, non-violent activist George Lakey was kind enough to give a talk about his experiences in Cambodia during the 90s, giving nonviolence training. We had issues with the camera, so the last bit of the talk wasn't documented, but if you have questions, please feel free to email swatcambodia@gmail.com.

Finally!

2010-04-07T18:28:00.000-07:00

Sorry it took so long for me to post about our trip, but here is a feature on the Swarthmore web page that is all about the trip. Let me know if you have any questions!

http://www.swarthmore.edu/x29349.xml

...annnnnd we're off!

2010-03-05T02:37:00.000-08:00

Today, we begin the 26 hours of flying before finally arriving at Phnom Penh, Cambodia for our jam-packed spring break. Hopefully, there will be time for homework.

Thanks to everyone who made this first group trip possible!

Almost time to go!

2010-03-03T15:53:00.001-08:00

Our flight leaves from the Philadelphia Airport on Friday, March 5, 8 AM. Finally, SwatCambodia is going to Cambodia! We'll have news, updates, and pictures from our travels after we come back to finish off the semester.

In the meantime, here is a fascinating article about one man who planted landmines in the past...but is now undoing that by teaching villagers how to safely disarm the landmines!

http://gimundo.com/news/article/aki-ra-former-khmer-rouge-soldier-disarms-landmines-by-hand/

Full Moon Party!

2010-02-24T07:56:00.000-08:00

Well, we're heading off to Cambodia next Friday, and to celebrate, we're bringing a taste of Cambodia to the campus! Join us in Paces for a Full Moon Party, much like the Full Moon Parties that go on at the beaches of Cambodia, full of delicious fruity drinks, a hot atmosphere, colorful lights, and great music! We hope to see you there!

Friday, February 26
10PM-2AM
Paces

Speed Dating for the Homeless!

2010-01-29T17:26:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, February 6th, SwatCambodia will be hosting Speed Dating in Upper Tarble! Come meet some fine young people, and practice your pickup lines:

1. I'm no Fred Flintstone, but I can make your bedrock.
2. I'm writing a paper on the finer things in life, and I was wondering if I could interview you?
3. I'm going to treat you like my homework: slam you on my desk and do you all night long.

8PM, Upper Tarble! Bring $3 to get in (proceeds go towards our housebuilding trip).

Join us for the Philadelphia area premiere of "To Speak"

2010-01-09T20:35:00.000-08:00

The Tabitha Foundation and SwatCambodia will be screening the movie "To Speak" on Sunday, February 7th, from 3:30 PM - 6 PM at Cunniff Hall at Swarthmore College:

Based on a true story... Ratana is a 12-year-old Cambodian girl, living a precarious existence in an impoverished rural village. Despite the suffocating pessimism of her fellow villagers, she dreams of a better life, and of building a new and permanent home for her family.

However, a brighter future seems impossible, until a local development agency suggests a radical plan. The other villagers think that Ratana is crazy to trust the outsiders, but she seizes the opportunity and sets herself on a collision course with her family, the village and even Mother Nature herself.

To succeed, Ratana will need to rise above the grind of daily survival and also grapple with the terrible legacy of the Khmer Rouge and the Killing Fields.

She will be pushed to the very limits of her strength and spirit - to the point where too much hope can crush you.

Join us for light refreshments 3:30 - 4:00, learn more about the people of Cambodia and how you can be part of the great work of Tabitha. The film screening will begin promptly at 4 pm.

Admission is free, tax deductible donations will be gratefully received by Tabitha USA. Cottage handcraft items will be available for purchase.

For more information on the movie and Tabitha please see www.tospeakmovie.com and www.tabitha-usa.com.

To RSVP, please go here: http://www.evite.com/pages/invite/viewInvite.jsp?event=IPZKLDOEJSRNOXYOGODA&inviteId=VSCJKTKNUUFPHJGGGKAW&showPreview=false&x=892867688

We hope to see you there!

We're going to Cambodia!

2010-01-07T06:51:00.001-08:00

Great news, everyone! I've finally bought our tickets to Cambodia for this spring break. We're leaving on March 5, bright and early, and coming back late March 14. It's going to be an intensely packed trip, with lots to do, but entirely rewarding!

I can't wait!

Happy New Year!

Live Jazz Cafe! Want more?

2009-12-28T15:19:00.001-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, we had our first Live Jazz Cafe, featuring a live performance from musicians in the Swarthmore College community, students and professors alike, and unlimited free coffee and tea. The coffee was generously donated to us by Hobbs Coffee, a quaint coffee shop located in the Borough of Swarthmore, and Occasionally Yours contributed a tray of their delicious cookies too! Many others also baked delicious treats to sell, and proceeds went towards our housebuilding trip. We ultimately raised over $200! Thanks to everyone who made the event such a success!

The next question is: should we continue these Live Jazz Cafes? Stay tuned!

Wrapping up 2009

2009-12-23T19:57:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since our last update, so here's what's happened so far!

The Spring 2009 semester concluded soon after Cambodia Week, which occurred the week of April 13th, the Cambodian New Year! We had events such as a Sharples Takeover, a showing of the documentary New Year Baby, a Cambodian New Year Party, a Tropical Fruits Parlor Party (people who attended got a whole coconut!), a Tropical Paradise Paces Party, a wasabi eating contest, and
more! Overall, it was quite a success.

Over the summer of 2009, I (Jen) went to Cambodia for two weeks to visit family (above) and join one of the Tabitha Foundation's housebuilding groups!

I happened to attach to a rather large group; about 25 in all, pictured to the left, along with the homeless families who we built houses for. You can see some of the houses behind us.

The houses aren't much; they amount to some wood held together by nails, sitting on four small stone pillars for support, a silver tin roof, and green tin sides. Our job was to nail the wooden floor in (the easy part), then nail the green tin siding in (not as easy as it seems! In fact, it was downright difficult. Only the two buff farm boys we had could manage to work the entire time). Each house only costs about $1000.

The schedule of a housebuilding group usually runs like this:
Day 1: Group meets up briefly to talk about schedule; get over jet lag
Day 2: Orientation at Tabitha (in Phnom Penh), visit The Killing Fields and Toul Sleng prison (S21)
Day 3: Drive to the build site; we built in Battambang province, which is about a 4-5 hr drive from Phnom Penh
Day 4: Wake up early to build; we built 7 houses in five hours.
Day 5: Finish up the houses; built 3 more, and then had a ceremony to give away the houses. Visit various communities in different stages of development, then head out to Siem Reap
Day 6: Visit temples (Angkor Wat is amazing)
Day 7: Visit more temples, or floating villages, markets, etc
Day 8: Group disbands; head back to Phnom Penh or do whatever you want

As you can see, the housebuilding doesn't take all that long...but what does last is the impression that the homeless families make on you.

They sit in the shade and watch with hopeful eyes as you steadily nail their house together. Families who have essentially nothing finally have a home.

The mission of the Tabitha Foundation (and part of SwatCambodia's own mission) is to bring hope to and empower Cambodian families, by teaching them about savings, and helping them realize that their hard work really can pay off, in the form of finally receiving pots and pans, having the ability to purchase a pig or cow, and to have a roof over their heads. These families don't receive these things for free, but must earn them.

For more information on the Tabitha Foundation, please visit http://www.tabitha-usa.org

To see more of my photos from my trip this summer, visit http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2022158&id=1464390009&l=65669db427

Feel free to friend me on Facebook :) And join the SwatCambodia Facebook group!

Happy holidays!

BiMonthly Bake Sales

2009-03-25T10:32:00.000-07:00

Every other Sunday from 10 PM to 1 AM SwatCambodia sells baked goods at Cornell Library...

So come get something good to eat and help us make a difference!

The next Bake Sale will be on Sunday March 29th!!!

Be there !

GoodBye

2009-02-14T00:16:00.001-08:00

Lieh HAOY
(LEE-uh howie)
This is the word for Goodbye in Khmer.
And with this word we conclude Khmer word week!

Hope

2009-01-09T10:58:00.000-08:00

Songkhem

It goes without saying that brutality and devastating effects of the Cambodian genocide is still painfully felt in the Cambodian culture. Yet the sense of hope resonates among Cambodians. They continue to fight to presere their culture and livelihoods. Hope thus is not a mere emotion but a driving force that has helped many overcome their forced situations.

Love

2009-01-09T10:55:00.000-08:00

sraline

Today's word is love.

Friend

2009-01-09T10:44:00.000-08:00

bpoouk mak

Today's word means Friend. Friendship helps many people find happiness in dark circumstances and companionship in triumphant times. It is our hope to build long lasting friendships in Cambodia and with our Cambodian peers here in the U.S., which will based on exchange of priceless lessons.

Hello

2009-01-09T10:06:00.000-08:00

Suesday
(soo-ess-DAY)
As in every language it is very important to be able to greet others. So knowing how to say Hello is important especially to those going on the Housebuilding project in May.

Thank You

2009-01-09T09:59:00.000-08:00

Ah-kun
This is to everyone who has supported SwatCambodia. To everyone who has helped raise awareness about the genocide in Cambodia. And everyone who continues to help out there. Thank you!

Khmer Word Week Begins!

2009-01-09T09:15:00.000-08:00

For the next seven days, we will posting up different Khmer words to help you get more acquainted to Khmer language and culture. Each blog will be titled by its word in English.
Before we introduce today's word, here's a little background on the Khmer language:
As the official language of Cambodian , Khmer has been influenced by neighboring languages and forms of writing particularly Thai, Lao and Vietnamese. Yet it differs from these languages in that it is not a tonal language. Like many other aspects of Khmer culture it also holds much Hindu and Buddhist contributions. Furthermore the Khmer script is called an abugida (in English) or Aksar Khmer (in Khmer)
Today's word is kruesa (crew-ess-AH) which means FAMILY. The brutality and violent means of the Khmer Rouge separated and disintegrate many Cambodian families. Even so Cambodians have found much strength in their family units making the word FAMILY powerful in the Khmer language.

Kicking off the Spring Semester

2009-01-08T19:40:00.000-08:00

SwatCambodia has many upcoming events and blogs that will not only focus on the Cambodian genocide but open up cultural venues. So be on the lookout!

This is our tentative calendar for Spring Semester (It will be updated constantly so keep referring to it).

March

March 29th- BiMonthly Bake Sale @ Cornell Library

April

April 3- Tropical Paradise Party @ Paces (10 PM- 2 AM)
April 13- Cambodia Week begins with Cambodian New Year Party
April 14- Cambodia Games @ Parrish Beach (Time is TBA)
April 15- Paces Takeover
April 16- Sharples Take Over: Delicious Cambodian Food and fun and knowledgeable Trifolds @ Sharples (4-7 PM)
April 18th- Parlor Party
April 19th- Swarthmore Fun Fair (1-5 PM)

May

Other Tentative Plans

Bring Socheata Poeuv

Khmer Music

2009-01-08T19:39:00.000-08:00

Rich in its use of the drum gong ensemble, free-reed mouth instruments, Cambodian music has very strong similarities with the music of Cambodian neighbors and foreign settlers. Even so Cambodian music is unique to its own culture . It flourished not only as entertainment or in village environments both also for particular purposes and in royal courts. For instance, different forms of Khmer music are associated with different events and aspects. While weddings include kar music and spiritual interaction arrak music. As with many other cultures, Cambodian music for pleasure involves many forms from ayai repartee singing to basakk theaters.

Coconut Dance

2009-01-08T19:31:00.000-08:00

This yet another stylish and artistic dance performed by Cambodians. It also celebrates Khmer culture for its richness and detail.

Khmer Dance

2009-01-08T19:28:00.000-08:00

Although the Khmer traditional dance was almost completely devastated by the Khmer rouge killing fields of the 1970s, they prevail as important factor Khmer life and tradition. Khmer classical dance has shares common ground with many of Thailand's and Laotian dances. Most known in the English world as the Khmer royal ballet or the Cambodian court dance , Cambodians take pride in their beautiful detailed "robam preah reachea trop" or "robam kbach boran khmer." The artistic dance is mainly performed by females, its dancers are known as aspara dancers.

Cambodian Wonder: Angkor Wat

2009-01-08T19:24:00.000-08:00

During the rule of King Suryavarman II in the 1100s, a beautiful and intricate temple was built in Angkor, Cambodia (the capital city at the time). The temple has not only been preserved throughout centuries but is a cultural and religious mark for Cambodians. Deeply rooted in its religious influences (a temple dedicated to god Vishnu), it now appears on the national Cambodian flag.
Labeled as a "Place of Power and Peace" and a "Sacred Site," Martin Gray has briefly describe its historical implications and religious value in the Hindu and Buddhist tradition on an online article (http://www.sacredsites.com/asia/cambodia/angkor_wat.html) taken from his book about grouped pilgrimages, Sacred Earth.
The following is a clip that describes Angkor Wat's historical and territorial base in more detail and elaboration.

Cambodian Religion

2009-01-08T19:14:00.000-08:00

For over a thousand years Buddhism still strives in Cambodia as its dominant religion. Cambodian Buddhism is dominantly Theravada. Indeed ever since the 13th century Theravada Buddhism has been the Cambodian state religion (this is of course with the exclusion of the Khmer Rouge era). It is thus unsurprisingly the faith of ninety five percent of the Cambodian population. Yet Cambodian religion has several and notable Hindu influences. These were implanted consequently to the first thousand years of Khmer history. Early Khmer was governed by various of tolerate Hindu rulers.
The late 1900s proved to be a difficult era for Buddhism as the communists who took over Cambodia and almost succeeded in destroying Buddhism. By 1979 (during the Vietnamese invasion) little signs of Buddhism prevailed in Cambodia.

In an keen and determined effort Cambodia today strives to restore its Buddhist fervor even with its shortage of Buddhist scholars. Even so Cambodians have remained strongly religious and close to their Buddhist traditions.

Buy a Case? Build a House?

2008-11-22T15:34:00.000-08:00

Jennifer Trinh at Swarthmore College is selling self-made crocheted cases for cellphones, calculators and cameras. She takes donations from $5 and up for these cases. You're free to give more than $5. All sales made are to help fund raise the group's trip to Cambodia to build houses. If you want a specific case she charges accordingly.
Interested? Please contact Jen at jtrinh1@swarthmore.edu. (The pictures to sides are just two examples of her work.)

Upcoming Event

2008-11-22T15:23:00.000-08:00

The maker of New Year Baby Socheata Poeuv is working on amazing and awe-inspiring new project, Khmer Legacies.

Khmer Legacies is creating a video history archive about the Cambodian genocide from the perspective of survivors. The organization has a goal of videotaping thousands of testimonies of Cambodian survivors by having children interview their parents. The archive will then be used as an educational tool to deepen understanding about the Khmer Rouge genocide for researchers, students, and the world.

The mission of Khmer Legacies is to:

provide an opportunity for healing for survivors by witnessing their testimonies – taking a conversation of shame and transforming it into one of heroism
bridge the generational divide between Cambodian parents and their children
prevent future mass atrocities by preserving the history and deepening understanding of the Khmer Rouge genocide for the world.

Khmer Legacies is a non-profit organization incubated at Yale University’s Genocide Studies Program in New Haven, CT.

SwatCambodia is hoping to be bring this remarkable and dedicated woman to Swarthmore to speak a little more about Khmer Legacies. If anyone wants more information you can contact www.khmerlegacies.org.

Cambodian Genocide

2008-11-22T15:15:00.000-08:00

So you are probably wondering what exactly happened during the Cambodian Genocide and what were its causes. The following is a clip from YouTube that summarizes the three horrible years of the genocide in a few minutes. It is very touching and paints the horrors many faced during 1975 to 1978.

The Killing Fields - December 4th

2008-11-22T15:13:00.000-08:00

On December 4th SwatCambodia will be showing the film "The Killing Fields" from 7 to 9 P.M. in Science Center 101. Below is a short clip of the trailer. Please come see the film and support our cause.

New Year Baby: Documentary

2008-11-16T20:11:00.001-08:00

This amazing documentary is not only available in McCabe but highlights the mission and goals of SwatCambodia. Below is a clip from the astonishing documentary:

Welcome to SwatCambodia!

2008-11-16T19:44:00.000-08:00

Mission Statement

SwatCambodia seeks to help address Cambodian-related issues both locally and abroad. We hope to promote awareness about the genocide in Cambodia and the culture in the country today.

Meetings and Events

SwatCambodia holds weekly meetings. We host events to raise awareness of the genocide that occurred in Cambodia, and also events to raise money for a summer trip to build houses for the homeless in Cambodia. All awareness and fund-raising events are open to the campus, but the housebuilding trip is closed to group members only.

Membership

SwatCambodia is an open group, and anyone in the Swarthmore College community is welcome to join. Members are asked to participate in and help plan fund-raising activities and/or awareness events.

Organizational Structure

SwatCambodia has a treasurer, a manager, and a travel planner. The duties of the treasurer are to arrange the budget proposal and approach SBC for money, as well as to keep track of raised funds. The manager keeps records of events and fund-raising activities that the group engages in, thus ensuring institutional memory. The travel planner is in charge of planning the house building trip to Cambodia. The group calls for volunteers to fill these positions, but if multiple people wish to be in a position, they may choose to share the responsibilities. Underclassmen are encouraged to fill these positions to ease the transition of duties each year.