Remembering Maureen Vinge

Here are some other recent internet video finds that I think are important viewing for those who wish to better understand Cambodia and its recent history. Cambodians are still working to recover from the effects of the policies of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge today.

John Pilger’s documentary Year Zero: The Silent Death of Cambodia. I bought a copy of this video on DVD in Phnom Penh and found it to be very insightful.

Also very informative, ARTE France’s documentary about Tuol Sleng Prison (better known as S21), featuring interviews and archive footage. S21: The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine (split into two parts):

Another good two-part set of videos I picked up in Cambodia is The Prince and the Prophecy and Cambodia/Kampuchea by Australian filmmaker James Gerrand. I found an [unfortunately] incomplete version of The Prince and the Prophecy on YouTube, while a near-complete version of Cambodia/Kampuchea is posted below:

A final video not about Cambodian history but rather addressing the problem of deforestation in Cambodia. As part of the Vanguard documentary series, Current produced this piece entitled Forest of Ecstasy.
In the video, correspondent Adam Yamaguchi explains how demand for the party drug Ecstasy is directly related to deforestation in Cambodia. He follows Forest Rangers as they search for make-shift factories set up to extract Safrole oil from rare Mreah Prew Phnom trees in the Cardamom mountains.

- P.V.

I found this video on YouTube. Ratna had told me he had posted it back in October, but at the time I had trouble viewing the video, and I forgot about it — until I happened upon it just now. So I am happy to present some extra footage from Koh Kandal opening day and a few of my comments from Ratna’s short interview following the ceremony.

“I know [LWF] has a big impact in the area, and so I’m hoping to see more of that later today,” is the last thing I say in the video. After this video was shot, we ate lunch at a house a few hundred meters away, and then drove to check the progress of an irrigation dam that LWF is helping local farmers with. We also visited with local residents, including the head of the village council, and bought some locally-grown, chemical-free produce, before heading back to Phnom Penh.

- P.V.

Leak Ratna has done an amazing job putting together the LWF Cambodia 2009 Annual Report. He featured the Koh Kandal Library project with a nice article and some photos:

Click here to download the full 2009 Annual Report (PDF/~4.3MB)

Click here to visit LWF Cambodia