Although I’m excited as anything about the climate of cooperation here between individuals as representatives of the various views and opinions on adoption … and fully intend to keep this up all the way through the Adoptee Rights Protest in July and beyond … I have been neglecting some threads I was covering weekly when doing the three blogs I did daily on that dying site that will remain linkless, a most important, close-to-my-heart one being happenings in Cambodia.
With rumors now rife that something is bubbling in the pot that’s had Cambodian adoption stewing in its in own juice since since December 2001, it seems a good time to dedicate a post to the birth country of two of my children and let people know some of what’s happening on the ground there.
First, the rumor … and that is that there may be some end in sight for the suspension on adoptions that has kept Cambodian children from American families for going on seven years. The latest grist has it that the government is working toward Hague compliance and that meetings with orphanage directors were conducted last month.
We can hope!
Some of the most exciting news … in terms of real news, not rumor … comes from the fact that Kari Grady Grossman, author of the wonderful “Bones That Float: A Story of Adopting Cambodia, a book I highly recommend to any and all, even those with no connection to the country at all, which is why it’s featured in the sidebar of this blog, is spending a chunk of time in the country and getting some great stuff done while she’s there.
Kari’s book and efforts fund a school in the Cardamom Mountains that in turn supports a forest, and she and her family are now there working for a month to set up projects, promote others and generally toil ’til the cows come home, and are loving every minute.
Please take a moment to check out her blog, “Be the Change Network” and read all about this trip, the school, the place and the country. If you’re at all tempted to buy a book or donate, you’ll have her thanks and the joy of knowing you’ve helped a great cause.
Today’s post is about making briquettes from scrap and throwaways, giving the local people a way to make their own fuel without having to cut down forest. Like all of Kari’s work, it makes SO MUCH SENSE!
More dangerous scrap is discussed in this story from the Earth Times.
It seems the government has managed to confiscate … get this … more than 6,000 bullets and 1,000 bombs and grenades from scrap metal dealers near the Thai border. It’s dangerous work retrieving the small amount of copper and such from unexploded ordinance, but well worth the risk to some.
The sad truth is that UXBs are as much a “natural” resource in Cambodia as tropical hardwood … and easier to come by for many.
The dengue fever outbreak that had us postpone our Cambodian trip last year has taken an “official” toll of 407 people dead and more than 40,000 hospitalized for treatment.
Having had dengue twice, and with a son who has experienced febrile seizures, we let the misery combine with a couple of other factors and send us elsewhere for a vacation. (I know. I’m a wimp.)
For news of another kind of plague, this about a South Korean construction company ready to plop skyscrapers and build “new cities” in Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville pretty much tells the story.
Sry Thamrong, advisor to Hun Sen, said that the firm will begin constructing a 53-storey international financial building in mid-2008 on nearly seven hectares of land near the Russian Embassy in Phnom Penh’s Tonle Bassac commune and the construction is scheduled to be completed in 2012.
For how much longer will this sort of global homogenization toward uniform big and ugly and whatever-happens-to-be-trendy-today be considered “progress”? Sustainable development, my ass! If this keeps up, there will be no difference between Phnom Penh and Burbank, and the fact that some see that as a good thing is very scary.
Here’s another story along the same lines, but this one has Japan paying for highways. Has no one noticed that highways are not necessarily a good thing, and that perhaps plowing them through jungle has some nasty side effects?
And how about this look at some ancient development?
Radio Australia has reported that a 1000-year-old water system could be the answer to preventing the nation’s Angkor temples from sinking.
Cambodia welcomed two million tourists last year and with figures expecting to reach three-million this year, authorities are growingly concerned with the area’s underground water reservoir. Scientists also believe that if unregulated pumping of water from beneath the temples continue, the ancient ruins could be destroyed forever.
Cambodia’s Minister for Commerce, Cham Prasidh said that by reviving the ancient water system, pressure from the temple’s underground water supply could be alleviated.
Seems that they had that “sustainable” thing down 1,000 years ago …
A collection of my short stories:
I'm in this one, too ...
And I'm in here, as well ...
Paradise Preoccupied 
I, too, sing the praises of Kari Grady Grossman. I’m thoroughly enjoying her book (Bones that Float) and following her latest trip to Cambodia through her blog.
Kari spoke to a group of teachers/students last fall, and made a strong impact on everyone in her audience. I so admire the way she and George are seeking permanent solutions for this country she loves so much. And her dedication in doing so.
Thanks for the updates on Cambodia, Sandra.
Kari’s fan club, and the base of support for “Be the change”, grows daily, and that is a very good thing.
Thanks for joining in here, too!
I appreciate the updates about Cambodian adoption as well. My DH and I think we’d probably like to adopt another special needs toddler in a few years, and we don’t qualify for many programs for a number of reasons. I don’t know if we’d qualify to adopt from Cambodia, but the thought is near to my heart. Years ago, I dated a Cambodian man and he regularly shared with me how tough their lives had been over there. If there’s a Cambodian child that needs us, I’d like to be able to be there for him/her.
Hello Sandra (I hope it is ok I used your first name)…I wanted to tell you how much I have gotten out of your blogs on Cambodian adoptions. I found your “Cambodian Adoption Rant” from 1/07 of particular interest. I am currently not a “blogger”, but I found your site/comments to be quite educated and informed, and felt a sense of relief after reading them that someone knows what is going on here. With so much out there on the internet, some of which can be quite depressing and uninformed, your comments were exactly what I needed to see. My life was forever changed by Cambodia. To put it mildly, I will never again take for granted a cool drink of water from my kitchen sink. I recently felt compelled, as heart wrenching as it was, to view “Children for Sale” on MSNBC. It brought back so many thoughts of all of the children still there, and of what will become of them. I think, other than the disgusting subject matter of that particular show, it made me angry again that at the end of the day it is the children who suffer. On a personal note, we adopted out of choice. Our family wanted to bring a child into our lives, and in so many ways it changed our lives forever. The adoption of our beautiful daughter from AOA was one of the “pipeline” cases that eventually went through after an agonizing struggle of roughly 13 months, beginning in October of 2001…just after 9/11. After news of the moratorium hit, we took many many difficult steps to get at least the pipeline cases approved. Our family, along with about 100 other families, marched in front of the I.N.S. building, met with Jim Ziglar and other I.N.S. people, attended various meetings with Senator Landrieu, Congressmen, and other people in D.C. We didn’t give up, and neither did those people who eventually helped to get the last of the cases approved. How much I have learned since that whirlwind of emotions. I recently listened/watched the Richard Cross lecture, knowing the result of doing which would just make me angrier. As you said, it sends the message that adopting from Cambodia is a “bad, bad thing”. Hopefully those law students, and other viewers, will not be so naive to think that Cross, a person who “didn’t even know where Cambodia was”, could possibly be an expert on the subject of Cambodian adoptions. Possibly he could call himself an expert on the Galindo case, which unfortunately was the main focus of the presentation, and unfortunately created a bad image of adoptions in Cambodia. One bad apple you know… What I would like to ask Cross is “Where is the follow up to the fairly incriminating picture he posted of Serey Puth?” “Where is the follow up to the work he (Serey) is doing at AOA?” “Does he have a house in Hawaii?” “Are there children covered in feces and sitting in urine at AOA?” I am starting my own slug fest!!! Again, it helped to see your post, and other posts, that the “supply of infants” has not stopped due to the U.S. imposed shutdown, which is ridiculous. I guess now that France has re-opened the next study/survey will be on supply side economics! Education is the key to any attempt to understand, something you clearly already know. How much more complex can you get than the problems in Cambodia? I could go on and on about that. As Kim Woulfe (a dear friend) said in her 20/20 interview back when this whole mess started “I would never take another woman’s child.” If the common practice in Cambodia was to exploit children for adoption, don’t you think word would have spread by now and mothers would be wise? One excerpt I read (can’t find it now) said something about giving credit to Cambodian women…that they wouldn’t just hand over their child to anyone. In my heart of hearts that is what I believe is the case. I hope. I enjoyed the excerpts of your interview with Kari Grossman, and I am anxious to read the book. I saw your comments and other comments (and photos) from people such as the Benz family (they recently moved to Cambodia as part of their mission), which at the very least confirmed what I already knew…the same kids are there but older, along with the same nannies and newer children. I admit I have been lax in keeping up with the goings on since our own roller coaster ride, but realizing I need to get back on a more personal level. I hope I didn’t go off on a tangent here, but I felt I could share some of my own thoughts, and as previously mentioned, commend you for your dedication.
With
Most Sincere Regards,
Joan Merritt, NJ