Tomorrow we start mixing the music for our new Cambodian project. The title of the project will be “Garlands for Ashes” and as you can see we now have a CD cover design in progress. We have enlisted our good friend Dan Weeks from weeksweeksweeks to help with the mixing. We are hoping the project will be out for the summer … so we will keep you posted.
Before the sun had risen we set out travelling from the city of Phnom Penn along increasingly bumpy roads to rural Prassat. As we watched Cambodia raise her sleepy head, even at this early hour we saw an impoverished yet industrious people busy trying to eke out a living. Reaching the Mekong River we waited to catch a small over-loaded car ferry whilst being accosted by traders repeatedly urging us to buy cockroaches, beetles, grubs and all manner of delicious traveller’s snacks! Having paid for our crossing, the next step was not so easy. Bribing is now common occurrence through all strands of life, (a legacy some say of having to find any means to survive the Pol Pot genocide), and because our host wouldn’t play the game we had to wait whilst others were put on the impossibly rickety ferry first. Read More
Sitting on the slatted wooden flooring covered with a beautiful woven mat … we looked out from the tall stilted house we had come to visit towards the nearby river. We had stepped into another world – a community who’s lifeblood is entangled with that of the Mekong and it’s tributaries, in all it’s wonder and treachery.
For 3 months of the year during monsoon season the river rises many feet and our hosts home becomes an island on stilts. The dug out canoe becomes the vehicle of choice for travel during this season and food comes to your doorstep – fish that is! When the waters recede the fields are perfect for growing rice.
The last couple of days we have been recording tracks at a radio station called Trans-world radio with the smaller children from the orphanage. I couldn’t but notice one small girl who has a huge smile on her face as she sings. Six weeks ago she was on the streets and now with CCAM’s help she is having fun with newly found friends …. the only signs that remain of her street existence is the colour of her hair, still a shade of red at the ends due to past malnourishment. Another few weeks and her hair will be completely jet black once again.
The legacy of a regime that killed so many in Cambodia in the 1970’s still rears its ugly head today. Distrust of country rulers and looking after number one is very evident even in the mundane and ordinariness of road travel. Driving licences can be bought on the black market filling the roads with unskilled drivers. Beautiful new traffic lights at major intersections with large glowing numbers count down to red and green changes, yet this is adhered to by some and largely ignored by others causing chaos on the roads.
It is prohibited to ride motorcycles and tuk tuks without helmets, another law that is flouted by many. When caught by police they are fined but because of the widespread corruption amongst officials this is mostly pocketed – I asked one person if they believed that there were any good policemen and after thinking for a moment they said “Sadly none”.
During the Khmer Rouge dictatorship in the 70’s some of the first people that were taken into captivity were the creative artists. Those that held the traditional stories of Cambodia. In February Voices from the Nations will be filming and recording a new CD and DVD project in Phnom Penh. Working with CCAM (an arts school who give hope to street children by giving them a home and schooling in their traditional arts) we will be collecting the songs and dances of this younger generation who have re-imagined the stories of old for today. This short picture video tells the story so far.
The Idea is to go back maybe in Jan 2010 to help them tell their story through their arts. We will partner with them by recording their traditional Khmer music, their new songs written by the students and filming their cultural dances (our good friend Jerry Curd, a cameraman is available for the adventure). CCAMS have a dream of opening up an arts centre just outside Phnom Penh in Kompong Chnang (they have purchased land there) which would be a facility where they could grow their own food and have multiple buildings for school, auditorium and housing, enabling them to take in more children. 100% of funds from the sales of the recordings will go back to them to help in this endeavour to provide a new home for the community.
This trip was to visit CCAM, a place of refuge for many children who have fallen on hard times. All are youngsters from difficult backgrounds – orphans, street kids, children sold into slavery, kids who were members of gangs, poor children whose families could not feed and educate them, abused children, abandoned kids from broken homes, teenagers on their way into prostitution, etc. Read More
Power struggles, war and genocide have devastated the Kingdom of Cambodia in recent decades. After French colonization, a pro-western Prime Minister Lon Nol seized power and his opponents went into hiding and formed the Communist Khmer Rouge.
Following the withdrawal of US troops from Vietnam in 1975, Pol Pot (their leader) and his followers evacuated all cities and towns; for the next 5 years between 1.5 and 3 million people died from execution, enforced hardships or starvation. The legacy is a very poor country where 50% of its inhabitants are under the age of 18.
Pictures ……
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