nicholas nicola etchings


Holiday In Cambodia
by Nicholas Nicola
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This webpage will mainly have material posted that will relate to the author's literary memoir Holiday In Cambodia.  


(Furthermore this webpage may remain a 'work-in-progress' i.e. with further material to be added in the future. Thank you).

 Please excuse visual irregularities in the text presentation etc. due to technical issues. Thank you for your patience. 

  A reminder if a link does not work - which maybe an issue with the webpage or even the browser - one can still copy and paste into a Search Bar to access the article etc. All the best. 
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MAIN SECTIONS

Footnotes in Main Narrative
Footnotes in Notes
Afterword Footnotes
Internet References
Art References
Travel Paraphernalia
B&W Archival Photos + other photos
'Luna Park' etching
Non-Cambodian Links
Main Narrative Text Segments
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Footnotes in Main Narrative

 
  Well, actually there is really only one link that relates directly to Cambodia which is the one directly below so one may like to scroll to the next section which focuses on footnotes in the Notes which has mostly links that relate to Cambodia. The other non-Cambodian footnotes will be placed towards the end of this webpage. 
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Cambodian


KHMER ROUGE ATTACK KEY CITY Violence tied to upcoming Cambodia by William Branigin, May 3, 1993 


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There are some books mentioned which more or less can be seen as relating back to Cambodia.

Asylum by Boat: Origins of Australia's refugee policy. Claire Higgins. UNSW Press. (2017).


A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam by Neil Sheehan. Random House. (1988). The following link is a wikipedia summary.


Crimes Against Humanity. The Struggle for Global Justice. Geoffrey Robertson. Penguin. (First published in 1999 followed by several reprints). 

The following link is an Australian Journal of Human Rights review.



Writing for Raksmey.  A Story of Cambodia. Joan Healey. Monash University Press. (2016).

https://publishing.monash.edu/product/writing-for-raksmey/

 

There is also an audio podcast narration website.

 

Writing for Raksmey. Stories and Musings. Joan Healey.

https://joanhealywriting.com/writing-for-raksmey/


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Footnotes in Notes

Cambodia, thirty years of Hun Sen Violence, Repression and Corruption in Cambodia. Human Rights Watch. (2015).

Cambodian activist Kem Ley gunned down in suspected political killing, leaves powerful legacy. Anne Barker. ABC News. (July. 2016).


Cambodia: #FreeThe5KH sentenced to 5 years’ imprisonment, sentence suspended. International Federation for Human Rights. (2018).


Cambodia: Two Years of Relentless Onslaught on Political Opposition and Civil Society. Human Rights Watch. October. 2023. 



Cambodian king appoints Hun Sen’s son as new prime minister. (2023).

https://www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20230807-cambodian-king-appoints-hun-sen-s-son-as-new-prime-minister

 

Without Naming Names. September 1, 2023 – Joan Healy

https://joanhealywriting.com/2023/09/01/without-naming-names/ 

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Afterword Footnotes

‘Mafia state’: protesters rally against Cambodia PM Hun Sen’s visit to Australia. Naaman Zhou. Guardian. (March. 2018).

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/mar/16/mafia-state-protesters-rally-against-cambodia-pm-hun-sens-visit-to-australia  

 

Cambodian scholarship students systematically recruited in Australia by CPP. by Eleanor Whitehead on PM. ABC Radio. September 10. 2018. 


https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/pm/cambodian-scholarship-students-recruited-in-australia-by-cpp/10224148https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/pm/cambodian-scholarship-students-recruited-in-australia-by-cpp/10224148

 

Cambodian regime figures splash millions on Melbourne properties as death threats escalate. ABC News. The World. Nino Bucci, ABC Investigations and Ted O’Connor, Asia Pacific Newsroom. October 25, 2018.  

https://www.abc.net.auhttps://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-25/cambodian-pm-henchmen-splash-millions-on-melbourne-property/10355246/news/2018-10-25/cambodian-pm-henchmen-splash-millions-on-melbourne-property/10355246

 

Victorian MP Hong Lim warned he will be attacked if he returns to Cambodia. Melissa Davey. Guardian. (October. 2016)

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/oct/13/victorian-mp-hong-lim-warned-he-will-be-beaten-if-he-rehttps://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/oct/13/victorian-mp-hong-lim-warned-he-will-be-beaten-if-he-returns-to-cambodiaturns-to-cambodia

 Among other articles which one may choose to look there is also a Wikipedia entry on Sam Bith who was the Khmer Rouge commander.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Bith#:~:text=On%20July%2026%2C%201994%2C%20Bith,killed%20in%20the%20attack%20itself.

Champagne with Dictators. by Sophie McNeill has thus far been available to view online via the following link: 


https://www.abc.net.auhttps://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-31/champagne-with-dictators/10053664/news/2018-07-31/champagne-with-dictators/10053664

 

THE STRAIT TIMES by Tam Yee Cambodian election: High turnout gives Hun Sen’s party the win, but spoilt votes signal discontent. (July 30. 2018). 


https://www.sthttps://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/cambodia-election-high-turnout-gives-hun-sens-party-the-win-but-spoilt-votes-signalraitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/cambodia-election-high-turnout-gives-hun-sens-party-the-win-but-spoilt-votes-signal

 

‘I need my family.’: how a refugee held on Nauru is struggling to make a new life in Cambodia by Per Liljas. Guardian Australia (14/1/2018). 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/14/i-need-my-family-how-a-refugee-held-on-nauru-is-struggling-to-make-a-new-life-in-camhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/14/i-need-my-family-how-a-refugee-held-on-nauru-is-struggling-to-make-a-new-life-in-cambodiabodia

  

ABC News: Syrian refugee reunited with family in Cambodia after Nauru, Christmas Island detention. Erin Handley. 8/1/2019. ABC News Australia. 


https://www.abchttps://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-01-08/syrian-refugee-reunited-with-family-in-cambodia/10688506.net.au/news/2019-01-08/syrian-refugee-reunited-with-family-in-cambodia/10688506

 

See Community groups in Cambodia say logging surged with approaching election by Mongabay. July 29. 2018.   

 https://nehttps://news.mongabay.com/2018/07/community-groups-in-cambodia-say-logging-has-surged-as-election-day-approached/ws.mongabay.com/2018/07/community-groups-in-cambodia-say-logging-has-surged-as-election-day-approached/

 

Cambodia adrift. Community Stories. Cambodians Speak of Threats, Intimidation During Election by Narin Sun and Thida Win / VOA Khmer / August 3, 2018. 


https://projects.voanews.com/cambodia-election-2018/english/feature/cambodians-speak-of-threats-intimidation-during-election.html


Does Australia have the political will – or leverage – to support change in Cambodia? by Jean (Jonathan) Bogais. The Conversation. August 7, 2018.

https://theconversation.com/does-australia-have-the-political-will-or-leverage-to-support-change-in-cambodia-100829https://theconversation.com/does-australia-have-the-political-will-or-leverage-to-support-change-in-cambodia-100829

 

How Cambodia’s Prime Minister rigged an election. (August 14. 2018). 

https://theconversation.com/how-cambodias-prime-minister-rigged-an-election-101511

 

Cambodia’s ruling party says it has won a landslide victory in elections. Reuters. (July 24. 2023).

https://www.reuthttps://www.reuters.com/world/us-pauses-some-aid-imposes-visa-bans-after-neither-free-nor-fair-cambodia-2023-07-24/ers.com/world/us-pauses-some-aid-imposes-visa-bans-after-neither-free-nor-fair-cambodia-2023-07-24/

 

Cambodian construction boom built on ‘blood bricks’ and slavery by Jared Ferrie. Reuters. October 15. 2018.


Cambodian constructihttps://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=Cambodian+construction+boom+built+on+‘blood+bricks’+and+slavery+by+Jared+Ferrie.+Reuters.+October+15.+2018.&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8on boom built on ‘blood bricks’ and slavery by Jared Ferrie. Reuters. October 15. 2018.


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Internet References.



Matter of Fact. Stan Grant. ABC News. However, as a first literary ‘port of call’ I note a program whose availability to be viewed now online seems to be defunct at the moment and that was ABC News 24’s Matter of Fact which was hosted by Stan Grant. Although I can no longer check their veracity in some earlier notes I had written down that Stan Grant had spoken to two distinguished Cambodians who have opposed Hun Sen: Mu Sochua a feminist, activist and politician and Sawathey Ek a lawyer and activist. Stan Grant had also spoken to Gareth Evans who had apparently made the. point (from what I had previously written down) that whenever Hun Sen feels threatened he will resort to intimidate his opponents. Hun Sen also feels less inclined to bow to international pressure while he is gaining economic support from a new powerful benefactor: China.  

 It should be noted that Australia played an influential diplomatic role in the Cambodian peace process which Gareth Evans points out in the following link and although peace came about what did fail was to lead Cambodia onto a genuine democratic pathway.

 

Cambodia ‘a sad tale’ 30 years after signing peace agreement | The World. ABC News. Interview by Beverly O’Connor with Gareth Evans.

https://youtu.behttps://youtu.be/PRYUY4dJXJQ?si=Y7G7tIBlYWWj_UaN/PRYUY4dJXJQ?si=Y7G7tIBlYWWj_UaN

 

Gareth Evans on confronting Hun Sen. New Mandala. 11.March. 2018.

https://www.newmandala.org/gareth-evans-on-cambodia/

 

Another New Mandala link from the same time regarding Cambodia.

What should the region do about Cambodia’s crackdown? New Mandala. 13 March. 2018.

https://www.newmandala.org/cotb-regional-responses/

 

 Elaine Pearson (along with Gareth Evans) is in the above panel discussion and here she is in the following link speaking about the human rights situation in Cambodia: 

 

Human rights in Cambodia: A long history of abuse. Elaine Pearson. Australian Director of Human Rights Watch. Sydney Southeast Asia Centre. 18th October. 2019.

https://www.youtube.comhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzlTIifZ8QQ/watch?v=MzlTIifZ8QQ

 

While Mu Sochua has written in this article about Hu Manet who is taking over his father’s position as Cambodia’s Prime Minister.

 The threat posed by Cambodia's new strongman. Mu Sochua. ASPIStrategist. (April. 2024).


https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/the-threat-posed-by-cambodias-new-strongman/

 

 Another article about Hu Manet. (While other links on Hu Manet can be found in general links).

 

Cambodia’s new leader may sound like a reformer in Australia, but little has changed back home. The Conversation. February. 2024.

https://theconversation.com/camhttps://theconversation.com/cambodias-new-leader-may-sound-like-a-reformer-in-australia-next-week-but-little-has-changed-back-home-224726bodias-new-leader-may-sound-like-a-reformer-in-australia-next-week-but-little-has-changed-back-home-224726

 

 In this link is an interview with Sebastian Strangio on Late Night Night Live a journalist who once an editor for the Phnom Penh Post and wrote Hun Sen’s Cambodia. (New Haven and London: Yale University Press. 2014).  

 A rumble for change in Cambodia. Late Night Live. ABC Radio National. 15 June. 2017.


https://www.abc.net.auhttps://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/latenightlive/what-next-for-hun-sen/8617666/listen/programs/latenightlive/what-next-for-hun-sen/8617666

 

 In the following few links the controversial issue of genocide denialism in relating to Cambodia is raised.  

 

THE KHMER ROUGE CANON 1975-1979: The Standard Total Academic View on Cambodia. Sophal Ear (1995). Department of Political Science University of California, Berkeley. (1995). 

https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&typhttps://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=dc9876f874dc9bdddf203e0e2325f207e2a45633e=pdf&doi=dc9876f874dc9bdddf203e0e2325f207e2a45633

 

Khmer Rouge: Evolution of the Academic Debate. Breanna Atwood. (2010). Faculty of the History Department California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo 

hhttps://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=histspttps://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=histsp

 

Genocide and Noam Chomsky: Orientalist Anti-Imperialism in Public Intellectuals. Catherine May. DePaul University. Chicago. (2020).


https://las.depaul.edu/academics/political-science/student-resources/Documents/Genocide%20and%20Noam%20Chomsky-%20Orientalist%20Anti-Imperialism%20in%20Public%20Intellectuals.pdf

  Other critical points-of-view which one may also see as providing credence to remarks made, for instance, in the above paper. *

 Chomsky’s America-Centric Prism Distorts Reality. Yassin al-Haj Saleh. New Lines Magazine. (2022).

https://newlinesmag.com/review/chomskys-america-centric-prism-distorts-reality/

 

Naming the Genocide Deniers. George Monbiot. (June. 2011).

https://www.monbiot.com/2011/06/13/naming-the-genocide-deniers/

 

See No Evil. George Monbiot. (May. 2012).

https://www.monbiot.com/2012/05/21/see-no-evil/

 

Correspondence with Noam Chomsky. George Monbiot(May. 2012)


https://www.monbiot.com/2012/05/21/2181/

 

.......Genocide Denial: Expert Assessments. George Monbiot.  (May 2012).

        https://www.monbiot.com/2012/05/21/genocide-denial-expert-assessments/

 

The Politics of Denialism: the strange case of Rwanda-review of Herman and Peterson’s Politics of Genocide. Gerard Caplan. (June. 2010). LINKS. International Journal of Socialist Renewal. (2023)


https://links.org.au/politics-denialism-strange-case-rwanda-review-herman-and-petersons-politics-genocide 


Also the original paper of same title to be found via the following ‘france-genocide-tutsi link:  

https://francegenocidetutsi.org/PoliticsOfDenialism17June2010.pdf

 

 Is also this article which one may even choose to surmise takes on a more even-handed stance.

 

Chomsky and Genocide. Adam Jones.  Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal: Vol. 14: Iss. 1: 76-104. " Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal: Vol. 14: Iss. 1: 76-104. (2020). 


https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/gsp/vol14/iss1/8/

 

 One has also come across the following exhaustive internet archive via MEKONG. NET:

 AVERAGING WRONG ANSWERS: NOAM CHOMSKY AND THE CAMBODIA CONTROVERSY. Sha Bruce Sharp.


           https://www.mekong.net/cambodia/chomsky.htm

 

 While there is the following Wikipedia article to simply peruse for a general overview:

 Cambodian genocide denial. Wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambodian_genocide_denial


*(i) Apologies to anyone who are adamant that I should only reference links that directly relate to Cambodia. Yet, as George. Monbiot infers in one of the above articles it is bad enough that there is genocide denialism on the Right but it is perhaps more damning that there is also genocide denialism on the Left and I can only agree as certainly at the time I did go to Cambodia and then when afterwards I did some further reading of the mass inhumanity that occurred there naively did not expect that this could depressingly be the case. One reason for posting the various George Monbiot articles and the other article Politics of Denialism is that Edward S. Herman who is critiqued is also involved in controversy over the genocide in Cambodia. 

 (ii) As it is and perhaps to be deliberately general one may also be of the critical opinion that there can possibly exist an apparent ‘academic malevolence’ - no matter along what point of a seemingly evermore antiquated political spectrum it may ‘magically’ conjure itself up from - that does seemingly ‘righteously’ attempt to dogmatically occupy a moral high ground but – and despite the persuasive rhetorical propaganda that is emphatically employed - for there to truly only be the philosophical or political reality that such so called ‘intelligentsia’ is rather more so akin to be ideologically entrapped within the deepest recesses – ‘Tartarus like’ – of a comprehensive morally wrong underworld abyss.


As for the U.S. bombing of Cambodia it certainly was devastating and here are a few related articles: many more can be found online and elsewhere and it is encouraged to do further individual research beyond what is presented here (and on any particular topic).

 

1969-1974. Caught in the Crossfire. Frontline World. Operation Breakfast which began the secret U.S. bombing of Cambodia.

https://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/cambodia/tl02.html

 

Bombs Over Cambodia. Taylor Owen. Ben Kiernan. Yale University. (2006).

hthttps://gsp.yale.edu/sites/default/files/walrus_cambodiabombing_oct06.pdftps://gsp.yale.edu/sites/default/files/walrus_cambodiabombing_oct06.pdf

 

Henry Kissinger’s bombing campaign likely killed hundreds of thousands of Cambodians − and set path for the ravages of the Khmer Rouge. Sophal Ear. The Conversation. (November. 2023).

https://theconversation.com/henry-kissingers-bombing-campaign-likely-killed-hundreds-of-thousands-of-cambodians-and-set-path-for-the-ravages-of-the-khmer-rouge-209353

 

Henry Kissinger's Cambodia legacy of bombs and chaosOuch Sony & George Wright, BBC News, Phnom Penh and London. BBC. (December. 2023). 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-67582813

 

 One has also learnt that the four students killed by the U.S. National Guard at Kent University were attending a rally that was in protest to President Nixon’s 1970n announcement of sending U.S. troops into Cambodia.

 

Kent State Shooting. History.

https://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/kent-state-shooting

 

  As to the Khmer Rouge induced genocide in Cambodia here are some randomly selected introductory links of which so many more can be found online and I’m sure there are also videos.

 

Cambodian Genocide. USC Shoah Foundation.

https://sfi.usc.edu/collections/cambodian-genocide

 

Khmer Rouge: Cambodia's years of brutality. BBC. (2018).

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-10684399

 

Pol Pot. History. (2009/2018).

https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/pol-pot

 

The Khmer Rouge and the Cambodian GenocideSean Bergin (A Google Books link).

https://books.google.com.au/books?id=WTGDDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA39&lpg=PA39&dq=cambodian+genocide&source=bl&ots=Y_KJT3e1ie&sig=ACfU3U2u82moyhWDE7k3VdUbAb4aMHuPAQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjp7avX7viFAxULmlYBHWcPCeA4KBDoAXoECAIQAw#v=onepage&q=cambodian%20genocide&f=false

 

Cambodian genocide. Wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambodian_genocide

 

Cambodian Genocide Program. Yale University.

https://gsp.yale.edu/case-studies/cambodian-genocide-program

 

War Closes In On Cambodia. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. One webpage which can lead onto others relating to Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge.

https://www.ushmm.org/genocide-prevention/countries/cambodia/war-closes-in


 KAMPUCHEA. Decade of the Genocide. Report of a Finnish Inquiry commission. Edited by Kimmo Kiljunen. Zed Books. 1984.

https://www.abebooks.com/9780862322083/Kampuchea-Decade-Genocide-Report-Finnish-0862322081/plp


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   KHMER VOICES: SURVIVING WITNESSES TO THE GENOCIDE.

 

  A friend who visited Cambodia in April, 2024 purchased the following book after visiting Toul Sleng (S-21) which is a testimony of a survivor of this torture centre of whom my friend’s tour group met.

 

Bou Meng. A Survivor From Khmer Rouge Prison S-21. Justice for the Future Not Just Justice for the Victims. Huy Vannak. Foreword by Seth Mydang. Phnom Penh: Documentation Centre of Cambodia. (2010).

https://www.dccam.org/healing/publication/bou-meng-a-survivor-from-khmer-rouge-prison-s-21-justice-for-the-future-not-just-for-the-victims-huy-vannak-2010/

 

Khmer Rouge: I survived the ‘Killing Fields’. Sokphal Din. Witness History. BBC. July. 2019.

 https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-48839738

 

 Worms from Our Skin. Teeda Butt Man(Chapter One. Children of Cambodia’s Killing FieldsMemoirs by Survivors. Compiled by Dith Pran. Yale University. 1997). New York Times archive.

https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/first/p/pran-cambodia.html

 

Killing Fields of Cambodia – A Love Story In The Face of Death. J Almon Polk. (June. 2020) on the Experimental Traveller website. 

https://www.experimentaltraveler.com/killing-fields-of-cambodia-a-love-story-in-the-face-of-death/


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China and Cambodia.

 

Reviewing China’s Elite-Centric Approach in its Relations with Cambodia. Chhay Lim. Yusof Ishak Institute. (2023).

https://www.iseas.edu.sg/articles-commentaries/iseas-perspective/2023-101-reviewing-chinas-elite-centric-approach-in-its-relations-with-cambodia-by-chhay-lim/

 

Cambodia and China shore up ties with new agreementsrfa Khmer. Radio Free Asia. (2023).*

https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/bilateral-relations-02102023172640.html

 

Cambodian Perspective on the Belt and Road Initiative. Chapter One. Vannarith Chheang and Heng Pheakdey.

https://www.nids.mod.go.jp/english/publication/joint_research/series17/pdf/chapter01.pdf

 

       Cambodia–China Relations: A Positive- Sum Game? Heng Pheakdey. Journal of Current South-East Asian Affairs. (2012).

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/186810341203100203

 

       Why Cambodia is leaning towards China and not the US. Sokvy Rim. Think China(May. 2022).

https://www.thinkchina.sg/politics/why-cambodia-leaning-towards-china-and-not-us

 

      The Cambodian Regime Is a Key Element in China’s Regional Expansion Strategy. Mu Sochua & Jianli yang. The Diplomat. (October. 2023).


 https://thediplomat.com/2023/10/the-cambodian-regime-is-a-key-element-in-chinas-regional-expansion-strategy/

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Cambodia’s strategic positioning between the United States and China. Sovindo Po & Christopher Primiano. East Asia Forum. (January. 2024)


https://eastasiaforum.org/2024/01/27/cambodias-strategic-positioning-between-the-united-states-and-china/

 


    China’s grip on Cambodia as strong as ever. Brice Pedroletti. Le Monde. (June. 2023). 


Cambodia's Outreach to the West Does Not Change China's Centrality. Lye Laing Fook. FULCRUM. Analysis on South East Asia. (May. 2024).


https://fulcrum.sg/cambodias-outreach-to-the-west-does-not-change-chinas-centrality/

 

US monitoring reports of Chinese warships at Cambodian base. David Brunnstrom. Reuters. (December 2023)

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/us-monitoring-reports-chinese-warships-cambodian-base-2023-12-06/

 

China builds strategic South China Sea foothold in Cambodia. DW News. (May. 2024).

https://www.dw.com/en/china-builds-strategic-south-china-sea-foothold-in-cambodia/a-69205691


*There are also a couple of other interesting articles by rfa that my laptop security software will not allow me to open but have accessed by way of my smartphone with no issue so I am not sure what is going on especially when I did a safe search and both articles came up with green ticks but still my security software blocked access. However, not being technical savvy I mention this issue but if interested the title of the two articles are: China-Cambodia Relations: A History Part One. Radio Free Asia & China-Cambodia Relations: A History Part Two. Radio Free Asia. (Yet there was no security issue with the above rfa article).

 

 

General Links.

 

     The King & Royal Family of Cambodia: A Comprehensive Guide. SIEMREAP.NET. (May. 2023).

     https://www.siemreap.net/guides/cambodia/royal-family/

 

 (It’s important to keep in mind the Monarchy in Cambodia and the role the former king Norodum Sihanouk played in modern day Cambodian history which the above article touches upon).  

 

       Khmer Rouge's Slaughter is  Ruled a Genocide. Hannah Beech. NY Times. (November 2018).


https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/15/world/asia/khmer-rouge-cambodia-genocide.htmlodia-genocide.html


      As Cambodia’s economy grows, low-income residents left behind. PBS Hour. June 3. 2017.

         https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/cambodias-economy-grows-low-income-residents-left-behind

    

     Free Jailed Land Rights Activist. Second Anniversary of Tep Vanny’s ImprisonmentHRW. (2018).

       https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/08/13/cambodia-free-jailed-land-rights-activist

 

         Cambodian government critic flees after receiving threats. Peak Chan Thul. Reuters. (September. 2018).  


        https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cambodia-politics-idUSKCN1LJ1NW/

 

Borei Keila residents awarded property titles.  The Phnom Penh post. (February. 2023).

https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/borei-keila-residents-awarded-property-titles

 

       Angkor's traditional villages under threatBrice Pedroletti Le Monde. (January. 2024).

 https://www.lemonde.fr/en/archeology/article/2024/01/07/cambodia-traditional-villages-in-angkor-under-threat_6410967_173.html

 

      The Indigenous World 2023: Cambodia. The Indigenous World. (March. 2023).

          https://www.iwgia.org/en/cambodia/5113-iw-2023-cambodia.html

 

     Activists say assault of Australian-Cambodian visiting homeland was politically motivated. Will Jackson. ABC. (April. 2024).

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-20/attack-on-cambodian-australian-visiting-cambodia/103740436


We Thought We Were Safe. Repression and Forced Return of Refugees in Thailand. Human Rights Watch. (May. 2024)


https://www.hrw.org/content/388041 

 

 

 Fishers left with no land, no fish in fire sale of Cambodian coast. Mongbay. (June. 2024).

Cambodian court jails environmental activists for plotting against government, insulting king. ABC News. July. 2024.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-03/cambodia-jails-activists-for-plotting-against-government/104051500?utm_campaign=abc_news_web&utm_content=twitter&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_source=abc_news_web


James Ricketson: Cambodia, jail and being a 'spy'. Late Night Live. Radio National. (ABC. Australia. October 8. 2018). 

https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/latenightlive/james-ricketson-on-cambodia,-jail-and-being-a-spy./10352246


James Ricketson: Australian filmmaker says he was held by Cambodian police for six days without charge. Matt Bloomberg. ABC News. (August. 2018).

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-27/james-ricketson:-australian-filmmaker-under-trial-in-cambodia/10170800

 

Khmer Riche. How relatives and allies of Cambodia’s leader amassed wealth overseas. Claire Baldwin. Andrew RC Marshall. Nicosia, Cyprus/London. Reuters. (October. 2019).

https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/cambodia-hunsen-wealth/

 

      Cambodia's new Hun clan heir. Evidentcity. Link In. (October. 2023).

     https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/cambodias-new-hun-clan-heir-evidencity-inc-qfx0e

 

   Who is Hun Manet? PM’s son anointed as Cambodia’s next leader. Rebecca Root. Guardian. (December. 2021).

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/29/who-is-hun-manet-pms-son-anointed-as-cambodias-next-leader

 

      Hun Met’s Cambodia? Neil Loughlin.

https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/31679/1/Loughlin_HunManet'sCambodia.pdf

 

West Point trained the heir to Cambodia’s autocracy. Who is Hun Manet? Frances Vinali. Washington Pot. (July. 2023. Please note there will possibly be limited access to this article). 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/07/24/cambodia-hun-manet-sen-succession/

 

 

A Hereditary Dictatorship Looms on Cambodia’s Horizon. Steve Mollman. QUARTZ. (August. 2018)


https://qz.com/1349047/a-hereditary-dictatorship-looms-on-cambodias-horizon

 

    Hun Sen’s youngest son named Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister. Mike Firn. Radio Free Asia (rfa. February. 2024).

https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=Hun+Sen%E2%80%99s+youngest+son+named+Cambodia%E2%80%99s+Deputy+Prime+Minister.+Mike+Firn.+Radio+Free+Asia+(rfa.+February.+2024).&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

.................Hun Manet: Cambodia’s rising son. Charles Dunst. East Asia Forum. (February. 2023).

https://eastasiaforum.org/2023/02/28/hun-manet-cambodias-rising-son/

 

      A Discreet Start to A New Political Era in Cambodia. East Asia Forum. 


       https://eastasiaforum.org/2024/02/06/a-discreet-start-to-a-new-political-era-in-cambodia/


 Cambodia’s democracy deficit. Australia’s role and responsibility. Gareth Evans & Gordon Conochie. The Interpreter. Lowy Institute. (August. 2023).

https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/cambodia-s-democracy-deficit-australia-s-role-responsibility 

 

Opinion: We’re welcoming a ‘reformer’ PM but its his despot dad who calls the shots. Gareth Evans. Gordon Conochie. Sydney Morning Herald. (March. 2024). 

 https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/we-re-welcoming-a-reformer-pm-but-it-s-his-despot-dad-who-calls-the-shots-20240301-p5f94c.html

 

Cambodia authoritarianism. The Diplomat. A webpage which leads to several articles.

https://thediplomat.com/tag/cambodia-authoritarianism/


Was the CIA Director Recently in Phnom Penh? Whether or not William Burns visited Cambodia, as former PM Hun Sen seemed to claim, U.S.-China competition has set off an intelligence race. The Diplomat. David Hutt. (June. 2024). 


 What is interesting in the following analysis is it is stated that while Hun Sen is no longer the Prime Minister he can still hold political sway over Cambodia from his Senate position. 


https://thediplomat.com/2024/06/was-the-cia-director-recently-in-phnom-penh/


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ART REFERENCES


Dacchi Dang. The Boat. 26th October- 17th November. 2001. 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art.

https://4a.com.au/exhibitions/the-boat

   

Dacchi Dang: An Omen Near and Far. June 9 to July 30. 2017. A retrospective exhibition at the 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art.

https://4a.com.au/exhibitions/dacchi-dang-an-omen-near-and-far

 

Dacchi Dang. An overview of all his exhibitions under the auspices of 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art.

https://4a.com.au/creatives/dacchi-dang

 

Dacchi Dang website. (I would suggest examining his Portfolios webpage which does include a The Boat link). 

https://www.dacchidang.com/about-me

 

Australian War Memorial Dacchi Dang article. (October. 2019).  

https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/blog/dacchi-dang-and-the-gillespie-bequest

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The Killing Fields. Roland Joffe. Official film trailer. (1984). Mention should be made of this film which cinematically brought the reality of the Khmer Rouge genocide to a wider global audience.

https://youtu.be/0Um2j1iEj1k?si=y62f832HzOSI1CZJ

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A Cambodian Spring. Documentary. Christopher Kelly. (2017). Three protesters are featured including housing activist Tep Venny and the other two against unjust property development is another housing activist Toul Frey Povand a Buddhist monk known as The Venerable Luon Sovath.

 

https://youtu.be/Ygrpw7ddlwk?si=fH4Hsti0KDS72oYM


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Taste of the Land. (Featuring Cambodian-American filmmaker Kalyanee Mam). Directed by Adam Loften and Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee. Shifting Landscape Film Series. Emergence Magazine. (2024).

 

https://emergencemagazine.org/film/taste-of-the-land/?utm_source=Emergence+Magazine&utm_campaign=933f390b93-Emergence—20240922&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_73186f6259-933f390b93-357030061

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Sitthixay Ditthavong

 

This photographer whose work I came across in an annual Head On photo exhibition festival in Sydney has already been mentioned in the footnotes. However, I mention him again who has a photo series that documents unjustly displaced Phnom Penh people (as already stated).  Sitthixay Ditthavong provides an excellent introductory overview on this webpage.   

 

Sitthixay DitthayongBOREI KEILA


https://www.sitthixay.com/copy-of-news-sport-3

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All That Surrounds Us: New Art from Cambodia. 

 

Several Cambodian artists that mainly look at the post-Khmer Rouge era. A 2023 exhibition that was held at the 16albermale project space gallery in Newtown. Sydney. 

 

All That Surrounds Us: New Art from Cambodia

https://www.16albermarle.com/exhibitions/ex16-all-that-surrounds-us

 

  It was at this exhibition that I learnt about the White Building (or Municipal Apartments) that has since been demolished in 2017 and there are a series of videos on the webpage in relation to this apartment complex that I highly recommend viewing.  

WHITE BUILDING. Collections. Media. Themes. People.

http://www.whitebuilding.org/en/themes/history

 

 On this website there is a large array of information including videos and randomly came across the following of these two sisters (one in contemporary dress the other traditional costume) performing in a complex space. 

 

White Building. Sisters.

http://www.whitebuilding.org/en/film/white-building-–-sisters

 The last days of Phnom Penh's iconic White Building. BBC.  24 July. 2017.

 

 Two other online references to the White Building:

 

The last days of Phnom Penh's iconic White Building. BBC.  24 July. 2017.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-40652014

 

The White Building; The Fall of an Icon. by Luciengrey. (August. 2017) in Phnom Penh Spotlight (May 3. 2024).

https://phnompenhspotlight.wordpress.com/2017/08/07/the-white-building-the-fall-of-an-icon/


TEYYATEAN Than Sok: Giving alms.16albermale project space gallery. Newtown. Sydney.

https://www.16albermarle.com/exhibitions/ex20-teyyatean-than-sok-giving-alms

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Angkor Wat. 

 

Angkor Wat. Khan Academy. 

 

 Among the vast plethora of academic articles, online videos etc. in relation to the art of Angkor Wat this particular website seemed to be one that provided an accessible introductory overview.

 

Angkor Wat. Khan Academy

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/south-east-se-asia/cambodia-art/a/angkor-wat


Cambodia welcomes the Metropolitan Museum of Art's repatriation of statues looted over decades of turmoil. ABC News July. 2024.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-05/cambodia-looted-statues-returned-from-united-states/104061730

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H’mong Batik. A Textile Technique from Laos by Jane Mallinson. Nancy Donelly. Ly Hang. Silkworm Books. Chang Mai. Thailand. 1988.

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The Sorrow of War. Bao Ninh. (1991).

The Sorrow of War is a haunting meditation on the war in Vietnam which one feels can apply to the whole of war ravaged Indochina. I highly recommend this novel.  I include an introductory Wikipedia article:

 

The Sorrow of War

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sorrow_of_War


In The Politics of Cruelty. An essay on the literature of political imprisonment. by Kate Millet. Penguin. (1994) one came across a reference of a 1979 UPI photograph of in a Thai camp of a boy crucified on a cross by the Khmer Rouge who are punishing him for stealing food. Here is one link to this image and with a full explanation:

https://cdm16630.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16630coll3/id/1001/

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CAMBODIA: Travel paraphernalia
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CAMBODIA  Archival Photos late December 1990 - early January 1991.  (A week period). 

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Three other photos. 1. Vientiane market. 2. Phnom Penh. 1996. 3. Khmer temple. Sydney


________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The author then in Cambodia and decades later in Australia...


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'LUNA PARK.' etching. B&W. 8" X 6". drypoint. zinc plate. Based on a Buddha at Bayon. Angkor Wat. Siem Reap. Cambodia.





‘Luna Park.’  B&W. 8” X 6”. zinc plate. Bayon. (Ankor Wat). Cambodia. 

This smiling Buddhist face is based on a stone carved image at the temple complex at Siem Reap known as ‘Bayon.’ These temples are in the same area as Ankor Wat - one of the marvels of Khmer architecture When I first saw this smiling Buddha I was immediately reminded of the smiling face of Luna Park and consequently on either side of the face are the towers which can be found on the facade of Luna Park. It was an extraordinary day for myself and for my travel friend Julia as we were in Cambodia in 1990 while the country was more-or-less still closed off to individual travel. A guide T.T. took us and two middle-aged Frenchmen on a tour of the whole Ankor Wat complex. We had flown in from Phnom Penh and would fly out four hours later as it was too dangerous to go overland or to stay. As we enjoyed our tourist day government troops were passing by in a truck convoy on a long winding dirt road going off to fight the Khmer Rouge. In the distance we could hear the rumblings of battle and the ground would shake from artillery fire. A sight that will stay with me forever is two very young soldiers with Kalashnikovs over their shoulders languidly walking beside two Buddhist monks in orange garb walking through the Khmer ruins - as a shortcut to their village - all sharing a cigarette. At lunch one of the Frenchmen explained to us how he had come back to visit Cambodia as he had been there before as the child of a French diplomat father. He explained that on his first visit to Ankor Wat the jungle had fully surrounded it; when we were there it still had a very remote out of the way feel to it. As for T.T. he worked as a guide in the day and the work was good for improving his English and to supplement his meagre income. At night T.T. said he was often a guard helping to stop Khmer Rouge incursions into the local town Siem Reap. I shall also never forget the $US100 Admission Price for our visit to Ankor Wat which also included a lunch at a nearby government restaurant. There was also a $1 photo charge. We had to tip T.T. when we realised that he was going to see very little of the admission money.


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Framed photos

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Non-Cambodian links to footnotes in the main narrative.

Australian Music.

Under the Sun. Paul Kelly.The Messengers.

https://youtu.be/5e9lg9bjeoE?si=xggp-7Fnj5O6u8S0

To Her Door. Paul Kelly. The Messengers.



  (It may also be worthwhile to search out other video versions of these two songs).

Paint it Blue. Living With Robert. 


  (Although I mention Living With Robert but no particular song  I post anyway this one as it is my favourite and often think of it as being their 'archetypal' track. Enjoy. All the best).

 
U.S. Music.

Holiday in Cambodia. Dead Kennedys. (1980).

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ub4E2RHwc30 


(Please note there are many various versions of this song on the internet).


German Music. (for Run Lola Run/Lola Rennt).

BelieveFranka Potente


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  The Gulf War Did Not Take Place. Jean Baudrillard. 1991. 

 

Internet Archive.  

https://archive.org/details/the-gulf-war-did-not-take-place-by-jean-baudrillard/page/n9/mode/2up

 

Wikipedia article.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gulhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gulf_War_Did_Not_Take_Placef_War_Did_Not_Take_Place

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Along with the songs I also make reference to two books:

Salvador. Joan Didion. (1983). 


  An introductory overview of this book from Wikipedia.

  A couple of book reviews among a few I found including some that were not complimentary but have chosen to only post these two...one is by the historian Antony Beevor and the other  is by an El Salvadoran Roberto Lovato. 
 
Official Delusion. Salvador by Joan Didion. Antony Beevor. Literary Review. May 1983. 


When Reporting on a nation's civil war erases the truths of a beautiful people. Roberto Lovato. (Datebook. October 6. 2020)


Slaugherhouse Five. Kurt Vonnegut

  Below is a link to a wikipedia overview of the film version of Slaughterhouse Five which provides some insight into the book. Apparently, Kurt Vonnegut was pleased with this version.


  What Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five Tells Us Now. The New Yorker. Salmon Rushdie. June 2019. Interestingly, it is mentioned that Kurt Vonnegut would have been referencing the Vietnam War in the back of the mind although the novel overtly revolves around the Allied bombing of Dresden in WWII. In essence, one may say an anti-war book of all war.  


Beyond Good and Evil. Friedrich Nietzsche. Introductory. Wikipedia article. 



Oil Under Troubled Water. Australia’s Timor Sea Intrigue. Bernard Collaery. Melbourne University Press. 2020.  

 https://www.mup.com.au/books/oil-under-troubled-waters-electronic-book-text 

 


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Children of Men. Alfonso Cuaron.(2006).

There is also mention of Children of Men thus the two following links:

Alfonso Cuaron - Did Children of Men Predict Populism Today? Screenwriters Guild lecture. BAFTA.

https://youtu.be/dh1EGsetbJE?si=SN4MO2oSfjVhekGB



Children of Men official trailer.

https://youtu.be/2VT2apoX90o?i=


The Afghan Files.



 The Afghan Files. Defence leak exposes deadly secrets of Australia’s special forces. ABC National

Reporting Team. Dan Oakes. Sam Clark. July. 2017.


https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-11/killings-of-unarmed-afghans-by-australian-special-forces/8466642


 as well as Dark day for democracy as military whistleblower David Mcbrideimprisoned. Human Rights Law centre. May 14. 2024. https://www.hrlc.org.au/news/2024/05/14/mcbride-prosecuted ).

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-11/killings-of-unarmed-afghans-by-australian-special-forces/8466642


Dark day for democracy as military whistleblower David Mcbride imprisoned. Human Rights Law  Centre. May 14. 2024.  https://www.hrlc.org.au/news/2024/05/14/mcbride-prosecuted

Opinion: Labor’s persistent refusal to fix the Jobseeker payment is shameful. Ross Gittens. Sydney Morning Herald. May 13. 2024.



 Documentary Watchers Of The Sky (directed by Edet Belzberg. 2014) about the lawyer Raphael Lemkin who came up with the word genocide and to bring about the Genocide Convention.

A Wikipedia article: Watchers of the Sky. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watchers_of_the_Sky

 __________________________________________________________________________      Daniel Ortega's Nicaragua in his second Presidency.


  As Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega is mentioned in the footnotes here is an article that is critical of him and although written in 2016 it is still a valid introduction to the politics of Daniel Ortega.*

Daniel Ortega, Nicaragua’s Nov. 6 Election, and the Betrayal of a Revolution by Dan la Botz New Politics. (October 17, 2016).




 (*I think it is safe to say that the writer is from the Left and I find it to be a fair overview (rather than being a typical character assassination that one usually finds from anyone from the right side of the political spectrum).   

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When it comes to the matter of genocide as well as widespread mass killings perpetrated in the decades of the so called Cold War there is reference in regards to South East Asia to Indonesia, East Timor (where there would be killings committed by occupying forces and its local affiliates until the arrival of a U.N sponsored Australian led military force INTERFET arrived in late 1999) so two links in regards to these mass crimes against humanity.  (Along with genocide one has come across in the first article the term 'politicide'  in reference to the mass killings of people not based on ethnic identity but rather due to political affiliation).    
   
 The Indonesian Killings of 1965-66Katherine E. McGregor. SciencesPro. (August. 2009).


 After discovering 'SciencesPro' I have decided to provide a link from this website in regards to Timor Lesterwhich also provides a much broader historical overview. There are many links that one can look up which also offer various points of view and one is encouraged to examine them in order to veer towards a multi-faceted understanding not only of what has happened in Timor Leste but also of what happened in Indonesia in the mid-1960s and what has also played out in other regions of the vast Indonesian archipelago including of course West Papua which is viewed as being occupied by Indonesia and disallows West Papua from being granted independence so as to be its own nation. (While in Asia one may also keep in mind on the other side of the so called Bamboo Curtain is the ongoing occupation of Tibet by China). 

 Three Centuries of Violence and Struggle and Violence in East Timor (1726-2008). Frederic Durand. SciencesPro. (October. 2011).



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The following video also has references below it to the mass killings that occurred in Indonesia.

INDONESIAN PERFORMANCE ART: LITSUS by DADANG CHRISTANTO. (Sydney. 2015).



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 There is also the following introductory link in reference to what is seen as a modern era genocide in Guatemala (seeing I also made a passing reference). 

Guatemalan Genocide. US Shoah Foundation.




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Aboriginal Deaths In Custody and Incarceration. 

 As mentioned in the Notes I have an interest in this issue and partly mention that while in the narrative there is an accomodation to point out the human rights issues of Cambodia it can also be instructive to also point out what is seen as (structurally) unjust in one's own society. Black Deaths In Custody first came to my attention by way of two deaths: John Pat and Eddie Murray. (Apologies for not focusing on other more recent Aboriginal deaths in custody although two cases will be mentioned). Thus provide three links in relation to what happened to them and then - amongst the many articles etc that I could have chosen I simply reference three other links that help to provide an introductory overview of the human rights situation up to the early 2020s. There is much information on the internet etc. for one to further pursue this grievous matter in order to be better informed. All the best.  

John Pat. Eddie Murray.

In regards to John Pat and Eddie Murray the actual Royal Commission is referenced while other sources should be possible to find. A short amateur video of part of a June 12, 2021 event at Sydney Town Hall to highlight the 40th anniversary of Eddie Murray's death in police custody follows. 

 John Peter Pat. Indigenous Law Resources.



Death of John Pat. Wikipedia. 



Memorial to John Pat. Wikipedia [file].


Eddie Murray. Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths In Custody. (1989)


Eddie Murray. Wikipedia.


Eddie Murray. Rally. Sydney Town Hall. (June 12. 2021). 




Deaths Inside. Indigenous Australian Deaths in Custody. Database. Guardian. (2021).


Indigenous Deaths In Custody Rises to 516 since the 1991 Royal Commission, report says. Josh Taylor Guardian. (December. 2022).


 The following article was written in the lead up to the Voice Referendum and is included as it reveals the startling statistic that an indigenous person is 17 times more likely to be incarcerated than a non-indigenous person.

The Voice offers a new way forward to end Australia's appallingly high incarceration rates. Tony Shields. Australia Institute. (September. 2023).


This Guardian article by Lorena Allem We Should All be Furious. Aboriginal people make up record 31% of prison population in NSW (May. 2024) certainly backs up the claim of high indigenous incarceration rates. 

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/may/14/aboriginal-indigenous-australians-nsw-prisons-jail-population-highest-on-record?CMP=soc_568


  There have been so many hundreds of deaths since the royal commission which was meant to bring an end to such custodial fatalities. The following are only two of the many that deserve to be highlighted:

The story of David Dungay and an Indigenous death in custody. Helen Davidson. Guardian. (June. 2020).



Tanya Day died 17 days after falling asleep on a train. Now her family want answers. Calla Wahlquist. Guardian. (August. 2019).


 Notably, in this article it is reported that the Human Rights Law Centre has pointed out that an Aboriginal woman is ten times more likely to be charged for publicly drunk. 


Lastly, there is an Australian Government real time dashboard on the internet that was initiated in 2023 and provides an up-to-date account of deaths in custody (both indigenous and non-indigenous). 

 

Deaths in Custody in Australia. (Australian Government).

https://www.aic.gov.au/statistics/deaths-custody-australia

 

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________________________________________________________________________________________________
Several somewhat arbitrary selected Cambodia excerpts from the novella size travel memoir. 

Holiday in Cambodia

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

phonm penh, december, 1990

From the sixth floor of the Hotel Sokhali we had a grand view of Phnom Penh. We could see the hills beyond the outside of the city. We looked down onto a shanty house on the roof of the building opposite us. A lone girl, perhaps only four years old, was brushing her teeth. I shut the windows. This cuts out the noise. I walked out onto our small balcony. I was immediately reminded that the Sokhali was on a T-intersection. I looked over at the local cinema which was on the other side of the main road facing the front of the hotel. Large billboards of beautiful Indian women and macho guys adorned the front of the building. Cinema crowds continually swirled in and out of the large entrance from which came sounds that ranged from mystical rhythms to cowboy music. On either side of the cinema were flats and units filled with families. Underneath the units were shops which sold household goods, cigarettes, jewellery, food, bottled water, Russian vodka and where black-market money was also displayed behind counter windows. There were barbers, hairdressers, bakeries, stalls, cafes with televisions, restaurants and photography places with the latest Fuji technology. The one constant sound throughout the length and breadth of Phnom Penh was the blare of horns. These came from the many motor scooters and few cars which raced up an down the main road outside the Sokhali. Mingled in between these vehicles were hundreds of bicycles and cyclos, carrying goods as well as passengers, which were invariably always ringing their bells. N.G.O four wheel drives would wound their way through this traffic. I saw a tourist bus which was to me like a bubble protecting its occupants from the filth and noise of the city. Near dusk the dirt of the city would swirl up and cover everybody as the traffic became heavier and thousands of people left their daily chores to go home. Along the pavements would be children playing games which included French skipping, plastic sword fights, hoola hoops, cards and throwing whirling things into the air. Some children along with a few women would beg. One -legged soldiers could also be seen limping along the walkways or trying to rush across the roads. The cyclos, when stationary, would gather outside the Sokhali and other hotels. Many people would always be walking about and at the intersections were guard posts manned by traffic police. A lone green figure on top of a stand would direct the traffic to stop and go from the centre of these crossroads. The bicycles and cyclos would strain in neat lines waiting for the hand signal which would allow them to move on. Women wearing Peruvian style hats would cling to their husbands on the back of motor scooters. I saw a truck filled with large blocks of ice. One cyclo had his seat stacked with line after line of Coke bottles in crates. The driver could just peer over them to see where he was going. I saw before me people who were simply getting on with their lives. I had concluded that humanity is the same everywhere. I had concluded that here I Phnom Penh there was the constant spectre that these people were hostages to the machinations of international politics. I considered how there was an underlying sense of fatalism in the scenes before me. I realised these people were not in control of their futures. There was a possibility of a return to power by the Khmer Rouge. Thus I looked at a society which hovered on the fringe of a new hell. Any lingering sense of hope could easily be extinguished in such a foreboding climate. I could faintly comprehend the intrusive influence of the United States of America on the course of this country‟s history. I could see a comparism with the hard expressions I saw on some people‟s faces during the day with similar expressions I had seen on other people‟s faces in other countries such as Guatemala. Such people were puppets. (I contrasted Cambodia‟s plight with the positive scenes I had witnessed in Nicaragua. This other third world society had organised itself into popular organizations from the grassroots up to created their democracy. Until their spirits were worn down by the long drawn out contra war the Nicaraguans had maintained control of their future course). I could easily imagine a curtain of strings, as dense as the seasonal rains, stretching to the sky over Phnom Penh. The warm air of the hot day shrouded each person as the elongated shadows of the sinking sun connected together to bring in the night. There were no street lights. Light would come from the shops. Light would come from the heads of passing vehicles. The noise permeated on, indifferent to whether the world was light or dark. People‟s conversations cluttered the night sounds.

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the killing fields

A man took me on the back of his scooter to the killing fields. This particular day they were officially closed, however, he knew the local guards. For a small amount of money they undid the lock to the swinging gate. I saw the patchwork of group graves on the bushy plain where hundreds of people had been buried. I gazed at the skulls of fifteen year old children which were encased in a high glass tower of skulls built in memory to the deaths of „75 to‟78.I read on an outside notice foreigners were also killed. I saw a photograph of a young bearded man from the N.S.W. south coast. Yet, I had expected to see the gravesites of many thousands. I saw before me the evidence of an amoral universe. Here, in this land of secrets, where there had been secret bombings and a secret genocide. I was uncertain of the truth of the deaths at my feet. I have no reason not to believe the skeletons in the earth below me were placed there by the Khmer Rouge. However, it has been said amongst the million people killed in the Democratic Kampuchea many had died from unavoidable starvation. It is said tribal groups, which were only within a minimal sphere of influence of the Khmer Rouge leadership, had committed their own revengeful massacres. It has been said lives were saved by the Khmer Rouge by forcing the population to leave the cities to work the rice fields. It has been said the genocide figures in the Democratic Kampuchea were exaggerated by the Americans as evidence to justify their own bloody incursion against communism in Indochina. I feel the present government would use these deaths to justify a prolonged hold on power. Thus, the memory of this genocide is used to the advantage of the main power players. I wonder if only the people who lived through this suffering care what happened? However, I do believe the Khmer Rouge are murderers. However, I do believe the American bombing was murderous. I turn to the man who brought me here and tell him I find it hard to believe his fellow Khmers could be so cruel. He agrees.

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on the road to bayon

During the morning drive to Bayon I had also been struck by the sight of a large army truck. The vehicle was overflowing with government soldiers which also had a heavy machine-gun nestled on top of the cabin. It was a classic image which reminded me we were experiencing a pleasant tourist day in a war zone. Those men could have been going to their deaths but such a thought, in the relative comfort of our spacious van, seemed too unreal to take seriously.

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