The NGO - a tale in 10 chapters

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Duncan
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Re: The NGO - a tale in 10 chapters

Post by Duncan »

Francis wrote:
Mrs Stroppy wrote:
Francis wrote:Ooops....just saw it. Tomorrow chapter 6.....sorry.
That what you said yesterday
Ok.....tomorrow two chapters then.
Ok,,,,,, tomorrow two chapters then, the movie.
Cambodia,,,, Don't fall in love with her.
Like the spoilt child she is, she will not be happy till she destroys herself from within and breaks your heart.
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Re: The NGO - a tale in 10 chapters

Post by Francis »

Just for Mrs. Stroppy........the missing chapter.

CHAPTER 6: TNGO AT HOME

0600 hours Reveille. Sergeant Rockhurst (US Marine Corps, Retired) plays recording of bugle call from Parris Island over the loudspeaker, vainly tries to wake up the other members of the TNGO staff.

7:30 a.m. Official opening of TNGO office; deadline for arrival of Cambodian staff. Cambodian staff arrives and goes to work.

9:30 a.m. Deadline for arrival of Western staff.

10:00 a.m. Second deadline for arrival of Western staff.

10:30 a.m. Really, this is disgraceful. Unless it’s the Monday after a particularly heavy holiday weekend, don’t you think you should be at your desks by now?

10:45 a.m. Coffee break for Western staff.

11:00 a.m. Meeting of International Macroeconomic Policy Planning Coordination Task Force. Venue: Mr. Erskine’s office. Members: Brad Erskine (Chair), Dr. Harvey S. Murtch, Ph. D., Lillith-Marie Bennington-Smith.

11:15 a.m. Meeting of Democratic Infrastructure Research and Analysis Task Force. Venue: Dr. Murtch’s office. Members: Dr. Murtch (Chair), Mr. Erskine, Ms. Bennington-Smith.

11:30 a.m. Meeting of Sustainable Developmental Paradigm Reevaluation Task Force. Venue: Ms. Bennington-Smith’s office. Members: Ms. Bennington-Smith (Chair), Dr. Murtch, Mr. Erskine.

11:45 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Lunch break for Western staff.

12:00-12:05 p.m. Lunch break for Cambodian staff.

1:00 p.m. Nap for Western staff.

2:00 p.m. Shopping at Lucky, Bayon and You Nam Markets for Western staff.

2:30 p.m. Meting of Special Ad Hoc Task Force: Has Anyone Seen Brian (?) the Backpacker Since Last Thursday?. Venue: Sergeant Rockhurst’s Guard Orderly Room. Members: Sergeant Rockhurst, Cambodian houseguards, maid, cook.

3:00 p.m. Meeting of Cambodia-TNGO Liaison Coordination Task Force. Venue: Cambodian Ministry of NGO Relations, Obfuscation, Delay, and Couldn’t
You Just Give Us the Money and Leave Us Alone? TNGO delegates: Brian (?) if he turns up, Sergeant Rockhurst, Mun Sopheap.

4:00 p.m. Coffee break for Western staff.

4:30 p.m. TNGO Staff attempts to write memorandum to FORGOVAID justifying budget increase, but electric power fails at 4:31 p.m.

4:45 p.m. TNGO Staff attempts to photocopy memorandum to FORGOVAID justifying budget increase, but photocopier fails at 4:46 p.m. as cockroaches have eaten all the toner.

4:55 p.m. Western staff leaves office.

5:00 p.m. Happy Hour at FCCC.

8:00 p.m. Cambodian staff finishes work, replenishes toner in photocopier and leaves office.

8:01 p.m. Cockroaches enter photocopier to begin nightly feast on toner.

8:37 p.m. Brian (?) the Backpacker wanders into TNGO offices, wonders where everyone is and falls asleep on floor outside Dr. Murtch’s office.

2100 hours Taps. Sergeant Rockhurst plays recording of bugle call from Camp Pendleton over loudspeaker. Cockroaches pause respectfully until silence returns, then resume eating toner.

11:57 p.m. Brian (?) the Backpacker wakes up briefly, decides that this must all the product of that bad acid he got from that Australian guy he met in the guesthouse down in Kompong Som last Thursday, rolls over, and goes back to sleep.

11:59 p.m. Cockroaches finish consuming toner and drop to the floor. They creep silently forward, ominously surrounding Brian (?) the Backpacker’s sleeping form.


• • • • •
TO: [email protected]
FROM: [email protected]

hi jane honey how are you and the kids? did junior get off to yale on schedule? miss you a lot. life in cambodia is very difficult, but someone has to do the strenuous but valuable work here. miss you every day and night. please write back soon to me at this e-mail address. it's great how we can stay in touch constantly via e-mail, isn't it? love, harvey.

TO: [email protected]
for reimbursement? the roof is leaking again, and the roofing company said it would cost over a thousand dollars, so i have to get the other bills paid off. oh, yes, a miss 'sah-aht' or something like that called for you several times from long beach. something about her sister. i told her you were not here. who is she? love, jane.

TO: [email protected]
FROM: [email protected]

honey, do not, repeat, do not send the hotel bill to tngo usa headquarters for reimbursement. this is a highly confidential project, still in the developmental stage. just pay it from personal checking account and i'll explain it to you later. Also what did miss sah-at say? please reply asap. love, harvey.

TO: [email protected]
FROM: [email protected]

harvey, that cambodian woman from long beach keeps calling and talking about her sister in phnom penh. i think she said her sister's name is "mut srei sah-aht" or something like that, but I can't understand her accent too well. she sounds very angry. what is going on?? is this going to be another situation like the
one you got into with the chief's daughter in malawi, that -- well,
i won't use that kind of word on the internet, but remember what
you promised me after africa!!! jane.

TO: [email protected]
FROM: [email protected]

jane, honey, don't worry, miss sah-aht is part of the top secret & confidential project here in cambodia that i wrote you about. don't worry darling i can & will explain everything later. don't worry, okay? don't worry. all my love, harvey.

TO: [email protected]
FROM: [email protected]

harvey: i gave that cambodian woman from long beach your mobile phone number in cambodia and told her to stop calling here. and i want to know who her sister is. now she seems to have changed her name from "mutsrei sah-aht" to "prahpuhn
tee-pee" or something like that. what is going on?????? jane.

TO: [email protected]
FROM: [email protected]

hi, dad, how are you? school really sucks, as usual. i have a new professor for asian studies. i forget his name, but he's an australian guy who's written a couple of books about Cambodia & who said he knows you. he said tngo & you personally couldn't find water in the mekong in the middle of the rainy season. what does that mean? also what's going on with you and mom? she's really angry about something and won't tell me what. i overheard her talking on the phone to aunt peg's husband -- the one who's a lawyer and who you got into the big
fight with after thanksgiving dinner last year when you told all those nasty lawyer jokes, remember? anyway, can you me $6,000? yale is really expensive. love, junior.

TO: [email protected]
FROM:[email protected]

bank account and confirm by e-mail. TO: [email protected]
FROM: [email protected]
jane, honey, i promise i will explain absolutely everything when i get home leave in 6 months. trust me this time, ok? i promise it's not like malawi or any of those other times before. really. also, please go downtown and talk to the bank tomorrow. the
last bank statement is wrong as it shows someone in the usa withdrawing my entire tngo salary payment for last month out of the account so i have nothing to live on. please ask the bank to correct the error and credit the account at once. love, harvey.

TO: [email protected]
FROM: [email protected]

no bank error. the cambodian lady drove up from long beach last tuesday and we had a very long and very informative lunch together. who's next - monica lewinsky? after lunch i went to the bank and withdrew all the money from the joint bank account. and oh, yes - i charged the lunch on your personal mastercard. also the roof repairs, and a large cash advance. and also as many new clothes as I could until i hit the credit limit and la boutique d'elegance on rodeo drive in beverly hills confiscated the card. jane

TO: [email protected]
FROM: [email protected]

jane, darling be reasonable. i will explain everything when I see you. please put the
money back in the bank - i can't afford to do anything!

TO: [email protected]
FROM: [email protected]

good.
TO: [email protected]
jane, sweetheart, please, please, please put the money back in the
bank account and confirm by e-mail.

TO: [email protected]
FROM: [email protected]

jane, honey, please reply to previous message

TO: [email protected]
FROM: [email protected]

precious, is the e-mail working? are you receiving my messages? why no reply from you to my messages?

TO: [email protected]
FROM: [email protected]

hi junior sorry I couldn't write back sooner. hope yale is going better this year than last - well, i'm willing to let bygones be bygones on that. never mind about what your professor said about me & tngo; i'll explain later. say, by the way, could you
drop me a note via e-mail and let me know how your mother is doing & what she is up to? have been trying to get her, but I think the e-mail is broken on her end. thanks for doing this. oh, and i'll try to do what I can about getting some money to you. love, dad.

TO: [email protected]
FROM: [email protected]

dad - i don't want to get involved in whatever is going on between you & mom, but she's really angry. anyway, never mind about sending me any money; mom wired me a lot the other day. junior.

TO:[email protected]
FROM:[email protected]

dear dr. murtch: this office has been retained to represent your wife, mrs. jane murtch (my sister-in-law), in connection with....
To be continued...
Und der Haifisch der hat Tränen
Und die laufen vom Gesicht
Doch der Haifisch lebt im Wasser
So die Tränen sieht man nicht

In der Tiefe ist es einsam
Und so manche Träne fliesst
Und so kommt es dass das Wasser
In den Meeren salzig ist
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Duncan
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Re: The NGO - a tale in 10 chapters

Post by Duncan »

Francis, for Buddha sake get that movie on line, I want to see if miss ''mut srei sah-aht '' is of legal age, has she got big ''puppies '' and do I recognise her from the Walkabout ?
Cambodia,,,, Don't fall in love with her.
Like the spoilt child she is, she will not be happy till she destroys herself from within and breaks your heart.
Francis
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Re: The NGO - a tale in 10 chapters

Post by Francis »

Duncan wrote:....... I want to see if miss ''mut srei sah-aht '' is of legal age, has she got big ''puppies '' and do I recognise her from the Walkabout ?
Francis wrote: 5. TNGO is committed to promoting the Rule of Law in Cambodia. We expect Cambodians to obey and respect all the laws we write and impose on them. Note: This does not apply to you or your friends while you are in Cambodia. If you want to smoke grass, sleep with members of the same or opposite sex of any age, etc., go right ahead! Rule of Law applies only to Cambodians, not TNGO workers!
I got that strong feeling that she's not (of legal age). :D
Und der Haifisch der hat Tränen
Und die laufen vom Gesicht
Doch der Haifisch lebt im Wasser
So die Tränen sieht man nicht

In der Tiefe ist es einsam
Und so manche Träne fliesst
Und so kommt es dass das Wasser
In den Meeren salzig ist
Bomber
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Re: The NGO - a tale in 10 chapters

Post by Bomber »

Wonderful story. I have laughed a lot. Thanx
Francis
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Re: The NGO - a tale in 10 chapters

Post by Francis »

CHAPTER 9: TNGO NEAR THE END

T-Day minus 20: Mrs. Bastable was succeeded by Mr. Craunch, a fiercely hard-working and dedicated young man from the same branch of the FORGOVAID Inspector General’s office. He firmly declined all of Lillith-Marie Bennington-Smith’s invitations to dine with her and spent most of his time trying to find out exactly what it was that TNGO had accomplished in Cambodia in the past year at a cost to FORGOVAID of $27,800,000.
Mr. Craunch came in Wednesday morning to finish reviewing TNGO’s project records. He was still seeking, vainly, a single project which TNGO had completed. He ignored Mun Sopheap, who was staring forlornly across his desk at Lillith-Marie Bennington-Smith, and went into Brad Erskine’s office.
Brad was hunched intently over his desk. He was shading in a large sketch of something that looked like a long, flattened canoe mounted on two bicycle wheels. “What’s that?” asked Mr. Craunch.
“I was just thinking,” said Brad. “You know how so many people out in the countryside have motorcycles? Well, what if we taught them to build long wooden trailers, like this, with one wheel on each side—like here and here— and put a sort of a hitch on the front to link it to the back seat of the motorcycle? Then a lot of people could ride on the trailer to and from town. Maybe even carry some produce with them to the market. It would make a great project for TNGO, wouldn’t it? Do you think FORGOVAID would help us talk to the Department of Transportation about getting a grant for a demonstration program here in Cambodia?”
Mr. Craunch stared at him. “You haven’t been out of Phnom Penh for a while, have you, Brad,” he said. “No,” said Brad. “Why?”
“And your title here at TNGO is—?”
“Senior Program Officer. I’m also the Rural Transportation Specialist,” Brad replied proudly.
Mr. Craunch sighed.
Brad glanced down at his sketch. “What do you think of ‘Moto-Trailer’ as a name?” he said. “I’ll bet I could get a patent on this.”
T-Day minus 15: Mr. Craunch went home in despair and was succeeded in due course by a Mr. Hoffman of FORGOVAID Audit & Finance.
Mr. Hoffman, though the same age as Sergeant Rockhurst (USMC, Ret.) could not possibly have been more different in appearance. He could, in fact, have passed for Brian (?) the Backpacker’s older brother. His ragged ponytail flowed halfway down his back and a single golden hoop earring gleamed in his left earlobe.
Sergeant Rockhurst, TNGO’s Head of Security, gawked at Mr. Pringle’s appearance in astonishment.
“So how come you need so many guards on the payroll, man?” Mr. Hoffman inquired.
Sergeant Rockhurst stated at him. “Have you ever been in Southeast Asia before, sir?” he asked.
Mr. Hoffman smirked. “No way, man,” he chortled.
“Uncle Sammy almost caught me in the draft back in ‘68 but I faked my way into a medical deferment. 4-F all the way, hey? Say, man, is your face always that red? Whoa— hey, put that down, okay?......Hey! HEY!!!”
T-Day min u s 10 : Mr. Hoffman’s hasty departure for Washington, after treatment for abrasions and contusions at Calmette Hospital, was followed by
Mrs. Bastable’s reluctant return. Mrs. Bastable refused on principle to
even speak with Lillith-Marie but seemed perversely charmed by Brian(?) the Backpacker; she said he reminded her of her youngest son, Zechariah. She spent hours trying to determine exactly what he did and how he fit into TNGO’s organizational structure. She lectured him constantly on the evils of drug usage until even Brian(?)’s amiable good nature began to wear thin.
She had arrived on a Monday. By late Wednesday morning Brian (?)’s composure finally cracked. He invited her to lunch.
“Special soup?” she said. “What’s in it? Not those little sparrows—”
“No, no,” said Brian (?). “Nothing like that. Just ‘special soup,’ okay? It’s like, the primo Cambodian specialty. Famous all over the world. C’mon, Mrs. B., you’ll really like it. It will mellow you out, you know?”

Now, in the course of describing TNGO’s many adventures and malfeasances in Cambodia, the author has never flinched from describing the most hideous acts and practices, but, gentle reader, you really do not want to know any of the details of Mrs. Bastable’s hallucinations and conduct after consuming six bowls of marijuana-laced soup. Trust me. You do not want to know.
T minus 5: “Well, we’re really very flattered,” said Dr. Harvey S. Murtch, Ph.D., TNGO’s Resident Director. “It’s not every day that the Harvard Business School sends a team out to Phnom Penh to study our management techniques and report back to FORGOVAID on our work.”
The seven MBA students standing in front of his desk regarded him solemnly.
“And the name of your project again-”
“Management by Reversal,” said one of the MBA candidates, a short young man in rimless spectacles in the front row. “FORGOVAID told us this was the worst-”
“We haven’t really selected a title yet,” hastily interrupted the professor who had accompanied them to Phnom Penh. “That’s just a very tentative working title for—
”………“—succeed by doing the exact opposite of whatever TNGO-”
“I’m sure Dr. Murtch is too busy to be bothered by all these petty details”, said the professor. “---100% failure rate—“
“Dr. Murtch seems to be very busy just now.” said the professor.
“—report the failures back to FORGOVAID and—“
“Enough !” said the professor. “Anyway, it’s time for our interview with your Mr. Erskine. His title again is—?”
“Brad Erskine is one of our finest and most experienced people here on the TNGO staff,” said Dr. Murtch. “But about this ‘ R e v e r s e Management’ or whatever you—ah, Brad, there you are. Gentlemen, may I present Mr. Brad Erskine. Brad is TNGO’s Senior Program Officer and, among other things, our Cambodian
C u l t u r a l Specialist. He’s been with TNGO in Cambodia for almost four years.”
Brad Erskine was carrying a dog-eared copy of the Cambodia Daily. “Hey,” he said to the students. “How’s it going? Be with you in just a sec, okay? Listen, Harvey—” “What?” said Dr. Harvey Murtch.

“Did you know there’s a whole separate Khmer New Year ?” said Brad. “I think we ought to get some extra time off for that, don’t you ?”
The bespectacled MBA student in the front row nodded grimly, took out a red pen and made a quick entry in his notebook.
Coming soon: The final chapter …?
Und der Haifisch der hat Tränen
Und die laufen vom Gesicht
Doch der Haifisch lebt im Wasser
So die Tränen sieht man nicht

In der Tiefe ist es einsam
Und so manche Träne fliesst
Und so kommt es dass das Wasser
In den Meeren salzig ist
Francis
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Re: The NGO - a tale in 10 chapters

Post by Francis »

The last chapter and also my last post for a while. Due to a heart condition I'm going to move to Denmark permanently (with cats and dogs)....the available medical services here in Cambodia are not sufficient in an emergency. Perhaps I'm logging in from time to time, but once you are out of Cambodia the whole thing is not that interesting anymore.

CHAPTER 10: TERMINATION DAY

Sergeant Rockhurst had wanted to cut down the bougainvillea trees in the courtyard of TNGO’s villa and have everyone evacuated by helicopter, but he was overruled by Dr. Murtch, who said it would remind people too much of April, 1975.
“Exactly,” said Sergeant Rockhurst.
But Dr. Murtch stood uncharacteristically firm. He ordered the entire staff and their baggage into the Land Cruiser, all except Brian (?) the Backpacker who had disappeared the day before, muttering something about hitchhiking to Laos.
“I’m telling you, Harvey, we could make a fortune,” said Brad Erskine, TNGO’s Senior Program Officer as he lugged his two tattered suitcases out of TNGO’s villa. “We wouldn’t need any FORGOVAID money to stay open. We could fund all our programs with the premium income.”
“Writing life insurance on Khmer newspaper editors and FUNCINPEC party officials?” said Dr. Harvey Murtch.
“Are you crazy, Brad? After three years in Phnom Penh, you still don’t have the faintest idea what is going on, do you? Get in the car.”
Mrs. Joyce T. Bastable was lurking outside the gates of TNGO’s villa, watching them pack. She was dressed from head to toe in a white decontamination suit and was surrounded by nine large similarly-garbed men from the FORGOVAID Emergency Rapid Response Team.
“Wait until they’ve gone,” Mrs. Bastable said, her voice muffled by her gas mask. “Then I want the whole place sprayed and disinfected, top to bottom. And be careful in there—they might have left some procedures or memos behind that could contaminate us all.”
The white-suited figures surrounding her nodded in agreement.
As Mun Sopheap drove them to the airport, Lillith- Marie Bennington-Smith glanced at him from time to time. She thought he looked particularly sad even under the circumstances. She caught him staring back at her a few times, but he quickly averted his head. Cambodian men were so shy, she thought. For some reason Mun Sopheap had brought his brother-in-law from Kompong Cham in to meet her yesterday and left them alone. But all the brother-in-law could do was stare at the floor and mutter something about who the senior male member of her family might be so that they could discuss something. When she pressed him for details, he turned away shyly and refused to say anything more.
Sergeant Rockhurst was touched that in his honor the houseguards had finally managed to learn to stand at attention, in a semblance of an orderly rank without giggling for more than ten seconds. They were lined up in formation on the tarmac at Pochentong in front of the Royal Air Cambodia jet which was waiting to whisk the TNGO team away forever. Sergeant Rockhurst turned around at the top of the mobile stairs, beamed and proudly returned their stiff salutes.
There was a brief delay while the ground staff pumped up one of the 737’s tires which had gone mysteriously flat. At the foot of the airline stairs Mun Sopheap handed Lillith-Marie Bennington-Smith a large bouquet of flowers.
He really was quite a handsome man, she thought. But it was too late to get to know him better.
She really was quite a lovely woman, he thought. But it was too late now.
“Why is that man shooting at the airplane tires again”? asked Dr. Murtch, but no one paid any attention to him.
Mun Sopheap watched as the stewardess pulled the aircraft door closed and the mobile stairs were pulled away. The plane began to taxi toward the runway.

Inside the airplane Lillith-Marie admired the bouquet once more. She noticed a small pink envelope tucked between the stems. Inside it was a note.
“Dear Ms. Lillith-Marie,” it read. “Sometimes Cambodian people are too shy to say face to face what is in their hearts...” Lillith-Marie Bennington-Smith hastily skimmed through the rest of the note.
“Huh,” said Brad Erskine who was seated in the aisle seat next to her, staring at the map in the back of Royal Air Cambodia’s inflight magazine. “Did you know that Phnom Penh was located on a bank of the Mekong Riv— Hey, where are you going?”
Lillith-Marie was clambering over him in a frantic effort to get to the aisle.
“STOP THIS PLANE!” she shouted.
The stewardess rushed up and gently tried to push her back into her seat, but it was no use.
“LET ME OUT!!” Lillith-Marie shrieked.
“Who does she think she is?” muttered a Cambodian businessman seated on the aisle. “Teng Boon Ma?” *****
“Please, Miss,” said the stewardess, “It’s too late.”
Lillith-Marie pulled the stewardess closer and whispered urgently in her ear. She showed her Mun Sopheap’s note. A soft, romantic light appeared in the stewardess’ eyes, and she hurried forward to speak to the captain.
Mun Sopheap was just turning away to drive back to TNGO’s now-deserted villa when he noticed the plane slowly turning around and lumbering back toward the terminal. The Royal Air Cambodia ground staff looked at each other in confusion, and started pushing the mobile steps back toward the plane. The door of the plane opened, and then he saw her. She ran running down the stairs toward him.
At the bottom of the mobile steps they came together. As Mun Sopheap raised his hands to sompeah, Lillith-Marie stuck her right hand out to shake his hand, and their arms collided. They laughed. At the same moment they reversed cultures and gestures; she began to sompeah and he to shake hands, but their arms collided again and then their arms got tangled up again and then they were laughing and embracing each other and holding each other tighter and tighter in a wonderful confusion of arms and lips and bodies.
The plane wheeled around once more and taxied toward the end of the runway. It gathered speed and took off toward the west. Lillith-Marie and Mun Sopheap would have waved farewell to the rest of the TNGO staff, but they were too busy discussing names for their children....
So if some day during your stay in Cambodia you happen by chance to wander down one of the quiet side streets off Norodom Boulevard and see a couple, obviously still very much in love with each other, holding hands with their two lovely Khmer-American children who are chattering with their proud and happy parents as the family makes its way along the street under the scented frangipani blossoms and the bougainvillea trees, you’ll know that in the end—in spite of all the efforts of TNGO and FORGOVAID—something good did, finally, come of it after all… The End.
‹ ‹ ‹
(To conclude this final installment, we include a brief glossary of some of the terms used through this saga, so that the reader may become more familiar with the local culture):

Ot Pah’nya’ha—Khmer for “No problem.”
FCCC—Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Cambodia. Good view of the Mekong River, reasonably edible food. Even if you’re not a real foreign correspondent, go there and pretend you are one; everyone else does.
FORGOVAID—Foreign Government Agency for International Development. Gives lots of money to NGOs which respond by hating it and spreading vicious rumors about its staff. The phrases “FORGOVAID” and “good management” cannot be used together in the same sentence.
Incidentally, there is no relationship between “FORGOVAID” and “USAID”. Really, none at all. No, really, come on, we mean that quite seriously.
mun sopheap—Khmer phrase meaning “not polite” or “not cultured”.
mut srei—girlfriend, mistress.
Nah—Khmer language particle word affixed to the ends of sentences for emphasis.
Phum—village.
p’khaa—flower.
pohjniy’than—restaurant.
Prahpuhn—wife.
sah aht —beautiful.
Sohmbow—snot.
Sompeah—traditional Khmer greeting performed by placing the hands palm to palm, as in prayer, at chest level, dipping the head and bending the knees ever so slightly.
T-3 Prison—Formerly Phnom Penh’s worst jail. Abandon all hope ye who enter here.
tee pee—second.



***** Teng Boon Ma (for the ones who still don’t know about the “who is who” in Cambodia)

Teng Bunma (born 19?? in Suphan Buri, Thailand) is one of the wealthiest businessmen in Cambodia, a country whose wealth is concentrated in the hands of a small group of closely connected politicians, military officials and businessmen. He is of Chinese-Khmer descent.
Teng Bunma was one of first Thai-Cambodian businesspeople to invest significantly in Cambodia after the fall of the Khmer Rouge in 1979. First president of Cambodia's Chamber of Commerce, he also owned the luxury Intercontinental hotel in Phnom Penh and Rasmei Kampuchea, the country's most influential newspaper. His son is a partner with Khmer Rouge functionary Ieng Sary in running the Caesar international casino in Pailin, a mining town in western Cambodia.
Thailand issued an arrest warrant against Teng Bunma in June 1998 because of fraud. Police determinations took place also in Hong Kong: there Bunma had submitted a falsified passport for the registration of its enterprise "to Thai Boon Roong". For years Bunma has been denied entry into the USA, because he appears on that countries list of suspected drug dealers. A 1996 article ("Medellin on the Mekong") in the Hong Kong-based Far Eastern Economic Review, by United States journalist Nate Thayer, described Teng Bunma as a significant figure in Cambodia's international drug-smuggling trade.
Teng Bunma has been described as "trigger-happy tycoon" following incidents where he used or brandished hand guns. In the first incident he shot out a $3000 tire of an airplane on the tarmac after perceiving rudeness from airline staff. "I lost my temper and control and had to shoot one of the plane's tires. I wanted to shoot more of them, to make sure that all were flat, but there were a lot of passengers surrounding the plane." (The Cambodia Daily, April 9). In the second incident he brandished a gun inside an airplane and demanded the crew delay takeoff until his late friends arrived.


Image
Und der Haifisch der hat Tränen
Und die laufen vom Gesicht
Doch der Haifisch lebt im Wasser
So die Tränen sieht man nicht

In der Tiefe ist es einsam
Und so manche Träne fliesst
Und so kommt es dass das Wasser
In den Meeren salzig ist
potty
Expatriate
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Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2014 8:20 pm
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Re: The NGO - a tale in 10 chapters

Post by potty »

bye, francis. and all the best with treatment and health !
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