"Cambodia's development cannot be made with our tears"

Geneva (Switzerland), May 7th 2009. Ros Han, Chan Vichet, Sia Phearum and Seng Sokheng in font of Palais Wilson, Wilson quay, headquarters of the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights (Photo: Laurent Le Gouanvic)

13-05-2009
By Laurent le Gouanvic
Ka-set

From the top of the stairs of the Wilson Palace in Geneva, headquarters of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (UNHCHR) and formerly the late League of Nations, Ros Han, Chan Vichet, Sia Phearum and Seng Sokheang look at the unobstructed view of lake Léman and the Mont-Blanc quay, a street where luxury boutiques, banks and posh hotels run side by side. At the heart of the Swiss city, in a setting which strongly differs from Kratie, Oddar Meanchey and Phnom Penh, these four Cambodians came to make a call for help and file the demands of those evicted from their land or from those who are under threat of eviction to the international community. Before attending the Cambodian Government reporting to the Committee of economic, social and cultural rights of the UNHCHR, which is holding its 42nd meeting on May 11th and 12th, those heralds of Cambodian civil society held a series of meetings, hoping to put an end to evictions and land grabbing in their country.

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Lawrence teen, 17, shot in Lowell, dies

Tavaryna Choeun, 17 - Paul Bilodeau / Courtesy photo

May 14, 2009
By Bill Kirk
bkirk@eagletribune.com
The Eagle Tribune (North Andover, Massachusetts, USA)

LOWELL — A Lawrence teen who was shot and pushed out of a car on a street in Lowell Tuesday night died early this morning, her family told The Eagle-Tribune today.
Tavaryna Choeun, 17, who lived with her family at 184 Abbott St. before moving out of the house several months ago, was shot in the back of the head by unknown assailants, her body dropped on the side of Suffolk Street where she was found by Lowell police at 10:16 p.m. Tuesday.

She was taken to Lahey Clinic in Burlington and was on life support before succumbing to her injuries at 2 a.m. this morning, said her mother, Sophal Choeun, 45.

"I pray to God they find who did this to my daughter," said Choeun, a Cambodian immigrant who lives with her family, including three other children and her mother on the second floor of an Abbott Street multi-family house.

"I'll go see her in Boston today at 1 p.m.," she said quietly, her children and mother sitting by her side.

Choeun said her daughter had never been in trouble, and Lawrence Police Chief John Romero confirmed yesterday that she had never been arrested in Lawrence.

However, she said her oldest daughter was in the custody of the Department of Social Services because she kept dropping out of school.

"I didn't want her to drop out," she said.

The victim's sister, Maryanne Choeun, 18, said Tavaryna had dropped out of Lawrence High School in her freshman year and was a chronic runaway. She had run away from her foster home and was most recently living with her boyfriend in Lowell, a 20-year-old man, she said.

Tavaryna's father lives in California and is traveling in Cambodia, Maryanne Choeun said.

Aside from her mother and sister Maryanne, Tavaryna has a younger sister, Susan, 16, and brother, Peter, 7, and grandmother, Chy.

Maryanne Choeun told the Lowell Sun she hadn't talked to her sister in several months, but that she is a shy and quiet girl, who had no enemies and no problems with her boyfriend.

"We just want to know who did it," Maryanne Choeun said. "I can't believe they did this kind of stuff to my sister."

Lowell Police Capt. James McPadden said the investigation is ongoing and is being handled by District Attorney Gerard Leone's office.

A spokesman for Leone, Corey Welford, could not be reached for comment this morning.

Anyone with information is asked to call Lowell police at (978) 937-3200 or Crimestoppers at (978) 459-TIPS (8477). Callers may remain anonymous, but can receive up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest.

Sichan Siv Will Visit the Long Beach Public Library on May 19th

Cambodian "Killing Fields" Survivor, Ambassador Sichan Siv, Bestselling Author of Golden Bones, Will Visit the Long Beach Public Library May 19th

The Long Beach Public Library Foundation will present "killing fields" survivor's story of success at the Main Library in Long Beach, CA on Tuesday May 19th from 5:30.-7:30p.m. Ambassador Sichan Siv will tell his tale of endurance and triumph rising from Pol Pot prisoner to U.S. Ambassadorship to achieve the American Dream.
Long Beach, CA (PRWEB) May 14, 2009 -- Daring escapes from war horrors coupled with meteoric rises from tragedy's ashes are often thought to be only the stuff of Hollywood films. But the dramatic and courageous life of The Honorable Sichan Siv - a refugee from the Cambodian "killing fields" and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations - is a true story.

The Long Beach Public Library Foundation is pleased to present Ambassador Siv on Tuesday, May 19, to tell his amazing and inspiring story from his best-selling book, Golden Bones: An Extraordinary Journey from Hell in Cambodia to a New Life in America. This will be the Ambassador's first appearance in Southern California.

While war raged throughout Southeast Asia in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Ambassador Siv was a young intellectual and graduate student in Cambodia. He was part of the target demographic that dictator Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge sought to eradicate, resulting in the infamous "killing fields" or rice paddies dotted with millions of skulls.

Siv was captured and placed in a slave labor camp, but made a daring escape though the jungle to Thailand. After months in a refuge camp, he entered the United States. Once here, through diligence and hard work, he rose to the heights of the U.S. government.

Tuesday, May 19 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Main Auditorium, Long Beach Public Library
101 Pacific Avenue, Long Beach

Tickets are available for $30 by calling (562) 628-2441 or purchasing online at www.lbplfoundation.org. The event will include a live reading by Ambassador Siv, book signing and refreshments. Books will be available to purchase.

The non-profit Long Beach Public Library Foundation supplements and supports the Long Beach Public Library. The Foundation's programs include Family Learning Centers at each of the city's 12 libraries, as well as the Raising A Reader program, which has graduated more than 5,700 parents and pre-schoolers from its reading readiness course. Among the Foundation's most prominent programs is the annual Long Beach Reads One Book, when the entire city spends a week celebrating a selected book and its author. Funds from Ambassador Siv's appearance will support these programs.

Long Beach Public Library Foundation
101 Pacific Avenue, Long Beach, CA
562/628-2441 - lbpl.foundation@charter.net
Contact: Sara Pillet