The Cambodia Pictures

Friday, January 13, 2006

and were off. Had to use two motor bikes to get me to the coach station to go to Vietnam. One for me and one for my case. We managed to get there ok without any accidents.

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Cambodia Facts Country Name: Kingdom of Cambodia Motto: Nation - Religion - King Capitol City: Phnom Pehn Important Cities: Siem Reap, gateway to the temples- Sihanoukville, port and beach town- Phnom Pehn, Capitol and bustling city. Major Rivers / Lakes: Tonle, Sap River - Mekon River- Bassac River- Tonle sap Lake. Language: Khmer, Second English & French Ethnic Groups: Khmer (95%) ethnic Vietnamese, ethnic Chinese, Cham, several hill tribes in tghe North East. Religion: Theravada Buddhism (97%) Islam, Christianity. Population of Cambodia: 13.1 million Land area of Cambodia: 181,035 km2 Currency: Riel, (US$=4,000 R) US Dollars are as commonly used as Reil. Voltage: 220 / 50 Hz Time: GMT + 7 hours Cambodia is a country scarred by years of conflict and some of the deepest scars lie just below the surface.The legacy of landmines in Cambodia is the worst anywhere in the world with an estimated four to six million dotted around the countryside. These incideous inventions are not just weapons of war, but also weapons against peace, as they recognise no ceasefire. As many as 40,000 Cambodians have lost limbs due to mines. Cambodia has one of the worlds highest number of amputees per capita - about one in 275 people. After Malaria, tuberculosis, diarrhoea & traffic accidents, mines are Cambodia's number one killer. Land mines litter the country, buried in rice fields and on road sides and, even after extensive mine-awareness campaigns, they still claim about 40 to 50 victims a month. This is a vast improvement on a decade ago when the figure was closer to 300. But Why So Many Mines & Unexploded Bombs ? 1969 - Beginning in March, the US begins secret bombing raids on Vietnamese communist sanctuaries and supply routes inside Cambodia (dubbed the 'Menu Series'). Authorised by the newly installed US President, Richard M. Nixon, and directed by his national security adviser, Henry Kissinger, the raids are illegal, as the US has not officially declared war on Cambodia. In 14 months, 110,000 tons of bombs are dropped. When news of the raids is leaked, Kissinger orders surveillance and phone tapping of suspects to uncover the source. US bombing raids into Cambodia will continue until 1973. All told, 539,129 tons of ordinance will be dropped on the country, much of it in indiscriminate B-52 carpet-bombing raids. The tonnage is about three and a half times more than that (153,000 tons) dropped on Japan during the Second World War. Up to 600,000 Cambodians die but the raids are militarily ineffective. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reports that the bombing raids are serving to increase the popularity of the Khmer Rouge among the affected Cambodian population.

The Cambodia Pictures

Friday, January 13, 2006

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