Author: Charles Dittmeier

Cambodian Election

[Photo: Khmer Times]

We are in the second day of a three-day holiday called for national elections. People must vote from their home villages but many, many people have migrated to the cities and jobs there. Transportation is slow and difficult to the provinces so the government decreed a Saturday holiday to get home before the Sunday elections and a Monday holiday to return to Phnom Penh or wherever they started from. And to make sure people realize how considerate the present ruling party is, the government made available 350 public buses to transport people to remote areas yesterday. Tomorrow, Monday, the buses will bring them back.

Taking over…

This picture illustrates the chaotic, unregulated way of life in Phnom Penh. This is the street and sidewalk outside of a market in the Tuol Kork neighborhood. The fruit stalls have taken over the sidewalk and one lane of the street. Perfectly acceptable….as long as the police get “tea money” from the fruit stalls.

Something Different

This morning, after I finished mass with the Missionaries of Charity (Mother Teresa’s sisters), I was looking out the third-floor window at the traffic on Monivong Blvd, and it occurred to me that might be interesting to see. Take a look.

P.S. Well, I see that is not such a good idea. My slow Internet connection shows 2 seconds of video and then buffers for 12 seconds. Not good. I hope your connection is better!

Asian Deaf Games

The next two weeks, starting July 23, will see the competitions of the Asian Deaf Games, an every-four-year event that brings together deaf athletes from the various Asian countries. This will be the first time Cambodian deaf boys participate. For this first participation, our deaf youth will only enter the football competition. Here two of the footballers pick up their newly arrived uniform shirts.

Sheesh….

I clicked on some notification from Facebook about someone contacting me and found I had dozens (hundreds?) of comments that people made in response to my Facebook posts. I had no idea they had come in.

If you made a comment on my Facebook page and I didn’t reply, I’m sorry! It was an oversight.

Notable Quote

Many people say that we need the death penalty in order to have “justice for the victims.”

But so many family members of murder victims say over and over that the death penalty is not what they want. It mirrors the evil. It extends the trauma. It does not provide closure. It creates new victims… it is revenge, not justice.

Killing is the problem, not the solution.

Shane Claiborne / Sojourners

Lay Mission Meeting

The lay missioners from mission-sending groups from various countries get together each month in a type of support group. This month they met at the MEP house on the Bassac River.

The session started with a prayer/reflection session in the chapel.
Then there was a break while a projector was set up.
The business part of the meeting was on a large outdoor porch overlooking the Bassac River.
Sr. Pilar, who runs an NGO for women abused and at risk, explained her program.
We concluded our afternoon with a networking activity.

Well!

I’m embarrassed… I wasn’t able to access the Internet everyday on my trip to the US for the funeral of my sister Ann, but I was taking photos so I could give a summary when I returned. Well….I’ve returned but I’ve lost the photos! I downloaded them from the camera but I don’t know where I put them on my laptop! I’ll find them… Hang on!

On the road…

Greetings… I am on my way to the Phnom Penh airport to head to Louisville, Kentucky for the funeral of my sister Ann Dittmeier who died yesterday. I fly through Seoul, San Francisco, and Houston before getting to Kentucky–about a 35-hour trip. I won’t be able to update the website here until I arrive in Louisville.