tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52084147073550717302024-03-13T03:04:39.695-07:00ANorthumbrianAbroadLinking life and times of Northumberland with Cambodia, Saint Helena and the developing world.
More in https://www.johnlowrie.ukANorthumbrianAbroadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548140943705427113noreply@blogger.comBlogger107125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5208414707355071730.post-42568775939853918332024-02-19T18:37:00.001-08:002024-02-19T18:37:35.010-08:00The Northumbrian Abroad<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGoPEdvKWvNLbIAcP6CVZ2FwHlHA4AKGcWtxd5lwGHqi3B7h0k-B7MteZFq0qgWcG0Sf8FvTMZSe2aZNIHZwlSgqIx0wJQwnKPNvxOQbnDVtXArpswj2fNtSLqppkWqgs4wse_4mF7uHo/s1600/Northumberland+Image.bmp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGoPEdvKWvNLbIAcP6CVZ2FwHlHA4AKGcWtxd5lwGHqi3B7h0k-B7MteZFq0qgWcG0Sf8FvTMZSe2aZNIHZwlSgqIx0wJQwnKPNvxOQbnDVtXArpswj2fNtSLqppkWqgs4wse_4mF7uHo/s1600/Northumberland+Image.bmp" width="140" /></a>Well, here we are! I succumbed. Rather than blogging on other people's sites, I have decided to have my own. Why? Well like most of us, I think I have something to say and some folks out there may be interested. I quite often find especially with <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/01/print-and-be-dammed-or-haad-your-gob.html#more">larger media</a>, that they tend to want things expressed in their own way, imposing a kind of censorship. Well this is the pure unadultered me! As a person who comes from a distinct part of the world, betwixt the
warring English and Scots, I think we have our special characteristics.
Those stand us in good stead when plodding around the world. So I like
to compare and contrast situations at home or in the past but within
living memory, with those encountered in the developing world. My blogs
delve in to some intricate details as does my <a href="https://www.johnlowrie.uk/">website</a>. </div>
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My <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/03/alnwickdotes-no-1-dartford-warbler.html#more"><b>"Alnwickdotes"</b></a> are of course anecdotes, usually lighter stories of things that have happened over the years. Please go to the link below for a quick-list. Most still have a development connection. Over time, I will write up more of them, as well as blog on any subject in my areas of interest trending on social media. I explain the term Alnwickdote in<a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/03/alnwickdotes-no-1-dartford-warbler.html#more"> No 1 in the series</a>. One clue is Alnwick may be the "<a href="http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/can-you-pronounce-tricky-north-12550610">most mispronounced place-name in the UK</a>".</div>
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<span style="color: #007826;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><b>Alnwick
Castle and the Lion Bridge </b></i></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZJmW691-64zpSfLDUbqgjWRX6fY5ir9KB8Lz_65Y-xKYyiiWYYOAF2YsOzH-Bef9aDJ4Crw_Lf4nv_vzl5QpCa_rd7AvH2eim5NXobah0vrZ15Jcrosf_x0iJJJemUgBLFbLPNTLoXQ8/s1600/Alnwick.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1230" data-original-width="1230" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZJmW691-64zpSfLDUbqgjWRX6fY5ir9KB8Lz_65Y-xKYyiiWYYOAF2YsOzH-Bef9aDJ4Crw_Lf4nv_vzl5QpCa_rd7AvH2eim5NXobah0vrZ15Jcrosf_x0iJJJemUgBLFbLPNTLoXQ8/s320/Alnwick.jpg" width="320" /></a>My life journey briefly has taken me far in to the distance from Alnwick Northumberland (and back) to Leicester; Kingston-upon-Thames, Exeter, Dorchester, Saint Helena Island, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Malawi, Rwanda and Cambodia plus many stops on the way. You can access <a href="http://mondulkiri-centre.org/uploads/JOHN%20LOWRIE%20brief%20CV%20English%202017.pdf">my latest CV her</a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null">e</a>I m I must warn you, and maybe apologize in advance? I do tend
to rant; rave, groan and moan, perhaps a North-Eastern attribute, but then who would not want to associate with the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p66slnlTFXc">High Level Ranters?</a>
(For the uninitiated, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Level_Ranters">this great band</a> was called after one of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Bridges">5 Bridges</a> now 7 that grace the River Tyne in Newcastle, made famous by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSNZzg3-EJ8">the Nice.</a>) Their equally talented and humorous peers, the band <a href="http://www.lindisfarne.co.uk/">Lindisfarne</a>, are more famous - lads I met in Kingston before they were rich and famous! (The Fog on the Thames was all wors!).</div>
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Actually, as my blogs show, there is not so much difference between life in cities like Newcastle and Phnom Penh, despite the passage of time and distance. Listen to my chum Chris Minko and his great Cambodian girl singers in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8djuBSAxYlA">Sin City</a>. Just like Eric Burdon and the Animals <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJVpihgwE18">"We gotta get out of this place"</a>?<br />
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You can go to <a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9N2Jij7HfXMMEJueW1LcWswazQ">my Google Drive</a> for some of my Classic Photographs - this is a work-in-progress that I started in August 2017. Takhmau, Cambodia is now the place I have lived in longest, as you can see by the <a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1E2o0bHGfPTSb7UxRhtXoiQbGqeD-SdMu">"Takhmau Girls"</a> who have served my beer or over the years.<br />
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<i>My background picture is of Longhoughton Quarry Pond. I see it every day when I crank up the computer! When we grew up, the pond was small but a constant source of fascination with the fishes, frogs, and newts. Apart from a few fishermen, few people seem to go to enjoy its beauty*. Maybe that is because one thing has not changed. There may be still explosive charges to extract the stone. Many years later when in Malawi, Africa, I recalled instantly those days. <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/03/alnwickdotes-no-2-lot-of-things-happen.html"> Young Pioneers.......</a></i></div>
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* PS - Well that was until <a href="http://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/news/local-news/vera-s-back-at-school-for-filming-1-6809263"><b>Vera</b> </a>visited! (A TV detective show set in and around <span class="st">#<i>northumberland </i>Great Tweet of her in Amble <b><a href="https://twitter.com/alnwickgazette/status/1007723527934488576">here</a> </b>15 June 2018<b>.</b> I've taken the liberty of borrowing the photograph too.</span><br />
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<a name='more'></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW00imLOgFJfYyzK5UW2iq8Foa6JRI6v_0WbFwb4-AyWzWQV2u9XJCtD34tTvZtL3YqdfB4JqA9A949rMkabarTbbvTNOrEk2XbXScZ6_wpHwGkGyx5-7BLxKxKAB7Nfw5-nRvTd3PC-0/s1600/Cheers.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW00imLOgFJfYyzK5UW2iq8Foa6JRI6v_0WbFwb4-AyWzWQV2u9XJCtD34tTvZtL3YqdfB4JqA9A949rMkabarTbbvTNOrEk2XbXScZ6_wpHwGkGyx5-7BLxKxKAB7Nfw5-nRvTd3PC-0/s320/Cheers.jpg" width="250" /></a><span class="st"><i><br /></i></span>
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<b style="text-align: justify;">June 2015 - </b><span style="text-align: justify;">update: Vera is back in Craster and at our childhood playground haunt of the </span><a href="http://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/news/local-news/cast-and-crew-of-hit-itv-show-vera-back-filming-in-northumberland-1-7954369" style="text-align: justify;">Rumbling Kern</a><i style="text-align: justify;">. </i><span style="text-align: justify;">By chance we were at the Jolly Fisherman same time but missed the new famous </span><a href="http://www.kipper.co.uk/" style="text-align: justify;">Craster Kipper Beer</a><span style="text-align: justify;"> kipper - thanks </span><a href="http://radiotime/" style="text-align: justify;">Cheers!</a><i style="text-align: justify;"> </i><span style="text-align: justify;">and </span><a href="http://alnwickgazette/" style="text-align: justify;">@alnwickgazette</a> And again in 2023 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDA3agm68Jk">Robson Green</a> shows up again. Great scenes also of Seahouses and Bamburgh.<br />
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<span class="st">One follower of my<img alt="" src="data:image/png;base64,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" /> Twitter Account <b><a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn">@LowrieJohn </a></b>asked me about my banner picture. It was untill April 2017 of Dunstanburgh Castle just North of Craster, my photo taken of course from the best vantage point and all-weather retreat of the Jolly Fisherman. Here's the clearer close-up promised:</span></div>
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<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Where are we in the world?</b><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
Thanks to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Peake">Tim Peake</a> and the International Space Station we can show you - next to Bonnie Scotland (South of) but a distinctive different if related mob... to use the cute Australian Aboriginal word for kin</div>
<b> </b><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Now there is one thing in Northumberland that Cambodia never has - snow. In fact every Cambodian is fascinated by it, as when my wife'd nephew accompanied us for Christmas. He was soon out in the snow, and never felt the cold in the least.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho9VESbrFannfNYVv8A86Rc0qWcBVxqNcxJ_Ocw9ynJ572RR4vX6g-6sIuosrRIF_8XFbuKO8yrxFFh5tqJI7Q9LzgVsguh0inVKVxdUFH6A1ohITWBb1SosSguEZCxSuYh0ten1LibKs/s1600/Corby+Crags.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="272" data-original-width="1206" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho9VESbrFannfNYVv8A86Rc0qWcBVxqNcxJ_Ocw9ynJ572RR4vX6g-6sIuosrRIF_8XFbuKO8yrxFFh5tqJI7Q9LzgVsguh0inVKVxdUFH6A1ohITWBb1SosSguEZCxSuYh0ten1LibKs/s640/Corby+Crags.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaZSOIzacqPxXgAXP_t-cvRBGUfIH2pkaRUSGqoMemERJvk105IOyCpy93OfmXIOmS1iDVZviJ4yS-VpaTQTunls7C8TtzFj70Gf7AudwdUzFdWgrmT7R4VQwGOiBzpWL4W586DPSzoV4/s1600/Iza+at+Corby+Crags.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1030" data-original-width="774" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaZSOIzacqPxXgAXP_t-cvRBGUfIH2pkaRUSGqoMemERJvk105IOyCpy93OfmXIOmS1iDVZviJ4yS-VpaTQTunls7C8TtzFj70Gf7AudwdUzFdWgrmT7R4VQwGOiBzpWL4W586DPSzoV4/s320/Iza+at+Corby+Crags.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
Corby Crags is of course an iconic spot between Alwnick and Rothbury. Above is with some snow, not as much as it gets most winters, but it does hide Cheviot, the highest peak in our Cheviot Hills that share its name alomg with our famous sheep who live out there all year round. It is also where my Aunt was pointing out to the wife where her ashes were to be spread. Her wish has now been granted.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEialuVSRKDVqEvS8CcrbF99Z0lgTSQEUs1Y2RF3jB4WK2gqkIzx8LCyYn5y5_Wd-0dKSt3pZs_gVbzIshZQRooXoUFRGNxBxaoDMHg6lazPkNGrk9UOHJBHIRU5dRyWCRVkPCKVKOnvzXE/s1600/Roughting+Linn.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="575" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEialuVSRKDVqEvS8CcrbF99Z0lgTSQEUs1Y2RF3jB4WK2gqkIzx8LCyYn5y5_Wd-0dKSt3pZs_gVbzIshZQRooXoUFRGNxBxaoDMHg6lazPkNGrk9UOHJBHIRU5dRyWCRVkPCKVKOnvzXE/s200/Roughting+Linn.jpg" width="132" /></a><br />
<br />
Northumberland is a large thinly-populated county. It is no surprise therefore that we never stop learning new things about it. Thanks to <a href="http://lifewithjohn/">@LifeWithJohn</a> for introducing me to one sight that has so far escaped me. I went all the way to St Helena to see <a href="https://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/more-to-saint-helenian-culture-than.html#more">similar rock formation beauty</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></b><span class="st">And finally for the record:</span><br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOL7r5pqrpgk-erQ-lnqFrnw4mb7fBERzub2fVICUyvOBqhSeFcMCAuLfG45bqYTU_4YCbSi8iMF4-Wa6kAnLAbHfIyGh1QfRQo-D6w85o3PYlS7Jjuj0TPaJDRvx_k1ZJeI2gxN_S16U/s1600/Creative+Commons+Licence.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOL7r5pqrpgk-erQ-lnqFrnw4mb7fBERzub2fVICUyvOBqhSeFcMCAuLfG45bqYTU_4YCbSi8iMF4-Wa6kAnLAbHfIyGh1QfRQo-D6w85o3PYlS7Jjuj0TPaJDRvx_k1ZJeI2gxN_S16U/s200/Creative+Commons+Licence.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , "palatino";"><i><b>Please
note that I subscribe to freedom of information over the internet
subject to reasonable conditions such as those set by Creative Commons.
I would appreciate it if you would act and honour such undertakings
similarly, for knowledge to spread as widely as possible and to those
who have most difficulty in accessing it.</b></i></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b style="background-color: #cccc99; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-align: justify;">Update 2 October 2018</b><br />
<b style="background-color: #cccc99; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-align: justify;"><br /></b><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: #cccc99; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px; text-align: justify;">The mantra of my blog is</span><b style="background-color: #cccc99; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-align: justify;"><i>"Linking life and times of Northumberland with Cambodia..."</i></b><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: #cccc99; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px; text-align: justify;">. If you excuse the technically that the City of Newcastle is no longer part of Northumberland, then nowhere is this mantra better written up than in </span><a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/cambodia-khmer-rouge-killings-fields-genocide-pol-pot-a8543801.html" style="background-color: #cccc99; color: #771100; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-line: none;">an excellent article </a><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: #cccc99; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px; text-align: justify;">by </span><a href="http://h0llyb4xter/" style="background-color: #cccc99; color: #771100; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-line: none;">Holly Baxter</a><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: #cccc99; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px; text-align: justify;">. It tells of a Geordie who left our shores for the big world, ending up in Cambodia where he was killed. Although the tragedy happened over 40 years ago, it is highly relevant to the situation in Cambodia today. See also my </span><a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1047403932392349696" style="background-color: #cccc99; color: #771100; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-line: none;">tweets and thread</a><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: #cccc99; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px; text-align: justify;">.</span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A Guide to my
Alnwickdotes (Anecdotes)</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">This Alnwickdote No ( 1,2,3, etc) is just the order I have written them up, but I have posted mostly in
reverse chronological order, stories going
back years.</span></div>
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<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/1998/12/alnwickdote-no-17-what-goes-around.html#more">http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/1998/12/alnwickdote-no-17-what-goes-around.html#more</a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
More on theme of people doing
nicely for themselves at the expense of taxpayers and the poor.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/1996/07/alnwickdote-no-16-no-good-crying-over.html#more">http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/1996/07/alnwickdote-no-16-no-good-crying-over.html#more</a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
Prized mementos lost but thanks to
HelpAge I have the picture to tell this "It's a small world story".</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/1987/11/alnwickdote-no-15-no-good-crying-over.html#more">http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/1987/11/alnwickdote-no-15-no-good-crying-over.html#more</a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
Re-tracing lost images to narrate
why overseas aid money led to children not knowing where their milk came from!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2012/10/alnwickdote-no-14-never-dismissing-too.html#more">http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2012/10/alnwickdote-no-14-never-dismissing-too.html#more</a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
1983 and 2003, 20 years apart but
same problems at work, though here with a good laugh!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2014/06/alnwickdote-no-13-blue-stars-and-red.html">http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2014/06/alnwickdote-no-13-blue-stars-and-red.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2000 but could be any date - nostalgia; giggles and confusion
beer Newcastle and Cambodia. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2014/09/alnwickdote-no-12-honorary-girl-guide.html#more">http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2014/09/alnwickdote-no-12-honorary-girl-guide.html#more</a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
2000 When I was accorded
honorary girl guide status, gaining me access to King Sihanouk.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/01/alnwickdote-no-11-on-unsung-heroes-and.html#more">http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/01/alnwickdote-no-11-on-unsung-heroes-and.html#more</a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
2015 A defense of
charity shops and the tale of mislaid Wensleydale Cheese from Wooler Co-op that
turned up four months later, Newcastle's fine Royal Station Hotel not to
blame!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2013/09/alnwickdote-no-10-fit-and-proper-in-aid.html#more">http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2013/09/alnwickdote-no-10-fit-and-proper-in-aid.html#more</a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
2008
Development NGO, regulatory authorities in Cambodia and UK unable to help poor
disabled people who asked “Where is the money, and the benefits, promised”?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2013/08/alnwickdote-no-9-he-died-with-smile-on.html">http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2013/08/alnwickdote-no-9-he-died-with-smile-on.html</a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
2002
Systemic corruption in a non-governmental human rights organisation that led to
its demise. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2014/09/alnwickdote-no-8-island-of-propriety-in.html#more">http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2014/09/alnwickdote-no-8-island-of-propriety-in.html#more</a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
2002 Major
donor tells “to go with the flow”when it comes to corruption”. It
describes a serrious not untypical misunderstanding in development aid.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2014/10/alnwickdotes-no-7-best-laid-plans-of.html#m">http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2014/10/alnwickdotes-no-7-best-laid-plans-of.html#m</a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
1996 How
despite best planning things can and will go wrong!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2014/11/alnwickdotes-no-6-ginger-northumbrian.html#more">http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2014/11/alnwickdotes-no-6-ginger-northumbrian.html#more</a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
2010 But
goes back to ginger cats in the 1960s, a cute story about ancient midwifery
skills spawning an indigenous tribe.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2014/11/alnwickdotes-no-5-fish-and-chip.html#more">http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2014/11/alnwickdotes-no-5-fish-and-chip.html#more</a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
1995 How fish
and chips united folks 5,000 miles from home but living 15 miles apart in UK.</div>
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<a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2014/09/alnwickdotes-no-4-19th-century.html#more">http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2014/09/alnwickdotes-no-4-19th-century.html#more</a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
2014 But
goes back two hundred years, even then development experts don’t learn!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/03/alnwickdotes-no-3-right-over-might-when.html">http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/03/alnwickdotes-no-3-right-over-might-when.html</a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
2013
Sometimes (rarely in the developing world) the little person can win.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/02/alnwickdotes-no-2-lot-of-things-happen.html#more">http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/02/alnwickdotes-no-2-lot-of-things-happen.html#more</a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
1996 Be
careful over your beer, it may start a revolution!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/03/alnwickdotes-no-1-dartford-warbler.html#more">http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/03/alnwickdotes-no-1-dartford-warbler.html#more</a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
2007 How a
humble bird near London caused more grief in trouble-spots around the world.</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
ANorthumbrianAbroadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06068934860324533930noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5208414707355071730.post-1381465321454830092024-02-19T18:37:00.000-08:002024-02-29T19:45:16.167-08:00About Me<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCsmMw4uN9HK5acObdRwZRBtUL9wE9QN7HubG2cdrIDTR2NHLmg9avIw2k9km6JQXyUum_4EdjWVPWtLaovSse5TMASA23AO3ej1kBDZMZ41bhoVVUGW0k6mRkaAVy31TxIEP7LgJDx20/s1600/MIPAD+AGM.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCsmMw4uN9HK5acObdRwZRBtUL9wE9QN7HubG2cdrIDTR2NHLmg9avIw2k9km6JQXyUum_4EdjWVPWtLaovSse5TMASA23AO3ej1kBDZMZ41bhoVVUGW0k6mRkaAVy31TxIEP7LgJDx20/s1600/MIPAD+AGM.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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</xml><![endif]--><i>The inaugural AGM of the new local NGO for indigenous people in Mondulkiri, Cambodia. I am a bit too centre-stage for my liking, but they like it!</i></div>
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<![endif]-->I am of course a long-time worker in international community development and human rights, but have come a long way from my Northumbrian origins. In this blog, you'll find more stories and details than in my <a href="https://www.johnlowrie.uk/">website</a>.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
I was born in <a href="https://youtu.be/D4STfisPuKw">Longhoughton</a> near Alnwick (so not quite a Lad of Alnwick), Northumberland in 1951; moved
South to Leicester; next to Kingston-upon-Thames, and eventually the South-West of England, until
my “itchy feet” took me to foreign climes in 1984.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> What finally prompted me not to keep climbing "the greasy pole" is narrated <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/the-best-person-for-job.html#more">here</a>; go to "Personal Anecdote". My latest CV can be accessed <b><span style="color: #4c1130;"><a href="https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/4acb66fc/files/uploaded/JOHN%20LOWRIE%20short%20CV%20English%202020.pdf">here</a></span></b>.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwqcCm6HWkOKUpg3nZ4zFb6uUpubhINYHK-nR3cQabaERxMglOa189mVThyf1WrA9pcJK108D5c970ENlNDnBkFMYWNo3xSaLdMl_UwJms5p1K70srp6nsGEQeHXUah0rT1iykTUKizLs/s1600/My+school+entry.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwqcCm6HWkOKUpg3nZ4zFb6uUpubhINYHK-nR3cQabaERxMglOa189mVThyf1WrA9pcJK108D5c970ENlNDnBkFMYWNo3xSaLdMl_UwJms5p1K70srp6nsGEQeHXUah0rT1iykTUKizLs/w474-h204/My+school+entry.JPG" width="474" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b><span style="color: #274e13;">Longhoughton Church of England Primary School Admission Register</span></b></i></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b><span style="color: #274e13;"><br /></span></b></i></td></tr>
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These days, not being a great fan of long-haul travel, I
spend my time between Northumberland and Cambodia, with stopovers.</div>
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Professionally I have always worked in and around how people
relate to each other and work together<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">. </span>Whereas I
started in local government in the UK concerned with efficiency and performance
at work, I soon found that underlying factors were more interesting and
challenging.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is it that makes people
motivated?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What differences do good and
bad leaders make? (I have met plenty of <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/inspirations.html">both kinds</a>.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How important are rights and a sense of
justice, especially where those notions are not generally well-understood or
respected?</div>
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Over the years I have gained some answers to these questions
but for too many, especially vulnerable people, they can't ask questions or expect proper answers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyway you can look me up on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pub/john-lowrie/14/273/215">Linked-In</a>, to follow
my career, or access my latest <a href="http://mondulkiri-centre.org/uploads/JOHN%20LOWRIE%20brief%20CV%20English%202017.pdf">short </a>or <a href="http://mondulkiri-centre.org/uploads/JL%20CV%20Full%20-%202016%20with%20pictures.pdf">full CV</a> here. You may like to see <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2017/01/inspirations.html#more">"Inspirations</a>" too.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Lgz5WguNzcyBFsv-2qwcaKRdRO73FyOrfzfjauByg1jD4VSXOjldOd42_lfIl7UnlzDBRU9cTzr9RttF3LUHswhIEsYT6qN0RXqZfJV2rOWQK8ZLv8D2jd6ZblJFPvU4S42t9fTy20C2GmHj63xCXAb1uUfjY2Rrkd-CHfZsmaMdxz72KBxuyTTC/s4955/War%20Memorial%20for%20Blog.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3230" data-original-width="4955" height="423" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Lgz5WguNzcyBFsv-2qwcaKRdRO73FyOrfzfjauByg1jD4VSXOjldOd42_lfIl7UnlzDBRU9cTzr9RttF3LUHswhIEsYT6qN0RXqZfJV2rOWQK8ZLv8D2jd6ZblJFPvU4S42t9fTy20C2GmHj63xCXAb1uUfjY2Rrkd-CHfZsmaMdxz72KBxuyTTC/w648-h423/War%20Memorial%20for%20Blog.jpg" width="648" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
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<i>This is a seasonal series of my pictures of home town Alnwick, showing the
War Memorial and the Percy Tenantry Column on the hill behind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In some ways that monument is a clue to my
life’s course.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The folklore story is
that the column was built by grateful tenants of the Duke of Northumberland
after he gracefully conceded to their pleas not to increase their rents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So in his honour and to show gratitude to
him, they erected the column.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then,
because the Duke thought that if they could afford to pay for that, they could
afford higher rents, so he put them back up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Hence the local name the “Farmers Folly!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Read <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/14834921@N04/6623320503">Mal Davidson</a>’s account on and see the
great photographs. </i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><br /></i></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLU2Rx7c0BjEMZzXMSl7qICewh2dTK6jrhccSH1AKnH3JYSzC6cCMCabHxh5WuxFqzKiEuigfC74F4MlTAsneq0bgHwxpQRne7tkWVSjKKdCHw1Y9iOnQalSv4-6UB84YLCaWxq-tLE9E/s1600/Map....jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLU2Rx7c0BjEMZzXMSl7qICewh2dTK6jrhccSH1AKnH3JYSzC6cCMCabHxh5WuxFqzKiEuigfC74F4MlTAsneq0bgHwxpQRne7tkWVSjKKdCHw1Y9iOnQalSv4-6UB84YLCaWxq-tLE9E/w354-h259/Map....jpg" width="354" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Alnwick, Northumberland</span><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></span></i></td></tr>
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</xml><![endif]--><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">By the way being a Longhoughton lad born, I can’t claim to be an
Alnwick Lad unlike my elder brother, but well you’ll forgive me so you can hear the tune of this name by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiuMwskhsGk">Kathryn Tickell on the Northumbrian Pipes!</a></div></div>
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<div style="text-align: right;"><div style="text-align: left;"><i style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: #660000;">This great map of my home district adorns the walls of the Plough Inn in Alnwick. Judging by the features i<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">t</span> must dated around the 1940s. <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">T</span>he distance <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">between</span> Alnwick t<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">and</span> Longhoughton is just 4 miles.</span> </i></div>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFbf50bFPYIL0qH_KU9YlQ0UUX2mUMRSUfAf5gAzyMgOPMAmLCHb7WL9a3-K9s6lURiqsZxi2bw_wdRHj4OMq1ol8rSw3_qwHemWuZvyP3XXKUk-NE5Gxg3fHpcRPszursC_uhA4z0oW8-bntNskQZLsJe9yg2HsoH-xn8kH-GOyurt3IpyitYxjaQ/s2088/Alnwick.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2088" data-original-width="986" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFbf50bFPYIL0qH_KU9YlQ0UUX2mUMRSUfAf5gAzyMgOPMAmLCHb7WL9a3-K9s6lURiqsZxi2bw_wdRHj4OMq1ol8rSw3_qwHemWuZvyP3XXKUk-NE5Gxg3fHpcRPszursC_uhA4z0oW8-bntNskQZLsJe9yg2HsoH-xn8kH-GOyurt3IpyitYxjaQ/s320/Alnwick.jpg" width="151" /></a></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13;"></span></i><div><i style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-style: normal; text-align: justify;">We used to get the United bus to and from Alnwick throughout our childhood and of course for secondary schooling in Alnwick. You can see them under the Town Clock in the Market-Place, thanks to Gary Pentleton's excellent photograph of that 1950s era that we can date by the models of the vehicles. The Austin A40 Devon in the centre was the same model as I bought for </span><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">£</span></b><span style="color: black; font-style: normal; text-align: justify;">7/10 shillings in 1971. We used to park it there when we frequented the Globe, sometimes after driving up overnight from Kingston-upon-Thames.</span></div></span></i><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-background-themecolor: background1; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: KHM; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><i style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></span></i></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><b>For an exact location of our home <a href="https://what3words.com/cyber.noble.cubed">What3Words</a>: cyber.noble.cubed</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>
I shed more light about where we grew up in my blog about a <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/03/a-blessed-and-charmed-childhood.html">"Blessed and Charmed Childhood"</a>. I also say a little more in<a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/05/privilege-wealth-and-inequality.html"> this blog</a>. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRhGE9Ii6zHIk7wEibZVWmSRdqxVThOpfQ6wlSnLZ8Ec94tcLeHJQf9cq5X1-hNfVIvXSRVbhAhfr06FJQpYZZUWDvfLBU7naeOv63VJ83L1KqVAZpFhlV7NPJOvpUMnNGCMy8YdziAuw/s570/Choir.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="416" data-original-width="570" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRhGE9Ii6zHIk7wEibZVWmSRdqxVThOpfQ6wlSnLZ8Ec94tcLeHJQf9cq5X1-hNfVIvXSRVbhAhfr06FJQpYZZUWDvfLBU7naeOv63VJ83L1KqVAZpFhlV7NPJOvpUMnNGCMy8YdziAuw/w358-h261/Choir.jpg" width="358" /></a></div><i style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #274e13;"><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #274e13;"><br /></span></b></i></div>In the choir Longhoughton Church c1961 </span></b></i><br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I'm peeping out just behind Sandra Allen at the head of the group, her sister Carol in the foreground. Sandra very warmly spent time with our Mother recalling the old days before she died in July 2021.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Today in Cambodia and in many countries, we still see too
many land conflicts and exploitation of both rural and urban poor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can read about some in Cambodia in
blogs here. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Cambodia is associated with tragedy and yet as one US Ambassador warned (follow<a href="http://www.withhusbandintow.com/traveling-in-cambodia/"> link</a> but read all or scroll down to my comment), it is a place that you can easily fall in love with - as my chums in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifk0305T7cE">Krom</a> sing.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">As well as my personal <a href="https://www.johnlowrie.uk/">website</a> I maintain one specialist website on indigenous people's issues; so also comment there on topical issues -<a href="http://mondulkiri-centre.org/index.php?page=latest-news"> click here to go there!</a> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCfZpiji6WIHFt41kfDcMacMUIhHYicuOZP6LJBrvNJ2WZKLPHqnrfiFWWuCPUwaerH-m2macWua8K-vBPNrjT77CDfcDFkslo8zvoSkUUEJooNPoXaefbN0VccdT7heVVIDYHLj9NNgFLYVJigvb3eLzsovM9Li0T8K18f2mZZbM47oY2e6kfjb5Q_J4/s504/image_2024-03-01_104228359.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="504" data-original-width="502" height="114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCfZpiji6WIHFt41kfDcMacMUIhHYicuOZP6LJBrvNJ2WZKLPHqnrfiFWWuCPUwaerH-m2macWua8K-vBPNrjT77CDfcDFkslo8zvoSkUUEJooNPoXaefbN0VccdT7heVVIDYHLj9NNgFLYVJigvb3eLzsovM9Li0T8K18f2mZZbM47oY2e6kfjb5Q_J4/w114-h114/image_2024-03-01_104228359.png" width="114" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">You will also see my "Andy Capp" avator and can read about this lovable but roguish character <a href="https://www.thisishartlepool.co.uk/history/andy_capp.asp">here</a>.<br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="MsoNormal"><span color="initial">My Alnwicdotes (anecdotes) are usually lighter, entertaining stories, that usually have "development" aspects. A summary of them can be accessed </span><a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/03/about-me.html#more">here</a><span color="initial"> - scroll down the page, please.</span></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: left;">And my passport pictures to give you a laugh, at my expense!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJxTt1QVlqGj24qph7rOVkNU2K9TQc3Cy6CtrSyS32OOMnufCH3cYu4_wJ0i65F1CkaGKYSFUhGSy9jka4ig1yFRpYF0Kch_wmNRD_ZKZEA1t5Dy7IsZyK2TnrkAxJldCpRJks2fJBnoc/s1600/Passport+Photos.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="105" data-original-width="480" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJxTt1QVlqGj24qph7rOVkNU2K9TQc3Cy6CtrSyS32OOMnufCH3cYu4_wJ0i65F1CkaGKYSFUhGSy9jka4ig1yFRpYF0Kch_wmNRD_ZKZEA1t5Dy7IsZyK2TnrkAxJldCpRJks2fJBnoc/w585-h133/Passport+Photos.jpg" width="585" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1970-80s............................................................................................2018 on</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div class="MsoNormal"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
</tbody></table></div></blockquote></div><div class="MsoNormal"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizecsnVSmGgtmoczXgaFsnjOzUYyMnhzKjvYVVqgUeBgnygOWxDLsRAI90fJFiU4IjWRrpgtGbDADvJbQE-kGQKoimU6XifvA5JkQlnl02QHFs4ATSXUpWM5qTL00BEfvKU6lYaMr6hxw/s682/JL+portrait+Aug+2021.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><i style="color: #0b5394; font-family: georgia;"></i></a></div></div></div></blockquote></div></blockquote><p><img border="0" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="578" height="99" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizecsnVSmGgtmoczXgaFsnjOzUYyMnhzKjvYVVqgUeBgnygOWxDLsRAI90fJFiU4IjWRrpgtGbDADvJbQE-kGQKoimU6XifvA5JkQlnl02QHFs4ATSXUpWM5qTL00BEfvKU6lYaMr6hxw/w84-h99/JL+portrait+Aug+2021.jpg" width="84" /> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizecsnVSmGgtmoczXgaFsnjOzUYyMnhzKjvYVVqgUeBgnygOWxDLsRAI90fJFiU4IjWRrpgtGbDADvJbQE-kGQKoimU6XifvA5JkQlnl02QHFs4ATSXUpWM5qTL00BEfvKU6lYaMr6hxw/s682/JL+portrait+Aug+2021.jpg" style="clear: right; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><i style="color: #0b5394; font-family: georgia;">The Rogue's Gallery updated; August 2021 for Railcard: </i></a></p><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>Archives</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Our Mother died in July 2021. Here are some pictures that she had kept of me. The first is when aged about 10; the second the following year when at the Duke's Grammar School, and the third on graduating from Kingston Polytechnic.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJQ2nBTs8_pGYa09bO7fyzRhxp7FuuAElVSW_TbouLuJM94XPSWgovRHu11Q7Il2YFnj5LvHV54S0E1ziHNp1JZyaka7xYK4iT01AJwF20nEbq17ciwkAOcnG9jmZE_bOg2smU5VJm5PU/s2510/JKL1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="895" data-original-width="2510" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJQ2nBTs8_pGYa09bO7fyzRhxp7FuuAElVSW_TbouLuJM94XPSWgovRHu11Q7Il2YFnj5LvHV54S0E1ziHNp1JZyaka7xYK4iT01AJwF20nEbq17ciwkAOcnG9jmZE_bOg2smU5VJm5PU/w585-h208/JKL1.jpg" width="585" /></a></div><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>Explanatory Notes</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">(1) Development Aid and Emergency Aid</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Often the terms are mixed and inter-changed. In fact "overseas aid" is usually a spectrum. At one end you have sudden needs after a natural or man-made </span><span style="font-family: "arial";">disaster, right through at the other end, to trying to bring best international standards [of human rights and access to education, health, etc] in to countries judged to be lagging behind. I have been responsible at both ends. Most of my comments tend to relate to the second end where I think things can be and should be done much better see for example <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/03/smarter-aid-not-more-aid.html">"Smarter Aid, not more Aid"</a>. </span><span style="font-family: "arial";"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial";">(2) Freedom of
Expression</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">As readers will see in my blogs
and tweets I am a great supporter of freedom of speech.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The internet, with social media, is
transforming the ability of Cambodians to receive and convey information. In
the past, and in conventional media today, restriction or control of content is
the norm.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Therefore I encourage comment
and onward transmission of information.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
do give one warning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There can be a paranoiac
reaction to criticism in Cambodia that can even lead to defamation charges. The
kind of robust exchanges exemplified so well, say in Australia, are just not
yet acceptable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is best to refer to
institutions; offices and titles, not to people by name. And certainly, the habit should
be eliminated of adding quirky asides - regardless of relevance – such as the
Prime Minister has lost an eye or was a former Khmer Rouge Commander.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If, however, someone has been singled out in
public by the Prime Minister for castigation, then he or she does of course
have the right to reply, and should be allowed to exercise it without penalty.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<i><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt;">Normally I do not reply to comments that “shoot
the messenger” instead of addressing coherently the message.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is too common in social media.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will not reply to people who hide behind a
pseudonym, unless I know the person or know why they need to do this.</span></i><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Answer to the Greggs' Test:</span></b></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD2TimkRq1ym5r8SrmcFUy_qqtBF6Jy_scRyGKnwnqvOVisxmFN3HVsGzDiKKwZnbnLxlOeUtFcTbJe9jWyHRsP3vKdqYYWphexvHB9LNvLB83KEpgJpc89J71Ut-baPuqiAtoTYT2Hao/s1600/Greggs+logo.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD2TimkRq1ym5r8SrmcFUy_qqtBF6Jy_scRyGKnwnqvOVisxmFN3HVsGzDiKKwZnbnLxlOeUtFcTbJe9jWyHRsP3vKdqYYWphexvHB9LNvLB83KEpgJpc89J71Ut-baPuqiAtoTYT2Hao/s200/Greggs+logo.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"> "Other" and the reason is "Because this bakery gives better rewards than the other places to the taxi-drivers who take their passengers there.</span></span></div>
ANorthumbrianAbroadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548140943705427113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5208414707355071730.post-66377252578407882552024-02-19T18:36:00.001-08:002024-02-26T00:39:45.981-08:00The lifelong birth-right denied and an unfulfilled exit<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihi9bhegdsmqfrJqMgQqfimqRXnd80OY4o63NDm7Juc4HivDAA-Hm8_aLdurl0g9vo1wjbBDO1o9A4fJANaRwSu3aBv88erdRAKqdWWl30H0VER8GcGzaqsQPNANv0aYvmRb4e81ir8wa3KqHKoQEW2krAuLnp2BcWP4FM0k9QmYcitF2_bZpe2J6hwdc/s206/Gaffar.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="191" data-original-width="206" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihi9bhegdsmqfrJqMgQqfimqRXnd80OY4o63NDm7Juc4HivDAA-Hm8_aLdurl0g9vo1wjbBDO1o9A4fJANaRwSu3aBv88erdRAKqdWWl30H0VER8GcGzaqsQPNANv0aYvmRb4e81ir8wa3KqHKoQEW2krAuLnp2BcWP4FM0k9QmYcitF2_bZpe2J6hwdc/s1600/Gaffar.jpg" width="206" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b>Gaffar Peang-Meth<br />1944-2022</b></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i style="color: initial; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">This
is not only a dedication to the late Professor Gaffar Peang-Meth but
also an indictment of the current Cambodian Government. Gaffar all
of his life wanted a better fairer Cambodia. He sought to accomplish
it as a diplomat, warrior, academic and policy advocate. An internet
search of his name produces a wealth of writings not only as to how
his aim could be achieved but also how troubles could have been
avoided, and still could. Sadly his premature death meant Gaffar was
denied seeing his ambitions fulfilled. He leaves the question though
– can Cambodia afford to thwart the noble efforts of people like
him exiled from Cambodia?</i></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEwV-Vr3mrrfsSCESgsY_IJ2dId5SioYb926mKpAKQUi1SpaXcGoQR9kuhWgGWbbnjFrOXV7lV2Kde2dJKtvzCOOLEb_1wQdBQuiuk1YUkGVmvmTt3f3kueqMlGboNCtahcmx_JQ5JUpI5eP6X3_LsO2AVUE5IdITLCmNOStV6OlKn260oIhOAvF029DY/s569/image_2024-02-14_155356231.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="162" data-original-width="569" height="48" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEwV-Vr3mrrfsSCESgsY_IJ2dId5SioYb926mKpAKQUi1SpaXcGoQR9kuhWgGWbbnjFrOXV7lV2Kde2dJKtvzCOOLEb_1wQdBQuiuk1YUkGVmvmTt3f3kueqMlGboNCtahcmx_JQ5JUpI5eP6X3_LsO2AVUE5IdITLCmNOStV6OlKn260oIhOAvF029DY/w169-h48/image_2024-02-14_155356231.png" width="169" /></a></div><p></p></blockquote><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span color="initial">I am very appreciative that Mr Chan Thul Prak and Kiripost decided to <a href="https://kiripost.com/stories/denying-lifelong-birth-rights">post my article</a> and was happy for them to abridge and edit it to meet their specifications. In Cambodia there are few media outlets now brave enough to accept such critical pieces. However some readers might like to see the original with its extra notes and the links to the various sources used. So here it is:</span></div><i style="color: initial; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></i><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span color="initial"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><i><b>The Lifelong Birth-Right Denied and an Unfulfilled Exit</b></i></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
homing instinct exists in many creatures not just human beings. It's
a natural instinct most graphically observed with the </span></span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><u><a href="https://www.nps.gov/olym/learn/nature/the-salmon-life-cycle.htm"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Salmon</span></span></a></u></span></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
and </span></span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><u><a href="https://www.seeturtles.org/sea-turtle-life-cycle"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Turtle</span></span></a></u></span></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
who somehow manage to return to find their exact birth-places across
thousands of miles to spawn and even to end their days.</span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Human
beings might not have to endure such physical feats but the yearning
to return home can be just as strong. Some who have left their
birth-places and </span></span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><u><a href="https://genius.com/Frank-sinatra-my-way-lyrics"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-weight: normal;">“</span></span></a></u></span></span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><u><a href="https://genius.com/Frank-sinatra-my-way-lyrics"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">traveled
each and every by-way”</span></span></span></a></u></span></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
want to go home to see people and places of their early years.
Others who have forged successful careers abroad want to go home with
their skills and knowledge to share and to benefit their people.
Many, however, just simply want to end their life where it began.</span></span></span></span></p><div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="color: initial; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-decoration-color: initial;"><a name='more'></a></div><div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="color: initial; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="color: initial; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="color: initial; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-size: medium;">Queen Elizabeth II
ended her days at Balmoral Castle in Scotland where she had spent
much of her carefree childhood before devoting her adulthood to a
lifetime of service as reigning monarch. We all know of people who
have made that same final choice. It is or should be everyone's
life-long birth-right.</span></div>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
do not know if the late Professor </span></span></span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><u><a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjFkfa_7JiEAxUToGMGHYYJD5QQFnoECA0QAQ&url=https://kumnitkhmer.com/about/&usg=AOvVaw0ni06DqTa3c2D5qDPXbUNb&opi=89978449"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Gaffar
Peang-Meth </span></span></span></a></u></span></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">wanted
to end his days back in Cambodia, but I do know that he definitely
wanted to return to see places and people, and to share his rich
lifetime of experiences with them, especially today's youth. He had
been a most successful teacher and academic. As a young man all the
way back in 1975 </span></span></span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><u><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1975/04/17/archives/cambodian-diplomat-is-bitter-about-way-the-us-used-us.html"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">he
said this</span></span></span></a></u></span></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">:</span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.19cm;">“<span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><i><b>The
desire to do something is very strong. I would go back to Cambodia
tomorrow, tonight, if I could do something.....”</b></i></span></p>
<p class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">What I do know is that
Gaffar was effectively denied the right to return as indeed are too
many of his peers and compatriots, and for one reason only. The
current Cambodian Government fears the kind of free expression he
advocated. It does not matter to them if those opinions are offered
in good faith to advance the country. It regards any contrary views
to its own as a threat to its hold on power. </span>
</span></p>
<p class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span color="initial" face="Calibri, sans-serif">This
is just one fundamental international principle violated by the
Cambodia Government - Articles 14 of the </span><span color="initial"><span lang="zxx"><u><a href="https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Universal
Declaration of Human Rights</span></a></u></span></span><span color="initial" face="Calibri, sans-serif">
to which it is party.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><i><b>Everyone
has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return
to his country.</b></i></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><i><b>Everyone
has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders
of each state.</b></i></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
first encountered Gaffar in the late 1990s from his articles around
the same time as Cambodia was opening up to the internet. Every
article was well-written and reasoned, often with a touch of humour
or levity and without malice. Gaffar was amused by my frequent use
of his </span></span></span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><u><a href="https://khmerization.blogspot.com/2008/10/cambodian-reconciliation-slow-dance.html"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">favorite
</span></span></span></a></u></span></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">analogy
to describe Cambodia's politics as it sums up the situation
perfectly.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.27cm;">“<span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><i><b>I
am reminded of a ranking official of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations who, in the early 1980s in the United Nations, dubbed
Cambodian factions' enduring political negotiations, the Ramvong, a
popular Khmer traditional circle dance, with participants moving
continuously in a circle, around and around, with hand movements and
simple footwork. "There is an end, be patient," he said.”</b></i></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Except
the ranking official was wrong. There is seemingly no end. The
Ramvong is still going on today. Any curious reader may </span></span></span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><u><a href="https://youtu.be/nU6RBMg7LzA"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">even
wish to see</span></span></span></a></u></span></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the person who featured most in Gaffar's writing leading and dancing
the Ramvong.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">It
is true we do seem go around in circles in Cambodia. The same issues
do crop up with remarkable regularity, usually with the same or no
responses. The Ramvong dance doesn't seem to have a formal </span></span></span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><u><a href="https://youtu.be/B_xvevTesxA"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Caller,</span></span></span></a></u></span></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
like its folk-dancing equivalents elsewhere, but there is only person
calling the tune.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;">Gaffar expressed a
different tune which is why independent commentators like me were
drawn to him. Most other Cambodian analysts fall in to one camp or
the other, the most ambitious moving in and out of nominally
independent institutions and organisations. I should explain that
some in Cambodia confuse independent with bipartisan composition of
bodies which came about when efforts were made to share power.
Independent or bipartisan they all proved to be futile. Today ruling
party adherents occupy all state institutions and many organisations
claiming to be independent – research bodies, the media, trade
unions and NGOs.</span></p>
<p class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;">Gaffar did not claim to
be independent – he was a republican at heart, but at least he did
know and could explain to students and the Cambodian public, as few
others can, the distinctions between the various forms and the
implications for democracy and the choices open to citizens.</span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSgFu5IAGv0kfAHyjLaMA-6JWAhJiWGUTRclBFFJdZWPRMD73lpHfnNpcgpmaogShKk7ko3SUgyvtVe_jz7I9tHnAZPe0fGwO_qwvmdoazP9F2vwQSJNlqJireTWGnXpp4pAYX4earvZNa0-LvHSW7ECGHgsN_xniquh52q3euehyphenhyphen4t87bf9EuedDhBT4/s410/Queen.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="410" data-original-width="275" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSgFu5IAGv0kfAHyjLaMA-6JWAhJiWGUTRclBFFJdZWPRMD73lpHfnNpcgpmaogShKk7ko3SUgyvtVe_jz7I9tHnAZPe0fGwO_qwvmdoazP9F2vwQSJNlqJireTWGnXpp4pAYX4earvZNa0-LvHSW7ECGHgsN_xniquh52q3euehyphenhyphen4t87bf9EuedDhBT4/w158-h235/Queen.jpg" width="158" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">But
then in today's Cambodia, had Gaffar come home and sought to teach
students about republicanism, he would soon be in serious trouble.
It would not matter to the ruling party that this is a perfectly
legitimate debate and one Cambodian students should study. They
should learn about an elected or appointed President versus a
hereditary Head of State like Queen Elizabeth. However to do so
could be easily regarded as a plot against Cambodia's King and a
breach of its </span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><u><a href="https://www.ibanet.org/article/42653764-6802-4C42-BDB1-290E29C383B2"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Lese
Majeste laws</span></span></span></a></u></span></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
introduced and modelled on the lines of neighbouring Thailand.</span></span></span></span><div><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>Queen Elizabeth at Balmoral Castle shortly before she died still performing constitutional duties with her 14th and 15th Prime Ministers. </i></b></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span color="initial" face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span><span>Republicanism
would not be the only subject to get Gaffar in trouble. As an
academic, writer, and orator, he was an effective communicator. This
skill is also deterred in Cambodia unless the ruling party's message
is being conveyed. Even though Gaffar was equally adept at taking
issue with the Opposition, Royalists and latterly those associated
with Sam Rainsy their most prominent leader, that would be of no
consequence to the ruling party. We know what happened to one
equally-skilled communicator who did likewise. The late Kem Ley was
</span></span></span><span color="initial"><span lang="zxx"><u><a href="https://assassination.globalinitiative.net/face/kem-ley/"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span><span>assassinated</span></span></span></a></u></span></span><span color="initial" face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span><span>.
The killing ended his stream of </span></span></span><span color="initial"><span lang="zxx"><u><a href="https://khmerization.blogspot.com/2016/07/the-fables-of-kem-ley.html"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span><span>“fables”</span></span></span></a></u></span></span><span color="initial" face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span><span>
that were eagerly devoured in Cambodia.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Open Sans, sans-serif"><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Gaffar in a classic understatement </span></span></span></span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><u><a href="http://www.humanrights.asia/opinions/AHRC-ETC-044-2010/"><span face="Open Sans, sans-serif"><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">said</span></span></span></span></a></u></span></span></span><span face="Open Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><i><b>“my
article would bring out friends and adversaries, praise and unkind
comments”.</b></i></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Gaffar,
who lived in the United States, died unexpectedly. He had been
diagnosed in the fall of 2022 with B-cell lymphoma and recommended to
a trial being conducted at the National Institutes of Health near his
home. He had agreed to the trial, hoping to help himself, of course,
but also to contribute to the knowledge base about this illness.
Although his cancer had been successfully addressed by the trial
medicines, after a long rainy Thursday before Christmas, he fainted
massively fracturing his skull. He died a week later on December 30,
2022. The Cambodian community in the US organized a memorial
service, working diligently to bring it together in January and
Gaffar's wife and sons appreciated their dedication.</span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;">In
Cambodia and elsewhere, the sad news, did not go far. It escaped me.
I did notice last year that Gaffar's and my exchanges appeared to
dry up. However I thought that he might be doing the same as other
exiles. Some I knew were laying low before Cambodia's “elections”
with the much anticipated handover of power by Prime Minister Hun Sen
to his son Hun Manet. Would it mark a real change? The hope was that
Hun Manet who had himself been educated in the United States, and who
had met some of his exiled compatriots, would show greater
appreciation of their talents. Would he welcome them home?</span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Well
so far Prime Minister Hun Manet hasn't done that. In fact more
Cambodians have gone in to exile. Freedom of expression is still
curtailed. Only this week an articulate human rights </span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><u><a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/cpp-lawsuit-human-rights-02052024171918.html"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">advocate
faces defamation</span></a></u></span></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">
charges initiated by former PM Hun Sen.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">It
is too early to say that Hun Manet will not meet the hopes and
prayers of those exiles to make at least one return home before they
die. Surely some of the freedoms he saw and enjoyed have rubbed
off? After all he was hosted for many years </span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><u><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hun_Manet#:~:text=Manet grew up and received,to graduate from the academy."><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">in
the West</span></a></u></span></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">,
graduating from the Military Academy in Westpoint, a Master's at New
York University, and a Doctorate from Bristol University in the UK.
His higher degrees are in Economics where of course to maximize human
resources is a quality every country should attain. He knows too
all about opportunity costs – the income and benefits foregone
because of actions not taken.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;">So
it remains an open question posed by Gaffar and many others. Can
Cambodia afford to keep ignoring the opportunity provided by the
potential contribution he and other exiles could make at home in
Cambodia?</span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span color="initial" face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">Or does Hun Manet himself want to stay saddled with the legacy he
inherited of denying Cambodians their birth-right?</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span color="initial" face="Calibri, sans-serif"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyPdY2ZpVkFsuAp78q09gkKwjV4JU_Wz54XFIqC8-tNlb1hn0yUFDstka4wiBaX2uIvXqQ-tiTQNke0ECv_AeL2agm4NING23Oz0KWBSO559H_FEmlUjg1jaM3KK26UW8627ZRGvq8IwGiMYKMyZQrmXOGfpL-ERz4fTPQq680pQSe8yxpVfitd8pXk9I/s758/Exiles%20Club.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="421" data-original-width="758" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyPdY2ZpVkFsuAp78q09gkKwjV4JU_Wz54XFIqC8-tNlb1hn0yUFDstka4wiBaX2uIvXqQ-tiTQNke0ECv_AeL2agm4NING23Oz0KWBSO559H_FEmlUjg1jaM3KK26UW8627ZRGvq8IwGiMYKMyZQrmXOGfpL-ERz4fTPQq680pQSe8yxpVfitd8pXk9I/w454-h253/Exiles%20Club.jpg" width="454" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #000066;"><span face="Trebuchet MS, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Dotted
around the world are various places called “Exiles Club”,
colonial legacies, <a href="https://www.ascension.gov.ac/map-marker/royal-marines-barracks-exiles-club">vestiges</a>
of some are still around, and others like this one – the first I
frequented on St Helena but now sadly demolished. </span></span></span></p><p align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #000066;"><span face="Trebuchet MS, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-small;">If Cambodians who are exiled
abroad had their own Exiles Club it would have a burgeoning membership!</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span color="initial" face="Calibri, sans-serif"><br /></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span color="initial" face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span color="initial" style="font-size: large;"><b>.....ooo0ooo.....</b></span></span></div><p></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b>Extra Notes</b></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt6oc8gr6QCNdz0a0bhD-fPa-hE6RYPWljsILw5JqNNd3IQI0kq-0GkxTirZYrIWRhh2_5NhXu7j6T2Y_tpudlT9a-gWM-fN0vh5mfbvN6feKPVf4YwUY8PWsXZC8ib0FUUHb1P2gMedWdnNPXvqcXB9SaZvlw0JPC6ubohDgJ3fUw3q7g9B4RBqOxitE/s644/image_2024-02-14_125102620.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="558" data-original-width="644" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt6oc8gr6QCNdz0a0bhD-fPa-hE6RYPWljsILw5JqNNd3IQI0kq-0GkxTirZYrIWRhh2_5NhXu7j6T2Y_tpudlT9a-gWM-fN0vh5mfbvN6feKPVf4YwUY8PWsXZC8ib0FUUHb1P2gMedWdnNPXvqcXB9SaZvlw0JPC6ubohDgJ3fUw3q7g9B4RBqOxitE/w188-h163/image_2024-02-14_125102620.png" width="188" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Popular Cambodian delicacy</span></i></b></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><br />1. Just issued is a <a href="https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/02/state-of-the-worlds-migratory-species-report-alarming-threats-global-action-urged">United Nations report</a> on the state of the world's migratory species: <span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b><i>"<span color="initial" style="text-align: left;">the conservation status of migratory species overall is deteriorating" and "</span><span color="initial" style="text-align: left;">the greatest threat for many migratory species, surpassing habitat loss and fragmentation....is o</span><span color="initial" style="text-align: left;">verexploitation"</span></i></b></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">2. I have often written, as a human resources professional, about Cambodia's waste of talent which is more by design than an accidental consequence of past internal conflict. Former Prime Minister Hun Sen has long since called out his compatriots living abroad. Sophal Ear described this, as I replicated in an <a href="https://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-pantomine-of-human-rights.html">earlier blog</a> from which this extract is taken:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOUulAwmyxJW9gLzDMUXU_oBpXPI_iessSUGMn3t9BdCh2NwiB8x1YeVcvR1yV78Xk1oClhZNwrTLjq5e79FUyr85SU2Pr3N7R8WvBvhFkOyJhuzKl8CY6O9ANjONtHdXEXQrsXHS2udX3bE1R5UG_yWaJVXKnbwgMibEvic5WzjZq6s3uo4r6ACIyuAc/s976/image_2024-02-12_145348999.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="976" height="127" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOUulAwmyxJW9gLzDMUXU_oBpXPI_iessSUGMn3t9BdCh2NwiB8x1YeVcvR1yV78Xk1oClhZNwrTLjq5e79FUyr85SU2Pr3N7R8WvBvhFkOyJhuzKl8CY6O9ANjONtHdXEXQrsXHS2udX3bE1R5UG_yWaJVXKnbwgMibEvic5WzjZq6s3uo4r6ACIyuAc/w526-h127/image_2024-02-12_145348999.png" width="526" /></a></div><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">A further manifestation of the bias was Cambodia's hastened legislation to restrict people of dual nationality from holding <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/cambodia-passes-law-barring-dual-citizenship-holders-top-posts-2021-10-25/">top institutional offices</a>, a move that of course affects more Opposition figures. </p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-cSBN4OPHYh14eArRMatZ2b6hrfjxUXBERoJaP6IFHO74-G1EJ4ZHW0v0vZYgeBALcFmIB09JbajAf77jUIALSjNUfR6Cf-TMwoF7f8ZCqrplI1z4NOBkc7oOmJWMixklGV365u51B5XUqe_BWetKQdcUjUyBfWv-zvs4TTYZyv4RDZv1UlzrQx_6epQ/s574/image_2024-02-13_120544536.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="574" data-original-width="471" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-cSBN4OPHYh14eArRMatZ2b6hrfjxUXBERoJaP6IFHO74-G1EJ4ZHW0v0vZYgeBALcFmIB09JbajAf77jUIALSjNUfR6Cf-TMwoF7f8ZCqrplI1z4NOBkc7oOmJWMixklGV365u51B5XUqe_BWetKQdcUjUyBfWv-zvs4TTYZyv4RDZv1UlzrQx_6epQ/w292-h356/image_2024-02-13_120544536.png" width="292" /></a></div>3. Interestingly after I'd drafted this article, Touch Vibol and I had another one of our exchanges. Usually but not always, he and his colleagues take the ruling party line on issues. On the one that sparked the exchange - my colleagues at local Human Rights NGOs should not comment on "hot topics" - I think he is motivated to prevent trouble and the fate that that has befallen our colleague. (Please click on the link in the article.)<p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Needless to say if they were to do so, then not only would it consolidate the self-censorship that now pervades media in Cambodia but of course it also ends the concept of self-advocacy skills that we have carefully nurtured over the past 25 years. That has sometimes brought success and even good rapport with some in authorities.</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">4. If anyone wishes to delve deeper in to my engagement in Cambodia, then they may wish to read my blog written to<a href="https://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2023/02/cambodia-25-years-on-leadership-without.html"> mark 25 years in Cambodia</a>.</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Now there is one thing that the ruling party cannot accuse me of,<span color="initial"> </span><span color="initial">the same as Gaffar,</span><span color="initial"> being critical only of it, its government and authorities. I too have taken task with the Opposition and even with Civil Society colleagues. For example on "<a href="https://x.com/LowrieJohn/status/1607947395568136193?s=20">executive interference</a> in Rule of Law", they correctly decry it in general but not if and when occasionally it has worked in their favour.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">If to illustrate even more the claim to be genuinely "independent" I do <a href="https://x.com/LowrieJohn/status/1607947395568136193?s=20">criticise donors</a> and my own country <a href="https://x.com/LowrieJohn/status/1711401918314995767?s=20">UK in particular</a>.</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p></div>ANorthumbrianAbroadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548140943705427113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5208414707355071730.post-11691911054794231042024-02-19T18:36:00.000-08:002024-02-19T18:40:31.789-08:00inspirations original<p> </p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; text-decoration-color: initial;"><tbody style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><tr style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><td style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzWEZVSde1OkMdIiTegmGxevYVbTGbh9TQevXRhMXRLmN4z5_6AKs6FBFcbkkBybZOQZnJlWpgb1VPcAGUMSLKdfU1SwEGiZxIlM5PHt-HFYNN2rjs_5hmBN19dlMJlbA2lG0A274gUD8/s1600/Leaping+Salmon.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzWEZVSde1OkMdIiTegmGxevYVbTGbh9TQevXRhMXRLmN4z5_6AKs6FBFcbkkBybZOQZnJlWpgb1VPcAGUMSLKdfU1SwEGiZxIlM5PHt-HFYNN2rjs_5hmBN19dlMJlbA2lG0A274gUD8/s400/Leaping+Salmon.jpg" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><td class="tr-caption" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-size: small; text-decoration-color: initial;">The humble Salmon - what a remarkable journey it makes with sheer dogged determination to return to where it was hatched, to spawn and die. </span><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /><span color="initial" style="text-decoration-color: initial;">Photographer Mike Smith similarly persisted. It took two years to capture this Northumbrian image at <a href="http://www.thejournal.co.uk/news/north-east-news/salmon-picture-worth-wait-mike-4475760">Hexham Bridge</a>.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">This is a duplicate of the same blog<a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2017/01/inspirations.html"> here</a>:</div><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /></span><blockquote style="border: none; color: initial; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-size: medium; text-decoration-color: initial;"><b style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><i style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: trebuchet; text-decoration-color: initial;">Inspirations, lasting impressions<br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" />Anniversaries</span></i></b></span></span></blockquote><p style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; text-decoration-color: initial;"><i style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">The original blog title included "lasting impressions" but in 2022 I decided to pen a sequel because quite a lot of personal anniversaries are coming up. Some are most significant - my graduation in 1973 followed by a decade later my departure from UK to live and work abroad. (I talk more about this in a <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2022/04/community-organising-globally-saving.html">recent blog</a>.) One more is <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2023/02/cambodia-25-years-on-leadership-without.html">25 years in Cambodia</a> in January 2023.</i></span></p><p style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; text-decoration-color: initial;"><i style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Anyway here is the original blog with the sequel added at the end.</i></span></p><span color="initial" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><b style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><i style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: trebuchet; text-decoration-color: initial;">.....ooo0oooo.....<br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /></span><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /></i></b></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="color: initial; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial;">Very often people ask me <i style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><b style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">“What keeps you going?”</b></i><span color="initial" style="mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </span>There is no doubt that work in the “Aid and Development” industry is a struggle and frustrating. Just ask <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-trouble-with-aid-nates-exit.html#more">Nate</a>!</div><a name='more'></a><div style="color: initial; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial;"><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="color: initial; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial;">It is like the traditional Cambodian circle dance, the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugA3t4cpsdQ">Romvong</a>, you’re not sure where you are going or how to exit. <span color="initial" style="mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"></span>Dancers move continuously, slowly, repetitively in a circle, in a loose group, sometimes in unison.<span color="initial" style="mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </span>My friend <a href="http://khmerization.blogspot.com/2008/10/cambodian-reconciliation-slow-dance.html">Gaffar Peng-Meth </a><span color="initial" style="mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </span>often uses the Romvong as an analogy to describe the politics.<span color="initial" style="mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </span>I’d like to add a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLmFaNb9ITY">Northumbrian</a> zing to it.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="color: initial; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial;"><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="color: initial; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial;">So my chosen career is very much a case of two steps forward; one back, another to the side, so on and so forth. <span color="initial" style="mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </span>At times I think of the saying “<b style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><i style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">When the going gets tough, the tough get going”.</i></b></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><div style="color: initial; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial;"><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /></div><div style="color: initial; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial;">Therefore you would not be surprised to learn that it is people who have overcome far greater adversity than me who inspire. Please note there are others, many quiet heroes, who I could also write about. One who certainly encourages me to "keep going" told me "<i style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">We know you're not corrupt, not tainted despite temptations - we can see you're not rich and have never changed over the years!" </i></div><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /><b style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Most inspiring leaders</b></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-color: initial;"><tbody style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><tr style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><td style="color: initial; text-align: center; text-decoration-color: initial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjFah3xQHRXDYkuiAAV7mM92GlLy2AaFDdZhrfunMksi5GtNu3xhTyfyI7y84ZRm2c0zKB_cLzt4cV4U8E2tOuI5eW91NhTJJIghy_3BmMCUDn0VLrUWjYBVuVxlWf8hYwBq2bzN410k4/s1600/Winston.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjFah3xQHRXDYkuiAAV7mM92GlLy2AaFDdZhrfunMksi5GtNu3xhTyfyI7y84ZRm2c0zKB_cLzt4cV4U8E2tOuI5eW91NhTJJIghy_3BmMCUDn0VLrUWjYBVuVxlWf8hYwBq2bzN410k4/s320/Winston.jpg" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><td class="tr-caption" style="color: initial; text-align: center; text-decoration-color: initial;"><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /></td></tr></tbody></table><h1 style="color: initial; margin: 0in; text-decoration-color: initial;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--></span><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /><div class="MsoPlainText" style="color: initial; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" face=""trebuchet ms", sans-serif" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium; text-decoration-color: initial;">It is said and true that you remember your teachers all your life.<span color="initial" style="mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </span>Some of mine certainly left their mark on us*........<span color="initial" style="mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </span>I can’t say that any single one left a lasting impression above all others. One I would acknowledge left a phrase indelibly on my mind that readers of my blogs will recognize.<span color="initial" style="mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="color: initial; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" face=""trebuchet ms", sans-serif" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium; text-decoration-color: initial;"><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="color: initial; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" face=""trebuchet ms", sans-serif" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium; text-decoration-color: initial;">Little Dave Watson was one of three of that name in my time at at the <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/05/privilege-wealth-and-inequality.html#more">Duke’s School, Alnwick</a>. Another was the PE teacher, Raffy, least said about him the better, and the third a Prefect.<span color="initial" style="mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </span>Little Dave was the most versatile of the staff teaching several subjects.<span color="initial" style="mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </span>He used to admonish us. “<b style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><i style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">You should not laugh at other people’s misfortunes!”</i></b><span color="initial" style="mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </span>But we did.<span color="initial" style="mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </span><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; text-decoration-color: initial;">H</span>e was referring to one colleague we all had nicknamed <i style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">“Peg Leg</i>”.<span color="initial" style="mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="color: initial; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" face=""trebuchet ms", sans-serif" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium; text-decoration-color: initial;"><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="color: initial; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" face=""trebuchet ms", sans-serif" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium; text-decoration-color: initial;">Many years later when working with disabled people I quoted him often.<span color="initial" style="mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </span>Cambodians even now are derisory towards them. In fact they do the same, nickname people, address them in insulting terms based on their disability. A group of my colleagues and clients so insulted in public had the bravery to register a defamation complaint.<span color="initial" style="mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </span>The Police investigated and concluded that it was true.<span color="initial" style="mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </span>However, after a high-level visit to the court, the Prosecutor decided to take no action*.<span color="initial" style="mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </span>If more recent reports in the local press are credible, my friends are not the only ones to receive his brand of justice.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium; text-decoration-color: initial;"></span><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /><div style="color: initial; text-align: center; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" face=""trebuchet ms", sans-serif" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium; text-decoration-color: initial;">* This nuanced comment will not be lost on those in the know.</span></span></span></span></div><span color="initial" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" face=""trebuchet ms", sans-serif" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-size: xx-small; text-decoration-color: initial;"><b style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; text-decoration-color: initial;">Most Inspiring</span> <span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; text-decoration-color: initial;">b</span>oss<span color="initial" style="mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </span></span></b></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" face=""trebuchet ms", sans-serif" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium; text-decoration-color: initial;"><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: initial; text-align: center; text-decoration-color: initial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWOQqI3Gr-gBnoFMnhBkJAsiSmb-7GSloc_FLAT6hyDYDJMezPjUXLSpQI4Nq3cbVSXAg4d1-P5GoUcVbYqI9TrOnuoB4LwVdJumHWQNo3NTcXCumS-yhsgY0q42jxcsPTZ_5rZ-XPqHs/s1600/DCC.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium; text-decoration-color: initial;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWOQqI3Gr-gBnoFMnhBkJAsiSmb-7GSloc_FLAT6hyDYDJMezPjUXLSpQI4Nq3cbVSXAg4d1-P5GoUcVbYqI9TrOnuoB4LwVdJumHWQNo3NTcXCumS-yhsgY0q42jxcsPTZ_5rZ-XPqHs/s320/DCC.jpg" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" width="320" /></span></a></div><span color="initial" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><div style="color: initial; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; text-decoration-color: initial;">No doubt here who was my best </span><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; text-decoration-color: initial;">b</span><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; text-decoration-color: initial;">oss and from </span><a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2012/10/alnwickdote-no-14-never-dismissing-too.html#more" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">whom I learned most</a><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; text-decoration-color: initial;">.</span><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </span><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; text-decoration-color: initial;">Jim Clare was Dorset County Personnel Officer. He was also Chairman of Dorset Football Association and supporter of Arsenal and Bournemouth – he actually predicted Bournemouth’s rise to the top. (Jim's successor was, shall we say </span><a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-best-person-for-job.html#more" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">his opposite</a><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; text-decoration-color: initial;">, though I should thank him. His conduct towards me led to my resignation; overseas trip to St Helena Island, and the rest of my life as they say is history!)</span></div></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" face=""trebuchet ms", sans-serif" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium; text-decoration-color: initial;"><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="color: initial; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" face=""trebuchet ms", sans-serif" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium; text-decoration-color: initial;"><i style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><b style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="text-decoration-color: initial;">“When we get over this hump”</span></b></i> Jim at internal meetings would say, meaning when the current high workload died down, we could tackle some long neglected issues. </span></span></span></span><span color="initial" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" face=""trebuchet ms", sans-serif" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" face=""trebuchet ms", sans-serif" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium; text-decoration-color: initial;">(<span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; text-decoration-color: initial;">W</span>e never did<span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; text-decoration-color: initial;"> get over th<span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; text-decoration-color: initial;">at</span></span> hump<span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; text-decoration-color: initial;">, it was and is part and parcel of work<span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; text-decoration-color: initial;">.</span></span>)</span></span></span></span> At my first internal meeting, because I was new to the team, he announced a re-allocation of the responsibilities for advising departments/services. Defying all logic, and much to the pleasure and relief of my new colleagues, denoted in their beaming smiles, he told me<i style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">: “John, you are the youngest and have most to learn – you take advising the Chief Executive, one <a href="http://www1.dorsetforyou.com/council/commis2009.nsf/0c9d2ffdebb3382980256dc6003d6c52/cb676a1ce493a3fc80257857004e117a/$FILE/MINS%20FEB%2011.pdf">Kenneth Abel CBE</a>.” </i>Jim continued <i style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">“Now this lot know that all of you can always count on my backing out there, even when you're wrong. If you are wrong, we come back here and we discuss it between us.” T</i>he smiles suggested that Mr Abel was not the easiest of people to deal with or to cross.<span color="initial" style="mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </span>I was soon to learn that and test Jim’s backing.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" face=""trebuchet ms", sans-serif" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium; text-decoration-color: initial;"><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><div style="color: initial; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; text-decoration-color: initial;">Ruth, our employment contracts administrator, asked me to check an employment termination letter to go to Mr Abel to sign. “</span><i style="color: initial; font-family: inherit; font-size: large; text-decoration-color: initial;">Who asked you to do this”</i><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; text-decoration-color: initial;"> I asked.</span><i style="color: initial; font-family: inherit; font-size: large; text-decoration-color: initial;"> “Marilyn, Mr Abel’s Secretary”</i><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; text-decoration-color: initial;">. </span><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"> I went to see her. </span><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; text-decoration-color: initial;">She confirmed that he had indeed dismissed the employee that morning. I asked to see him but he was busy. “</span><i style="color: initial; font-family: inherit; font-size: large; text-decoration-color: initial;">Sorry, I need to see him. This letter shouldn't go</i><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; text-decoration-color: initial;">”</span><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </span><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; text-decoration-color: initial;">Gingerly she went in and after a while I was ushered in.</span></div><span color="initial" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" face=""trebuchet ms", sans-serif" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium; text-decoration-color: initial;"><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="color: initial; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" face=""trebuchet ms", sans-serif" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><i style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">“Well, Lowrie”</i> </span>– he always used surnames <i style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="text-decoration-color: initial;">“What is it?”</span> “I believe someone may have misunderstood, they say you want this letter to sign and send?” “<span color="initial" style="text-decoration-color: initial;">No that is correct, I terminated him.<span color="initial" style="mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </span>Clear-cut case!” </span></i>And with that he returned to studying his papers, in a gesture to indicate I should go. I stayed. After a while he looked up <span color="initial" style="text-decoration-color: initial;">“<i style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Well? </i></span>”<i style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">We have a slight problem. I don't think you can do this, Sir. There was a recent case at the Employment Appeals Tribunal called 'The Phantom Football Match'. I have a copy....". <span color="initial" style="text-decoration-color: initial;">“What!”</span></i><span color="initial" style="mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </span>He immediately summoned Jim on his loud-speaking telephone. Jim arrived promptly with the diminutive Social Services <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/03/careless-in-community.html#more">Director, Jack Hanson</a>.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" face=""trebuchet ms", sans-serif" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium; text-decoration-color: initial;"><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="color: initial; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" face=""trebuchet ms", sans-serif" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium; text-decoration-color: initial;">The three of us stood like errant pupils before the Headmaster.<i style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"> <span color="initial" style="text-decoration-color: initial;">“Lowrie tells me as Chief Executive, I can’t do this.</span></i>”<span color="initial" style="mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </span>He waved his letter.<span color="initial" style="mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </span>Jim looked at Jack, Jack returned the look, and then all three looked at me. <i style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">“I think......the Council gives authority to appoint and dismiss this employee to the Director of Social Services.......not the Chief Executive! We could lose a case of unfair dismissal.”</i> There was one of those interminable silences before another <span color="initial" style="text-decoration-color: initial;">“Well?”</span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right; text-decoration-color: initial;"><tbody style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><tr style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><td style="color: initial; text-align: center; text-decoration-color: initial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdw9LKuygFiZlVo6H3iJQfRS5PITs7uasydq5L8z6h42F7vYRICMWsoBP_NxZUYT46RGrcvSg4-AoL9SjbtEqCBHn1ASA60UPe7AexqMYuyE7PIyjKvV8VEFdEy7DbeN5CkvjX8xSh1UA/s1600/Thomas+Hardy.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; text-decoration-color: initial;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdw9LKuygFiZlVo6H3iJQfRS5PITs7uasydq5L8z6h42F7vYRICMWsoBP_NxZUYT46RGrcvSg4-AoL9SjbtEqCBHn1ASA60UPe7AexqMYuyE7PIyjKvV8VEFdEy7DbeN5CkvjX8xSh1UA/s1600/Thomas+Hardy.jpg" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /></span></a></td></tr><tr style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><td class="tr-caption" style="color: initial; text-align: center; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small; text-decoration-color: initial;">Dorset's most famous author and son</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /></div><div style="color: initial; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial;">It was clear that Jim and Jack had been there for this kind of thing before. Jack left it to Jim who said “<i style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><b style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Yes, Sir that is my advice too!</b>”</i><span class="apple-converted-space" color="initial" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"> Silence again.</span><i style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </i>The letter was thrust in to Jack’s hand. It symbolised that we could all go, not another word said. Jack, however, did want the last word as he departed through the door. <b style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><i style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">“And I’ll thank you not to meddle in my department again.”</i></span></b><i style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </i>The guy was never sacked in the end, as decided at a properly constituted disciplinary hearing.<o:p style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"></o:p></div><div style="color: initial; margin: 0in; text-decoration-color: initial;"><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /></div><div style="color: initial; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial;">No way could this happen in today’s Cambodia where "losing face" is much more serious. (More on that <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2016/07/careless-talk-costs-lives.html">here</a>.)</div><div style="color: initial; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial;"><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /></div><div style="color: initial; margin: 0in; text-decoration-color: initial;"><div style="color: initial; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial;">I've often told the story about Jim's hump that we never got over because it is so typical of work. Sometimes it is avoidable, a poor excuse of poor managers, but in the case of human rights NGOs, it is the reality at least in countries like Cambodia where abuses crop up on a daily basis. The best and most immediate professional attention must be deployed and invariably that can mean at the expense of other issues and strategic goals. Oddly donors can remain oblivious, not only in not providing adequate core costs to NGOs, but still insisting on meeting their deadlines for proposals and reports. Perhaps they don't have humps. Whatever we haven't persuaded them to be more flexible.</div><div style="color: initial; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial;"><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /></div>But from time to time we do come across successes....., making things worthwhile (<a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/1996/07/alnwickdote-no-16-no-good-crying-over.html#more">like this example in Rwanda</a>). So.....<br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--><b style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"></b><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5FUTDXUn9kNa6JGpbiuq3cKOoLh_FhcW-zKwvg0clV2yvW82rDdDcBQMQg-hzrMQGob-TDQ5VsIwJ1Px6IeNVCMhLiL8OnvVdyfmEvx5epg4ZDDP2XvW-stmJUe_GIeelB2IOF4_KPBo/s1600/K1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5FUTDXUn9kNa6JGpbiuq3cKOoLh_FhcW-zKwvg0clV2yvW82rDdDcBQMQg-hzrMQGob-TDQ5VsIwJ1Px6IeNVCMhLiL8OnvVdyfmEvx5epg4ZDDP2XvW-stmJUe_GIeelB2IOF4_KPBo/s320/K1.jpg" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" width="260" /></a><b style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Most inspiring client</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">There are many deserving clients in four developing countries.<span color="initial" style="mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </span>However, Kosal, probably deserves the accolade because of the hardships and handicaps he has overcome. Readers of the New Horizons Society <a href="http://www.newhorizonsunlimited.org/stories.html">website</a> can look up where he came from back in 2003 <a href="http://newhorizonsunlimited.org/pdf/Kosal_Jan2014.pdf">here</a>.<span color="initial" style="mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </span>He was disabled, from a poor family, his father drank heavily and died probably of HIV/AIDs.<span color="initial" style="mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </span>He escaped home, skipped school, to beg by singing – and this is how we found him.<span color="initial" style="mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </span><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" />Kosal has never stopped singing since. <span color="initial" style="mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </span>A lot of people found Kosal to be tiresome.<span color="initial" style="mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </span>He could be hard work so was lucky that patient people persevered with him. Aussie volunteers Fran and Jon Digges encouraged him to develop his singing; This led him to be one of the first students at <a href="http://epicarts.org.uk/programme/epic-encounters/">EpicArts</a> in Kampot. <span color="initial" style="mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </span><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: initial; text-align: center; text-decoration-color: initial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHM1ybLuFuDbyXUS7yUKCjgZvGa0AghT2EjmQaB3YrQBW-V-qBaVY3e3UEhGrkxPaT-gG310s1B1JrG-IfNvOV-HPHO6F7pVpNbYQWzqvvocqx5Pp3XkLr-u6WOqqxw2WDMOmkWXXokLs/s1600/John+with+disabled+beneficiaries.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="884" data-original-width="654" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHM1ybLuFuDbyXUS7yUKCjgZvGa0AghT2EjmQaB3YrQBW-V-qBaVY3e3UEhGrkxPaT-gG310s1B1JrG-IfNvOV-HPHO6F7pVpNbYQWzqvvocqx5Pp3XkLr-u6WOqqxw2WDMOmkWXXokLs/s320/John+with+disabled+beneficiaries.jpg" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" width="235" /></a></div>It also took much effort to get him to complete his schooling with our Executive Officer Keo Chet. constantly on his case. And yet we all knew that he was bright enough with potential to succeed even if at times it seemed elusive. Then suddenly as he attained early adulthood he blossomed. He is an object lesson of a late developer. People shouldn't be written-off too early.<br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" />Kosal rationalized that he would have a better future in religion and Opposition politics and Christianity were for him.<span color="initial" style="mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </span>He was the stage singing star for <a href="http://www.newhorizonsunlimited.org/news.html">HE Mu Sochua’s 2013 successful election campaign</a>. <span color="initial" style="mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </span>At this time he suddenly matured and blossomed in early adulthood. His campaign song can be heard <b style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=1o6VrEI1Jc4w3LEBdweNmPIvD1KuojsVk">here:</a></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /><span color="initial" style="font-size: small; text-decoration-color: initial;"><b style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><i style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Kosal in 2003 not long after we found him or he found us. Sophat (back right) was his first community facilitator. My wife Viraden had just bought him his first new shirt and trousers. He calls his first child after her.</i></b></span><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right; text-decoration-color: initial;"><tbody style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><tr style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><td style="color: initial; text-align: center; text-decoration-color: initial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju6mani-qocCOPIml3A2tQ9yqu5J5_6Zv_pdY0pGTf6xGt81qFwhqe5PXhPUORnzPnM3crhy5atStG1FO2buW56ZjNMAH2wKvFKOeSTgvB0yXJCME2UyvQN4NP-YK5ZaylBBhkxucR3j4/s1600/Kosal+with+Sochua.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="515" data-original-width="545" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju6mani-qocCOPIml3A2tQ9yqu5J5_6Zv_pdY0pGTf6xGt81qFwhqe5PXhPUORnzPnM3crhy5atStG1FO2buW56ZjNMAH2wKvFKOeSTgvB0yXJCME2UyvQN4NP-YK5ZaylBBhkxucR3j4/s320/Kosal+with+Sochua.jpg" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><td class="tr-caption" style="color: initial; text-align: center; text-decoration-color: initial;">Kosal with Mu Sochua at CNRP Rally 2013</td></tr></tbody></table><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" />Our most successful life-changing projects are where we help to transform an individual’s lot in life and that of his or her family. They must have a permanent better income, better health, better prospects, and reduced or no risk of slipping back in to poverty.<span color="initial" style="mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </span>Kosal has not only achieved that but remarkably he has accomplished something beyond any of our more privileged salaried staff, actually putting some of them to shame.<span color="initial" style="mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </span>He simply copied our model of Computing and English classes for poor students.<span color="initial" style="mso-spacerun: yes; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </span>He uses his social media skills to crowd-fund. And as you see from his <a href="https://web.facebook.com/kosal.seng">Facebook,</a> he now has several centres and hundreds of students. He is even ( he tells me) a respectable married man. You can download an MP3 of Kosal<a href="http://www.filedropper.com/kosalsingsonemonth10dollars"> here</a>.<br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /><div style="color: initial; text-align: center; text-decoration-color: initial;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/kosal.seng/videos/806947492745045/"><b style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><i style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Kosal sings about his life here too - in Khmer;</i></b></a></div><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /><div style="color: initial; text-align: center; text-decoration-color: initial;"><b style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Update from Kosal in response to this blog - his latest venture:</b></div><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: initial; text-align: center; text-decoration-color: initial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW8QNTiOjM6lu7YTuXPVpXbzeB_eZFPUjg3a0pBSKP546GKLcllH_DiiuswsfmUimytLuKbMqL-jpI1yTETKVR03RlEfAWdQEc9vVVkIX-v1ODM03CDnqUX8loYN6FTXBNiUfNEhCIdqg/s1600/New+Kosal.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW8QNTiOjM6lu7YTuXPVpXbzeB_eZFPUjg3a0pBSKP546GKLcllH_DiiuswsfmUimytLuKbMqL-jpI1yTETKVR03RlEfAWdQEc9vVVkIX-v1ODM03CDnqUX8loYN6FTXBNiUfNEhCIdqg/s640/New+Kosal.jpg" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" width="640" /></a></div><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: initial; text-align: center; text-decoration-color: initial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkrXT9DB8tncj9eOZ_QW1qD0JKi1i-1eqkr79Z-mi0ksMLte7Lq1G19t2j4SJuAhA4O5W1wfI-MPN2f0Km9uh7XmrcdsL1eMlncc5Wx0IjfuwaSC9KhHPt53O3XoyC_KIuvXynZwNXOQ4/s1600/Kosal+PC+class.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="493" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkrXT9DB8tncj9eOZ_QW1qD0JKi1i-1eqkr79Z-mi0ksMLte7Lq1G19t2j4SJuAhA4O5W1wfI-MPN2f0Km9uh7XmrcdsL1eMlncc5Wx0IjfuwaSC9KhHPt53O3XoyC_KIuvXynZwNXOQ4/s640/Kosal+PC+class.jpg" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" width="614" /></a></div><div style="color: initial; text-align: center; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><b style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><i style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /></i></b></span></div><b style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: initial; text-align: center; text-decoration-color: initial;"><b style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="text-decoration-color: initial;"><i style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">I should add that Kosal is no longer active in politics, so no-one need fear that.</i></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><b style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /></b></div>Update November 2023</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><b style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Most often in Foreign Aid our relationships with clients and even colleagues are temporary, lasting for only the duration of projects. So it is good to see how ones like Kosal are faring in later life. My colleagues Andy and Ming Price who were instrumental in the computer training we commenced in 2003 have kept in touch with quite a few more clients, some of whom have done well. After I moved on in 2005 to Ockenden International I took on a two-man team for an unusual project. It was a development project but the donor was funding it not through the usual cost budgets but based on outputs accomplished. In fact that project was in danger of failing without this injection of new talent. Kat Bun Heng headed the team and was an experienced practitioner. His assistant Sokphea Young was quite new and near the start of embarking on his career. Together they did an outstanding job generating revenue that helped to sustain Ockenden's other projects in later years.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Over the years we have kept in touch and it has been great to see his progress. Please see this extract from an announcement by the London School of Economics for an International Conference: "The making of an Authoritarian Dynasty from Hun Sen to Hun Manet in Cambodia" 22 November 2023.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><strong style="color: initial; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration-color: initial;">"Sokphea Young</strong><span color="initial" face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px; text-decoration-color: initial;"> is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University College London. He is the author of “</span><a class="external" href="https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9789813361119" style="backface-visibility: hidden; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(58, 61, 63); box-shadow: none; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; padding-bottom: 2px; position: relative; transform: translateZ(0px); transition: all 0.3s ease 0s; vertical-align: top;" target="_blank">Strategies of authoritarian survival and dissensus in Southeast Asia: Weak Men versus Strongmen</a><span color="initial" face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px; text-decoration-color: initial;">” with Palgrave Macmillan (2021). He also contributed to a recent book called "</span><a class="external" href="https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/76485" style="backface-visibility: hidden; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(58, 61, 63); box-shadow: none; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; padding-bottom: 2px; position: relative; transform: translateZ(0px); transition: all 0.3s ease 0s; vertical-align: top;">Citizen of Photography: the Camera and Political Imagination</a><span color="initial" face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px; text-decoration-color: initial;">" (Duke University Press, 2023). Currently, he is working on his second book entitled “Visual Spectacle: Visual social media, citizenship, and political emancipation in Cambodia”.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><b style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><b style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Other inspiring folks</b><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" />We come to the unsung heroes. These are the ones who just get on with the task in hand and never seek recognition. Actually that is not a bad thing in Cambodia where it is not normal to express great thanks or appreciation.<b style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </b>They will know that I am talking about them - the workaholics; dedicated to the cause, and genuine altruists. They literally do live out their lives, sacrificing everything including at times their own health. I respect and envy them even if I stand no chance of keeping up with them.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Now there is one thing I want to say to get off my chest. No doubt that the UK Honours System seldom recognises real heroes and heroines who do things "beyond the call of duty". Too many are people just doing their job or have some prominence. One thing for sure is they must conform to the establishment. I don't think any <a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1171329820535533568?s=20">"whistle-blower"</a> has ever been rewarded no matter how important the revelations.<br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /><div style="color: initial; text-align: center; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-size: x-large; text-decoration-color: initial;">If</span></div><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: initial; text-align: center; text-decoration-color: initial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-UjSobx5hyDEkiuUgic5KKYQ_QbaOCnROa1YqArqWdCBVp9LKa8hoGBRtOwxOEh6f20C47XTExxdtDgEvRIrXEU5oPSvvSht4jP5rI5ooAZhSlyC-4qCBr7-y-Hkc0IEVDydmKYEpPDI/s1600/If.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-UjSobx5hyDEkiuUgic5KKYQ_QbaOCnROa1YqArqWdCBVp9LKa8hoGBRtOwxOEh6f20C47XTExxdtDgEvRIrXEU5oPSvvSht4jP5rI5ooAZhSlyC-4qCBr7-y-Hkc0IEVDydmKYEpPDI/s640/If.jpg" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" width="470" /></a></div><div style="color: initial; text-align: center; text-decoration-color: initial;"><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /></div><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /><b style="color: initial; font-size: large; text-align: center; text-decoration-color: initial;"><i style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: trebuchet; text-decoration-color: initial;">Anniversaries</span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><b style="color: initial; font-size: large; text-align: center; text-decoration-color: initial;"><i style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: trebuchet; text-decoration-color: initial;"><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Suddenly before you realise it another anniversary comes along and when it's 50 years it really does bring home to you how quickly life passes by.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><ul style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><li style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><b style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><i style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"> 50 years since I graduated</i></b></li></ul></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><b style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">1973</b> So it is that this time next year, 2023, it will be 50 years since I graduated from Kingston, today a University and then a Polytechnic, in fact one of the first of the then new style higher education institutions. I went there to study Business Studies and whether more by luck than judgment it stood me in good stead throughout my professional life. I had wanted a vocationally-orientated course. The subjects remained relevant throughout my long career.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><ul style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><li style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><b style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><i style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">40 years since I left UK shores</i></b></li></ul><div style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><b style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">1993</b> A decade later, to the shock of so many, I upped and left the UK, abandoning a safe if unspectacular career in local government, for untried unknown living and working abroad. I headed off to St Helena Island, followed by Saudi Arabia and back to St Helena. </div><div style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><ul style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><li style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><b style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><i style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">30 years since I ventured to Malawi and Rwanda</i></b></li></ul><div style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><b style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">1993</b> I decided that I must return to professional work, as if I did not do so soon - I had entered my 40s - then I might not be able to. Voluntary Service Overseas gave me the perfect opportunity with a very fortunate Project Director assignment in Malawi that paved the way for the first of my Country Representative appointments in Rwanda. No doubt the emergency relief humanitarian operation I headed there marks the most profound and challenging in my professional career. The mainstay of my work since 1993 has been in community development - poverty alleviation. improved lives and livelihoods.</div><div style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><br style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: initial; text-align: center; text-decoration-color: initial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1SeWVI2rpTKvrn6Egx2CrYJqEtP22YXE62QFtREJay5ZBGgmB8umCJENhn06Y-eeh0nK6VcWLxtjfC_XKSU2WYJTUKQetKy2CDk93mfdVpKaCVvf_2k-RuWhtaI9jzVGH1N7TQRTVQv9oiiQAbb1ZDGoz08otsin1AY0Nd1h7iwSBnOktjhnqcaXN/s810/image_2022-04-18_131949840.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="810" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1SeWVI2rpTKvrn6Egx2CrYJqEtP22YXE62QFtREJay5ZBGgmB8umCJENhn06Y-eeh0nK6VcWLxtjfC_XKSU2WYJTUKQetKy2CDk93mfdVpKaCVvf_2k-RuWhtaI9jzVGH1N7TQRTVQv9oiiQAbb1ZDGoz08otsin1AY0Nd1h7iwSBnOktjhnqcaXN/w580-h386/image_2022-04-18_131949840.png" style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" width="580" /></a></div><b style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><div style="color: initial; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial;"><b style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><i style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span color="initial" style="font-family: trebuchet; text-decoration-color: initial;">For six weeks, everyday, dawn until dusk, our HelpAge Team, a small group of hired taxi-drivers and I plied these roads from the border with Tanzania to pick up abandoned people - elderly, sick, pregnant women - who had fallen by the wayside unable to walk another step. We took them to health way-stations or home. We also supplied drinking water and high-energy biscuits to walkers nearing exhaustion. At times I confronted soldiers who used sticks and weapons to beat and cajole people to speed-up on their way. (More reading, background and great images: <a href="https://www.worldvision.org/disaster-relief-news-stories/rwanda-20-years-later">World Vision Article</a>.</span></i></b></div></b><div style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><ul style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><li style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"> <b style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">25<i style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"> years since I settled on Cambodia</i></b></li></ul><div style="color: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><b style="color: initial; font-style: italic; text-decoration-color: initial;">1998 </b> I could have ended up in Haiti but by dint of fate I came to Cambodia while waiting for the offer to Haiti to come through. I saw a job as Adviser to a Human Rights NGO advertised; applied for it; started the next day and so my Human Resources skills (originally called Personnel Management) diversified in to Human Rights. Call it what you may but "Rights-based Development" or "Development-based Rights" go together. Or they should always. Sadly 1998 is also the last time I was in St Helena.</div></div></div></div></div></div>ANorthumbrianAbroadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548140943705427113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5208414707355071730.post-55513603475407064322023-05-10T01:38:00.008-07:002023-05-10T05:39:44.161-07:00Over there? Over here?<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6chmhmUjYv_naPAcxRI78DgIOePBiKGmrW7RjomP8ZDiuko5E7AoY0orGNwFVkeFGsqG3NZ7wOGFxbvdyKLB3pVsRYGGWqu1qrjK1Qn0of1Ap3iYLE92S6LgGJ1tOtOAOSvkra26C7OVfsroUN8pfQ0OfFQTpaE02OnyZiS74q-6IapZ7RmIJkiDM/s1474/Flag.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="925" data-original-width="1474" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6chmhmUjYv_naPAcxRI78DgIOePBiKGmrW7RjomP8ZDiuko5E7AoY0orGNwFVkeFGsqG3NZ7wOGFxbvdyKLB3pVsRYGGWqu1qrjK1Qn0of1Ap3iYLE92S6LgGJ1tOtOAOSvkra26C7OVfsroUN8pfQ0OfFQTpaE02OnyZiS74q-6IapZ7RmIJkiDM/w473-h297/Flag.jpg" width="473" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>A discourse on perceptions, manipulations, and realities. Note my blog banner above.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Those of
us who spend our lives in more than country tend to be asked the same
questions.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #7e0021;">“<i><b>What
is it like there?”</b></i></span> Or <span style="color: #7e0021;"><i><b>“Why
do stay there?”</b></i></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Sometimes
the questions are qualified or illustrated by something the
questioner has seen, heard, or read about in the news, that has
caught their attention.</span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Unfortunately
news of Cambodia has too often been of the bad kind. Even today it
can be <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/01/print-and-be-dammed-or-haad-your-gob.html">quirky</a>.
News of the UK in Cambodia, apart from the Premier League, tends to
come from dealings involving the British Embassy.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="text-align: left;">The Covid
pandemic stimulated many such questions with our British and
Cambodian friends. With them we encounter very different
perceptions. We know “where people are coming from”, how they
are influenced. Both respective governments and the usual
“experts” present events and situations ion their own way, to
manipulate things, ostensibly for the good of their populations and
their own good.</span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">We left
Cambodia for the UK in March 2021 just as the news of the Covid virus
emerged from Wuhan in China. In fact I thought that our trip, a
regular one planned for a long time, would be cancelled. As the UK
was <a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1405100249589366791?s=20">slow
to react and impose travel restrictions</a>, our trip went ahead OK,
but our planned return to Cambodia three months later was held up for
18 months.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Oddly,
when we did leave UK in December 2021, we had to do so just as the
Omicron variation was beginning to surge in London. The virus
itself, otherwise still high, was in retreat whereas Covid was
actually growing in South East Asia. Fortunately this was not so in
Cambodia. It had and has done remarkably well by comparison with much
of the world and indeed advanced countries with better health
services.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">There has
been one much repeated statement we've kept hearing, meant to evoke
replies:</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #7e0021;"><i><b>You're
better off over there!</b></i></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">It was
said of us to us when we were in the UK and just as often vice-versa
when back in Cambodia. Exceptionally the opposite was said or
inferred. <span style="color: #7e0021;"><i><b>“You'd be better off....
here!”</b></i></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">Now Covid might have initiated more of such a
debate but actually it is a perennial one generally. Itinerants like
us are always viewed with some curiosity, aren't we?</span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">Whether they “<span style="color: #7e0021;"><i><b>You're
better off there!”</b></i></span> or here, they do expect a reply
that confirms their observation.</span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">It is actually quite hard to make a proper
judgement either way. Specific situations do vary but one thing does
stand out, The world is changing. The old order no longer holds and
with it the perceptions that go with it.</span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">When in the UK we hear the contrasting messages
– on the one hand “<span style="color: #7e0021;"><i><b>our National
Health Service (NHS) is wonderful!” </b></i></span>Yet on the
other hand, they're matched with grumbles about long waiting lists to
see a doctor or for treatment to begin. The reality is no matter how
much poorer the NHS is these days, it is far far better than public
health services in countries like Cambodia.</span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">Some aspects of comparative life in the two
nations are less clear or the exact opposite.</span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-AdP2V8ihJssse6ZQkroqEcGy-chNRA5cOeC_GbqmeCNMi5psa9btQn0PjE_3QOTluoED3w2zAXvs3t8seA1BbuKPplbhvLl4hskWT92FyF-zjqnauTNRmeG_HDGCwnWxi9roH_odHjyTKfmhxAbcCwowqn7w1A2fo9zWgjZCW_d2q6ksu2AN6BA3/s752/image_2023-05-10_094429723.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="611" data-original-width="752" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-AdP2V8ihJssse6ZQkroqEcGy-chNRA5cOeC_GbqmeCNMi5psa9btQn0PjE_3QOTluoED3w2zAXvs3t8seA1BbuKPplbhvLl4hskWT92FyF-zjqnauTNRmeG_HDGCwnWxi9roH_odHjyTKfmhxAbcCwowqn7w1A2fo9zWgjZCW_d2q6ksu2AN6BA3/s320/image_2023-05-10_094429723.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="color: black;">Both public and commercial customer services in
UK in my view are infinitely poorer than they were in the past. Many
of them are now poorer than equivalents in Cambodia. Of course the
main reason for this is the cost of labour. People are paid much
more in UK even if it less than their worth. It helps to explain
surliness manifested at times. In Cambodia, despite staff being
badly-paid it is rare not to be greeted by a warm welcome and smiles.
(Mind you as Cambodia's King Sihanouk (who I had the <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2014/09/alnwickdote-no-12-honorary-girl-guide.html">privilege
of meeting</a>) remarked and I <a href="https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/4acb66fc/files/uploaded/London%20Presentation%20Nov%202005.pdf">once
described</a>, a smile can be deceiving.<br /></span><p></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">Few people in UK smile about their banks.
Banks and branches are closing everywhere. They're even reducing the
number of ATMs. The root cause of the loss of these services is more
internet banking and cashless digital payments. By contrast in
Cambodia the banks and branches are proliferating as are STMs, at
least for now, as the economy grows. There too cashless payments are
on the increase as are money transfers by mobile phones. So it may
well go the same way as the UK in due course. For now we should
enjoy the great customer service, branches packed with cashiers and
staff available and willing to help you.</span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg44iXWzgE8pH0jv1u3IUlZpunEOIJIkPRaYNRRxjgg9eURrH5gBitc_Z1DeVU33XybpLNAs5XyRXhJx09I-eiFIKQEkFtQmE-zwGPYqejDujuy_vA5fnp8eyrXJv4OQcmuDqPpVcleydpQvSkJdiO3YV7cIPLE1Pja5BPz6KMNgw360mARzO_341MW/s783/image_2023-05-10_094554358.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="548" data-original-width="783" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg44iXWzgE8pH0jv1u3IUlZpunEOIJIkPRaYNRRxjgg9eURrH5gBitc_Z1DeVU33XybpLNAs5XyRXhJx09I-eiFIKQEkFtQmE-zwGPYqejDujuy_vA5fnp8eyrXJv4OQcmuDqPpVcleydpQvSkJdiO3YV7cIPLE1Pja5BPz6KMNgw360mARzO_341MW/s320/image_2023-05-10_094554358.png" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="color: black;">Customer service in the hospitality trade in
the two countries is even more marked. In the UK there is both a
shortage of labour and an effort to operate with minimal
staff-levels. Venues are short-staffed while trying trying to operate
with minimal staff-levels to keep down costs. In Cambodia, there are
always a lot of staff floating around. The only thing is whereas a
few years ago they would give you undivided attention, overbearing at
times, these days you'll need to give them a call. You need to
divert them from their obsessive peering in to their mobile phones.</span><p></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">Politics are where you see the greatest
differences in perceptions, realities and manipulations.</span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">I would be hard-pressed to say which countries
leaders are worst, as they all tend to mislead and to portray things
in their own favour. They're also equally sophisticated at
manipulating media both conventional and social. None of them like
criticism or being held to account.</span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">In Cambodia, sadly lives and liberty are still
lost merely for opposing the government. Corruption is endemic. I
am fare from alone in one remark. Corrupt payments are elicited from
birth, throughout schooling and working life, and right on to the
<a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-parting-of-dearly-departed.html">end-of-life
and the funeral</a>. Yes, your mother has to pay formal and informal
fees to give birth to you. Your family has to pay extra for your
teacher to teach you. You have to pay some form of commission or for
“essential documentation” in order to get or keep a job. Then
when your time is up, more money must be found to dispatch you on
your way.</span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">Corruption exists in UK but it is much less
obvious, and thankfully for emergency services never a barrier to get
help. You're unlikely to come to much harm for your beliefs,
although those who disagree might find that officialdom does things
to your detriment. There are supposed to be checks and balances to
prevent such conduct but they tend not to work.</span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1628331219451625472?s=20">Whistleblowers</a>
in both countries - everywhere - suffer.</span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #7e0021;"><i><b>So
there you are. The other man's grass might be greener or not.</b></i></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">On
balance I would say UK despite its faults is still a better country
in which to live than Cambodia, but not everywhere for all.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">However
if you examine future trajectories, the UK does appear to be on a
slow decline, whereas Cambodia in overall is on the up.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">So maybe
those of us who spend our lives in both countries enjoy the best of
both worlds.</p>ANorthumbrianAbroadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548140943705427113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5208414707355071730.post-24762049874985344262023-02-14T19:26:00.033-08:002023-02-21T00:17:40.156-08:00Cambodia 25 years on: Leadership Without Regrets<p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9GSEus5VXwTRJr_EOeuqWrmp9H-xyrlBCP5rZ8ZRaOayiI2rCIEzjT4tMKV1qjfjKox6aIhjugvtG996X1kTsDGUQGCKIhJ_L10wi2J2KpI3zy_3eGdUzRgV9H6cX-rCr2rJJgVlzvuCHv-maaV37oA6pJpTHmIEi-m3iGskFl2QpXKR9huAKJ_UC/s1508/1998.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="634" data-original-width="1508" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9GSEus5VXwTRJr_EOeuqWrmp9H-xyrlBCP5rZ8ZRaOayiI2rCIEzjT4tMKV1qjfjKox6aIhjugvtG996X1kTsDGUQGCKIhJ_L10wi2J2KpI3zy_3eGdUzRgV9H6cX-rCr2rJJgVlzvuCHv-maaV37oA6pJpTHmIEi-m3iGskFl2QpXKR9huAKJ_UC/w652-h276/1998.jpg" width="652" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Do you remember Cambodia's 1998 elections and the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/voakhmer/photos/do-you-remember-the-protests-and-violent-crackdown-that-followed-the-1998-cambod/10151603560248800">post-election violent crackdown</a>?<br /></span><span style="color: #990000;">Yes, of course I do and for more reasons than most. Apart from the fact that I had worked to help make sure the elections took place, I also witnessed live-fire on protesters including two badly injured maybe dead monks by Wat Langka pagoda.</span><span style="color: #2b00fe;"> </span></i></b></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It’s hard to believe but it is now 25 years since I landed
in Cambodia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had left Rwanda and was
supposed to be on my way to Haiti.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fate
however intervened. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I saw a job in the
Cambodia Daily one day, applied for it and started work the next day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I joined the work of Human Rights from the fields
of Human Resources and Development.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Sadly I have to say that 25 years on, the work of Human
Rights Defenders in Cambodia is needed as much today as it was 25 years ago –
more so in some areas, less so in some. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why
is this?</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Humanity has proven to be exceptionally able to learn, to
adapt and to improve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So it is unusual
for there to be no clear progress in areas where it is within the gift of man
to do better.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Let me explain my take on Cambodia back in 1997-8 when I
first arrived. It was in the aftermath of the armed confrontation that saw the
First Prime Minister deposed. There had been killing and chaos in the streets
of Phnom Penh. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone I encountered thought
that Cambodia’s hard won ultra- expensive peace and democracy were in mortal
danger.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">What I saw in the months that ensued was a remarkably united
determination not to let this happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The international community, local organisations, and politicians all
wanted the 1998 National Elections to go ahead as planned. They hoped that they
would lead to restoration of an elected government with a national assembly
made up of representatives chosen entirely by the voters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was close to top leadership and co-ordination
in action, people working together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One
of the projects I personally led was working directly with the police and
military on the <a href="https://aceproject.org/main/english/ei/eiy_kh02.htm">strict
neutrality</a> of their personnel throughout the election process.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq41dCZ6CuEzpwyGA3pm2nABub0L_l-D3pgQwDWRSgAi38LqVeQ9KCtXnF77_OiWZV3di5fLEhLeoyd-lukictxwVllgvOqJHUWWRP7INYOlDaCBqWkoRUpBDxfI0XKR4fHmyPLA4jnI6UnQMFV7qw_IwJ6pd31oD-erEHqTiCU69EBt7hIvGagR6q/s446/image_2023-02-15_110525493.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="441" data-original-width="446" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq41dCZ6CuEzpwyGA3pm2nABub0L_l-D3pgQwDWRSgAi38LqVeQ9KCtXnF77_OiWZV3di5fLEhLeoyd-lukictxwVllgvOqJHUWWRP7INYOlDaCBqWkoRUpBDxfI0XKR4fHmyPLA4jnI6UnQMFV7qw_IwJ6pd31oD-erEHqTiCU69EBt7hIvGagR6q/w183-h181/image_2023-02-15_110525493.png" width="183" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Senator Solarz</i></b></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Today as we head in to elections later this year, I am sorry
to say that such leadership and co-operation is sadly lacking.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Conduct of elections is not the only area in the last 25
years to have encountered similar backsliding from noble aspirations of the
Paris Peace Accords and UNTAC era.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: trebuchet;"><b><i>Senator Stephen J Solarz leading the US observation mission (who I met) referred to the "Miracle of the Mekong" that such an election was possible after the 1997 conflict. </i></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: trebuchet;"><b><i><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/248998881_Cambodia%27s_1998_Election_Understanding_Why_it_Was_Not_a_%27Miracle_on_the_Mekong%27">Sue Downie</a> and a few of us in the affrays respectfully disagree<span style="font-size: x-small;">.</span></i></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Perhaps the most significant of these noble aspirations was the inability of
the “Khmer Rouge trial”, established to apply international standards of
justice, to achieve one of its key aims of instilling such standards in to the
domestic system of law enforcement.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiylYzt-9VrZHNUJS41MebMMJOuZrHVd2YSx-aXP-hB-zEDqEMebCCKnF9hD9Cbjj1gk2lmBjr3NcjcmSLLmH5xD-wEMdSy90XIfhcpDA69Gf_siR2r2T6ePGrodbcliPDCesAvSfpSeywBkBtD5MTwe3TGRNTQl-5jDA6DbWxnjq0CUSSE0ccg-tnO/s563/image_2023-02-21_144506332.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="396" data-original-width="563" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiylYzt-9VrZHNUJS41MebMMJOuZrHVd2YSx-aXP-hB-zEDqEMebCCKnF9hD9Cbjj1gk2lmBjr3NcjcmSLLmH5xD-wEMdSy90XIfhcpDA69Gf_siR2r2T6ePGrodbcliPDCesAvSfpSeywBkBtD5MTwe3TGRNTQl-5jDA6DbWxnjq0CUSSE0ccg-tnO/w369-h260/image_2023-02-21_144506332.png" width="369" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="color: #660000;">Yes, we know!</span></i></b></td></tr></tbody></table>Now it is not all bad news over the last 25 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The government is correct to point this out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Economic growth has been spectacular even if
it has increased inequalities.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The problem for people like me is that we believe that more
could be achieved, and equally important that those improvements that are
accomplished, could be made more permanent, instead of slipping back.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: trebuchet;"><b><i>Perhaps the biggest best funded project of this era was one to train teachers in all Cambodia's schools how to teach human rights. It evaporated when the external funding ended. I had an unusual impact on this project. I noticed that the practice class, to observe the newly trained teachers apply their new learning, was with fellow teachers, not with actual students who were in the grounds playing. It took a little persuasion to have this put right, not just for that training but the entire project.</i></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">After my stint in “human rights” I moved across to work with
Cambodians living with disability. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My
NGO and others in the then Disability Action Council made some remarkable
strides forward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Based on what our
clients clearly expressed, the “Pity Me, Handout, Punished for Past Sins”
mentality was pushed aside. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In its place
we had self-help groups working on their solutions and willing to advocate for
changes that would make their lives better. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Indeed they succeeded in <a href="https://english.cambodiadaily.com/news/social-affairs-ministry-probe-reveals-graft-102092/">working
constructively</a> with authorities to end what one minister described as “evidence
of broad-based malfeasance” in the administration of veterans’ pensions.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7HfrLC0mDa5fqxa0CR6AYxPyn2fwVD3W2XoM66uK2CQOzfp24eJ-Ek5B_7xG9tkSv1E5dq5pd2fRvLkhgZx047Bsoz3FPWwh3Ja79yuVaswTTMNUthDtM-im73Y2algTILDFv1X-Qwo3Gn2l8lfelvAe2nDbWV3ICBjTxiWsiM0LJFAVeZdgihN8B/s2172/image_2023-02-21_150558535.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2172" data-original-width="1790" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7HfrLC0mDa5fqxa0CR6AYxPyn2fwVD3W2XoM66uK2CQOzfp24eJ-Ek5B_7xG9tkSv1E5dq5pd2fRvLkhgZx047Bsoz3FPWwh3Ja79yuVaswTTMNUthDtM-im73Y2algTILDFv1X-Qwo3Gn2l8lfelvAe2nDbWV3ICBjTxiWsiM0LJFAVeZdgihN8B/w261-h317/image_2023-02-21_150558535.png" width="261" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="color: #660000;">Yes, we can do!</span></i></b></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">The innate ability of people to help themselves is for me
the most appropriate approach that should be adopted throughout Foreign Aid. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It isn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If one of the most marginalised and disadvantaged groups – poor people
living with disability – can do it then so should everyone else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Peculiarly they are seldom encouraged and
allowed to do this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some would blame an
over-paternalistic government yet in truth many in the international community
are equally to blame. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How many
international agencies and NGOs are there still operating in Cambodia despite
being here for decades?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How many have
exit and handover strategies, plans, and operations?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How many keep importing their own “experts”. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How many are committed to “localisation”?</div><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="color: #20124d; font-family: trebuchet;"><i>Our children's advocacy group proved that disabled people can do for themselves, here dancing and performing, not the typical image of pity, helplessness and waiting for handouts that is portrayed in Cambodia.</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Localisation of Foreign Aid has been talked about for
decades.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has featured in a series of “Aid
Effectiveness” <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/its-complicated-the-challenge-of-implementing-the-paris-declaration-on-aid-effectiveness/">debates</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Indeed USAID’s recent new Administrator
Samantha Powers has <a href="https://www.devex.com/news/usaid-chief-samantha-power-details-localization-push-102256">re-pledged</a>
to bring more of it about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet somehow
despite all the talk, actual full localisation is rare.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Here in Cambodia we do have successful examples of it. I
could name some as well as the three of my international NGOs successfully
transitioned in to local ones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although
one fell by the wayside after 8 years solo, one of our original clients <a href="https://www.facebook.com/kosal.seng">Kosal</a> has replicated it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is disabled himself and has overcome many
obstacles to be a late developer in life. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He now runs his <a href="https://www.facebook.com/kosal.seng">own small NGO</a> providing English
and Computing classes in a remote part of Battambang province.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The other two localised NGOs are doing well even if they
have suffered cut-backs because of the Covid pandemic and with less funding
from donors available.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are two keys
to the success of localising NGOs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One
is the same model of collective leadership that we imbued from grassroots-level
upwards. The other is a functioning governance structure, i.e. an active and
interested Board of Directors.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">My third localised NGO is in Mondulkiri also the second of
Cambodia’s provinces I visited back in 1998, after Kratie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve been fortunate to work in all provinces
of Cambodia except one (Prea Vihear) and unusually for many Country Directors,
I have lived and worked in three. Along with a Cambodia Daily reporter, we were
the first foreigners in Pailin after the Khmer Rouge there ceded to the
government.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It was in Mondulkiri that I first met Cambodia’s indigenous
people. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many at that time were still
leading traditional lives, living off the land, with limited modernity. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In those days Bousra was not accessible by
road, only by rough track. You had to ford through streams.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When torrential rain suddenly descended in us
the streams became torrents. We could not cross them to get back to Sen Monorom.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were stuck. Then a Bunong family gave
us sanctuary, as well as too much of their potent wine, as my colleagues
discovered the next morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So began my
long association with ethnic minorities to this day. Yet that association has
witnessed unrelenting destruction of their way-of-life. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Deforestation and land concessions have been
imposed on a massive scale for agro-industrial purposes. They come with mass
influxes of outsiders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It means that the
Bunong are now a minority in their own province. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The process has gone on despite indigenous
people’s traditional lands supposed to be protected by Cambodia’s and
international laws. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I regret failures. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Could
we have done more to prevent their losses and with it the threat to the
existence and culture of these distinctive people?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Regret is an essential human characteristic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a negative feeling. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Guilt and shame accompany it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Usually when a person feels them, it leads to
self-analysis and lessons learned, then to changes in behaviour. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We resolve not to repeat the same mistakes.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">You can see my human resources professional background.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I posed a question earlier in this article after saying that
Human Rights Defenders are needed in Cambodia as much in 2023 as they were in
1998.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The question posed was “Why is
this?”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Well let me venture to suggest one explanation for it is that
the Cambodia Government and the ruling party are either devoid of regret or
they are very good at concealing it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They rarely if ever accept that either they are at fault or they could
do things better, unless of course it is the Prime Minister who points it out.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Well I won’t be around in another 25 years. Time is not on
my side but it is on Cambodia’s youth. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If
the next 25 years are to be better for them and for all in Cambodia, then
regret must no longer be buried.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
maybe in 25 years Human Rights Defenders will have been confined to history.<o:p></o:p></p>
<br />
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">John Lowrie is a now retired Human Resources, Development
and Human Rights Practitioner<o:p></o:p></p>ANorthumbrianAbroadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548140943705427113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5208414707355071730.post-27801604573467395022022-12-08T20:04:00.040-08:002024-02-05T16:25:47.655-08:00The Prince’s Cubby Hole<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF_yLBpbwYxKDdGgfhaPMnmOL5gUNAMh9Ny4oXYMsbEvJaO4gV5AeliM7qCIghfb0IToOb8orpODNrMMW4xQreoEO_zlbfYT0tea9tx_REJRcBx5IaycK47D-hFw8u7vQ7wIeac-FN3UnLn-VS-CQ9g2PYj93eUSbflYq6IXPs9FapbEX_78P2A8oD/s1920/image_2022-12-10_111241900.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1080" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF_yLBpbwYxKDdGgfhaPMnmOL5gUNAMh9Ny4oXYMsbEvJaO4gV5AeliM7qCIghfb0IToOb8orpODNrMMW4xQreoEO_zlbfYT0tea9tx_REJRcBx5IaycK47D-hFw8u7vQ7wIeac-FN3UnLn-VS-CQ9g2PYj93eUSbflYq6IXPs9FapbEX_78P2A8oD/w260-h462/image_2022-12-10_111241900.png" width="260" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>https://www.knightfrank.com.kh/offices/prince-phnom-penh-tower</b></span></i></p><h4 style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #0c343d;"><b>This blog is a sequel to one about:<br /></b></span></i><i><span style="color: #0c343d;"><b><a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2022/08/kept-from-house-and-home.html">the saga of dealing with the UK Home Office</a> and its <a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1595576983647313922?s=20&t=vEZ3TG0O7Ge0dgZdChx0Hw">"brimful of brilliant people."</a></b></span></i></h4><p style="text-align: justify;">The British Embassy and Ambassador uses the title <a href="@ukincambodia">“UK in Cambodia”</a> for its social
media. I wonder though if there’s much
more Cambodianess going in to Britishness than the other way round? I often
muse about this whenever I see the remarkable efforts and sacrifices made to drum-up trade
compared to what at one time would have been our once top British values – democracy, good
governance, and human rights. I suppose <b><i><span style="color: #403152; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #403152; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent4; mso-themecolor: accent4; mso-themeshade: 128;">“When in Rome do as the
Romans do”</span></i></b><span style="color: #403152;"> </span>is being applied along with <b><i><span style="color: #403152; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #403152; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent4; mso-themecolor: accent4; mso-themeshade: 128;"><a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1396378946653011969?s=20&t=2g2N4Y_zlWi6PhHUDEsC4A"><span style="color: #00007f; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #00007F; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: hyperlink; mso-themecolor: hyperlink; mso-themeshade: 128;">“See no evil, hear
no evil, speak no evil”.</span></a></span></i></b></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">So after the wife’s and my foray in to the Prince’s cubby-hole yesterday I asked her what she thought about the service.</span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span><b style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #403152; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #403152; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent4; mso-themecolor: accent4; mso-themeshade: 128;">“It was OK. They were quite nice!”</span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">True the service was exactly what Cambodians expect and
accept.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Back in 2005 I presented <a href="https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/4acb66fc/files/uploaded/London%20Presentation%20Nov%202005.pdf">a
paper in London</a> where I talked about this.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivyxRk1XU9i1QDTi4dFEyP-R-XWLmrk3LbL34zAZ0ZkB7XLfp19TBYgYihEm__6uz1mMqfikqt_RERPDJJe5WlXSBrx6krEDZMDJLzCh9wd7GPgWtnaGXvkb7Hi4llR4KF7cQ8FYJmRm2yjtPqQRrzago8A_BlR9ibejVhD1kpQOWZ7Zx9U9sHiBha/s883/QUOTE.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="359" data-original-width="883" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivyxRk1XU9i1QDTi4dFEyP-R-XWLmrk3LbL34zAZ0ZkB7XLfp19TBYgYihEm__6uz1mMqfikqt_RERPDJJe5WlXSBrx6krEDZMDJLzCh9wd7GPgWtnaGXvkb7Hi4llR4KF7cQ8FYJmRm2yjtPqQRrzago8A_BlR9ibejVhD1kpQOWZ7Zx9U9sHiBha/w474-h193/QUOTE.jpg" width="474" /></a></div>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="color: #4a452a; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #4A452A; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=25000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: background2; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 64;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Extracts from London
paper that brought out many laughs.</span><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It helps to explain why Cambodia still does not do well in
international rankings for <b><i><span style="color: #403152; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #403152; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent4; mso-themecolor: accent4; mso-themeshade: 128;">“ability to do business”. </span></i></b>The<span style="color: #403152; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #403152; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent4; mso-themecolor: accent4; mso-themeshade: 128;"> </span><span style="color: #002060;"><a href="https://archive.doingbusiness.org/en/data/exploreeconomies/cambodia"><span style="color: #002060;">World Bank</span></a> </span>rates it 144<sup>th</sup> in
the world.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Yet some people do very well in business in Cambodia. One of
the most successful is the Prince, whose name keeps cropping-up a lot of late,
for instance as the owner of the business that Cambodia’s Prime Minister used
to <a href="https://www.voacambodia.com/a/6829049.html#:~:text=Cambodian%20Prime%20Minister%20Hun%20Sen,he%20is%20hosting%20this%20week.">provide
luxury watches</a> to international guests at the recent ASEAN conference. I
don’t know if the UK’s top visitor, <a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1595262971814768642/photo/1">Greg Hands</a>, was given one and has declared it, or
declined it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The owner of Prince is now a naturalised
Cambodian with the honorific tile “<a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/nobleman-tites-05212021184344.html">Okhna</a>”. He is indeed a colourful character if also accused of <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/cyberscam-victim-says-ccp-belt-and-road-developers-are-international-human-trafficking-syndicates-based-in-cambodia_4701278.html">dubious
dealings</a>.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">What I do know is you have to go to one of his many vast
properties if you want a UK entry visa.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I don’t know if his rents are too high but the company seems
to have settled on what can only be described as a cubby-hole. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At least the reception area most certainly is –
no more than 3 or 4 metres by one and a half. In that space you have the customer,
the security guard and three staff behind their desk, all wearing masks (to their credit, as we did.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If
there is a queue, the waiting area is the adjacent foyer housing the doors out of and in to the
four lifts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fortunately Cambodia has
very low rates of Covid right now, but despite that this accommodation falls far short of
minimum standards to prevent Covid transmission.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Once the wife and I cleared the security check, no problems
there, the first words were<b style="font-style: italic;"> “Your Appointment Letter”.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No problem.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>“Your checklist”?</i></b> Big problem. I’d only
brought the two pages in that listed the 5 documents documents we needed to provide and already
uploaded.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Now I have checked. The VFS Global notification said: bring...
“<b><u>a printout of your checklist from GOV.UK”</u></b>. It did not say as the
staff told me <b><i><span style="color: #403152; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #403152; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent4; mso-themecolor: accent4; mso-themeshade: 128;">“All 9 pages”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i></b>But,
I explained all the other pages were blank.<b><i> <span style="color: #403152; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #403152; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent4; mso-themecolor: accent4; mso-themeshade: 128;">“Not the ninth one where
you have to sign!”<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">So I also checked the original acknowledgement and checklist
sent by the Home Office’s Visa Information service. It said <b><i>“download and
print your supporting document checklist”.</i> </b>Again no mention of all 9
pages. What happened to the policy of not wasting paper to save the world’s
trees?<i><o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Why can't they add<i style="font-weight: bold;"> "make sure to print out the final signature page"</i>?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="color: #403152; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #403152; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent4; mso-themecolor: accent4; mso-themeshade: 128;">"On your phone find the message in your email to download and print your supporting document and we can print it for you. Just the 9<sup>th</sup> page $1."</span></i></b>
Big problem. Eventually, as I had to set up my email on the phone we carried with us, I did get in to my email and located the document but
then we couldn’t forward it to VFS-Global's email. Caput!</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>“<b><span style="color: #403152; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #403152; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent4; mso-themecolor: accent4; mso-themeshade: 128;">We can do it another way. Sign this form and tick which documents
you have uploaded.”</span></b></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Now we had paid extra fee for VFS-Global to do a prior document check
for us <u>although even now we have had no feedback on what they did</u> other than a message later to say that our application has been sent to the UK.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I did pose one question.<b><i> “I have uploaded a copy of one document
but only just this morning we have managed to obtain the original. Should we upload that?<span style="color: #403152; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #403152; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent4; mso-themecolor: accent4; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="color: #403152; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #403152; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent4; mso-themecolor: accent4; mso-themeshade: 128;">“We can do that $17.” </span></i></b>I
showed her the newfound original and the copy of it as I had sent. <b><i><span style="color: #403152; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #403152; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent4; mso-themecolor: accent4; mso-themeshade: 128;">“Copy is OK.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="color: #403152; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #403152; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent4; mso-themecolor: accent4; mso-themeshade: 128;">“Your wife can now go for her biometrics. We can send an SMS text when
your passport is ready for collection – around 6 weeks. $4.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #403152; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #403152; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent4; mso-themecolor: accent4; mso-themeshade: 128;">15 minutes later the wife emerged from inside the cubby-hole. She had to wait in the corner for a few minutes until another visitor was processed - no room to pass each other. The $4 cost me $10 as I didn’t get my change from the wife, gone in to the one-way bank.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">So that is that.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">At least for now.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I wish to add that the VFS-Global staff were polite, in the end proved to be helpful, and to get the job done. They operate under the rules set by the company that claims <b><i>"<span style="font-family: inherit;">to be providing exceptional customer service, ensuring convenient and seamless experiences".</span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I wonder though what would have happened if UKVI has not notified them that I would be visiting them again. In the exchanges with the Home Office I mentioned that I'd encountered issues with VFS-Global before. That was for a UK visa for the wife's nephew when it claimed that I'd used the wrong online application form. I hadn't. My complaint about them was "partially" upheld. My form was accepted without ado.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Updates</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b>6 January 2023</b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuKrvLi1nDAAUiG60cqhnRPK_X1Rzi9eaFHUuv6qbQ_Ka0SmExk8QKHmwc0neIaBDTbx-fCC6dflSyePOoAJw2nYqYbl71PHdRqnluACdeQ7tBtQ-09nlXNw1XBVvATlFUUY5ICJjy-w2CKt_VTmYDGKDZ4FbBZxvUFOsh-lGNFeoM6XKTUY3cUNyF/s4350/image_2023-01-06_095808963.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4350" data-original-width="3270" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuKrvLi1nDAAUiG60cqhnRPK_X1Rzi9eaFHUuv6qbQ_Ka0SmExk8QKHmwc0neIaBDTbx-fCC6dflSyePOoAJw2nYqYbl71PHdRqnluACdeQ7tBtQ-09nlXNw1XBVvATlFUUY5ICJjy-w2CKt_VTmYDGKDZ4FbBZxvUFOsh-lGNFeoM6XKTUY3cUNyF/s320/image_2023-01-06_095808963.png" width="241" /></a></div>Success! We do indeed have a new visa for the wife to enter UK, as a visitor. Here she is on her way going to the Cubby Hole, below the 'S' of Starbucks, at the time they allow for collection of passports. She suffered a snag - something to do with her not bringing her receipt for the $4 text message fee. She told them that it was at home. But they let her have her passport anyway. She told them that I (their trouble-maker) was in the restaurant across the street.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Now the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee told me that it wanted a review of the arrangement with VFS-Global but I have not been able to find an update on it. I did see that similar questions were asked of it in South Africa that has also like 64 other countries entrusted it with similar work.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I did come across <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/uk-visa-firm-accused-of-government-contract-breach-over-sister-company-vfs-global-vdash-limited/">this article</a> and a quote from an Immigration Lawyer in UK:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPlpw0XHJ7rVAdUI-vY11I1Tv-75MEZ3UEXknVIaqrUvGOqtplxbWHm87H6u3bIhI_CCWWamo5hXRUJjwxtBtI1lKm9CuakdH3p4lyb8fh7c3iNjJa6VxR_RZdypeMy4NbMrXnqTMXR5fJAcDQ6C5sbipBUfoDi25SDsc_cV6uOSKv9NDlFd9y6EwK/s802/image_2023-01-06_094744007.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="304" data-original-width="802" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPlpw0XHJ7rVAdUI-vY11I1Tv-75MEZ3UEXknVIaqrUvGOqtplxbWHm87H6u3bIhI_CCWWamo5hXRUJjwxtBtI1lKm9CuakdH3p4lyb8fh7c3iNjJa6VxR_RZdypeMy4NbMrXnqTMXR5fJAcDQ6C5sbipBUfoDi25SDsc_cV6uOSKv9NDlFd9y6EwK/w455-h172/image_2023-01-06_094744007.png" width="455" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As I told the Home Office the problem is that as "customers" are not British, they just want their visa to enter the UK, most put up with attitudes, behaviour and levels of service, that most Britons would not find acceptable in this day and age. VFS-Global says it wants feedback but unless it's praise they ignore it.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">One thing it most certainly not is <b><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">"</span></i></b><span style="color: #222222; text-align: left;"><b><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">a world class service for people using our visa systems.</span></i></b><span style="font-family: Ivar Text, serif; font-size: 18px;">"</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>30 December</b></p><p class="MsoNormal">We've received a message to say that we can go to collect Viraden's passport (next week during passport collection times). No-one has said her visa was refused, so here's hoping! They did also email me. That was free.</p>ANorthumbrianAbroadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548140943705427113noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5208414707355071730.post-86356335640672614232022-09-26T00:55:00.070-07:002022-09-27T00:45:45.965-07:00 From Riches to Rags<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCZxfSLUwUFtFeGVY12Ou-Xlj_PviBSYFKl2ON-YVgs6mSVjUV-jSjYkSFrlgJ4cmN9pR1hp8OGW8KslROdgjXbVimfUKoEuda9Jl_cIsICXQ-d2_V_GK0AG6VsqzleGuodrdZ9KjHWjtOSCRIXaaNak6TTYIf8Aa7cbt5RMMeFnddo0VhIrCL1V1U/s563/image_2022-09-26_151542413.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="396" data-original-width="563" height="385" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCZxfSLUwUFtFeGVY12Ou-Xlj_PviBSYFKl2ON-YVgs6mSVjUV-jSjYkSFrlgJ4cmN9pR1hp8OGW8KslROdgjXbVimfUKoEuda9Jl_cIsICXQ-d2_V_GK0AG6VsqzleGuodrdZ9KjHWjtOSCRIXaaNak6TTYIf8Aa7cbt5RMMeFnddo0VhIrCL1V1U/w546-h385/image_2022-09-26_151542413.png" width="546" /></a></b></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #632523; font-size: medium; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #632523; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent2; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 128;"><i><b>Schools and Schooling/Trust and Abuse</b></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">It’s Pchum Ben in Cambodia the annual festival
to remember ancestors. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My sleep has been
disturbed by the partying from the night before that faded-out just as the very
early morning chants began from the Buddhist pagodas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had the radio on but the BBC World Service
was repeating a programme I’d heard before. There was still two hours to
go until dawn and breakfast. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was wide
awake, so embarked upon one of those streams of consciousness you try to drift
off to sleep.</span></p><div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a name='more'></a></div><div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I was revisiting my time in Devon 1974-8. I
recalled neighbour Phil Gater in Pinhoe who ran his mobile disco business and some of his memorable gigs. One my memory chose to recall was <a href="https://www.stover.co.uk/our-school/our-history/">Stover Girls School</a>
that hosted the boys from <a href="http://www.millfieldschool.com/">Millfield
School</a>. It got me thinking of the contrast in the schools I’ve known well
in my life. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(The annual fees for one
child at these schools is of course more than the entire annual budget of most
schools in Cambodia.)</div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">As we know every child remembers well all their
life his or her schooling and the teachers that make most of a mark on them, a
phrase I have chosen to use deliberately. Usually </span>those memories are fond, but not always. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">So this blog is a trip down memory lane.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Stover Girls School was not the only English
private school I visited.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I went to <a href="https://www.abingdon.org.uk/">Abingdon School</a> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>several times between 2003 and 2005 as its
teachers and past pupils were the Trustees of the UK charity of our project
with disabled people in Kampong Chhnang Cambodia.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: justify;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvwI72LtjpnsdNDAtHPpb3ocHI7TNyDS6o2F8gRhf-VkWhWTFWEfjV8dwQQsdxCjDI_kT1XGT_Zke_7X3Oie1oJokqrHXS6yy9j_pbTcmyLmfrVfUyhqDgxTT0UApRxrWQeqoYwzpuwL7MFWCjtq73IQzSfktZXgNs9mrLKhxSCQKycqhs90PzLdPR/s660/image_2022-09-26_150623596.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="491" data-original-width="660" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvwI72LtjpnsdNDAtHPpb3ocHI7TNyDS6o2F8gRhf-VkWhWTFWEfjV8dwQQsdxCjDI_kT1XGT_Zke_7X3Oie1oJokqrHXS6yy9j_pbTcmyLmfrVfUyhqDgxTT0UApRxrWQeqoYwzpuwL7MFWCjtq73IQzSfktZXgNs9mrLKhxSCQKycqhs90PzLdPR/w374-h278/image_2022-09-26_150623596.png" width="374" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="color: #20124d;">Did you spot me aged 11?</span></i></b></td></tr></tbody></table><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I myself attended Grammar Schools in UK, <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/05/privilege-wealth-and-inequality.html">the
first</a> of which unashamedly modelled itself on such private schools, By the
way I should explain to non-UK folks that for some quirk of Britishness, private schools are
called public schools. Public schools as the rest of the world knows them are
state schools in UK, though they might be church-affiliated and given other
names like community colleges or academies.</div><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">For several years in the 1980s I was the
Principal Personnel Officer for Dorset County’s Education Service. I recall
visiting Sherborne School to conciliate an industrial dispute between manual
workers and the management. It was a hybrid school – very much a
typical public school in appearances, but actually local authority part-supported too. Years later, I recalled that bizarre experience.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">So that is the UK part and top-down description
of my schools experience.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">My overseas experience, and more bottom-upwards, first began on St Helena
Island in the late 1980s, stories I tell in <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/1987/11/alnwickdote-no-15-no-good-crying-over.html">other blogs</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was a much a more modest set-up but
emulating the British model. It’s a place where the teachers had the most
encyclopaedic knowledge of their pupils.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">My posting with Voluntary Service Overseas took
me in to Malawi Schools some of which sought to be remarkably like British
public schools. One in particular was bizarre, <a href="https://youtu.be/HHhw5moKF9o">a carbon copy</a>, and of course the subject
of much wonder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> (It's worth watching the video.) </span>Another was the
secondary school on <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2014/10/alnwickdotes-no-7-best-laid-plans-of.html#more">Likoma
Island</a>, the tiny island just off the Lake Malawi coast with Mozambique.
Despite its small local population it housed both a massive
cathedral and a large residential mixed school with pupils shipped out from the
main land.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was the first time, while
sipping my warm Carlsberg Greens or Browns, that I’d seen girls playing
basketball with the kind of unrestrained aggression normally associated with burly
rugby-players.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">So on to
Cambodia and numerous human rights and rural development projects. This where
we come to the complete contrast from UK and even contrast within the country with some private international schools. It all boils down to fate and the child's lot in life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrFpkKWX8DEtCxjdcQqjy06D0m5mVZZj4BR0CqYa0lwcvNLYx4GVznihY_CQeBJCI-RRKgJeL-15qeunEbHBb1FBR1QHOE95qoUQ9tx58BJkBoT0JiDBjr2640CcCC7vEJKa3R4Y5x3zOBMmmSVS3e16JeqxhYVvwM9int86xRds6aHXLDadiD8Ehv/s563/image_2022-09-26_151807467.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="396" data-original-width="563" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrFpkKWX8DEtCxjdcQqjy06D0m5mVZZj4BR0CqYa0lwcvNLYx4GVznihY_CQeBJCI-RRKgJeL-15qeunEbHBb1FBR1QHOE95qoUQ9tx58BJkBoT0JiDBjr2640CcCC7vEJKa3R4Y5x3zOBMmmSVS3e16JeqxhYVvwM9int86xRds6aHXLDadiD8Ehv/w363-h255/image_2022-09-26_151807467.png" width="363" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #0c343d;"><b>The first Human Rights teaching class</b></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><div style="text-align: justify;">One early experience in Cambodia was also bizarre.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I still can’t quite believe my finding nor
the astonishment that it was not shared by the local and international experts involved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is an actual photograph I took after I
persuaded them to change tack.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> It was</span> a major
multi-donor funded project to teach teachers how to teach human rights. The course was an intensive 5 days. Every school in the country both primary and secondary had
at least three teachers attend it. </div></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The project was organised around cluster schools with
the training in a main school central to the others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I’d managed to help raise the funds for the
training I wanted to see it in action. I observed patiently the four days of
classroom teaching but looked forward most to the fifth day when the trained
teachers would put their new skills and knowledge in to practice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(It was a bit teacher-centred as was and tends still to be the way in Cambodia although we did work later to make it more
learner-centred.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The fifth and final day arrived. A model class
in the morning was followed by a closing ceremony presided over by an Education
minister and Ambassadors of the countries that generously donated the money. It
included generous per diems to top up the very meagre official pay of the
teachers, so we always had enthusiastic participation. All of this was going on with the buzz of pupils milling around outside
spared from their usual in-class lessons for the occasion.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpJmeKVkMzDR8NdBed8h5N9fjZWT-0hY_FUT0Hcu2oqnARdoq1WFE5Lrk_ymrmShZ_mYBV0us53jiTjOtk1e7QqTpJej3wN4kL-hch-BmBFfVZn8p26zOlMkAaMNx7Vo-qxi7ufLvnrhOYTtzNxF0CS0FkhYxz5_asvwgN5mHcB41dNWPsx-NkMtcX/s2844/School%20Safety.....jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2794" data-original-width="2844" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpJmeKVkMzDR8NdBed8h5N9fjZWT-0hY_FUT0Hcu2oqnARdoq1WFE5Lrk_ymrmShZ_mYBV0us53jiTjOtk1e7QqTpJej3wN4kL-hch-BmBFfVZn8p26zOlMkAaMNx7Vo-qxi7ufLvnrhOYTtzNxF0CS0FkhYxz5_asvwgN5mHcB41dNWPsx-NkMtcX/s320/School%20Safety.....jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #20124d;">Cambodia Junior High School</span><br /><span style="color: red;"><i>Safety Risk?</i></span></b></td></tr></tbody></table><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">All in all there were a lot of happy
faces and smiles from the teachers involved and the dignitaries in attendance.
It was quite good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was certainly
ground-breaking to be talking about human rights in a system still
steeped in communism. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">I was asked to say a few words. </span>I went through all the correct formalities,
as you must, and indeed complimented all concerned on their fine deeds but
expressed one note of concern.</div><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #244061; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">“This morning’s demonstration class was fine but what I don’t understand
is why our newly-trained teachers are practising their new skills on fellow
teachers, not on real pupils who are here and playing out there!”<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">This was not to be the first or last time I
questioned conventional thought in Cambodia where sticking to convention was
and remains very much the norm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However
in fairness to my colleagues and the officials they did indeed eventually agree
with my logic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So the children in my iconic image were the first actual real ones in a human rights teaching class.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t help remarking that they grasped the
concepts quicker than some of their teachers!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc4IzdVb8DLp5di3JBfZ7gR2gdjsLmgLwBVZdvhj0Sk0pBVc3bWOigoAYbhVyqkAmIR4x95QBOKKAoSJF1ulkjQ20Kh3fXBMfOSxEnF8BPFKY3u_yhX0mZQ1UDjg0qg5VGy8cDG5z_SFwjYXQQtr39vvRSlsjMdQVHO0CNmvHAHJfX-K7CKwK-mPQi/s841/image_2022-09-27_073402024.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="841" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc4IzdVb8DLp5di3JBfZ7gR2gdjsLmgLwBVZdvhj0Sk0pBVc3bWOigoAYbhVyqkAmIR4x95QBOKKAoSJF1ulkjQ20Kh3fXBMfOSxEnF8BPFKY3u_yhX0mZQ1UDjg0qg5VGy8cDG5z_SFwjYXQQtr39vvRSlsjMdQVHO0CNmvHAHJfX-K7CKwK-mPQi/s320/image_2022-09-27_073402024.png" width="320" /></a></span></div><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Readers will note that most public classroom blocks and school grounds are very basic in Cambodia. I will refrain from further comment on the <a href="https://www.unicef.org/cambodia/stories/improving-hygiene-facilities-keep-girls-school">state of their toilets</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today most
schools are better resourced. However remote rural ones still exist as poor as
this one pictured left.</div><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Despite it those pupils will remember their
school days as well as their far more illustrious peers in Stover, Millfield,
or Sherborne.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">And yet despite being more illustrious,
children are children everywhere, especially as they approach adulthood and taste freedoms for the first time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Phil Gater
had set up his disco equipment at Stover School ready for the evening
frivolities, with many girls making light work of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>humping the heavy equipment. We never saw a teacher. Sixth-formers were in
charge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At first the music played but
the room was largely empty. Excited giggly girls stayed outside. We soon
learned why.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Buses arrived with boys
from Millfield School, an organised social exchange.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The boys and
girls all came streaming in to dance but Lo and Behold it wasn’t long before
the room emptied again. Almost all had quickly paired-off and
disappeared in to Stover’s ample grounds. Ah well you can’t win them all!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWJSo8tSGCu7WUtIXGWOw1L3H4ACE4IY44e5QXHZudVSV35ogC_L11hDDHMYS0gIqRF0h7qNvIzwiwWGhv7UQWgRL9E9VQFBax848kqwWDy4oZ5ZGi5OFPdzdcwJmZTQwptNNKR1zMU3gzQj2pgUzDKZ71steyMQU9s8xV1eYoNFYRM0skbfAzgf79/s1208/Stover.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="1208" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWJSo8tSGCu7WUtIXGWOw1L3H4ACE4IY44e5QXHZudVSV35ogC_L11hDDHMYS0gIqRF0h7qNvIzwiwWGhv7UQWgRL9E9VQFBax848kqwWDy4oZ5ZGi5OFPdzdcwJmZTQwptNNKR1zMU3gzQj2pgUzDKZ71steyMQU9s8xV1eYoNFYRM0skbfAzgf79/w542-h273/Stover.jpg" width="542" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Stover School’s ample grounds<br /><br /></span></i></b></span></td></tr></tbody></table>As for Sherborne - well was my early visit a
portend for the knowledge that has emerged in recent years, as exposed by <a href="mailto:@jebrittan2">Joanna Brittan</a>?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><div><br /></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgODdMH1FAGhqCZlkeLZg8lqZb4LPwzFxbUF_rLyKQPZ0FmSdBswx1g5N7xYqGGzdq2TTRoG4K12fi5L1QmlESCOFNyl0IGt_0UievJrn80JNL7QuIuyx-CiCJ-5Wto4uftho7bLOqMln4fBNOTokCqh4xVeUAhus1MaftYNQ9Pt3j6CQn7d8Wsrehw/s320/Sponsorship.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="213" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgODdMH1FAGhqCZlkeLZg8lqZb4LPwzFxbUF_rLyKQPZ0FmSdBswx1g5N7xYqGGzdq2TTRoG4K12fi5L1QmlESCOFNyl0IGt_0UievJrn80JNL7QuIuyx-CiCJ-5Wto4uftho7bLOqMln4fBNOTokCqh4xVeUAhus1MaftYNQ9Pt3j6CQn7d8Wsrehw/w249-h374/Sponsorship.jpg" width="249" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="color: #0c343d;">Sponsored pupils</span></i></b></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">I had gone all the way from Dorchester to deal with a not untypical
dispute between workers and management. I was surprised when the Headteacher, the top manager, did not show up for the meeting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I asked <b><i>“Where is he?”</i></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b><i><span style="color: #632523; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #632523; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent2; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 128;">“Out watching the cricket!”</span></i></b><span style="color: #632523; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #632523; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent2; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 128;"> </span>I couldn’t persuade him that he ought to be present but we did solve the dispute without his help. The school was making a mistake in calculating the bonus part of the workers’ pay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Years later, because my work in human rights, involves cases of child abuse, I learned of the <a href="https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/sherborne-prep-robin-lindsay-abuse-1500475">terrible abuse at Sherborne</a> that must have gone on at that time. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It did not surprise me under that kind of “laissez-faire” management.</div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Today reports of abuse of pupils are emerging
from all kinds of establishments from elite schools and seminaries, to <a href="https://southeastasiaglobe.com/the-sound-of-silence-sexual-abuse-in-cambodias-buddhist-pagodas/">humble
Buddhist Pagodas</a>, and not just in UK but <a href="https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/final-report">Australia</a>,
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/24/pope-in-canada-to-apologise-for-abuse-of-indigenous-children-in-church-schools">Canada</a>
and all around the world.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Sadly similarly even Saint Helena made international
headlines with <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2016/01/lucy-v-sasha-who-is-right-ask-doris.html">one
set of allegations</a> of child abuse.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">And that is my connecting thread of this story, as per my
blog heading of linking a Northumberland life and times with the developing world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Children from all walks-of-life can be abused.
Adults entrusted with their care can and do abuse that trust. Just as every
child remembers his or her school, such abuse marks them for life, in no matter
which part of the world in which they live.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b><i>We
have much to do to eradicate abuse of children in all places entrusted to protect, care and nurture them.</i></b></span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b><i>.........ooo000ooo........</i></b></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOmW1As56tmmfOWnYVVzOOGXG10wMSOEMS37uzqSc93TGBHJNS1uuQ_W8pmxC8gyjn4IsyCUTMiJOc2Fazn1lFjGosSco8OyhfE3b28i5jlLpV2hqfa9Q7bkliJGWnHEHs-hZbe6SOY5lmL2dGDHv8axu3a4Fcw8p_dse7s7lmU7HKh32ka1s_ABuK/s3690/Jarai%20schoolgirls.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2778" data-original-width="3690" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOmW1As56tmmfOWnYVVzOOGXG10wMSOEMS37uzqSc93TGBHJNS1uuQ_W8pmxC8gyjn4IsyCUTMiJOc2Fazn1lFjGosSco8OyhfE3b28i5jlLpV2hqfa9Q7bkliJGWnHEHs-hZbe6SOY5lmL2dGDHv8axu3a4Fcw8p_dse7s7lmU7HKh32ka1s_ABuK/w568-h428/Jarai%20schoolgirls.jpg" width="568" /></a></b></span></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: inherit;"><i><b><a href="https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/4acb66fc/files/uploaded/Mondulkiri%20Centre%20-%20Cambodia%20Corps%20Inc.pdf">Jarai ethnic minority girls</a> all sponsored to attend school and stay safely in a supervised hostel in Ratanakkiri Province, Cambodia.</b></i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>One of the best ways to give Foreign Aid with maximum impact is through a sponsoring a child in a developing country to be able to attend school, to complete schooling, and ideally to go on to higher education.</i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>This is especially important for girls not only to redress inequality with boys but also because it makes them literate numerate mothers and better parents.</i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>It is also important for indigenous ethnic minority students where it helps entire communities to make best choices in how to integrate modernity with tradition.</i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>And it is important for families living with disability. Indeed it can make the difference whether a disabled child can attend school at all or as in the case pictured above right of a very grateful girl with her two friends. She was the sole carer of her severely disabled mother. The bicycle US$ 30 enabled her to access school from home.</i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Sponsorship can be arranged quickly and easily. For UK sponsors I would recommend <a href="https://plan-uk.org/sponsor-a-child" style="color: #0000ee;">Plan International.</a></i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>Finally as I have expounded much I do advocate for <a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1516236678071005187?s=20&t=2K0wrj3U3vaUzuVH9pv9Rg">formal child self-protection groups and networks</a> everywhere as the best means to deter and identify abuse. The UK relies too much on its top-down expert and adult-led safeguarding approach. It should learn from countries like Cambodia.</i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Updates and Comments (latest first)</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">27 September 2022</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">First comment and thread on Twitter - and a good point as to how ICT social media skills are well-used by perpetrators of child abuse but not yet fully-developed and widely-shared for protection:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5AlNPJLkDlmaveGkBdvHWanVzW_8_aFZXl0f7IzgHyNY0LlA2ZwMnkGjBM24zJ_d6B5I99tiaM1lrqGDaMM453Al3nU-BitafkUdWk53tOFtbv-PxDg1djxzyQny1FF_O8yVm0i68CB2YEVOFnWMoqjyeRAsm3ntgcJtMX08SmJr-fFf3de0ncRO7/s940/Comment.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="616" height="667" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5AlNPJLkDlmaveGkBdvHWanVzW_8_aFZXl0f7IzgHyNY0LlA2ZwMnkGjBM24zJ_d6B5I99tiaM1lrqGDaMM453Al3nU-BitafkUdWk53tOFtbv-PxDg1djxzyQny1FF_O8yVm0i68CB2YEVOFnWMoqjyeRAsm3ntgcJtMX08SmJr-fFf3de0ncRO7/w438-h667/Comment.jpg" width="438" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: georgia;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: georgia; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p><b> </b></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p></div></div>ANorthumbrianAbroadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548140943705427113noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5208414707355071730.post-40336763174097444132022-08-02T21:32:00.142-07:002024-03-11T23:55:53.166-07:00Kept from House and Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRGeTV_ZR1zMNgZM6UAyVKumBwn8yYIr6978dCRLJNXv38uUm9P0lujtUoFK67jD7ZrhrEwMgRWfpmcRyy1cKXgL6N7KGT4ggdnMclx__hrRhk-CFocFybXgI0T_cWK2TtD18WsKUSEbJjCXKK-qfV-y4jWth6gEMJ0zWfDbHiMRCvfP8LqrHC2ivs/s275/Home%20Office.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="275" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRGeTV_ZR1zMNgZM6UAyVKumBwn8yYIr6978dCRLJNXv38uUm9P0lujtUoFK67jD7ZrhrEwMgRWfpmcRyy1cKXgL6N7KGT4ggdnMclx__hrRhk-CFocFybXgI0T_cWK2TtD18WsKUSEbJjCXKK-qfV-y4jWth6gEMJ0zWfDbHiMRCvfP8LqrHC2ivs/w447-h325/Home%20Office.jpg" width="447" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-size: x-small;"><b><i>The UK Home Office gave my wife just two weeks to get out of the UK in November 2021 as soon as it abolished its Red List of countries for Covid19 travel restrictions. That meant both of us kicked out as it would be grossly unfair for the wife to travel alone. It did this irrespective of circumstances in the UK with the Omicron variant surging at that time; those en route or in Cambodia, and her Covid vaccination status that it ruled as "irrelevant". See Note 1 below.</i></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #20124d;">An Alnwick chum beaten out of house and home</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Most people never wonder what it
is like to have to leave home. We mostly assume that we will be able to return
and to be welcome back. We expect to resume
life as it was before our foray away. </p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">For many that first foray is a right of passage to higher education and
even foreign travel to distant parts of the world in search of adventure and exploring
exotic places and culture. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-R0OxXfoczzLycmb8lNThqUcZi7DRHZFnqpxHYEUPOXZDBRqJXKUNycFy2521skFwuyM6S7b5INdXyYV6QNFcXpF24xXpL3SNG73AB3BYe7522wkP1AS9sQjf9egat7FMHZfiQZUb15HwVF5RHQpFjFN6yTjcYNxGRee9qnR9NO2XZB_6OWzhxvyP/s297/image_2022-08-04_103934136.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="297" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-R0OxXfoczzLycmb8lNThqUcZi7DRHZFnqpxHYEUPOXZDBRqJXKUNycFy2521skFwuyM6S7b5INdXyYV6QNFcXpF24xXpL3SNG73AB3BYe7522wkP1AS9sQjf9egat7FMHZfiQZUb15HwVF5RHQpFjFN6yTjcYNxGRee9qnR9NO2XZB_6OWzhxvyP/w273-h184/image_2022-08-04_103934136.png" width="273" /></a></div>Some of us <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-unlikely-foreign-aid-worker.html">make a career</a> of
living and working abroad.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Regrettably the world’s trouble-spots,
whether man-made or after natural disaster, mean that those forays for too many
are involuntary. They must abandon home. They might no longer have homes to
return to. I first encountered the horror of this in Malawi, but even more so a
few years later in <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/1996/07/alnwickdote-no-16-no-good-crying-over.html#more">Rwanda</a>, working with refugees. It is only people without such close dealings
with refugees, who have not witnessed their suffering, who can deny them the right
to seek safe sanctuary in countries like UK.
It’s why I wrote as I did for <a href="https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/4acb66fc/files/uploaded/Ockenden%20and%20Cambodians%20Part%20One.pdf">my
booklet</a> about Ockenden’s work with refugees.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkG0Ug3VG-Uq9Q6A7vAftyaORu24V6x8lRv7NXPg4SomET3Z4LibUolOk5PRvDUoOIXB-eaTt-CWD7yBSAZq_wzksqCBFcgvPXMdD94hp35j5ylmze0b4Vuk5avtLXePERibvB1HMcFmijMMdOSxUrEpX8qLfJHMaID9VaZQN1AId79HSnBjdSi9_V/s805/Ockenden.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="805" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkG0Ug3VG-Uq9Q6A7vAftyaORu24V6x8lRv7NXPg4SomET3Z4LibUolOk5PRvDUoOIXB-eaTt-CWD7yBSAZq_wzksqCBFcgvPXMdD94hp35j5ylmze0b4Vuk5avtLXePERibvB1HMcFmijMMdOSxUrEpX8qLfJHMaID9VaZQN1AId79HSnBjdSi9_V/w439-h322/Ockenden.jpg" width="439" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Before encountering refugees I
came across St Helena’s displaced migrant workers. Now most are voluntary migrants in
search of better careers and income than they can attain at home on their small
island. St Helena’s Diaspora abroad, on Ascension and Falkland Islands, in Cape
Town or UK, now outnumbers the folks at home.
It’s led me to pose the question for many years that UK authorities
responsible for St Helena daren’t answer: <b><i><span style="color: #632523; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #632523; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent2; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 128;">“Why do Saints do better
off their island than on it?” </span></i></b>Without a proper answer, and as
people vote with their feet, too many of them never return home, even to end their
days there. Some do not even go back for holidays as costs and logistics make it
impossible.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In the case of my Cambodia friends isolated
abroad, it is mainly politics and fear that keeps them from returning home. In
theory when Cambodia’s conflicts came to an end, generally attributed to 1998
when the dissident remaining Khmer Rouge finally capitulated, then its citizens who fled
abroad ought to be able to return. Many
have done so. For others with new lives
in the United States, France, and Australia, they choose to stay away. However for a significant minority, it is the
only sensible option as Cambodia’s current leadership has made it clear those
with contrary political convictions from its own are not welcome. Their lives and freedom would be imperiled if
they returned home. Professor Sophal Ear,
one such-like, refers to involuntary exiles like him as <b><i><span style="color: #632523; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #632523; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent2; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 128;"><a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1552150714356535296?s=20&t=-stRmelYTPBTQvYmOFO-ow"><span style="color: #00007f; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #00007F; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: hyperlink; mso-themecolor: hyperlink; mso-themeshade: 128;">“Anikachun</span></a></span></i></b>”.
I have previously <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-pantomine-of-human-rights.html">blogged</a>
about this.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYZU_BRS6Or5YlinvX7GD2pOxOYS31nM3_Ql0ceOnhP42OGOiTC03Y7bes2kn2osTP4aEIL4AvQuhxmflGpxktCSoIPc2wggEIHRgdyKKNUls0II5lnKuKztdY_1fWz-hOUPipC4_R_136uudGAz63Qhm3xbWOi_HbMckPJIZvD0jIdH8dOBP2M02a/s1116/image_2022-08-04_104657873.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="1116" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYZU_BRS6Or5YlinvX7GD2pOxOYS31nM3_Ql0ceOnhP42OGOiTC03Y7bes2kn2osTP4aEIL4AvQuhxmflGpxktCSoIPc2wggEIHRgdyKKNUls0II5lnKuKztdY_1fWz-hOUPipC4_R_136uudGAz63Qhm3xbWOi_HbMckPJIZvD0jIdH8dOBP2M02a/w581-h147/image_2022-08-04_104657873.png" width="581" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Over the years, because of my
work in Cambodia, quite a few Anikachun have contacted me and kept in touch. I
feel for them, just as you do every Christmas when Saints from far and wide
around the world send greetings to their families at home on the Island. This year, there will be hundreds of
thousands of Ukrainians <b><i><span style="color: #632523; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #632523; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent2; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 128;"><a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1527145811313889282?s=20&t=-stRmelYTPBTQvYmOFO-ow"><span style="color: #00007f; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #00007F; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: hyperlink; mso-themecolor: hyperlink; mso-themeshade: 128;">“in the same boat”</span></a>
</span></i></b>unable to return home, separated from loved ones.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">My pun or play-on-words is deliberate as is
the link to the little boy who drowned after trying to cross the English
channel for sanctuary, a refuge, a safe-home and a normal childhood. How is that people are so callous to such plight? He died in vain. You'd expect the Home Office to have more compassion. <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-61808120">It hasn't.</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">When I first decided to live and
work abroad rather than pursue an easier career at home in the UK, I wagered
that I would always eventually return home. I even made provision for it by buying a house
in Alnwick in Northumberland, my birth-place and where I grew up. My family had moved South to Leicester, but
with our extended family still in the North-East, Northumberland remained our
spiritual home. My late mother is but
one member who returned there to live and end her days there.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Today in 2022 I am myself an “Anikachun”,
an <b><span style="color: #20124d;">Alnwick Chum</span></b>, refugee, a displaced person, deprived from returning home, because of the UK’s
<a href="https://www.jcwi.org.uk/the-hostile-environment-explained">Hostile Environment</a> immigration policies.
True I can return home any time but not with my Cambodian wife. The UK only gives a qualified restricted
respect to the “<a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmhaff/961/961.pdf">Right
of a Family Life”</a> there, even for British citizens if they have foreign
spouses. (This <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/6/14/uks-anti-migrant-hostile-environment-policy-dehumanises-us-all">article</a> explains more.)<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEianTlW2y4IidvBDX_3vQ_swtH0Vjo2HcNKtnYSBK0qLeqtTOgz_y1By5XkgIvt4bGBRnq2huGUG-rdm75ofGJv5sI0wy0E_FlmnWxpbjoVb2hQW3xGo-VcNSREOk48fyikt038edycjilwQNaC6Szk6jIVqAdBvP-CW6Oi3Ln8M8CaMx_8wvOO0QNm/s948/image_2022-08-04_125625368.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="385" data-original-width="948" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEianTlW2y4IidvBDX_3vQ_swtH0Vjo2HcNKtnYSBK0qLeqtTOgz_y1By5XkgIvt4bGBRnq2huGUG-rdm75ofGJv5sI0wy0E_FlmnWxpbjoVb2hQW3xGo-VcNSREOk48fyikt038edycjilwQNaC6Szk6jIVqAdBvP-CW6Oi3Ln8M8CaMx_8wvOO0QNm/w601-h244/image_2022-08-04_125625368.png" width="601" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I must confess to being disgusted
by the policy introduced by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jul/18/what-does-theresa-mays-record-as-home-secretary-tell-us">Theresa May</a> in 2012 to place onerous fees, high income limits
and strict conditions on the issue of family visas. She enacted this in the
year after I’d attained the Age of 60 and had chosen to take my modest small
private pension so that I could continue to work voluntarily self-funded in Cambodia
until I was 65. It is somewhat ironic that much of my work in Cambodia (and Malawi, Rwanda etc) has been
to lead British Foreign Aid initiatives, both of the Government and major
charities. However none of that counts one iota with the Home Office.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">My biggest disgust is based on
one of the factors that the Home Office considers, even if it is not well-known.
It says there is <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Ffreemovement.org.uk%2Farticle-8-right-to-family-life-in-the-uk">no
automatic right</a> to a UK citizen with a foreign spouse to be able to settle
in the UK, especially if they can live abroad elsewhere.<span style="color: #990000; font-size: medium;">* </span><span style="color: #990000;"><i>See explanation below.<b> </b></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieGYGmt6gIt1TLFTd2Clj7crZRiluznyA_V_G-T_HPkIV7lo3iFwTOKeow5EaomFDkhTSq7Bs0Z9X37GeAcrGszamXbeVY2DrH1CFPyaevQ01uY0rhdt2feiOrHe043Lm55y6VjaWLSx1zNmYRlHQEhT80D0VjLzd1a361pclBT5GxHPiitrf_Gofc/s872/Exile%20Quote.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="364" data-original-width="872" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieGYGmt6gIt1TLFTd2Clj7crZRiluznyA_V_G-T_HPkIV7lo3iFwTOKeow5EaomFDkhTSq7Bs0Z9X37GeAcrGszamXbeVY2DrH1CFPyaevQ01uY0rhdt2feiOrHe043Lm55y6VjaWLSx1zNmYRlHQEhT80D0VjLzd1a361pclBT5GxHPiitrf_Gofc/w413-h173/Exile%20Quote.jpg" width="413" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Why does the Home Office – or the proportion of the population
they are pandering to - find the presence in the UK of people like my Cambodian
wife so offensive? She’s been going to
the UK with me for over 20 years, and spending 180 days a year in Alnwick with
me since 2016. Alnwick makes her welcome
just as it does today with so many Ukrainian refugees.
However, because she overstayed due to Covid, through no fault of ours –
foreign travel was stopped – and even though we religiously applied for and were given permission to stay, it seems the Home Office believes we fell foul of
their rules. So much for its <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fcommittees.parliament.uk%2Fpublications%2F3423%2Fdocuments%2F32762%2Fdefault">assurances</a>
to the Home Affairs Committee that no-one should be punished for overstaying in
UK due to Covid19.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Eight months have passed by
waiting for the Home Office to sort out her visa status and that is despite our
MP chasing it up several times. We
missed Spring; we missed marking anniversaries surrounding my Mother’s death in
July last year; we missed the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee; we missed Wimbledon and
of course the Lioness’s victory with Alnwick’s own Lucy Bronze in the team. It
looks like we’ll miss Autumn. My house stands empty, burning wasted ultra-expensive
electricity and gas as utilities must be left on for insurance purposes.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I accept that my enforced absence
from home is not as extreme or desperate as the world’s refugees, other UK families <a href="https://www.reunitefamiliesuk.co.uk">caught by the same rules</a>; St Helena’s
distant separated families, or Cambodia’s “Anikachun”, but it’s a very
unpleasant feeling to be stopped from returning home and with no idea if and when you might be allowed to return.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #274e13;">......ooo0ooo......</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large; text-align: justify;"><b>*</b><i> </i></span><span style="text-align: center;"><i>I have not dwelt on the question of how appropriate or safe it is for me to stay in Cambodia, although I did mention it in my submissions to the Home Office that there could be issues at any time. There are also explanations in a <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2018/02/your-mission-is-over-you-go.html">previous blog</a>. I would have expected the Home Office to come back to me for more information before denying any right to a family life for us as a couple together in UK.</i></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Updates - most recent first</b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>12 March 2024</b></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikrgDQW19O8JBDWmGrbwjxSVau7M7MetSEZZvAHx8okAlMnYYr14GUThr-DlBtQROVAR8ZqG67Rwujv79THbWdIEVpSSGm5vrNgL1ZmWAPuGP1lS-Hoq9a_n6_I-yXD_xgpgRURsOhJ2kPJThedCn4a5oFClpf7BtUo9soIyuuRdz8_JSvd1hyXtibUI8/s819/image_2024-03-12_135027582.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="687" data-original-width="819" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikrgDQW19O8JBDWmGrbwjxSVau7M7MetSEZZvAHx8okAlMnYYr14GUThr-DlBtQROVAR8ZqG67Rwujv79THbWdIEVpSSGm5vrNgL1ZmWAPuGP1lS-Hoq9a_n6_I-yXD_xgpgRURsOhJ2kPJThedCn4a5oFClpf7BtUo9soIyuuRdz8_JSvd1hyXtibUI8/w167-h182/image_2024-03-12_135027582.png" width="167" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: initial;">Nobody should hold their breath when dealing with the Home Office. You'll suffocate, which of course would be an ideal solution for the </span><a href="https://x.com/LowrieJohn/status/1589065715575033856?s=20">"Brilliant People"</a><span style="color: initial;"> there. Well as there was no reply after more than a month to my MP or directly to us as to whether the Home Office would accept the Official Examiner of Complaints' finding, I ventured to ask on 27 February. Today they replied to me. Apparently the copy of </span><span style="color: initial;">the Official Examiner's report that I sent with my question "for their ease of reference" doesn't allow them to..... investigate. Instead we have to supply them with the information as per image attached. We've managed to find most of it, but not the telephone details as we never telephoned them nor them us.</span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>25 January 2024</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Much to our surprise the Independent Examiner of Complaints has "fully upheld" our complaint against the Home Office. Now we have to wait to see if it accepts this finding - however my guess is it will just ignore it and hope that it goes away. Still it's progress. Importantly the Examiner points out the very important misunderstanding about the UK visitor's visa. Most people, ourselves included and I would say UK Border Officials, believe they are allowed an absolute limit of 180 days a year in UK. In fact the laws specify up to 180 days "per visit". Had the Home Office explained this to us or to our MP much of our saga would not have occurred. However, as we see during its eventual responses to our complaint, it is claiming that a response would constitute "immigration advice" that they are barred from giving, and only permitted by registered legal advisers!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Yes, the official Independent Inspector of Borders and Immigration has his work cut out if the Home Office is to begin to understand <a href="https://x.com/LowrieJohn/status/1597411650529038337?s=20">"customer service"</a>.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>3 December 2023</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Well not much has happened since May in terms of our case. Every month or so the<a href="http://www.govwire.co.uk/news/home-office/guidance-make-a-complaint-to-the-independent-examiner-of-complaints-53815"> Independent Examiner of Complaints'</a> officer writes to tell us they they are still waiting for the Home Office to reply to them before they can conclude.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span color="initial">Beyond that, a lot more is being revealed by the official Covid Inquiry. I have submitted evidence to it, that has been accepted, and will feature when the Inquiry reaches the post-lockdown opening-up phases. (If anyone is interested, I am happy to provide.) The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/nov/27/sadiq-khan-inviting-london-officials-covid-meetings-could-saved-lives">testimony from London Mayor Sadiq Khan</a> was fascinating. He shed much light on how the government's main departments dealing with the pandemic - No 10. Cabinet Office and Department of Health and Social Care, excluded London and other Metropolitan Mayors. Yet as we knew at the time and abundantly clear now with hindsight, London was invariably the first part of the UK to encounter the pandemic and new variants. It could and should have sparked early action to prevent and minimise infections.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span color="initial">Hence my comment this week to the Complaints Examiner's latest "Sorry we're still waiting for the Home Office".</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="color: initial;"><span face="arial, sans-serif"> "I must confess having followed the proceedings at the Covid Inquiry, I</span></i></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="color: initial;"><span face="arial, sans-serif">am no longer surprised about how poorly informed the Home Office was,</span></i></div><span face="arial, sans-serif"><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="color: initial;">given that many even in the main departments dealing with it do not</i></div></span><span face="arial, sans-serif"><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="color: initial;">appear to have been well-informed and abreast of developments. It is</i></div></span><span face="arial, sans-serif"><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="color: initial;">very clear that the Home Office should not been kicking people like my</i></div></span><span face="arial, sans-serif"><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="color: initial;">wife out when the Omicron variant was known to be circulating in</i></div></span><span face="arial, sans-serif"><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="color: initial;">London, and that was before it was known how transmissible and lethal</i></div></span><span face="arial, sans-serif"><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="color: initial;">it was.</i></div></span></i><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>24 May 2023</b></p><p class="MsoNormal">An interesting aside that I think confirms the prejudice against Britons with foreign spouses, at least those like us, who have had to opt for the visitor visa. I wanted to designate one of my bank accounts as a joint account so she had access to funds on her own, in case I am indisposed. One bank refused indicating that they only allow this if a <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/533854/BRP_OA_information_leaflet_-_July_2016.pdf">UK Residence Permit</a>. Easier for foreigners to open and access bank accounts than people like us.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>28 March 2023</b></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Home Office has refused to give an ex-gratia payment to cover any of the loss caused by its delays in dealing with us, despite accepting fault and apologising for them. It says that the pandemic is to blame and that we failed to follow advice not to make travel arrangements until after the wife's new visa was approved. The fact that our travel arrangements were made and paid for 18 months before her visa expired appears to have been overlooked. It was only the date of travel to be decided once the emergency was over for which we wanted the clarification they failed to provide over those 18 months, either to us or to my MP, despite numerous reminders, some marked "urgent" warning of the imminent financial loss if they did not reply in time. They did not reply at all, at least not until 11 months after a formal complaint was registered.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>28 February 202</b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee has <a href="https://twitter.com/LordsJHACom/status/1630500699913035776?s=20">published its report</a>. I must confess that I am surprised how extensive for others are the kind of issues we have experienced, far worse, lasting longer, and more extenuating than on our case. I still find it astonishing that British citizens can be treated so badly just because they have foreign partners or family members. The UK has touted a "Global Britain" mantra in order to drum up post-Brexit trade, yet nothing is more in-keeping with such a phrase than those of us who leave UK shores to make our way in the wider world, and who cultivate cross-cultural relations. The "<a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fp8TtWbWwAItYh9?format=png&name=small">Brimful of Brilliant People</a>" in charge at the Home Office simply don't see this.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>3 January 2023</b></p><p class="MsoNormal">We have decided to refer our case to the Independent Examiner of Complaints.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #550055; font-size: 12.8px;">"We do so not so much for our own gain but in the hope that it leads to</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #550055; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #550055; font-size: 12.8px;">better more responsive treatment especially when emergencies occur.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #550055; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #550055; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #550055; font-size: 12.8px;">To be frank, we don't think our case should have been a case at all,</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #550055; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #550055; font-size: 12.8px;">let alone giving rise to so much angst, formidable expense and</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #550055; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #550055; font-size: 12.8px;">voluminous work."</span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>30 December</b></p><p class="MsoNormal">We've received a message to say that we can go to collect Viraden's passport (next week during passport collection times). No-one has said her visa was refused, so here's hoping!</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>28 December</b></p><p class="MsoNormal">We have today submitted our application for an ex-gratia payment for expenses incurred as mentioned we could do so in the final response to our complaint.</p><p class="MsoNormal">We have only applied for costs incurred in the aspect of the complaint where the Home Office has accepted liability and apologised - the unreasonable failure to respond to our questions from as long ago as May 2020 and the delay of 10 months in responding to the formal complaint. Things like the value of air-tickets lost should be accepted but I suspect they will object to the request to take in to account that the Home Office deprived us of two periods of 3 months in the UK. Due to constantly waiting for its response, the house in UK remained unoccupied when it could have been let out if we'd known there would be no response until November.</p><p class="MsoNormal">No amount of money can make up for all the stress that will exist until the wife's new visa is issued and she is allowed safely in to UK by Border Officials.</p><p class="MsoNormal">We have not at this stage claimed for the areas of our complaint the Home Office has not yet accepted, such as giving "migrants" just two weeks to leave UK regardless of personal circumstances or of those appertaining en route or in countries like Cambodia during Covid. Those will have to be referred to the Independent Investigator.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>10 December</b></p><p class="MsoNormal">Well having been given an amber/greenish light by the Home Office the wife's UK visitor visa application (the only choice possible in our case) is in and so we have to wait to see if it is approved. The final formalities including biometric data was completed at the <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2022/12/the-princes-cubby-hole.html">"Cubby-Hole"</a> of the company VFS-Global given the contract by the Home Office. At this stage all I will say that it is very much a Cambodian-style service, one that would not be accepted in UK, but as my wife said <b><i>"That's what we Cambodians expect and accept"</i></b>. It was different in the old days when you simply went to the Embassy. An official there checked the form with you and that was that.</p><p class="MsoNormal">There were numerous extra services or charges. Despite being British and the money from my British bank I had to pay in $US for which my bank charged me £26.32 for the non GP£ transaction. Remember that had the Home Office not suddenly made us leave UK with just two weeks notice, this visa renewal could have been done in UK and without the hassle and extra expense of doing it in Cambodia.</p><p class="MsoNormal">*<i> <b>"Cubby-Hole"</b>. The VFS-Global reception is tiny (3 x 2 metres) with three staff plus a security guard and the customer. The waiting area is the adjacent foyer housing 4 lifts. Not Covid-safe. The building belongs to one of Cambodia's <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/cyberscam-victim-says-ccp-belt-and-road-developers-are-international-human-trafficking-syndicates-based-in-cambodia_4701278.html">most colourful tycoons</a>. A strange choice for transacting a British</i> operation.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>26 November</b></p><p class="MsoNormal">A much better response from the Home Office including more apologies and an offer to consider compensation. There are two issues where I still disagree with them but on the substance of the Cambodia wife being able to obtain a new visa, without undue difficulty, this looks better. Similarly even if they won't give guarantees, there is an indication that as Letters of Exceptional Assurance were given to cover the whole of the wife's overstay in UK, they should suffice to be allowed back in.</p><p class="MsoNormal">However, even if we do obtain a new visitor visa for the wife, we're not giving up the fight or abandoning our friends with Reunite Families. Now one question - in how many walks-of-life, would you accept forking out <span style="font-family: inherit;">UK<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">£ 837 (US$ 1,000) for something having been warned you risk not getting what you want and losing it all? That is the fee to renew my wife's visa. <a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1597405191078555648?s=20&t=zPo16NhASsHse636xcqXVw">I've asked interested parties on Twitter.</a> (Click on the image to read it clearly.)</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: justify;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAwl3L7ZSU1OB-RHhoGfS3J4foqL65GAE8jzBi7wNu39wEat1BEg6GznfbpMAg5JezlsovqpvUBckCZS3yIwqH-uR96Wm-4oRIYyr24BSTYM1LuXDnNhBIlS4_1FPQ8IYfd421lBP9bBpv0LAtMEyQOKQjzc7g2k0ljmOxVc38wovXyGRLpNvDfJm/s673/Concept.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="603" data-original-width="673" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAwl3L7ZSU1OB-RHhoGfS3J4foqL65GAE8jzBi7wNu39wEat1BEg6GznfbpMAg5JezlsovqpvUBckCZS3yIwqH-uR96Wm-4oRIYyr24BSTYM1LuXDnNhBIlS4_1FPQ8IYfd421lBP9bBpv0LAtMEyQOKQjzc7g2k0ljmOxVc38wovXyGRLpNvDfJm/w412-h370/Concept.jpg" width="412" /></a></span></div><b><p class="MsoNormal"><b>10 November 2022</b></p></b><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Have you ever had that feeling when you’re sure you’re being
set up to be let down? An informative <a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1590502731030364160?s=20&t=jIO7DYQJGMBvKzvkb_gitA">Tweet
today</a> seems to warn that my wife and I were indeed being set up to apply
for a visa only to be inevitably turned down.
As <a href="@ColinYeo1">Colin Yeo</a> explains, people have no rights when this occurs. These phrases strike a common chord:</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="color: #632523; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #632523; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent2; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 128;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #632523; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #632523; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent2; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 128;">“Your reasons for a
visit at this time have failed to satisfy me that your intentions are those of
a genuine visitor”.</span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;"><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><i><span style="color: #632523; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #632523; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent2; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 128;">2. “I am not satisfied
that you are genuinely seeking entry for a purpose that is permitted by the
visitor routes or that you will leave the UK at the end of the visit."</span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;"><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><i><span style="color: #632523; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #632523; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent2; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 128;">3 “I am not satisfied
that you have sufficient funds to cover all reasonable costs in relation to
your visit without working or accessing public funds”.</span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">In my wife’s and my case:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="color: #10253f; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #10253F; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 128;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></b><b><span style="color: #10253f; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #10253F; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 128;">I have gained the
impression that our regular visits of 2 x 90 days per year to the UK for the
past 4 years are regarded as “living in the UK” by the Home Office and one UK Border
Official.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="color: #10253f; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #10253F; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 128;">2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></b><b><span style="color: #10253f; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #10253F; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 128;">My wife has visited
the UK every year since 2000 at least 25 times and always left on time as
pre-booked until Covid intervened, when our flights were cancelled, but as
described, the Home Office has now marked my wife’s immigration record as not
leaving as soon as they say we should have after giving us </span></b><b><span style="color: #10253f;">on 3 November 2021</span></b><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #10253f; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #10253F; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 128;"> just two weeks of notice to leave.*</span></b></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="color: #10253f; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #10253F; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 128;">3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></b><b><span style="color: #10253f; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #10253F; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 128;">Our income as a
pensioner couple is above the figure the UK government specifies to live on in
UK £278.70 a week, £14,505 a year but</span></b><b><span style="color: #10253f;"> £1,000 or so (after tax)</span></b><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #10253f; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #10253F; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 128;"> below the sum the Home Office requires
for a family spouse visa, i.e., the figure of £18,600 it applies.</span></b></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-align: center; text-indent: -0.25in;"><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #10253f; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #10253F; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 128;"><i>* Update - the Home Office has officially denied that this is so. See update 26 November. We'll only know for certain if and when the new visa is approved.</i></span></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>2 November 2022</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">We have submitted our response to the Home Office and to my MP. It seems that the Home Office is relying on its decision that waiting for Covid boosters is not a valid reason not to leave UK. Therefore my wife did not leave as soon as she should. She, in their opinion, overstayed longer than needed and it was within our control to have departed at then end of October 2021. It served notice on my wife to leave UK within two weeks on 3 November, rejecting my contention at that time that Cambodia was not yet fully-open. It and<a href="https://www.lonelyplanet.com/news/no-quarantine-for-covid-vaccinated-arrivals-cambodia"> the rest of the world had no idea</a> that would begin to change on 15 November. So, as the Home Office now warns, she can expect to be refused a new visa and/or to be refused entry at UK Border. We are arguing that it was not within our control, especially Cambodia's travel restrictions, and medical advice surrounding Covid and Omicron at the time not just in UK but around the world, still advised against taking risks and to be fully-vaccinated. We await their response. Happy to share full details of these exchanges with anyone interested.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>29 October 2022</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Home Office has at long last replied. Our complaint was "partially upheld". It didn't address several issues. More ominous is the warnings given that that any new visa application could be refused - and even if it wasn't, the wife may well still be refused entry at the UK Border. It boils down to the fact that as far the Home Office is concerned, once the UK dropped restrictions on travel to Cambodia, she had to leave. The fact that we delayed, even though the Home Office did give us appropriate "Letters of Exceptional Assurance" for the period until we did leave, appears to have blotted her immigration record. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">No response to the question about assurances the Home Office gave about the right to a Family Life and that no-one should be punished for overstaying in UK due to Covid.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">No compassion at all on the prospect of making the Cambodia wife return home on her own nor on our enforced prolonged separation from UK family - now almost one year and it looks like indefinite - nor about the attendant costs and considerable stress it has imposed on us. We do have the option to go back to them again within a month, so will do so.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>25 October 2022</b></p><p style="text-align: left;">The United Kingdom's upper Parliamentary Chamber, House of Lords, its <a href="https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/519/justice-and-home-affairs-co">Justice and Home Affairs Committee is </a>investigating the current Family Migration policies. It has formally accepted and published my submission of evidence that can be accessed <a href="https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/111281/pdf/"><b>here</b></a>.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>15 October 2022</b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The LESCSU has replied to my latest chase-up:<span style="color: #274e13;"> <b><i>"</i></b></span><span style="font-size: 16px;"><b><i><span style="color: #274e13;">I am sorry that you have yet to receive a response to the complaint that you have raised. </span></i></b><i><span style="color: #274e13;"><b>Please be assured that your complaint is being investigated. I aim to provide you with a response by the close of business on Friday 28 October. If it will not be possible to reply to you by that date, then I will write to you on 28 October to advise you when the reply will be issued."</b></span></i></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>12 October 2022</b></p><p style="text-align: left;">After exactly 276 days since first registering our complaint to the Home Office in January, and in reply to a follow-up request in April from my MP for a reply in April, today we have an actual reply from the Home Office.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It has merely set out the 2012 Immigration Rules without replying to any of the questions posed, in particular why its CIS Assurance Team officials questioned her visa status (or conduct) without explanation (or replies) and in effect are preventing her from entering the UK as the UK Visa Information Service (UKVI) says it cannot help with a new visa until it is cleared-up. I have asked my MP to go back to them again but this time to ask for a formal final reply so that we raise the issue with the Parliamentary Ombudsman or for an immigration lawyer to pursue.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>1 October 2022</b></p><p style="text-align: left;">No more words needed.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCTBKlI0wXj1zOohngQt2dgxYkzILcwfqD-NJGG4iRDXyR1ry6fvXEohcDMd7lXToXT1WEvt7_OLuGYcbq1UXNj0QRkf2KJkp_1IIOQOkvv9dViPRR93uNn90bIJawLTJ6LwwaEiaQ87MT5x2u60Z2zqjUbftwYBzi1exOUlVbBXM4GitaIHhgJB2F/s733/image_2022-10-01_080804045.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="176" data-original-width="733" height="118" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCTBKlI0wXj1zOohngQt2dgxYkzILcwfqD-NJGG4iRDXyR1ry6fvXEohcDMd7lXToXT1WEvt7_OLuGYcbq1UXNj0QRkf2KJkp_1IIOQOkvv9dViPRR93uNn90bIJawLTJ6LwwaEiaQ87MT5x2u60Z2zqjUbftwYBzi1exOUlVbBXM4GitaIHhgJB2F/w490-h118/image_2022-10-01_080804045.png" width="490" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><b>11 September 2022</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I have just received confirmation from the Department of Work and Pensions that I was not awarded National Insurance auto-credits for the last 5 years of my working life as would have automatically applied if I had returned to stay in UK, and not chosen to stay abroad to work voluntarily self-funded with my NGOs. (I agreed of course to continue to pay voluntary National Insurance contributions. My pension was well below the figure to pay tax.) The auto-credit scheme was intended, it is said, for people aged 60-65 not to register and count in unemployment figures.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I encountered a not dissimilar experience after returning to spend my retirement in UK from 2016 onward. Then I fell foul of the way rules were interpreted and applied governing Council Tax and Housing Benefits. Our Council <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2019/06/the-rise-and-fall-of-public-service.html">chose to penalise me</a> after we left the UK for 3 months in order to comply with the wife's visitor visa limited stay requirements. It cancelled benefits retrospectively and made me repay them. Absences of that period and longer are permitted for studying abroad and other purposes but not for voluntary work overseas. (Age UK and VSO International have joined with me in trying to have those rules changed.) </p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #20124d;"><i>So this too does rather endorse my "Alnwick Chum" - or "Chump" charge that somehow UK authorities are biased against people living and working abroad.</i></span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Notes</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1 <span style="text-align: center;">As stated below the cartoon, the Home Office ordered the wife unceremoniously out the country as if she was a discovered illegal immigrant, not someone who happened to be in UK when Covid 19 struck and foreign travel stopped. I insisted that we stay until she had her booster, due within a month as immunity is known to wane from four months on. Thus I incurred their wrath. This might explain why they're holding up sorting out her post Covid visa status although they keep blaming the Ukraine crisis since February for the delay.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: center;">It was back in August 2020 in reply to the extensions to allow her to stay until things improved, known as "Letters of Exceptional Assurance", that we queried two things. What did they mean by telling us "to regularise her stay in UK" and would we be allowed to revert to our pattern of 90 days stay in UK followed by 90 in Cambodia? I feared that without formal confirmation, entry would be denied at UK Border Control. Our pre-Covid pattern had complied with her 10 year multiple entry visitor visa. We repeated these queries in December, again keeping my MP fully-informed. As there was no reply we registered a formal complaint in January. The Home Office indicates it replies to complaints within 20 days. We wanted to be sure that we could return to the UK at the end of March, as booked, with no problems leaving or arriving.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: center;">Despite follow-up requests from us and urgent appeals by my MP there was no reply from the Home Office before our flight deadlines and not even since. We lost the full value of our return flight worth </span></span><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><b>£</b></span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: center;">1,110.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: center;">The wife's visa expired in April and the UK Visa Information Service says that it cannot help us, has no access to the Complaints Unit, and we must wait to hear from them. The Home Office has failed to respond to all the more recent follow-up pleas from my MP and me - situation as at 3 August, i.e., 170 days later than when the Home Office ought to have replied to the January complaint.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: center;">2 It was pure luck that Cambodia began to drop<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/cambodia-ends-quarantine-vaccinated-arrivals-revive-tourism-2021-11-15/"> its own strictest entry measures</a> on 15 November, so opening the chance for my Cambodian wife and I to return, although it took 3 more weeks to extend from mere tourists to ordinary/business visa-holders like me and I could obtain an entry visa on 9 December. The Home Office's order to leave did not take account of such factors, let alone:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><ul><li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: center;">Arranging personal affairs in UK as needed for our absence, one of which was dealing with damage to the property caused by Storm Arwen. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: center;">Availability of flights - there were very few - and their exorbitant cost.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: center;">Unavoidable extra costs of rail fares to Heathrow, two nights accommodation in London and pre-flight PCR tests.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: center;">Stress involved in risk of catching Covid19 en route, being unable to fly or denied boarding, or failing Covid entry tests on arrival in Cambodia, all would incur considerable cost penalties.</span></li></ul><div style="text-align: left;">3<span> Exchanges with the Home Office:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>CIS Assurance Team</b> - only ever gave pre-prepared standard responses </span>and never replied once to any personal questions raised with them from August 2020 in reply to Letters of Exceptional Assurance issued, hence our formal complaint January 2022 to:</li><li><span inherit=""><b>LSECSU - Complaints Uni</b>t, (Case Ref: ZA26822) that in February </span>apologised for no reply within its promised 20 days, and despite follow-up and reminders, has not replied yet other than a standard "please be patient" stock email, hence enlisting help again from my MP.</li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>MP Account Management Team</b>, approached on 16 and 22 March 2022 Julie Maxwell gave a reply on 6 April well after the </span>deadline my MP specified was needed and..... suggested we registered a formal complaint to LESCU, even though the message to them from the MP was to ask them to chase up an already registered complaint, with the case reference given to do so! My MP's office immediately responded the same day, 6 April, on our behalf to point this out. Eventually on 11 October Mr John Hewitt replied merely setting out the 2012 immigration rules addressing none of the specific issues raised in the complaint.</li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>SARU - Subject Access Request Unit</b> - did reply (if 6 weeks late) and s</span>ent 58 pages of the wife's 22 year immigration record, redacted in parts, but appears to confirm that no breach or black mark against her, although any could be redacted. </li><li><b>UKVI - Visa Information Service</b> - a pay-for service that told us that "it can't help" as our case is with Complaints Unit and as they have no access to it, we must wait for them, before we can apply for a new visa.</li></ul><div><p class="MsoNormal">4 Expenses incurred since UK Home Office ordered the
Cambodia wife to leave in December 2021. This table will be updated from time to time.</p>
</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Please
note that I am not including day-to-day living expenses as we have these in
both UK and Cambodia during our pre-Covid pattern of 3 months in each country.
The aim is to indicate the extra costs incurred and which of course impacts
heavily on our available income as a pensioner couple. The rate of exchange
used is the actual one for money sent from UK to Cambodia – extra fees of US30
for the transaction each month are not listed.</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><i><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">Singapore Airline has confirmed to our travel agent no extension to the 6 months period to use our return tickets or any refund for the unused portion of the tickets. So that's the easiest pur</span><span style="color: #cc0000; line-height: 115%;">e profit of </span></i><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">£</span><span style="text-align: center;">1,110 they have made! Its a double loss as we will now have to fork out a similar amount for replacement tickets. Of course had we the faintest clue the Home Office would not permit Viraden's return, we could have booked one way and saved the loss!</span></i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"></span></span></p><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; margin-left: 0.2in; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
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<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Date<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
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<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">£</span></i><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
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<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Calculations<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
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<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Notes<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">21 Nov<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
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<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">2,219.06<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;">Flight Singapore Airlines – LHR to Phnom Penh
return, Viraden + me.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></p>
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<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 0.85in;" valign="top" width="102">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">65.00<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;">Special ordinary entry visa John Lowrie Cambodia
Embassy + courier, as Cambodia was still under severe Covid restrictions.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">15 Dec<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
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<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">241.70<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;">John Lowrie Travel insurance to 25 March 2022.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">21 Dec<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
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<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">60.70<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></p>
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<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 4.7in;" valign="top" width="564">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;">Train travel Alnmouth to London (Two Together
ticket)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></p>
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<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">4.80<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;">Underground fares St Pancras to Hounslow West<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></p>
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<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">9.21<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 4.7in;" valign="top" width="564">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;">Taxi Hounslow West to Guest House <o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 43.45pt;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">22 Dec<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 0.85in;" valign="top" width="102">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">92.00<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 93.35pt;" valign="top" width="156">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 4.7in;" valign="top" width="564">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;">Apple Guest House Heathrow x 2 nights <o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 43.45pt;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 0.85in;" valign="top" width="102">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">95.00<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 93.35pt;" valign="top" width="156">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 4.7in;" valign="top" width="564">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;">Dinner Pheasant Inn x 2 Nights <o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 43.45pt;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 0.85in;" valign="top" width="102">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">155.00<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 93.35pt;" valign="top" width="156">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 4.7in;" valign="top" width="564">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;">PCR Test 3 hour Collinson 2 x £77-50 required by
airline and Cambodia – fortunately we pass entry Covid tests, so no need to
hotel quarantine. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 43.45pt;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">23 Dec<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 0.85in;" valign="top" width="102">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">25.00<span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 93.35pt;" valign="top" width="156">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">(UK = £2,967.47)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 4.7in;" valign="top" width="564">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;">Taxi Guest House to Terminal 2 <o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"></span></span></p><br /><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; margin-left: 0.2in; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody><tr>
<td colspan="4" style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 7.45in;" valign="top" width="894">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;">Cambodia<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 43.45pt;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">24 Dec<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 0.85in;" valign="top" width="102">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">15.87<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 93.35pt;" valign="top" width="156">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">US$20 / 1 = 1.26<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 4.7in;" valign="top" width="564">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;">Taxi Phnom Penh Airport to Takhmau home.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 43.45pt;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">
6 Jan<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 0.85in;" valign="top" width="102">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">175.35<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 93.35pt;" valign="top" width="156">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">US$ 226.20?/1.28<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 4.7in;" valign="top" width="564">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;">John Lowrie Medical expenses Cellulitis, maybe
stress caused or contributed. Should get back £95.35 from travel insurance. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 43.45pt;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">24 Jan<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 0.85in;" valign="top" width="102">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">130.00<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 93.35pt;" valign="top" width="156">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">$165/1.28<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 4.7in;" valign="top" width="564">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;">John Lowrie E-Retirement visa Cambodia 6 months.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 43.45pt;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">26 Mar<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 0.85in;" valign="top" width="102">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">29.42<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 93.35pt;" valign="top" width="156">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 4.7in;" valign="top" width="564">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;">John Lowrie Travel insurance 26 March to 25
April (Paid-for in UK in £)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 43.45pt;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">
2 Apr<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 0.85in;" valign="top" width="102">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">7.72<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 93.35pt;" valign="top" width="156">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">$9.50/1.23<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 4.7in;" valign="top" width="564">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;">20 days supply 20 mg daily Atorvastatin – NHS
supplied me only to end March.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 43.45pt;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">21 Apr<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 0.85in;" valign="top" width="102">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">15.44<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 93.35pt;" valign="top" width="156">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">$19.00/1.23<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 4.7in;" valign="top" width="564">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;">John Lowrie Travel insurance 27 August to 26
October<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 43.45pt;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">24 Apr<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 0.85in;" valign="top" width="102">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">124.12<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 93.35pt;" valign="top" width="156">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 4.7in;" valign="top" width="564">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;">John Lowrie Travel insurance 25 April to 26 June<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 43.45pt;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> 1 Jun<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 0.85in;" valign="top" width="102">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">15.70<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 93.35pt;" valign="top" width="156">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">$19/1.21<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 4.7in;" valign="top" width="564">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;">John Lowrie Travel insurance 27 August to 26
October<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 43.45pt;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">19 Jun<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 0.85in;" valign="top" width="102">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">20.66<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 93.35pt;" valign="top" width="156">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">$25/1.21<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 4.7in;" valign="top" width="564">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;">Tuk Tuk to Health Clinic for Pfizer Covid
Booster (no fee for vaccine)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 43.45pt;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">26 June<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 0.85in;" valign="top" width="102">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">127.21<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 93.35pt;" valign="top" width="156">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 4.7in;" valign="top" width="564">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;">John Lowrie Travel insurance 27 June to 26
August<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 43.45pt;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">19 July<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 0.85in;" valign="top" width="102">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">16.10<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 93.35pt;" valign="top" width="156">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">$19/1.18<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 4.7in;" valign="top" width="564">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;">40 days supply 20 mg daily Atorvastatin<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 43.45pt;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">29 July<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 0.85in;" valign="top" width="102">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">140.00<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 93.35pt;" valign="top" width="156">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">$165/1.18<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 4.7in;" valign="top" width="564">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;">John Lowrie E-Retirement visa Cambodia 6 months.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 43.45pt;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">20 Aug<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 0.85in;" valign="top" width="102">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">130.21<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 93.35pt;" valign="top" width="156">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 4.7in;" valign="top" width="564">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;">John Lowrie Travel insurance 27 August to 26
October<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 43.45pt;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">7 Sep<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 0.85in;" valign="top" width="102">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">18.00<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 93.35pt;" valign="top" width="156">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">$20.70/1.15<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 4.7in;" valign="top" width="564">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;">40 days supply 20 mg daily Atorvastatin – new
supplier.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 43.45pt;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">27 Oct<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 0.85in;" valign="top" width="102">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">84.41<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 93.35pt;" valign="top" width="156">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 4.7in;" valign="top" width="564">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;">John Lowrie Travel insurance 27 Oct to 26 December<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 43.45pt;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">27 Oct<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 0.85in;" valign="top" width="102">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">18.26<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 93.35pt;" valign="top" width="156">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">$19/1.04<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 4.7in;" valign="top" width="564">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;">40 days supply 20 mg daily Atorvastatin<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 43.45pt;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">5 Dec<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 0.85in;" valign="top" width="102">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">18.26<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 93.35pt;" valign="top" width="156">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">$19/1.04</span></i><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 4.7in;" valign="top" width="564">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;">40
days supply 20 mg daily Atorvastatin<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 43.45pt;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">5 Dec<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 0.85in;" valign="top" width="102">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">863.76<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 93.35pt;" valign="top" width="156">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 4.7in;" valign="top" width="564">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;">UK
10 year Visa Fee - paid in $US, Bank converted and charged.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 43.45pt;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">5 Dec<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 0.85in;" valign="top" width="102">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">26.32<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 93.35pt;" valign="top" width="156">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 4.7in;" valign="top" width="564">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;">Charge
for non UK£ transaction<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 43.45pt;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">7 Dec<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 0.85in;" valign="top" width="102">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">71.71<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 93.35pt;" valign="top" width="156">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 4.7in;" valign="top" width="564">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;">VFS-Global
Fee for handling visa application, biometrics.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 43.45pt;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">7 Dec<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 0.85in;" valign="top" width="102">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">2.14<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 93.35pt;" valign="top" width="156">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 4.7in;" valign="top" width="564">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;">Charge
for non UK£ transaction<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 43.45pt;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">9 Dec<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 0.85in;" valign="top" width="102">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">3.39<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 93.35pt;" valign="top" width="156">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 4.7in;" valign="top" width="564">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;">VFS-Global
– extra fee for SMS text message when passport ready for collection.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 43.45pt;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">16 Dec<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 0.85in;" valign="top" width="102">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">197.45<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 93.35pt;" valign="top" width="156">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 4.7in;" valign="top" width="564">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;">John
Lowrie Travel insurance 26 December to 20 March<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 43.45pt;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 0.85in;" valign="top" width="102">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><br /></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 93.35pt;" valign="top" width="156">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="color: red; font-size: 10pt;">(Cambodia £2233.50.)<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 4.7in;" valign="top" width="564">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 43.45pt;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 0.85in;" valign="top" width="102">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><br /></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 93.35pt;" valign="top" width="156">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="color: red; font-size: 10pt;">(Total £5218.97)<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 4.7in;" valign="top" width="564">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="color: red; font-size: 10pt;">+</span></i> <i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="color: red; font-size: 10pt;">£ 1,089.50 cost of air-fares to UK as original ones forfeited kept
by Singapore Airlines.</span></i> <i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="color: red; font-size: 10pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="color: red; font-size: 10pt;">£ 2,099.60 for return trip booked March 2023<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 43.45pt;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 0.85in;" valign="top" width="102">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 93.35pt;" valign="top" width="156">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 4.7in;" valign="top" width="564">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="color: red; font-size: 10pt;">+ paying out for UK house costs (as well living expenses in
Cambodia) for 2 x 3 month periods when unable to stay there. Unlike UK, we incur
few charges when away from Cambodia.</span></i><i><span face=""Arial Narrow","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal">
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></i></p></div><p></p>ANorthumbrianAbroadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548140943705427113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5208414707355071730.post-41735738209084048352022-04-07T21:06:00.071-07:002022-07-01T21:11:58.761-07:00Community Organising Globally – Saving and Enhancing Lives<p><br /></p><span style="color: #0c343d; font-size: x-small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLu8TYXds0B9YSP476fBB3KuIgUr3NhLZOxLHQ_CeJIjm8LwrCzZzKVPvqZoQGTuqFlgLEgT1d9PKeD5g8t8byYZAnaymUxrARDg4NrFsBYRbWq3MHYU7WlIdpb_uwUohsEP2yrw2jCYrJZQg_F29TMKp0ATFd6Jbhj7x45-v2WUZinJLLUykE7lIe/s990/SHG.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="595" data-original-width="990" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLu8TYXds0B9YSP476fBB3KuIgUr3NhLZOxLHQ_CeJIjm8LwrCzZzKVPvqZoQGTuqFlgLEgT1d9PKeD5g8t8byYZAnaymUxrARDg4NrFsBYRbWq3MHYU7WlIdpb_uwUohsEP2yrw2jCYrJZQg_F29TMKp0ATFd6Jbhj7x45-v2WUZinJLLUykE7lIe/w647-h388/SHG.jpg" width="647" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Your members and supporters might
like to hear how the same devotion and skills that they apply in their
communities are very effective abroad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They are perhaps the best way for Foreign Aid interventions to succeed.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As the title in one
of my blogs states I am an <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-unlikely-foreign-aid-worker.html">“Unlikely
Aid Worker”</a>.</p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: georgia;"><b><i>Saint Helena Island</i></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>My first foray abroad
was to the tiny island of St Helena, famous for Napoleon and if the Daily Mail
had its way “the world’s most useless airport”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There I was asked to help run a local community centre.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The island had about 6 such centres each
serving a district. Ours <a href="https://www.facebook.com/GuineaGrassCommunityCenter/">“Guinea Grass”</a>
was the smallest and like the others barely struggled to survive with only one
or two die-hard volunteers making the effort.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>My professional training was what today is called human resources, so I
set about how to motivate others to join.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>None of the centres were actually membership-based even though they
served their local people. They relied on dances with the admission charges and
bar profits to go with small government grants. How do you attract more than the
regular late-night revelers who often did not turn up till the pubs closed at
11.00 pm?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr3MUhnSolWuC5-_LZc1uzNCBUpu7Wb18WPCwIL08hYcCjVgaw8OIcuSsEkXv6OI5GrHDgz2nsqe8OeJH3CKX_-7A1kv9R0EN6v4cOUc3ELy_cbpAIKnbJAVVLl5M_xNlEMpyqH8J9AXOjYm3cJzQARx7T_4Vpdez_8T-TipXiiW-KUoZdiln7gb9t/s1466/Guinea%20Grass.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1374" data-original-width="1466" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr3MUhnSolWuC5-_LZc1uzNCBUpu7Wb18WPCwIL08hYcCjVgaw8OIcuSsEkXv6OI5GrHDgz2nsqe8OeJH3CKX_-7A1kv9R0EN6v4cOUc3ELy_cbpAIKnbJAVVLl5M_xNlEMpyqH8J9AXOjYm3cJzQARx7T_4Vpdez_8T-TipXiiW-KUoZdiln7gb9t/w219-h205/Guinea%20Grass.jpg" width="219" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The two die-hards plus me whiled
away the wait for them manning the bar, chatting to Huggy Bear, the DJ for the
night, when I had a thought<i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“This is
daft. We’re set up for the night – why don’t we allow children to come until
10.00pm?”</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So next time that’s what
we did and they turned up in droves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
had the beers in but not enough soft-drinks, so they were quickly
requisitioned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So popular were these
events that we formed a membership club and let the children run it. Soon the
idea spread to the other centres and we introduced exchanges and competitions.</div><o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><b><i><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="color: #333300; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: DaunPenh; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Guinea
Grass Community Centre St Helena Island</span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I learned on St Helena two things that have stood me in good stead in 40 years of community organising and activism. I call them <b><i><span style="color: #660000; font-family: georgia;">"lifelong key take-aways". </span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: 31.5pt; margin-right: 40.5pt; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 40.5pt 10pt 31.5pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><i><span style="color: #660000; font-family: georgia;">1. Children are one of the best keys
to success. They are naturally more active and they do bring in the
adults. <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: 31.5pt; margin-right: 40.5pt; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 40.5pt 10pt 31.5pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><i><span style="color: #660000; font-family: georgia;">2. Friendly competition between
children and adults is a major motivator and learning tool, far more effective
than teacher-centred lessons.</span></i></b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">One event sparked mass participation and enduring interest across the island - a dancing competition with all 6 community centres. The winner by the way was Guinea Grass's Lacosta with her “Dirty-Dancing” routine.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="color: #660000; font-family: georgia;"><i>Malawi</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The Guiness Grass Centre was still flourishing when I left St Helena in 1993 for a Voluntary Service Overseas assignment in Malawi. I took over as Project Director of a
UK-funded fisheries project with the aims of more sustainable catches and
diversifying livelihoods away from fishing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>My predecessor had formed fishing clubs, mainly for the menfolk, and
“Maize Mill” clubs for the women.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
idea there was that they would have their own mechanised mill to save them the
hard labour of manually pounding corn for their daily meals, an idea not
without <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2014/10/alnwickdotes-no-7-best-laid-plans-of.html#more">occasional
problems</a>.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxHScckRcUQo-yrthv5UB7qcb6Dzm1pHP9VNPit_lfux69smJZRpjXxQHbQANkdUF8TQ9wj8_hpV8K0BeYZIOzJyDtiBdyF6ujt2Unb76WVal7iKAjRFr191hvup1jPMhqX6xTfksHG0TQfDE5A9V0w6SjjHJjdZk5UQc_wPCLqW6ycV1B-IfdCNyN/s224/Maize.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="151" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxHScckRcUQo-yrthv5UB7qcb6Dzm1pHP9VNPit_lfux69smJZRpjXxQHbQANkdUF8TQ9wj8_hpV8K0BeYZIOzJyDtiBdyF6ujt2Unb76WVal7iKAjRFr191hvup1jPMhqX6xTfksHG0TQfDE5A9V0w6SjjHJjdZk5UQc_wPCLqW6ycV1B-IfdCNyN/w169-h251/Maize.jpg" width="169" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As well sorting out such
problems, there were more communities to be reached, more clubs to be formed,
and the great thing is that we had the money and resources to do it. Again, we
employed membership-based community group formation. Girls were very keen as if they did not have
to pound maize several hours each day they could go to school. We also
encouraged them to come up with own ideas to diversify livelihoods and not
unsurprisingly chicken-rearing proved to be the most popular and
successful. There were some failures,
many with a common cause, of relying on one or two people as leaders, whose
leadership proved to be unreliable and selfish.
This too is a valuable lesson for community-organising anywhere.
Unfortunately I don’t have access to my final Malawi report for the exact
figures but we had over 20 such clubs operating. One third of them was
flourishing, one third breaking-even, and the other third not doing so well, so
about 50% success rate overall.</div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="color: #660000; font-family: georgia; text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="color: #660000; font-family: georgia; text-align: justify;"><i>Rwanda</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">I went on from Malawi to Rwanda,
to work with elderly people, and again a mixture of development activities from
health to livelihoods in the immediate aftermath of the genocide and our
emergency relief project to assist vulnerable people forced to return home by
foot from Zaire and Tanzania. My NGO,
HelpAge International, was a pioneer of working through and with local
partners, as indeed was a future one Ockenden International with refugees.
Again community-organising was the main methodology along with “Participatory
Rapid Appraisal” for groups to decide on their own problems, priorities and
solutions.</p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It gave us one of the most
surprising findings of my career in Foreign Aid. One of the groups we formed, at the end of
the exercise that lasted a week them all residing together, came up with not
the usual things. Usually housing, low income, food insecurity, access to
health-services led the field. No for this group, their priority was loneliness
– and hey presto, we’d solved it simply by forming their community group. They’d all become good friends.</p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: 31.5pt; margin-right: 40.5pt; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 40.5pt 10pt 31.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: 0in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #660000; font-family: georgia;"><b><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">It
led to another lifelong key take-away about the way Foreign Aid operates where surprise
and unpredictability are almost anathema to the inner-circles in charge who exist in comfort zones of
pre-ordained plans, outcomes and impacts - theirs - not those of
"beneficiaries".</span></i></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: 31.5pt; margin-right: 40.5pt; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 40.5pt 10pt 31.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: 0in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #660000; font-family: georgia;"><b><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">4.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--></i></b></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: georgia; font-size: 10pt;"><b><i>One
more takeaway was</i></b></span><span style="color: #20124d;"> <b><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">"Be wary of the
enemy within"</span></i></b></span><span style="color: #403152; font-size: 10pt;">. </span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: georgia; font-size: 10pt;"><b><i>Groups will flounder if reliant just on one or two individuals allowed to act on their own. It was the menfolk
and boys on Likoma Island that betrayed their mothers, wives, sisters and
daughters. </i></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="color: #660000; font-family: georgia;"><i>Cambodia</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">And so on to Cambodia in 1998
where I am still as I write, plus occasional work in Vietnam and Laos. As well as
human rights projects, I had the privilege of similar community development
work with <a href="https://www.johnlowrie.uk/new-horizons-society---work-with-disabled-adults-and-children-in-cambodia">disabled
people</a> (2003-16), <a href="https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/4acb66fc/files/uploaded/Ockenden%20and%20Cambodians%20Part%20One.pdf">refugee
returnees/internally-displaced people</a> (2005 – today), and <a href="https://www.johnlowrie.uk/mondulkiri-centre---the-first-dedicated-website-for-indigenous-people-in-cambodia">indigenous
ethnic minority people</a> (2010 – today).
The same community organising methodology has been employed except
unlike Malawi, we have ended-up with a consistent record of 85% of groups doing
well; 10% fair, and only 5% failing.
Even then with those failures, apart from the same problem of group
leaders abusing their position, despite the various measures to prevent it,
another reason was that the most talented members having done well from the
group left to proceed on their own. They could run their own business or social
enterprise. In fact the NGO’s senior manager abandoned the NGO to run a community
social enterprise we helped to form that today is doing well. The same is not
true of that NGO as it did not survive his departure although it does have many
spin-offs doing well. My other NGOs, I
am pleased to say, are still doing well and that is despite Covid.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp0W6vv6-bnT4zsljBWwdaH1NF2Se9tScyxi2LnwmKb5EZFXydtK85LoCvA8vD8Ov5f1TqF8VeLBy0YtwLcs4LFEMn76r2xRlFdjLFuO72TsRmGup7e8MHxLsxwetpGaYXC1vJDPV6Xw30Zc0FneRWXWAy9jgSW6eyerc7r1sRAz2JorEI36hTGX6f/s3640/SHG%20accountability%20and%20transparency.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2643" data-original-width="3640" height="369" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp0W6vv6-bnT4zsljBWwdaH1NF2Se9tScyxi2LnwmKb5EZFXydtK85LoCvA8vD8Ov5f1TqF8VeLBy0YtwLcs4LFEMn76r2xRlFdjLFuO72TsRmGup7e8MHxLsxwetpGaYXC1vJDPV6Xw30Zc0FneRWXWAy9jgSW6eyerc7r1sRAz2JorEI36hTGX6f/w508-h369/SHG%20accountability%20and%20transparency.jpg" width="508" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">My colleagues and I are
especially proud of our “Child Advocacy Group” members that inspired similar
groups. We formed the exact same type of
club as on St Helena for families living with disability. We were not the first. Our colleagues at UK charity <a href="https://add.org.uk/countries/cambodia">ADD International</a> (Action on
Disability) were also doing it and well.
However I differed with them philosophically. They preferred for their
community groups to consist only of disabled people whereas I took the view, as
did our clients, that as social exclusion was a serious problem for them with
non-disabled villagers, integration with their neighbours would be better. So
it proved for our groups. After all
their neighbours were equally poor and suffering from similar issues – so why
exclude them? Why limit the choice of group members to others keen to join who
might prove to have the best leadership and participatory skills?</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In all 135 community groups were
formed by this project, federating in to their own local NGO. Their most
successful advocacy led to the exposure of officials purloining the modest pensions
of war veterans in Cambodia.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeBqmbZHp8WB6-0nXHfaklheDgjBTLzjs9efGsCSpRcjNOuygaRKGF08MPFaq3vCoVEdLtDG14hr1wxFccc3Dx0pnsO-SoLGuVqUWFDvEQ5aseOsVuu_kk5cwuYb9x_godhv7BfzpawthOL6l0CDYIuzXQr496R8nLzAlOum3PBP5avP6vevV72guM/s1035/Quote.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="255" data-original-width="1035" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeBqmbZHp8WB6-0nXHfaklheDgjBTLzjs9efGsCSpRcjNOuygaRKGF08MPFaq3vCoVEdLtDG14hr1wxFccc3Dx0pnsO-SoLGuVqUWFDvEQ5aseOsVuu_kk5cwuYb9x_godhv7BfzpawthOL6l0CDYIuzXQr496R8nLzAlOum3PBP5avP6vevV72guM/w523-h129/Quote.jpg" width="523" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The children’s most successful
advocacy by contrast highlighted the massive failure of adults. They saw images of devastating effects of
Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. The very next year their province was flooded
with no prevention measures having been adopted.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHwFRqgF9ZuWbUeUT0E-Zswm6Q_us6Kwst-xafdzvLBJWLMQL46Oqtit0DytqfkvYIYlOoW9tamadub-PydFBfRGjHa3wauhzf4Vz7xrXBje8gPuM-TwtRY0ubttRUgfytPQXRofikk5CgrlyGcvPGwM760eDWqGYOLCspGkCYr-pWDCs-3y9e-77z/s532/Kids.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="256" data-original-width="532" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHwFRqgF9ZuWbUeUT0E-Zswm6Q_us6Kwst-xafdzvLBJWLMQL46Oqtit0DytqfkvYIYlOoW9tamadub-PydFBfRGjHa3wauhzf4Vz7xrXBje8gPuM-TwtRY0ubttRUgfytPQXRofikk5CgrlyGcvPGwM760eDWqGYOLCspGkCYr-pWDCs-3y9e-77z/w548-h263/Kids.jpg" width="548" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: georgia; font-size: 10pt;"><b><i>Sadly </i></b></span><b><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="color: #20124d;">"Be wary of the enemy within</span></span></i></b></span><span style="line-height: 18.4px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #20124d;"><b><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">"</span></i></b></span><span style="color: #403152; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: georgia; font-size: 10pt;"><b><i>manifested its ugly head in this project as it does in others in Cambodia, along with corruption and pursuit of pure selfish and political interests.</i></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">What happened there is the subject of other blogs. Here I do not want to detract from the positive aspects from community-organising. Frequently people, adults and
children, with the best leadership skills and motivation emerge over time and
are not those identified during group inception. This is true in Cambodia where
girls and women tend to be shy. The key to them emerging is good facilitation skills (see update below.) In fact
you have to be wary of the first people to step forward where they can have
other reasons for taking a lead. Usually it is to make money but often it is to
promote the ruling political party. With
children and young people you have to be open to late developers. One of the most surprising and pleasing cases
is a member of the Child Advocacy Group who caused us most problems, took-up
much time to keep him on the right path. Suddenly at the age of around 20 he
blossomed, matured, went back to school, graduated, and today runs his own NGO
doing exactly what he did with us.
Please feel free to read about him <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2017/01/inspirations.html">here</a>
and to drop in to his Facebook page.</p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: 31.5pt; margin-right: 40.5pt; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 40.5pt 10pt 31.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: georgia;"><b><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">5.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--></i></b></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: georgia;"><b><i>Takeaway
– leave plenty room for late-developers. Take care to help identify and nurture potentially best leaders and most active members inclined to be shy and eclipsed by others.</i></b></span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;">Community organising skills have
led to very successful Child Self-Protection Groups and Networks in Cambodia,
in fact in my view the developed world should learn from them instead of
exporting their expert-led “Safeguarding” model. Recently Police, Social-Workers and other professionals
in the UK, US, Australia etc., have been found wanting yet in truth they are
far more competent than their peers in Cambodia where too often they are part
of the problem not the solution. Corruption is deeply-embedded as we saw when
dubious orphanages proliferated as complicit authorities encouraged families to
part with children for such unscrupulous people to make money from gullible
tourists. In the absence of trusted
officials, NGOs like LICADHO* have formed the </span><a href="https://www.licadho-cambodia.org/programs/childrenoffice.php" style="text-align: justify;">Child-Protection
Groups</a><span style="text-align: justify;"> in the most vulnerable communities. I would argue that the same
should be done in the UK based around schools and amenities that children
frequent. After all it is children who usually know first when something is
wrong with their friends.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVrbKaT3qoLK4hJ2qJJQQBJ6KdzNu7Jz7EdCtQVBY8rlgYp8PdvzqqlY-QzjVyYiPo4NgrwBrJTVBLYfeVj0ChLiDss_58ULlC9kxhuoynjhoZZ3Q-JFgJXTBqXRrudZ4JOYwEF6UUUPkfE7Siom_5-Os5Yva8AdaWEC4I0C-5QT7wYQpuzq4kQ238/s238/Cows.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="175" data-original-width="238" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVrbKaT3qoLK4hJ2qJJQQBJ6KdzNu7Jz7EdCtQVBY8rlgYp8PdvzqqlY-QzjVyYiPo4NgrwBrJTVBLYfeVj0ChLiDss_58ULlC9kxhuoynjhoZZ3Q-JFgJXTBqXRrudZ4JOYwEF6UUUPkfE7Siom_5-Os5Yva8AdaWEC4I0C-5QT7wYQpuzq4kQ238/w267-h196/Cows.jpg" width="267" /></a></div>My work with <a href="https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/4acb66fc/files/uploaded/Ockenden%20and%20Cambodians%20Part%20One.pdf">Ockenden
International</a> also expanded the community-organising self-help group
concept that we passed on to 16 local partner NGOs, with around 870 groups,
with 23,000 families as members. It is
hard to select the most successful project but one candidate and the most
fascinating was the <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/02/cows-end-poverty-maybe.html">Kon
Kleng</a> community that consisted of former Khmer Rouge fighters.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="color: #333300; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Cow Banks are often very successful
community development activities. Kon
Kleng’s herd numbered 80 in just 7 years. Poor families are given one cow. Its
first calf is returned to the community group for another poor family.</span></i></b></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: 31.5pt; margin-right: 40.5pt; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 40.5pt 10pt 31.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: georgia;"><b><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">6.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--></i></b></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: georgia;"><b><i>Takeaway
– Every foreign or external intervention should have an exit plan with a clear intention, target dates and measures to hand over to local people. In all I "localised" three international NGO operations in to locally-led ones, an all-too rare occurrence. You can read more<a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2016/06/built-in-obsolescence.html#more"> here</a>.</i></b></span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Unfortunately community
organising with indigenous ethnic minorities proved to be more difficult than
other groups. Eventually 16 were formed
in the province, although their activities in health education/ protection from
malaria extended much further afield. It
was based on using theatre to convey scientific messages compatible with
traditional animist beliefs. These
people in Cambodia tended not to live in close-knit hamlets and of course there
were differences in language and context.
However that was not the main impediment. Nurturing community groups
requires patience and persistence. Some
do take extra time and effort but in our case we found this was undermined by
new outsiders. They came in with ready
cash and the means to make easy money in contrast to our approach that usually
took 2-3 farming seasons to take-off.
Our method for better livelihoods is similar to the <a href="https://grameenbank.org/what-is-microcredit/">Grameen</a> microfinance model based on self-savings, advances and family business plans. What we did find with ethnic minorities as we
did with other groups is that they were ready and keener to conduct advocacy
activities as soon as possible, much earlier than new enterprises. Even today they are losing their traditional lands and
access to forestries. Their newly-acquired advocacy skills and collective
community-activism does help them in their <a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1438128647949504516?s=20&t=xMe0rTveLgPttqjmAwynRw">fight
against such exploitation</a>.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: 31.5pt; margin-right: 40.5pt; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 40.5pt 10pt 31.5pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: georgia;"><b><i>7.
Final Takeaway – Connected to being prepared to be surprised - allow
your new groups to decide on their priorities, that may not be the same as
yours or donors. Both poor indigenous
and disabled groups wanted to proceed with "Advocacy" before they
could be ready for their new livelihood activities. They said:</i></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 40.5pt 10pt 31.5pt; text-align: center;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: georgia;"><b><i> </i></b></span><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: trebuchet;"><b><i>"We're
used to being hungry. We can live with that but this new advocacy gives us a
chance to do something for ourselves now!"</i></b></span></span></span></p></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: georgia;">Salutary Warning for International NGOs and Donors.</span><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: trebuchet;"> </span></i></b></span></p><p><span style="text-align: justify;">Community-organising is often but not always initiated and facilitated by NGOs and donors. In fact the opposite is also true in Cambodia where at the turn of the new millennium and after almost two decades of expensive international assistance, people started to question its impact. Political expression then and now has always been dangerous, and therefore back in the 1990s, ordinary Cambodians on the whole being cautious left it to their international friends to articulate and advocate for them. Cambodia was dependent on Foreign Aid and therefore donors and major INGOs had some influence. Things were about to change.</span></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-vejN5gE0e5Yfy6YchsbvQSVTozDMdluIgyZIRCeOpye7o-bsuccLaMaZ4dmtJ0y_YdkgPRHgMTfZxwPd9FnYWdQyjtNrHiIQi1sH2xrHASNXTcBkDI-hE8cBJlTKxyZi4IXtI44wokuXy3mWPrSe1FwkE-leK53izPnUURZL-w1flquqr4t7BCoG/s690/Impotence.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="626" data-original-width="690" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-vejN5gE0e5Yfy6YchsbvQSVTozDMdluIgyZIRCeOpye7o-bsuccLaMaZ4dmtJ0y_YdkgPRHgMTfZxwPd9FnYWdQyjtNrHiIQi1sH2xrHASNXTcBkDI-hE8cBJlTKxyZi4IXtI44wokuXy3mWPrSe1FwkE-leK53izPnUURZL-w1flquqr4t7BCoG/s320/Impotence.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1520238280960217089?s=20&t=F-eeV4tQZwmbrluBgMEPug"><b><i>Click for tweet and clearer image</i></b></a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="text-align: justify;">The problem was that influence waned the more the ruling party consolidated its hold on power and accumulated wealth. I do not need to explain this here. With that power and status, the government became more indifferent to those outside influences. This was most vividly illustrated when in 2011 it abandoned regular donor consultative committees to review progress on reforms. Strangely donors continued to give and even to give in larger quantities.<br /></span><p></p><p><span style="text-align: justify;">Most of that Foreign Aid was not finding its way down to poor communities. For many of them life was getting harder not better in this post-conflict development phase. Many lost land as numerous economic land concessions were given out to interests connected with the ruling party.</span></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv7rBxlKGEQ9kxdsjzZ_mhgQRjeYfllFN8QNgNgqJ4xT4PKJuKxpEJmzUluD1Vu3d8lfb53FJLBNX4eT-n807B5q6nEdieDSOfnRtGixvw8Xz7cbXiVne3eHKzuAj8BAA5iKHdyGYLeTLJZE7nr-cSuTJAWmo_6lu_2NP97dZpMGszvcrfu9VFQ0C1/s680/deforestation.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="519" data-original-width="680" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv7rBxlKGEQ9kxdsjzZ_mhgQRjeYfllFN8QNgNgqJ4xT4PKJuKxpEJmzUluD1Vu3d8lfb53FJLBNX4eT-n807B5q6nEdieDSOfnRtGixvw8Xz7cbXiVne3eHKzuAj8BAA5iKHdyGYLeTLJZE7nr-cSuTJAWmo_6lu_2NP97dZpMGszvcrfu9VFQ0C1/s320/deforestation.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #20124d;"><i><b><a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1422100061094400000?s=20&t=_lTgVaROsn3iGIcCtoTDGA">Click for tweet and clearer image</a></b></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="text-align: justify;">Nowhere was this more apparent than in communities that relied on natural resources, especially forestries that were being logged at an astonishing rate. While the official forestry monitor, Global Witness, reported the facts until it was thrown out of Cambodia in 2005, the other major conservation NGOs on the whole remained silent. Not many know this fact that I keep posting on Twitter.</span></p><p><span style="text-align: justify;">Communities, some led by monks, and individuals like Chut Vutty, took to direct action and advocacy. It cost him his life. I tell his story <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2016/07/careless-talk-costs-lives.html"><b>here</b></a>.</span></p><p><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="text-align: justify;">Similarly women displaced by the filling-in of a Phnom Penh lake adopted their own direct action frustrated in the same way by official intransigence and seeming </span>impotence of the international community from major UN and international agencies to Ambassadors and NGOs. These women certainly brought their cause to hitherto unknown outside reach, and creativity, even to having the World Bank's Inspection Panel <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2018/09/mfi-micro-credit-can-increase-poverty.html"><b>finding in their favour</b></a>. ( Scroll down to Section 5)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This direct community-organising and activism has had some success, more than would otherwise have been achieved but people have paid and are still paying an expensive price for it in blood, sweat, tears, and money.</p><p><b style="color: #660000; font-family: georgia; text-align: justify;"><i>Conclusion</i></b></p><p><span style="text-align: justify;">I hope that this article gives you more
insight in to just how effective and successful community-organising can be. For
more information, please visit my website and blog as per the links given.</span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">John Lowrie</p></div></blockquote><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Declaration of Interest - I have been a Member
of LICADHO’s Board of Directors since 2005.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Update 28 June 2022</b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq6OUCPbudNO__dW9Oa3lczXB6CYsNnzFXaR34Ao2xPQAxYDQhIpYVLVNowe9Jzvi27ISQo8tRmwo0StHsYCefykAzm2EQN5ZN7uybEFOrLFJQLmG53CWOry0UPA287f2HU6dwCH_7tDIpuKurUCyarQzKt37w0gBxzh17NBUx4OEuvNWjxwqOiPzW/s1342/image_2022-06-29_074742588.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="585" data-original-width="1342" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq6OUCPbudNO__dW9Oa3lczXB6CYsNnzFXaR34Ao2xPQAxYDQhIpYVLVNowe9Jzvi27ISQo8tRmwo0StHsYCefykAzm2EQN5ZN7uybEFOrLFJQLmG53CWOry0UPA287f2HU6dwCH_7tDIpuKurUCyarQzKt37w0gBxzh17NBUx4OEuvNWjxwqOiPzW/w548-h238/image_2022-06-29_074742588.png" width="548" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieSW88hRqfw6oi3NHhfu4ZAZmjFMOGk4CPOuLKMip4rSNH76D51T4mwVPEnQNm98tIA4xZ2AAdd42SpWTrPiGRgVoSMShcT5yp8cW-9JAw23Lw_gjrNFuUylUlsD7lcWeKNKqfXM3BzmwI9WwdXE8yEHlRYL4uK0Ko86IanxPRL3yzXXHe-O4pk8qT/s216/image_2022-07-02_110932161.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="216" data-original-width="165" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieSW88hRqfw6oi3NHhfu4ZAZmjFMOGk4CPOuLKMip4rSNH76D51T4mwVPEnQNm98tIA4xZ2AAdd42SpWTrPiGRgVoSMShcT5yp8cW-9JAw23Lw_gjrNFuUylUlsD7lcWeKNKqfXM3BzmwI9WwdXE8yEHlRYL4uK0Ko86IanxPRL3yzXXHe-O4pk8qT/w164-h214/image_2022-07-02_110932161.png" width="164" /></a></div><br />While looking through the Cambodia Film Festival brochure, to see if any indigenous people's films feature, I was pleasantly surprised to see the film on our old friend and community facilitator Sun Rotana. I recruited him and 7 others for our project in Kampong Chhnang in 2003 and he proved to be the most skilled at forming self-help groups. This was so much so that I engaged him in later projects in NW Cambodia with Ockenden and in Mondulkiri with Nomad RSI where he was particularly good with Bunong indigenous communities. He's a person of many talents and certainly a colourful character, an unsung hero. Good to see him featuring in a film.</div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px;"><b><i>Rotana as sent to us 2 July 2022</i></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p></div>ANorthumbrianAbroadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548140943705427113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5208414707355071730.post-43967968481372580872022-03-03T18:07:00.014-08:002022-03-18T18:21:02.435-07:00<p><b>When sparks fly</b> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4eo9CgPkIGB_b0cRt_9HBko4c6CV3niN5IWuoWvR3VmgJnjP1NlfR03XDiBNeSiVGw8ggF6ZwhMwp2GUrlejTMAVNlFt4I_6yxtE9tI6ZW6LeufbUzQPNJJBsT_kD3FcUsKZ5FeiZ-x6Rz2pucexAo0IMN--77Ix_8kk9EMv7yptD30zdkHH411sb=s1047" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="995" data-original-width="1047" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4eo9CgPkIGB_b0cRt_9HBko4c6CV3niN5IWuoWvR3VmgJnjP1NlfR03XDiBNeSiVGw8ggF6ZwhMwp2GUrlejTMAVNlFt4I_6yxtE9tI6ZW6LeufbUzQPNJJBsT_kD3FcUsKZ5FeiZ-x6Rz2pucexAo0IMN--77Ix_8kk9EMv7yptD30zdkHH411sb=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p><span style="text-align: justify;">Last month Cambodia's irrepressible young people </span><a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1491936116118859780?s=20&t=U2TjjtfsnQie8jMj9h40xA" style="text-align: justify;">discussed </a><span style="text-align: justify;">consumer rights in the country. It seems there are efforts underway to begin to correct a persistent wrong over many years, one that I actually spoke about back in 2005 </span><a href="https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/4acb66fc/files/uploaded/London%20Presentation%20Nov%202005.pdf" style="text-align: justify;">"Doing Business in Cambodia.</a><span style="text-align: justify;">"</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Well, after an altercation this week with Cambodia's monopoly <a href="https://www.edc.com.kh">Electricity Company</a> (EdC) - that proclaims "high quality" and "best productive services" - you can see how much not only the legislative and regulatory frameworks must change but also the basic culture.</p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEghhd_G5QHcelxj3-0r0idlxySBoJAwVKR2bZw-5yyplIj3lvR2D9QmWTBj204IN-wXgig9z0VesqdiefX8JiK6CWC2VIuxBcGESBXd7q2_L6SMQqhfJG8uU5ydLs0scUJVVDB28kWU6yBAJxU7dThJYJCN_2dmnyOwGDPRUqSid0KNCsDxdr6NOT4q=s1265" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="466" data-original-width="1265" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEghhd_G5QHcelxj3-0r0idlxySBoJAwVKR2bZw-5yyplIj3lvR2D9QmWTBj204IN-wXgig9z0VesqdiefX8JiK6CWC2VIuxBcGESBXd7q2_L6SMQqhfJG8uU5ydLs0scUJVVDB28kWU6yBAJxU7dThJYJCN_2dmnyOwGDPRUqSid0KNCsDxdr6NOT4q=w575-h212" width="575" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">EdC cut off our electricity supply. No warning, not even from their technician. He visited to see that we would indeed be inconvenienced by his efforts. I saw him pacing up and down outside, looking over the wall, but he walked away when I approached him. Then the supply went off. However, it was only later in the day that we realised it was not one of the daily planned outages.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Apparently although I'd gone to the bank to pay the bill in the same way as I've done for years, something had gone wrong. EdC didn't/don't bother to investigate. This was the Company's terse reply to me:</p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif, EmojiFont, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", NotoColorEmoji, "Segoe UI Symbol", "Android Emoji", EmojiSymbols; font-size: 16px;"></p><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #274e13;">"We would like to inform the customer that if the consumer fails to pay any electricity invoices within the due date, EDC shall be at liberty to suspend the electricity supply temporarily. If there were to</span></i></div><span style="color: #274e13; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i>be the mentioned case, the consumer should fully pay the outstanding charges and re connection fee in order to resume the electricity supply. Should there be any questions and more details, please contact EDC’s call center via 1298."</i></div></span><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Now Cambodia has been through a torrid time with Covid19. Although it has been spared the worst in terms of deaths and severe illness, the economic fallout has been vast, with the nation's poorest families suffering most.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">EdC has not adopted a shred of compassion, as you see. It has not followed the example of its peers around the world who have made concessions and contingency plans for their struggling customers due to both Covid19 and the hike in charges as the cost of world fuels has risen. See <a href="https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/energy-companies/article/energy-company-reviews/octopus-energy-aESDM2a8ISWP">for example</a> how one UK company treats its customers, as independently reviewed and by its customers. Of course it helps that in the UK not only do companies face competition but there is also a <a href="https://www.ofgem.gov.uk">regulator</a>, as well as a vibrant Civil Society with organisation like <a href="https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk">Citizens Advice</a>.</span></div><div><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh4dKk8urmmiL4YPDhZRmD2xG_lFRMbY6rcuUiqcgXQyir0riEG3omsVxIeI8EWIipa2jchhDqFZ6DPKqHG__OcNHP_MubatyuT2uhTyaTi1hDM2HEVs3Cy-Q24KJJA_0eKt2etET559eRHWiJl6QXTUCJAkgPuBPD45X5H9HwgyDWVfZRnLPeloy-i=s872" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="151" data-original-width="872" height="94" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh4dKk8urmmiL4YPDhZRmD2xG_lFRMbY6rcuUiqcgXQyir0riEG3omsVxIeI8EWIipa2jchhDqFZ6DPKqHG__OcNHP_MubatyuT2uhTyaTi1hDM2HEVs3Cy-Q24KJJA_0eKt2etET559eRHWiJl6QXTUCJAkgPuBPD45X5H9HwgyDWVfZRnLPeloy-i=w547-h94" width="547" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Although we're not struggling to pay our bills - the record shows we always pay in full before time - we could have been, as no doubt are up to millions of families in Cambodia.</div></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">EdC doesn't care. It just wants its money.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">I gather that what happened in our case is that the wrong sum of money went from the bank to EdC. I could have made a mistake at the ATM, or there could be an error on the way. </span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Either way it is an error, not an outright failure to pay the bill. EdC made no effort on seeing the incorrect payment to contact us. They don't have to. Even worse - they don"t think they should have to.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Even if it may not be the customer's fault, their only policy and action, is to cut the supply without warning.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">They do not care about the health and safety implications. We lost a fridge full of food. I also manged to fall and injure my foot in the dark.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">So now I am advocating for EdC to change its policies, hopefully voluntarily, but if not to be forced to have to do so. It cannot be allowed to continue to treat its customers with such disdain.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Anecdote</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">This is not the first time I have argued with EdC. I got nowhere with them last time. Readers outside Cambodia might be surprised to learn that EdC locates the customer's meters where it is convenient to them, not within or even near the customer's property. Ours is about 700 meters from our house on a street corner.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">"A few years ago you allowed our supply to be illegally joined and we</span></i></b></div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><b><i><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">paid for that for years literally. It was only when we were away for</span></i></b></div><i><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><b><i><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">over a month with electricity switched off that we could prove the</span></i></b></div><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-weight: bold;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: transparent;"><i>tampering. Your company repeatedly rejected my requests to look in to</i></b></div></span><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-weight: bold;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: transparent;"><i>why our bills were so high. Again you took no responsibility. Having</i></b></div></span><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-weight: bold;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: transparent;"><i>meters far from people's houses is conducive to such criminality."</i></b></div></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><b>Update 17 March 2022</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Paid our bill at the office, not taking the chance of something going awry via the bank. Plus we pointed out the error of trying to charge us twice.<b> </b>Response of EdC cashier:<b> </b><i><b><span style="color: #660000;">"Your fault you paid late last time!"</span></b></i></div><div><i><b><span style="color: #660000;"><br /></span></b></i></div><div>No reply from EdC HQ.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Update 9 March 2022</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>We've received our new electricity bill and guess what? The company that does not accept mistakes can happen, including ones not necessarily the customer's fault, has made a mistake. They re trying to charge us twice, i.e. pay again, for the last bill. No doubt they will blame the system that generates their bills, but if they can be so quick to send a technician to cut off and restore electric (after payment of requisite fee of course) then it seems odd that they don't ensure their bill are accurate.</div><div><br /></div><div>Cambodia-watchers will not be surprised to learn that my wife and her friends would simply have paid the full bill, not realising the the double-charge. They agree though that it is highly unlikely EdC would have voluntarily owned-up and not simply taken all the money.</div><div><br /></div><div>EdC has not replied to my last email or this blog.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg6CSIKyM8T3w3tkzoEFEWjESK3Qd8Q4nH2op8f3GX4hx-vzUDrhaKI9WZjJeMsJPLRBqZ04QKPKYnOnPccrIQlvSuxPiUbRH-vuUu-ER_h5mLSJOT9k8cLLo7VEUXca-5052bXH0sHw-dhsXtUrRQGUgiXcAxHKPFYly2JD3u85nyHzzZXFdndvtvQ=s2710" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2710" data-original-width="2000" height="624" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg6CSIKyM8T3w3tkzoEFEWjESK3Qd8Q4nH2op8f3GX4hx-vzUDrhaKI9WZjJeMsJPLRBqZ04QKPKYnOnPccrIQlvSuxPiUbRH-vuUu-ER_h5mLSJOT9k8cLLo7VEUXca-5052bXH0sHw-dhsXtUrRQGUgiXcAxHKPFYly2JD3u85nyHzzZXFdndvtvQ=w460-h624" width="460" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgokB9HbImrPWE4C14ut_J0IXNphyTEFachQaKujNSrNLGSaoBBAMJMzpkuJ8OAJFYq2n8QKsoXZ2LQrz8eaNnMs2n8CrJaj8mkff7w9hWqivKBqp2oDoS1kgV49l6jFDwqRFnwgBKX-9A6VqaeQx0IoXO8vQGWIJ-yUhE3Dz6UCY8Z3HxUd_wonnNn=s2509" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2509" data-original-width="2173" height="530" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgokB9HbImrPWE4C14ut_J0IXNphyTEFachQaKujNSrNLGSaoBBAMJMzpkuJ8OAJFYq2n8QKsoXZ2LQrz8eaNnMs2n8CrJaj8mkff7w9hWqivKBqp2oDoS1kgV49l6jFDwqRFnwgBKX-9A6VqaeQx0IoXO8vQGWIJ-yUhE3Dz6UCY8Z3HxUd_wonnNn=w459-h530" width="459" /></a></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><div><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>ANorthumbrianAbroadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548140943705427113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5208414707355071730.post-34464939679770238982021-04-13T06:56:00.202-07:002023-08-11T19:50:47.815-07:00Exasperating donors<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFXnQMBASVz6_HZJAJjQyJu1bsAHyMFvSE7YNQcg-2510kygEPK92B3mx_tncoR93yLmJqJ-0Yb9j3JIjKocV4DgLDjEBJmYOifUnS0hTxaYIN1c6CwbTnhteH9GpeMOJHv4sbjxPJ8Z8/s617/image_2021-04-14_085922.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="617" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFXnQMBASVz6_HZJAJjQyJu1bsAHyMFvSE7YNQcg-2510kygEPK92B3mx_tncoR93yLmJqJ-0Yb9j3JIjKocV4DgLDjEBJmYOifUnS0hTxaYIN1c6CwbTnhteH9GpeMOJHv4sbjxPJ8Z8/s320/image_2021-04-14_085922.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">We can all be exasperated or exasperating. Whistle-blowers of course encounter both.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I
finished my overseas development career exactly as I started it – exasperated, out-of-step with some Foreign Aid donors, exasperating them in the
process, and paying a not inconsiderable price for my sins. Mostly I
express exasperation when I see failures impact on intended
beneficiaries who end up disadvantaged by donor actions or inactions - contrary to original aims and sometimes claims otherwise. One of these is of course the failure to<a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-unlikely-foreign-aid-worker.html"> "localise"</a> i.e. hand over to people in developing countries who are perfectly capable in most cases.</p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Here I talk about a few of my various exasperations.</p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>Can't see the wood for the trees</b></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: justify;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivm9hwikaKKk7E-R-NmP8Tw8BGWEFfcwljJXi53gwE1F4-Ly_t2O_HCoCR8jiR_FXCdlmujHj6s0L_EFV6bLIhdE_aH6k6dfQM9wFdrl4NcW6RqdmXVagoWBs-5YHiPE0GER_Qm_OfWYo/s1234/Tweet.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="893" data-original-width="1234" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivm9hwikaKKk7E-R-NmP8Tw8BGWEFfcwljJXi53gwE1F4-Ly_t2O_HCoCR8jiR_FXCdlmujHj6s0L_EFV6bLIhdE_aH6k6dfQM9wFdrl4NcW6RqdmXVagoWBs-5YHiPE0GER_Qm_OfWYo/w329-h302/Tweet.jpg" width="329" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h4><i><span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-small;">Extracts from a long series of Tweets</span></i></h4></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I must confess my experience with one donor in particular – USAID
– crops up with remarkable regularity, not just for me but many
others. Right now my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/PreyLang/">Prey
Lang Network</a> friends are very exasperated by USAID and its
contractors.* Local people have formed a community activist group
trying to save their forest. <span style="color: #330033;">[Note 1 below] The</span> US Ambassador leads <a href="https://www.tetratech.com/en/projects/usaid-greening-prey-lang-cambodia">claims</a> to be on their side, boasting of USAID accomplishments. In practice the US is supporting authorities hostile to the
community's interests. Authorities are complicit in land deals and wanton
exploitation of natural resources, as verified not just by the Prey Lang group
but by reputable international researchers and satellite evidence.
Prey Lang Network has asked for corrections in <a href="https://cambodianess.com/article/failing-conservation-efforts-in-prey-lang-once-again-focus-of-scrutiny">an
open letter</a>. I have been blunt and open in my support for the
community much earlier than them and since, one of my projects having been
directly affected, explained below. [2] </div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="color: #351c75;">* Please see important update below. Success: USAID has come to its senses!</span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>From little things big things grow</b></div></span><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzJB_hlaB2sxfDb8gEkYIHKHWwnRxVk5IZAma1Nh72L8GmKM7TMoUU3BHH24z3rP1azUkjVOuOVeyJ7k8Y74mNgiKr72Li5gkpqjWm41voXNoYDn9dmq951oBMMeVUlHmYdKaasSyf_uk/s400/image_2021-04-26_095942.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="345" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzJB_hlaB2sxfDb8gEkYIHKHWwnRxVk5IZAma1Nh72L8GmKM7TMoUU3BHH24z3rP1azUkjVOuOVeyJ7k8Y74mNgiKr72Li5gkpqjWm41voXNoYDn9dmq951oBMMeVUlHmYdKaasSyf_uk/w173-h201/image_2021-04-26_095942.png" width="173" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My first
exasperation with Foreign Aid donors was of course on St Helena in
the 1980s with the UK's Foreign Office and its then development
organisation the ODA. One appeared not to know what the other was doing. The Saint Helena Government and FCO/ODA officials resented me pointing
it out although I did get some vindication years later. [3] ODA on
the one hand wanted to develop the island's self-sufficiency and save
on imports by establishing a dairy herd of cows and brand new state-of-art milking unit. Meanwhile
the FCO supported a double-subsidy of imported canned milk that was
cheaper than the new fresh milk, so ODA's expensive investment its
<a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/1987/11/alnwickdote-no-15-no-good-crying-over.html">dairy enterprise</a> failed.</div><p></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><br /></b></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>Fishy tale</b></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfoVnbLA79LihprmiMIRYGuchcC2y5GICJ72ac3jMmQB3U9apIVtaeuu_sQGxxD0bgpOmJPNvzC1Gvp-Xcke2MplWBm4vDphar5gx-atImYiyPq7vDn6DvbP3AVSQ7jzcoiyzaDipJdyI/s400/image_2021-04-28_103437.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="311" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfoVnbLA79LihprmiMIRYGuchcC2y5GICJ72ac3jMmQB3U9apIVtaeuu_sQGxxD0bgpOmJPNvzC1Gvp-Xcke2MplWBm4vDphar5gx-atImYiyPq7vDn6DvbP3AVSQ7jzcoiyzaDipJdyI/w151-h194/image_2021-04-28_103437.png" width="151" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h4><span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-small;"><i><a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2014/11/cutting-head-to-fit-hat.html">USAID's Wooden Willies</a></i></span></h4></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;">My second
exasperation was in <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2014/11/cutting-head-to-fit-hat.html">Malawi</a> with the World Bank who had funded a major
community development project intended to complement and benefit
my older one that was funded by the ODA. The bank's vastly bigger project was intended to assist
womenfolk around Lake Malawi, a scaled-up version of our project, to diversify incomes
and away from dependence on dwindling fish stocks. The <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2016/02/foreign-aid-is-it-just-illusion.html">outcome</a>
can be summarised perfectly. Not one measurable benefit accrued to
any women's groups. By contrast an entire fleet of Mitsubishi Pajero
SUVs issued to District Fishery Officers, all male, had been bought, distributed and disappeared. It was my first of many "bilateral aid" projects, i.e. between a major donor and host government<span style="text-align: left;">, to show the futility of donors relying solely on government officials.</span></div><p></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b style="text-align: left;">Do as I say not as I do</b></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfW1fO2KPemOKJTGSWWmE1eONh-PZDjRySS92wSFYVOCdiJ61Xb2tRvufSlUpXMm8F7K3owoJdawtjkKkGVh9fKz_kHMx37cwyggsSrJHfaDc8fXewKQ9STVTBYvS_vCW8NABqVUtHwKQ/s660/Sacrava.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="529" data-original-width="660" height="389" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfW1fO2KPemOKJTGSWWmE1eONh-PZDjRySS92wSFYVOCdiJ61Xb2tRvufSlUpXMm8F7K3owoJdawtjkKkGVh9fKz_kHMx37cwyggsSrJHfaDc8fXewKQ9STVTBYvS_vCW8NABqVUtHwKQ/w486-h389/Sacrava.jpg" width="486" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">My biggest exasperation to this day stems from 1998
to 2001. I was paid with USAID funds, to be the senior adviser to the Cambodian Institute of Human Rights (CIHR). I
must therefore record my appreciation of that. However as narrated
</span><a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2013/08/alnwickdote-no-9-he-died-with-smile-on.html" style="text-align: left;">in
this blog</a><span style="text-align: left;">, the job came to an abrupt premature end when I was confronted with what
Human Rights Defenders in Cambodia to this day still face: threats to
their lives and those of their loved-ones for just doing their job. The difference in my case then from my human rights friends today is the threat to me, and to another expatriate colleague, was
not from hostile authorities but from within our Human Rights NGO.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><span style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2013/08/alnwickdote-no-9-he-died-with-smile-on.html"><span style="color: #cc0066;"><i><b>“It
only costs $80 to have someone killed!”</b></i></span></a><span> </span></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Our Human Rights NGO
was worth saving but not at the cost of lives. I walked. My friend was pushed.</span></div>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">In theory
USAID along with all CIHR's donors was fully supportive of his and my efforts to restore the NGO and its reputation after dramatic
C<span style="text-align: left;">hristmas-time revelations of long-time systematic fraud. Corruption like the
threats to us contradicted this Human Rights NGO's raison<span style="font-family: inherit;"> d'</span></span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">être,</span></span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span><span style="text-align: left;">its professed universal principles and specific advocacy campaigns. However it had
become abundantly clear to both of us that other factors,
unstated, weighed far more heavily on the minds of our American friends, as played out
in their real actions. </span><span style="text-align: left;"> Little did I realise that whatever we had done to upset them would be held against me for years. Now to be clear I was never the
whistle-blower. [4] I was accused of it but it was not me. What I do
admit to is that I would not agree to cover up or play down the
severity of the crimes. I just wanted to put things right. The
threats ended that and to be frank too many of the same things are still not right to this day.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWcd3HecqSpkOqs1Lhm37lT6AR1GH786N3_eQR-b8IbxTE3kMyq4LeYWKTBojSbVZBGevgbHGW7mTedCOEGzvuDJp0qACeM28yLLcksVDpQw-Wanf-UNIMkr7uekcQ86t0ugPCFkZ2co4/s572/USAID.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="367" data-original-width="572" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWcd3HecqSpkOqs1Lhm37lT6AR1GH786N3_eQR-b8IbxTE3kMyq4LeYWKTBojSbVZBGevgbHGW7mTedCOEGzvuDJp0qACeM28yLLcksVDpQw-Wanf-UNIMkr7uekcQ86t0ugPCFkZ2co4/w287-h195/USAID.jpg" width="287" /></a></div><span style="text-align: left;">Now USAID
was the donor but its program was managed by the Asia Foundation. The US Embassy, successive US Ambassadors and USAID Country
Mission Directors were all personally involved directly in our activities. Later
in life I look back on how monumental these personal experiences were. For instance I met </span><a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2014/09/alnwickdote-no-12-honorary-girl-guide.html" style="text-align: left;">King
Sihanouk</a><span style="text-align: left;">. I also</span><span style="text-align: left;"> had a long personal talk with US Senator <a href="https://borgenproject.org/mccain-protect-cambodians-human-rights/">John McCain</a>
who took a very close interest in Cambodia. I found him to be very
knowledgeable and principled, hence a personal affinity when he stood
for US President.</span></div><p></p><p>Principled
is not a word I would use to describe the Asia Foundation.</p><p>Corrupt is how I'd describe the advice given to me by the Head of EU Delegation: <b><i><span style="color: #20124d;"><a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2014/09/alnwickdote-no-8-island-of-propriety-in.html#more">"Why be an Island of Propriety in a Sea of Corruption?" </a></span></i></b></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p></blockquote><p></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>Settling old scores (1)?</b></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The Asia
Foundation's first act after I had to leave the NGO was to insist
that I hand over the passwords to my computer, as it was paid for by them. They sided with the people at CIHR who wanted to read my exchanges with donors and journalists. At first I refused. Now there
is one Northern English attribute I've always followed – you should be
prepared to say things to people to their face not just behind their back.
So I was not concerned by what I had said but was concerned about what others had said to me and
in confidence. After contacting as many of them as I could to warn them, I had
to relent or risk more threats and penalties, one of which was imposed anyway.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtjmZdVAdwCxdQoUSPxXmXKnv1oHZv1djadqC4Iw0lilOn-dTzoro5DAiSdeTgkyl6FAjaWLsAW8t5EU3DPeNoeDYppEUDXYlCE9TR9F8qYBa16X0K-m6fIw_yyGV2TZ-IQZnYO2xokyk/s971/image_2021-04-28_103911.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="971" data-original-width="668" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtjmZdVAdwCxdQoUSPxXmXKnv1oHZv1djadqC4Iw0lilOn-dTzoro5DAiSdeTgkyl6FAjaWLsAW8t5EU3DPeNoeDYppEUDXYlCE9TR9F8qYBa16X0K-m6fIw_yyGV2TZ-IQZnYO2xokyk/w170-h196/image_2021-04-28_103911.png" width="170" /></a></div>That penalty was the Asia
Foundation's second act. They refused to pay me the severance pay due
at the end of my contract of continuous service of 4 full years. [5] The
argument the Asia Foundation put was that the NGO was my employer,
not them, and therefore I must pursue my claim with them – i.e. the
same hostile forces who drove us out. It was a vacuous argument. They knew it as they paid for and dictated terms of all senior
appointments. I was out-of-a-job and no income. Ironically some of
those same hostile sources who admitted freely to the external auditor as being
involved in the fraud did actually receive their severance pay when the NGO inevitably folded, thanks to the
generosity of the US taxpayer. Such treatment brought one <a href="https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/guilty-association-inaction-donors-and-ngos">public rebuke</a> from a sympathetic colleague that I value and appreciate to
this day.<p></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="text-align: left;">Fortunately
my standing with other donors and human rights NGOs was such that I
was offered work with short consultancy contracts. One NGO was
immediately approached by Asia Foundation and told not to employ me - its third act towards me. I also
value and appreciate to this day that NGO's reaction. It refused point-blank
to accept such interference. It is very rare for local NGOs to stand up to big donors. Money tends to talk and does all the talking.</span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>The game of petty spirits</b></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">A few
weeks later along came the Asia Foundation's third act against me. I had joined the <a href="https://www.ccc-cambodia.org/en/ngodb/ngo-information/229#:~:text=Cambodian%20Defenders%20Project%20is%20one,with%20some%20expatriate%20technical%20advisors.">Cambodia Defenders Project</a>, a legal aid NGO,
created by US lawyers but localised. I have good reasons for
mentioning it by name because it denotes what can go wrong in even
the best established of NGOs in Foreign Aid. Its founders, the International Human Rights Group, had done a good job of establishing it. My main task, as ever, was
to help with fund-raising and fortunately I was successful for them.
They wanted to give me a longer contract but needed to use funds it
had available from its USAID budget. The Asia
Foundation refused to approve its use for my appointment.</p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTzgbKjjvhRwZ-awEfwj4NxY5BHEE-uE1VhdAiZw3ixo_GkREi7rci1fuu6IIX_v-9n3tIKX-EQ2oNVicaM1FrsEnRFaUVxrJ0_QeRuMtk0QNrG0-GNAscRC2s6Fvtq_RPOtAJcbrwMcA/s883/Winner.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="635" data-original-width="883" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTzgbKjjvhRwZ-awEfwj4NxY5BHEE-uE1VhdAiZw3ixo_GkREi7rci1fuu6IIX_v-9n3tIKX-EQ2oNVicaM1FrsEnRFaUVxrJ0_QeRuMtk0QNrG0-GNAscRC2s6Fvtq_RPOtAJcbrwMcA/w248-h178/Winner.jpg" width="248" /></a></div><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"></blockquote><p></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I wonder
to this day how dearly Asia Foundation's decision cost. [6] CDP lost a major award because of my absence. More pertinently with my professional skills in personnel management, today called human resources, I doubt if it would have made the mistake of employing an escaped <a href="https://english.cambodiadaily.com/news/ngo-adviser-quits-after-conviction-revealed-24619/">alleged paedophile</a> on-the-run.</p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="text-align: left;">I vowed
never to work with or for the Asia Foundation again. There's only one winner with them.</span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b style="text-align: left;">Pastures new, same old issues</b></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Soon after I was asked to take on a new project with poor disabled people in Kampong Chhnang Cambodia. It was also to prove to be a highly successful project that also raised profound issues of ethics, governance, donor conduct and regulatory responsibility. This must be read as a <a href="https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/4acb66fc/files/uploaded/New%20Horizons%20Society%20-%20Summary%20of%20complaint%20to%20UK%20authorities%20including%20Public%20Accounts%20Committee.pdf">separate issue in its own right</a>.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6bwZwKbONQgJnaobyUv4WQa6XDY0m_rjSKrR51_wUXpdBSVZ6HYhaLtgLQlKxQGbWGMRDCTPNvXAX17Xwhaz7kXgVlt-A-Oq72jdqelCJqoCWADfQNtnKbmUSTbPuqHUxdwbNSiL6Mh8/s640/image_2021-04-28_110619.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="580" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6bwZwKbONQgJnaobyUv4WQa6XDY0m_rjSKrR51_wUXpdBSVZ6HYhaLtgLQlKxQGbWGMRDCTPNvXAX17Xwhaz7kXgVlt-A-Oq72jdqelCJqoCWADfQNtnKbmUSTbPuqHUxdwbNSiL6Mh8/w162-h192/image_2021-04-28_110619.png" width="162" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h4><b><i><span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2018/07/children-know-best.html#more">Children know best!</a></span></i></b></h4></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">Here I wish to add an Australian dimension, another important donor in Cambodia, one of the recipients too of the Christmas revelation letter and victim of the fraud. It was the first of several issues over the years I encountered with the Australian Embassy and the then official Foreign Aid organisation AUSAID. One was when I reported one of its Cambodian staff soliciting a bribe. There was another where a third party interfered in one of our funding applications, supposed to be a scrupulous process, to harm our chances. The third, however, was the most peculiar. I ended up declared persona non-grata for whistle-blowing a conflict of interests. As with USAID I was cast forever as not a <a href="https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/4acb66fc/files/uploaded/Sustainability%20is%20the%20Name%20of%20the%20Game.pdf">good player in the game</a>. (7)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: #cccc99; color: #333333;"><i><b>"One time I most certainly did blow the whistle, but it was not well-received by either the donor commissioning the report or the "culprit". I had received a copy of an "independent" evaluation of 10 NGOs. However the author was the founder of one of the 10 NGOs and still on its Board. This little fact was not declared although he singled out his NGO for praise no less than three times in his executive summary."</b></i></span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkdoH-GoNnQ24DxOUYBAF5nOvG6941iMNqveEsZgxRkhSmhVPmur5ai3hus36n02wOfBi0q5CSQxFxvbSObgKj36oAtJzJLOkRPOr9mGNynH_vJKc2CZW1SGc1Kn-iqdapk-Hlu3SHk5I/s1323/Sustainability.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="601" data-original-width="1323" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkdoH-GoNnQ24DxOUYBAF5nOvG6941iMNqveEsZgxRkhSmhVPmur5ai3hus36n02wOfBi0q5CSQxFxvbSObgKj36oAtJzJLOkRPOr9mGNynH_vJKc2CZW1SGc1Kn-iqdapk-Hlu3SHk5I/w528-h239/Sustainability.jpg" width="528" /></a></div><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;">Before I close on this chapter of my life, let me put down one marker to come back to later. <i>"The Club Owner </i><b><span style="color: #274e13;"><i>biker with a gun</i></span> </b><i>at Restaurant Srei Khieu" in Kampong Chhnang Town. </i>We'd met him at his club. Obvioulsy he'd upset someone, showing us the bullet-holes on his motor-bike.</span></span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b style="text-align: justify;">Settling old scores (2)?</b></span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="text-align: left;">Then in 2008
fate delivered its deadly hand to my vow never to work again with the Asia Foundation. I'd helped my localised NGO Ockenden to win two good grants from UK-DfID and DANIDA, the Danish Aid Agency).
We were the only winning local NGO as the rest of the awards went to INGOs the
“usual culprits” OXFAM, WCS, etc. </span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="text-align: left;">Unfortunately for me, DfID/DANIDA in their
wisdom contracted out the overall co-ordination of the programme
to..... the Asia Foundation.</span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFTzsaIvwbU4XZpHeJ96Tlv7B8OGb9zn415baX_Gv4mckhZi7a8iCxaqTQEiTQ9AUuLcT7wfts9K4PRLH3FAVZiyU7gqrHNRK3Hw3Od7BUhHQJkugKnS-VTWo9nR0i7whtpTLPHCzqpK0/s617/Bite.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="466" data-original-width="617" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFTzsaIvwbU4XZpHeJ96Tlv7B8OGb9zn415baX_Gv4mckhZi7a8iCxaqTQEiTQ9AUuLcT7wfts9K4PRLH3FAVZiyU7gqrHNRK3Hw3Od7BUhHQJkugKnS-VTWo9nR0i7whtpTLPHCzqpK0/s320/Bite.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-small;"><b><i>Asia Foundation's final bite of the bum</i></b></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">Coincidence
or not but what did the Asia Foundation do on renewing its well-remembered acquaintance with me? Yes, its fourth and final act to punish me. For our Kampong Speu project plan we had to seek and provide extra clarifications Those were reasonable and we expected
them, in fact all grantees had some to do. As with all such funding releases the process had been by open competitive tender. We had competed with Fauna and Flora
International and other NGOs in the bidding process and they understandably hadn't at that stage wanted to share their local knowledge and best information. However once they missed out, they were good to their word and shared
it with me. The clarifications were drafted but before we knew it
Asia Foundation arbitrarily cancelled the award and gave it in a closed-process to their hand-picked compatriot INGO “CRS”. We complained to them, DfID; DANIDA, and
to the Ambassadors. The UK Ambassador told me that unfortunately the wording in the management contract with Asia Foundation did allow them to do this. The only
way they could force a change would be by cancelling the entire
contract with them. As the programme was already running more than a
year late, DfID and DANIDA had decided "reluctantly" that they could not do that. Hard luck! One person at the Asia Foundation was delighted and made no secret of it. An old Khmer phrase proved true. (8)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">During this stint in my Foreign Aid career, I had two bizarre encounters. First what I at first thought was a chance encounter is I came across our <b><span style="color: #274e13;"><i>"Biker with a Gun"</i></span></b> friend at a restaurant in Sisophon, Banteay Meanchey. The bike was the same but not the attire. Any way our eyes met in mutual recognition but he quickly shuffled out.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It must have been all of two years later at a staff retreat in Sihanoukville where we had our third and I think final encounter, although I can't be sure. Although we were paying for spouses of Cambodian staff to stay at the hotel, one decided he'd prefer the more luxurious then new salubrious Sokha Hotel to our cheaper offering, so not with his wife. However they met for breakfast, by chance at the sane place where we also went. My employee called me over to meet her husband, by now a very respectable business-type man, but unmistakably him. Neither of us said a word. It was not hard to uncover who he was working for!</div><p></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>Full-circle, back to where we started.</b></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">My blog
here began with the sad fate that befell my first NGO in Cambodia 20 years ago back in 1998-2002. In 2011, I attained the age of 60, took my small
UK private pension, enabling me to work voluntarily or on small pay and expenses for French NGO Nomad RSI
which had limited funding. My main job was of course again to help
put that right and we did manage just about to raise enough funds to keep it going and eventually to localise it too. Every dollar, however, mattered.</p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="text-align: left;">It became quickly obvious to me and confirmed by external
audits that there were weaknesses in financial control and governance issues. The Board of Directors and Management demonstrated amenability to
correcting them and we made a lot of progress. One early finding
troubled me. The most senior Cambodian manager, and his
brother-in-law the Finance Director, were not only full-time Nomad
RSI employees but also serving government officials. This familial connection and dual
employment was common in Cambodia, sometimes secret, but more often
accepted and in some cases officially approved. I raised the
conflict of interests with the Board but as the members had worked
with the two from the outset of the NGO in Cambodia – and trusted them implicitly – they decided to give them the benefit of doubt and leave things be.</span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Further doubts
however kept cropping up in the course of my inspections, by
auditors, and by a volunteer consultant I had engaged to work on the financial management. One most compelling suspicion came to
light. </p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBpEVFOChJ4xQoAdeU-NZced1N6_oX9ls3SEkN6EUsrqM8DJmiXfZ0BoNLsuosejgDQUA5Iv2I5ZD3eL-hpkOXYUPQWqXa2R8Li1gWFZWGzV5sanIhtWwlLNUxS6DiqrGPvSCIhx_hZ8M/s1541/Extract.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="464" data-original-width="1541" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBpEVFOChJ4xQoAdeU-NZced1N6_oX9ls3SEkN6EUsrqM8DJmiXfZ0BoNLsuosejgDQUA5Iv2I5ZD3eL-hpkOXYUPQWqXa2R8Li1gWFZWGzV5sanIhtWwlLNUxS6DiqrGPvSCIhx_hZ8M/w618-h186/Extract.jpg" width="618" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-small;"><b>The devil is in the detail if he leaves an audit trail and someone makes a point of looking for it.</b></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="text-align: left;">Funds requisitioned for community group grants had been posted
to “per diems” the budget head for personal travel and meals allowances.
Was this simply a coding error or something more sinister? The only
way to get to the bottom of it was to arrange for a random external
audit, to invite the auditor to return who had highlighted control weaknesses
and also provided technical training. We had funds we had
saved in one donor budget. I asked the donor to approve their use for
the special audit. To my surprise the donor refused. [9] However my request had sown
the seed of doubt for that donor with good reason not to award
further funding.</span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM5i6WQVKciypAPDFXkBxV-ws02bnysMttBgD4plCnwnrn75zt4Rf3OG9NrSVDTobZnWFIV6UrUIH8XrBD3m9_BiugxMGDIBtJZ9QkCko6X1M8f7qwtAAdLPOXwQyN6R6HZLMogEAeMS0/s640/image_2021-04-28_112200.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="443" data-original-width="640" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM5i6WQVKciypAPDFXkBxV-ws02bnysMttBgD4plCnwnrn75zt4Rf3OG9NrSVDTobZnWFIV6UrUIH8XrBD3m9_BiugxMGDIBtJZ9QkCko6X1M8f7qwtAAdLPOXwQyN6R6HZLMogEAeMS0/w299-h222/image_2021-04-28_112200.png" width="299" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h4><span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-small;"><i><a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-trouble-with-aid-nates-exit.html#more">Community self-help group managing their money</a></i></span></h4></td></tr></tbody></table>Needless
to say our two senior colleagues insisted that it was a coding error
and the funds had been used for the community groups, an important
distinction from going to them and used by them. We had to leave it at that for now. Other suspicions
cropped up from time to time, not always money not accounted for but
in one case sitting as cash in the safe unspent. (That was contrary
to our rules.) <p></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="text-align: left;">Meanwhile
excellent work with our beneficiaries, poor indigenous people, was
pressing ahead. As with two of my previous INGOs, we were also able
to localise operations, with the network community groups established
as a local NGO with its own elected Board of Directors and Director. </span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="text-align: left;">The change of management soon revealed there was indeed serious financial misconduct.
Two senior staff had yet again drawn funds to go to community groups
but had pocketed the cash. One admitted his misconduct and paid
back. The other, his boss and the same alleged culprit as earlier, claimed that he had merely borrowed the money with the
permission of the community groups concerned. To this day, as far as
I know, he has not repaid at least US$ 3,700*. (We did compensate the
groups but the money could only come from one source, funds intended
to cover my expenses that I had not yet drawn.)</span></p><h3 style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="color: #333300;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">*An
earlier figure of US$4,600 was identified as missing in the financial
records.</span></b></i></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #333300;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>$3,700
was later reported to me by a member of the localised Board of
Directors. </b></i></div></span></span></h3><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Despite this setback, we managed to keep the nascent network of community groups going but they suffered one more "daft donors" shock. Now again I was not entirely surprised. I'd <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2014/09/alnwickdotes-no-4-19th-century.html#more">crossed paths</a> with this sub-contractor of USAID before when it retrospectively disallowed us from using "their' money to repair a gravity-fed water system to the village. In the end, the project that had been planned to last 3 years if not 5 years as intended had a clause in the contract activated to end it after the first year. USAID had decided to <a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1514162504066387969?s=20">re-prioritise</a> work from this area to Prey Lang that was becoming more of a "hot potato". (<a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1406198655023996935?s=20">That too did not end well for them</a>.) So just as these new self-help community groups were developing cohesion; ability to organise collective activities and readiness for new livelihoods, we lost the one and only source of their start-up capital.</p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><i>The Sting in the Tail</i></b></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">And finally.... My final executive as opposed to advisory responsibility for NGO work in Cambodia was with a US organisation in a purely voluntary capacity. The President asked me to help in view of the fact that their Cambodia Country Manager was unsupervised and unsupported in-country. Their Board Members were all in US and due to his illness he was unable to make regular visits. My grandiose job title was "Advisor and Auditor" and as requested I conducted checks on bills submitted - travel and accommodation costs and procurement of goods and services for clients as well as other irregularities in relation to official formalities. Indeed there was clear fraud. The findings were presented. The organisation decided to take no action as "<b><i><span style="color: #660000;">We've factored in his corruption when fixing his salary".</span></i></b></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><i>How do people sleep at night?</i></b></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Trying to do the right
thing cam mean paying a heavy personal cost. I am not
bitter. <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/1987/11/alnwickdote-no-15-no-good-crying-over.html">No need to cry over spilled milk</a>. It does give me some moral authority based on
empirical evidence to campaign for better ethics in NGOs and
charities through strengthened governance and regulatory frame-works. Not many people have such first-hand experience and evidence over several decades. Even fewer are prepared to reveal them. We have<a href="https://protect-advice.org.uk"> a long way to go</a> before they will.</p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">For me, despite the angst, if I did not try my best to do the right thing I would be unable to sleep at night. Things would prey on my mind. My conscience would be pricked. I just wonder why too many others don't have the same problem.</p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">If there is one thing not yet done in Foreign Aid, my unfulfilled ambition, to begin to change the culture of abuse-of-power with impunity, it is to see donors and regulators to adopt <span style="text-align: left;">random unannounced independent inspections. Nothing will change if people wager they'll get way with misconduct and it remains too easy for them to do so.</span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b><i>The Quandary in Going Local</i></b></span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="text-align: left;">There are few people in Foreign Aid like me who have long advocated that local people, groups and organisations should be responsible for decisions and activities. However that responsibility requires standards to be upheld. In Cambodia for good reasons it requires a degree of external control to keep it in check. A functioning Board of Directors helps as does another thing I have always maintained must feature - random unannounced inspections. Mostly in Cambodia, because laxity is rife in all work situations, leaders and managers are left to their own devices. So many will and do succumb to temptation. There has to be bracing climate to deter it. As described, some of the most trusted of staff in NGO leaderships have let down the people giving them that trust. Commonly of late, however, is where misconduct may not only be personal volition but resulting from political intimidation on the person or his or family.</span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="text-align: left;">Unfortunately donors prefer to pretend that this does not exist. Sometimes duplicity is encouraged in order to promote what are regarded as other more important or strategic interests. </span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Updates</b></span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><b>16 July 2023</b></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">Cambodia is well-established now as an authoritarian state, having moved considerably from 2013 really the last time there was a viable active political opposition party and a fair degree of autonomy in Civil Society. NGOs then were still able to operate despite difficulties. Trade unions by and large could also operate despite more obvious interference and the creation of ruling party affiliate "unions" to compete alongside them. English and Foreign Press were still free, as was social media, although all TV stations and most radio were allied to the ruling party. There were few think tanks, the established ones like CDRI, still reasonably free - today we have new ones that need little research to reveal their ruling party loyalties.</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">One of the ways that Cambodia's ruling party has used for many years to "win over" opponents is to entice them to defect, sometimes openly, at other times covertly when it suits them and their converts. Infiltration is a handy weapon to keep tabs on "enemies" from within. </p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">Now you would think that donors would be wise to the changing situation. They should have explicit provisions in contracts to indicate that their funding is conditional on no material change in the context around the project and activities. If a leading member of an organisation funded to assist activists and advocates of change - i.e. to help counter restrictions on freedoms imposed by authorities - defects or is found to be engaged in covert activities, then it should prompt immediate action.</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">Yet strangely in some cases such as <a href="https://cambodianess.com/article/ccfc-leaders-released-on-bail">this one</a>, they have been slow and reluctant to accept what is really a clear abrogation of the original mission, i.e. to support and work with rural communities seeking better lives and livelihoods. As soon as the "defection" took place, regardless of how it was brought about whether by volition or coercion, then that person after swearing loyalty to authorities cannot possibly remain suitable or trusted in his or her former role.</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">It is little wonder than many in those communities, and colleagues who have not converted, feel betrayed and confused. <b><i><span style="color: #20124d;">"It's not what you know but what you know about who!"</span></i></b></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><b>9 August 2022</b></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">A good report by Devex about <a href="https://pages.devex.com/The-localization-agenda.html?">"Localising"</a> Foreign Aid development and the lack of progresss in that direction.</p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b style="text-align: left;">26 August 2021</b></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="text-align: left;">Same theme as in my previous update highlighting that someone's not been telling the truth in reports back home, justifying how well money has been spent. The same bunch have become quickly unstuck in Cambodia. The "CambodiaCheck" initiative was as predictable as the US Ambassador's charm offensive as proving to be ill-thought out and bound to fail. I can't resist another "<b><i><a href="https://twitter.com/i/events/1430780785787817986?s=20">I told you all so!</a></i></b></span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b style="text-align: left;">18 August
2021</b></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
A day of reckoning arrived abruptly for all those responsible for
external interventions in foreign countries and in particular for the
United States. It does not matter if the intervention was led for
military or natural disaster purposes, and if it becomes humanitarian
and “nation-building”.</p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The lesson to be learned is exactly as people like me expound. You
must be very careful to engender a genuine local commitment to the
change you want to bring about, not just in leaderships but also
your “beneficiaries” and in particular in the local people you
engage and entrust who act in-between them for you. You must be "SMART"<span style="color: red;"><b>*</b></span> about the change with a clear handover exit plan.</p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Afghanistan has now shown brutally in a macro-way how unreal and
artificial your efforts are where you have not established that
genuine mass local commitment to your change. It is however in
essence the same as the multiple micro-lessons that ought to be
learned from countries like Cambodia. It is one with the largest,
longest, most expensive external intervention. Numerous, almost
every major project, has failed in terms of the sustainable changes
expected to be accomplished.</p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
My own area of good governance is one, as I explain in blogs. There
was never a genuine full commitment to embrace the concepts we
thought would be good for all Cambodians. Many poor and vulnerable
people did want changes but not the people in charge nor I argue are
many of the people we relied on as go-betweens. Indeed as I
narrate in my blogs, too many of those are in it for their own
reasons. This is best exemplified by the true story I tell about one
champion of democracy and human rights in whom our American friends
placed so much trust and invested so much money.</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><b><i><a href="https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/4acb66fc/files/uploaded/Sustainability%20is%20the%20Name%20of%20the%20Game.pdf">The Name of the Game is “Sustainability” but Does the Last Player Count?</a></i></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNmihQ3ewSsxnT2K7ta1xFYiAhqXui1ZDlnnC6GYk-hVCpkWXWe0Q4k4uGyll3QurPyKBAxTMrDLzlHVfdhz5nAJWYqDVV9HCVP_IqpmW85UEKGTGCGz04jpY5_2IBRY4Tc7WQpmdme3A/s1134/image_2021-08-17_072702.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="335" data-original-width="1134" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNmihQ3ewSsxnT2K7ta1xFYiAhqXui1ZDlnnC6GYk-hVCpkWXWe0Q4k4uGyll3QurPyKBAxTMrDLzlHVfdhz5nAJWYqDVV9HCVP_IqpmW85UEKGTGCGz04jpY5_2IBRY4Tc7WQpmdme3A/w655-h194/image_2021-08-17_072702.png" width="655" /></a></div><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><i><b style="color: #cc0000;">*SMART - </b><u><b><span style="color: red;">s</span></b></u><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #660000;">pecifc, </span><span style="color: red;"><u>m</u></span></span><span style="color: #660000; font-weight: bold;">easurable, </span><span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;"><u>a</u></span><span style="color: #660000; font-weight: bold;">chievable, </span><span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;"><u>r</u></span><span style="color: #660000; font-weight: bold;">ealistic and </span><span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;"><u>t</u></span><span style="color: #660000; font-weight: bold;">ime-bound.</span></i></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>17 June 2021</b></span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Not often do human rights advocacy campaigns succeed so they must be celebrated when they do. I have been familiar with USAID's misguided intervention in environmental issues since 2012 when they ended our project in Mondulkiri after just one year not the 3-5 planned. Even during that one year we experienced fundamental errors on their part. They left us to start a new project in Prey Lang where local communities were also facing land-grabbing and deforestation. USAID made the decision to invest in and cooperate with the Ministry of Environment and local authorities rather than local people. It has taken years for USAID and the US Ambassador to recognise the error of their ways but now it has done so.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://cambodianess.com/article/us-ends-aid-for-sanctuary-protection">https://cambodianess.com/article/us-ends-aid-for-sanctuary-protection</a></span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The problem will be that the officials who have lost face and who benefited financially from the project will be looking for revenge and their ire will be taken out on the <a href="https://preylang.net">same local community activists</a>. USAID must ensure that this does not occur by funding them and human rights organisations who can go to their assistance.</span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib4z0iO-UIHbTcjyUvHNkn2hx-Q2nXUEGlsuwRGhsp4X6fA2OsDUdFBkKZLbW_IU-cOhPnZ0_u3ZI8Z472Hr49Z3YSTKx5buhN2ci3tEcniHZkg5GTlvFmz5V_CeuDu7HJ1SpD9B-hHtQ/s1680/Tweets.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="780" data-original-width="1680" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib4z0iO-UIHbTcjyUvHNkn2hx-Q2nXUEGlsuwRGhsp4X6fA2OsDUdFBkKZLbW_IU-cOhPnZ0_u3ZI8Z472Hr49Z3YSTKx5buhN2ci3tEcniHZkg5GTlvFmz5V_CeuDu7HJ1SpD9B-hHtQ/w655-h283/Tweets.jpg" width="655" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b style="font-size: large;">Notes</b></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b style="font-size: large;"><br /></b></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfC-VRRPHAWBQlz8QDKmKcDFSJYlN39DpT7Yea_8uzFGUKJqbu9M9MIWMxE0f7SXtEbpto_6JuGIxkuS6TIiptjocbNhrhYxO3eYxVMTK1tj47C_YjCfx6vBLYHTGhesBPtMuAnOPpcu4/s654/Monks+bless+forest+to+try+to+save+it.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="494" data-original-width="654" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfC-VRRPHAWBQlz8QDKmKcDFSJYlN39DpT7Yea_8uzFGUKJqbu9M9MIWMxE0f7SXtEbpto_6JuGIxkuS6TIiptjocbNhrhYxO3eYxVMTK1tj47C_YjCfx6vBLYHTGhesBPtMuAnOPpcu4/w573-h434/Monks+bless+forest+to+try+to+save+it.jpg" width="573" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="color: #073763;">Monks bless the Community Forest in the hope that it will protect it from powerful forces</span></i></b></td></tr></tbody></table><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">1 The
first time I personally witnessed industrial-sized logging in
Cambodia was in 1998 in Mondulkiri, a story I tell in <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/1999/03/alnwickdote-no-18-travelling-in-style.html">an
early blog</a>. I was then personally responsible for my NGO
Ockenden's efforts to promote and protect community forests in NW
Cambodia. It was then that I met the late <a href="https://english.cambodiadaily.com/news/chut-wutty-prominent-environmental-activist-shot-dead-in-koh-kong-1816/">Chut
Wutty</a> a most prominent fearless advocate for Prey Lang Forest who
was assassinated in 2012.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">2 Foreign Aid - Chasing the money or the money chasing trendy causes? The first USAID contractor to begin work in Prey Lang was Winrock International. My NGO in Cambodia had won<a href="https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/4acb66fc/files/uploaded/Nomad%20RSI%20Annual%20Report%202014%20Livelihoods.pdf"> USAID funding via Winrock</a> in 2014 to support indigenous community groups to improve and diversify livelihoods, having lost their traditional lands to loggers, agro-industrial developers and speculators. It was to be a program of at least 3 years but was cancelled after just one. Community development of self-help groups is an arduous process requiring sustained support over several years. Our work with up to 20 groups and their co-ordinating network was halted dealing a fatal blow to some.</p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="text-align: left;">3 Vindication. I met the ODA Minister in Rwanda. To my surprise she
knew exactly who I was. </span><a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/1987/11/alnwickdote-no-15-no-good-crying-over.html" style="text-align: left;">
“The St Helena Milkman”.</a></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="text-align: left;">4 Whistle-blowing.
The whistle was blown by the NGO's Finance Officer. That was clear
by the letter he sent to donors but it was not common knowledge. The
story then broke in the local English-speaking newspapers, the Phnom
Penh Post and Cambodia Daily, with yours truly accused of the
dastardly deed. This allegation was given credence because I refused
offers to play down the issue and try to persuade donors to do
likewise.. I was aware that two donors in particular, Forum Syd
(Sweden) and CIDA ( Canada) regarded the issue much more seriously
than USAID.</span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">A special
procedures investigation carried out by auditors Price Waterhouse and
Coopers (PWC) and a complementary exercise my colleague was
conducting were revealing what had gone wrong and what needed to be
put right. My colleague's task was to investigate charges of nepotism
and cronyism as PWC would only examine finances. We were astonished
as to how many staff were in fact related or connected to the
Director or Deputy Director. One more conflict of interests became
apparent. Those ties extended to Asia Foundation employees
responsible for supervising the NGO on behalf of USAID and seeing
that its rules and regulations were obeyed. It was at this point that
the rug was pulled from under our feet.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Other
donors and NGOs were not as complacent and supported a scheme we
worked on to address the issues raised by the demise of CIHR. The
<a href="https://www.ccc-cambodia.org/en/membership/ngo-governance-professional-practice-gpp">NGO
Governance and Professional Practice</a> scheme still in force today.
While it has helped to improve standards, it lacks impartial
non-partisan credentials of an independent regulator. I observed
closely two NGOs. One with the highest ethical standards failed to be
registered, while the other had no such problem. It allied with
government authorities, as required by some donors, whereas the first
kept its distance for good reasons. Those reasons reappeared after
the demise of the multi-donor World Bank led <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2018/09/mfi-micro-credit-can-increase-poverty.html">Land
Management Administration Project (LMAP)</a>.
</p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN9e8y4Oo_zWzN-H2Bx75q1rWVRvJDKbTNyZ_A0RoEWxEnUEEHjg0VNGv9NLgAsbz9E_L139P6MpOqgeqd4ApOmo5cYVfcTI03nocOGwo9FSYrFiQ870LaOHMbwA4oG1hvg6g5UmMO2zw/s1232/quote.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="1232" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN9e8y4Oo_zWzN-H2Bx75q1rWVRvJDKbTNyZ_A0RoEWxEnUEEHjg0VNGv9NLgAsbz9E_L139P6MpOqgeqd4ApOmo5cYVfcTI03nocOGwo9FSYrFiQ870LaOHMbwA4oG1hvg6g5UmMO2zw/w591-h227/quote.jpg" width="591" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="text-align: left;">[5] Severance pay was due as part of the terminal benefits of my
contract. The calculation was based on 5% of actual earning during
the period of continuous employment in my case of four years. I
should have been paid $5,000. The Asia Foundation's Vice President
did send me a very complimentary letter attesting to my good work but
still refused to have my contract honoured. Such treatment brought
forth </span><a href="http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/guilty-association-inaction-donors-and-ngos" style="text-align: left;">a
public rebuke</a><span style="text-align: left;"> that was studiously ignored.</span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="text-align: left;">[6] CDP - counting the true cost of its loss? An</span><span style="text-align: left;"> EU project proposal I'd worked on failed at the very last hurdle, highly unlikely if I had been there. The Director, who was always very busy, and I don't think he'll be offended by me saying this, he wasn't well-organised, overlooked supplying one essential supporting paper requested by the EU. It was on his desk to endorse. Had I been there the EU would have asked me for it and I would have pinned him down. CDP lost a large grant that would have set it up for years. Instead it continued to struggle for funds. Having said that my "partner-in-crime" at CIHR </span><span style="text-align: left;">as far as the Asia Foundation was concerned,</span><span style="text-align: left;"> the one who had to leave alongside me, also went on to work with and for CDP to do a good job in fundraising.</span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Now the other part of my role was to improve management and administration, especially in recruitment and control of staff. It was not just financial fraud endemic in my previous NGO but nepotism and cronyism. The key to eradicating them was due diligence checking – precisely the disciplines and skills of my professional training and first 12 years of post-graduate employment.</p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Due diligence had not been conducted properly by CDP despite its formation by reputable US human rights lawyers. Its senior legal adviser, <a href="https://english.cambodiadaily.com/news/ngo-adviser-quits-after-conviction-revealed-24619/">Stuart Coghill</a>, was discovered to have evaded charges of child abuse in New Zealand by escaping abroad. Elementary checks had not been carried out, references not taken-up or queried. This was not the first nor the last time I was to encounter such failures.</p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">(7) Although Cambodia has enjoyed massive international assistance since the Paris Peace Accords with the largest-ever UN-led collection of agencies and organisations, Phnom Penh is actually quite a small inner-circle of them. Diplomats, Administrators, Country Directors, Evaluators, Auditors, Scholars tend to mic with each other and frequent the same haunts. So it does not take long for chat to be exchanged. <b><i><span style="color: #660000;">"If you're not with us, you're against us"</span></i></b> doesn't belong only to Cambodia's ruling party. It was around this time that I failed the test to stay on the British Embassy's Queen's Birthday invitation list.</p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">(8) Pleased with themselves. It doesn't take long for some people to gloat, proving one Khmer warning to be correct. Basically it says retribution doesn't come "when the blood is still warm". It will come later when it's cold.</p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">[9] Donor reactions to potential misuse of their funds. Most donors, like NGOs, prefer not to know. They should of course accept that human nature being what it is there will always be transgressions and be prepared to support efforts to deal with them. Unfortunately fear-of-publicity and criticism of poor judgement means that if issues come in to the open, the usual reaction is to cut-off funds. (It's why NGOs will go to some lengths to cover-up - as <a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/963581386203398144?s=20&t=8H-HvNI_EH5QCdDQYo7Hzw">this terrible case</a> illustrates.) Cutting off a new grant was the result here, the second blow on top of USAID/Winrock's ending of its contract. Fortunately other donors have stayed with the NGO and its survives to this day but clearly much smaller than it would have been. They've left their mark on the entire movement for indigenous people's rights.</p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">For another USAD Winrock idiosyncrasy, please go <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-trouble-with-aid-nates-exit.html">here</a> and read on to the Water Tower in Africa. That cost me $500.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Fundraising
is never easy and it's become harder especially for local NGOs in
recent years. The system of open tendering involves competition and
much wasted effort as most applications fail. Many donors try to keep
core costs to a minimum, so their money is seen to go mainly to
beneficiaries, a story they like to tell. This is despite the fact
that the practice seriously challenges NGOs who have pay salaried and
bills. It's worsened by short contracts, sometimes of just one year,
so strategic plans cannot be made. Donors like to switch funds. In
some cases it's because of a new fad or a knee-jerk reaction to a
development. Some donors are late to make payments and renew
contracts.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I tell
all this because there is a thin dividing line legally juggling
figures to maintain cash-flow -, switching fund allowed between
approved budget-lines – and unauthorised illegal virement even if
intended as temporary to solve an immediate problem. I am not alone
in using my own money to keep my NGOs going, but donors must accept
that some responsibility for why desperate NGO leaders without my
means commit dishonest acts. It is just as easy for them to resort to
them for good purposes as for sinister. The temptation should be
removed.</p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />ANorthumbrianAbroadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548140943705427113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5208414707355071730.post-50062321318143452262020-09-10T03:49:00.082-07:002021-07-28T07:20:06.214-07:00Public Service: no way; on its way, or lost its way?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeB4lqdaEMV853BxjWtBEsIRHBsxncB2HD4bg0At6AoIQvOlg1tvhcC0R4MEJ1N_ox-RQZ_QR0f8DAaLLergYK_eSNGWi2q_Of6vZp-Djwv6Qe1b5T_XLony4d1q2jOqJ4HQGhyphenhyphencZd4pU/s278/Bentham.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="269" data-original-width="278" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeB4lqdaEMV853BxjWtBEsIRHBsxncB2HD4bg0At6AoIQvOlg1tvhcC0R4MEJ1N_ox-RQZ_QR0f8DAaLLergYK_eSNGWi2q_Of6vZp-Djwv6Qe1b5T_XLony4d1q2jOqJ4HQGhyphenhyphencZd4pU/w435-h420/Bentham.jpg" width="435" /></a></div><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">In life
things go round in circles, don't they? We keep seeing the same
things happen over again. This is a sequel to my blog the <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2019/06/the-rise-and-fall-of-public-service.html">“Rise
and Fall of Public Service”</a>. Please also see my <b><a href="https://www.johnlowrie.uk/newpagecdf989a7">website entry</a></b> - the case for better public service everywhere also published <b><a href="https://www.academia.edu/44230186/Public_Service_Do_or_Die">here</a></b>.</p><div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a name='more'></a></div><div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="text-align: left;">Although that blog is mainly about
the UK, here I expand on the rise and demise of public service with
reference to Cambodia and St Helena. Public service
“capacity-building” is of course a favourite and most expensive
part of Foreign Aid.</span></div>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b style="text-align: left;">No Way</b></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="text-align: left;">“No
way” was often said to me of UK public services back in 1974. The
attitude lives on today.</span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="text-align: left;">1974 was
when I first entered UK public service. There were mixed views about
it – downright hostility; grudging acceptance, and self-righteous
pride. We had </span><a href="https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/blog/lost-world-royal-commissions" style="text-align: left;">Royal
Commissions</a><span style="text-align: left;"> to look in to them. Shuffling paper, as it was often
portrayed, was deemed not as worthy in life as making things, as
that, it was argued, is how wealth is created. Mind you John Maynard
Keynes proved wealth could be created </span><a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/keynesian-economics/" style="text-align: left;">by
digging holes</a><span style="text-align: left;">!</span></p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvKiDi6NnW0U1_VDqmEdUjl4J0r1QZ_r2L_Mk9T5kYf1NWkM9JP9cNTIlt5wZZY5rmHKdUWnyfMrhNZzYkib2478qNwKYyR7w3LpP3kOMDZ3mRcthmcXoIcZPt4PVIc9eobfCZqQCcU7k/s562/Jobsworth.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="417" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvKiDi6NnW0U1_VDqmEdUjl4J0r1QZ_r2L_Mk9T5kYf1NWkM9JP9cNTIlt5wZZY5rmHKdUWnyfMrhNZzYkib2478qNwKYyR7w3LpP3kOMDZ3mRcthmcXoIcZPt4PVIc9eobfCZqQCcU7k/w296-h400/Jobsworth.jpg" width="296" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jobsworth-Malcolm-Philips-ebook/dp/B00CX1DDGC">Mr Jobsworth</a><span style="color: #193300;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><b> as described by Malcolm Philips was not only the butt of jokes, but someone we all knew.</b></i></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">Today in
Cambodia, despite over 25 years of generously-gifted
“capacity-building”, public service or the concept of serving the
public is yet to catch on. Instead public office is the way to
enrich and ingratiate oneself among the ruling elite. The general
public serves the elite and pays for the privilege. On
St Helena the general public has always served, legacies from <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2019/08/st-helena-free-yourself-from-mental.html" target="_blank">slavery</a> and colonial servitude.</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b>On its
Way</b></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span>Perceptions
of some if not all of the public sector have improved over the years.
T</span><span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">he
distinctions between the “wealth-creating” private sector and
“wealth-absorbing” public sector have blurred. Education in
particular is now recognised as a direct wealth contributor. Public
transport, good roads, are also accepted as vital to the economy.
Even a public health service that keeps people well, restoring them
to be fit and active back-to-work, finds itself in great <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/clap-for-carers-last-round-nhs-heroes-a4453776.html">public
favour</a> even cult status as in the current Covid19 pandemic.</span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">So here there are similarities
between UK, Cambodia and many other countries if not quite St Helena.
Its small private sector depends on its larger public sector.</p>
<p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Lost
its Way</span></b></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">I must confess being out of the
UK for decades, largely confined to Cambodia, I've missed out on much
of what has gone on. Public service has changed a lot – to save
money in UK in the Austerity Age; to make money in Cambodia (not just
from Foreign Aid but that's the easiest easy way to make money), and
to carry on spending what is regarded as Foreign Aid money on St
Helena, not just taxpayers' money the term used in every other British Island.</p>
<p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">Above I mentioned Royal
Commissions. One led to the 1974 UK local government reorganisation
that to this day I call “disorganisation” and it always gets a
laugh. Since then many disorganisations keep going on in UK,
Cambodia, and even now on St Helena as I write.</p><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUTuFLfE3lLhiU8rX1sEKgP9Vhqp3ctqh2hBxes7T1GEOBCWk-9s7CSCeYpV3BNkTo_-WU28nb2SdHbQ8ixR7dwm3g0Z0CMoGe3CpAhvBSWGQU9AKZDPEuxEOjAe6FTTph-1POxvzGZJQ/s379/Too+many+reports.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="141" data-original-width="379" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUTuFLfE3lLhiU8rX1sEKgP9Vhqp3ctqh2hBxes7T1GEOBCWk-9s7CSCeYpV3BNkTo_-WU28nb2SdHbQ8ixR7dwm3g0Z0CMoGe3CpAhvBSWGQU9AKZDPEuxEOjAe6FTTph-1POxvzGZJQ/w625-h233/Too+many+reports.jpg" width="625" /></a></div><br /><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">In the
UK, our once ubiquitous and proud public services have found chunks
put out to contract, i.e. privatised to operate “better” i.e. at
less cost, or for private profit or whatever imotive of whoever has
taken over. Some businesses may well retain the best tradition of
serving the public, others less so. The busy over-crowded County
Halls of Malcolm Philips and my days are long gone. They must be as empty as Cambodia government offices tend to be although they do spring-to-life
and are packed-to-the-brim on rare occasions when there is a <a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1091179323346739200?s=20">public
sector worker census</a>. Some UK privatisations have failed as in
the case of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/jun/11/probation-services-to-return-to-public-control-after-grayling-disasters">probation
service</a>. Personally I fail to see how social care can be better
carried out by private companies than properly-organised
professionally-trained public service teams.</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">Technology
has been a boon for those in favour of slimmed down public services.
It may even be the key to an entirely new way-of-working. No longer
will so many workers spend time and money commuting to work and
occupying expensive heated or cooled offices when they can work at
home. Technology provides new ways of doing things but are we in
danger of losing our way in doing them? I berate Northumberland
County Council for automating its decision-making, notification and
enforcement processes. Basically it has set up things so once a
decision is made, computer-generated actions take over. There isn't
much serving the public in that operation.</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b>Good
Governance put simply</b></p>
<p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
At this juncture I would like to remind you of the basics of Good
Governance as I see them. You don't need expensive consultants and
experts to understand them, although there are many Lords and Ladies
of Poverty enriching themselves by making out that it is a
sophisticated and complex discipline. (Please see a <a href="https://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_job.cfm?cur_job_id=89396">recent
UNDP advert</a> and rewards package pasted below.) It isn't complex.
You won't go wrong if you are guided by two things.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLIBun5JovJkS8ETTto1X7o77eh6qa_jqNTQkyOhCzhRl-OLoxFsPAfS2ff08rPKhnRRdFTCuM9deP7SqvzbukRlXBfDS7-Dx6fylOQv0DSpJ9TC7gXnKVCpXi0S7Slw_1S1JEeRiqlAU/s226/FPI.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="226" data-original-width="200" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLIBun5JovJkS8ETTto1X7o77eh6qa_jqNTQkyOhCzhRl-OLoxFsPAfS2ff08rPKhnRRdFTCuM9deP7SqvzbukRlXBfDS7-Dx6fylOQv0DSpJ9TC7gXnKVCpXi0S7Slw_1S1JEeRiqlAU/w160-h179/FPI.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">1. Before you make a decision that affects people, consult them meaningfully. I like the United Nations mantra of <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/publications/2016/10/free-prior-and-informed-consent-an-indigenous-peoples-right-and-a-good-practice-for-local-communities-fao/">“Free Prior and Informed Consent”</a> for the world's indigenous people – sadly it is too rarely applied.</p>
<p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
2. Observe the principles of <a href="https://www.thompsonstradeunion.law/news/lelr/weekly-issue-57-april-2001/teaching-a-lesson-in-natural-justice">natural justice</a> so your decision is the
best one for the person affected; so that it stands up to scrutiny in
any fair appeal process, and the one most likely be accepted
without ill-feeling.</p>
<p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
In Cambodia, despite all of our best efforts over 25 years including a [once] vibrant Civil Society and a lot
of donor Foreign Aid, neither of these simple tenets has registered -
in reality in practice as distinct from many spoken and written
words otherwise. <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-best-person-for-job.html">Tests
I conducted</a> proved that the concepts are well known not only
during good governance training but also before it took place. Smiles on faces tell
you. There is no good will to change with the current long-standing
political leadership. If donors keep supporting reforms claiming
otherwise, they're throwing good money after bad. It was time to give
up when I overheard: “<i><b>Take their money, go along with them,
but once they're out-the-way, we do things our way”.</b></i></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b>Who
decides things?</b></p>
<p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
One of the great mysteries in countries like Cambodia is you are
never sure about who actually makes decisions. That person can be
well-disguised, even more so as formal communications are rarely
used. Telephone calls are preferred because there's no record. These
methods are typical of administrations that do not practice good
governance. Even on tiny St Helena where everybody knows each other
the identities can be hidden behind the impersonal organisation with the
intriguing title of “The Castle” .</p>
<p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
Anonymity is key to evading accountability. Northumberland of late with its automated computer-generated letters printed and posted
miles away from the originator, doesn't even bother to have names and
signatures put on them. They're deliberate “fait accompli” with no allowance
for technical glitches. Once the "sent key" is pressed the letter is deemed to have been sent even if it never arrives in the post through your letter-box.</p>
<p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
Now apart from it being simple good manners to say who has dealt with
or is in charge of your case, it is also sound ethical practice. It's
the only way to be sure that he or she is not involved in reviews of
the decision contrary to the principles of natural justice and good governance.</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b>Who by
position?</b></p>
<p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
Most public sector decisions conform to set policies and patterns in
predictable circumstances. So there should be no problem ordinarily.
Complacency however can easily set in giving rise to displeasure when
people “extraordinarily” challenge decisions. Their right to do
so, within good reason, should be respected, accommodated and
administered properly in accordance with natural justice. I see
that this aspect of good governance drummed in us in our formative
days is either not learned today; forgotten or conveniently set aside
even with bodies intended to uphold rights – like Ombudsmen.</p>
<p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
Cambodia, like St Helena, doesn't have Ombudsmen. In Cambodia it's
clear why – people are not supposed to challenge their superiors.
<a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2016/07/careless-talk-costs-lives.html">Some
lose their lives</a> for doing so. I saw it too on St Helena. The
scale of retribution for such impertinence and disloyalty may not be
as dire as in Cambodia but in UK and St Helena it is not without
some penalty.</p>
<p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8pdOHElOcneQn_kBvOqYf_9zpeNLzlEOz-AKuoSg8chfvEUwwVwCWkjzecuXmmarPDLlN6SHQWUTlS_KSk4aFjACGZDVVBP0rVnd9MtJ_w-mLEble_fipq35_co9807QwcPnLRdqT_24/s434/Bureaucracy.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="332" data-original-width="434" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8pdOHElOcneQn_kBvOqYf_9zpeNLzlEOz-AKuoSg8chfvEUwwVwCWkjzecuXmmarPDLlN6SHQWUTlS_KSk4aFjACGZDVVBP0rVnd9MtJ_w-mLEble_fipq35_co9807QwcPnLRdqT_24/w320-h245/Bureaucracy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The public sector in UK used to work on the basis that regular salaried
professional staff carried out the daily work and made most
decisions. Policy was supposed to be for elected officials* who would
also take up representations of any constituents unhappy with
decisions. Elected members would sit on appeal committees established
to guarantee fair hearings. Not so today. Public service seems to
have lost its way. On the one hand are elected officials, who
are salaried and part of the executive while on the other hand we now have top officials like Chief Executives who haven't come
up through the professional ranks. We're losing the concept of a
neutral public service. It was once one of the UK's best
exports around the world. Many top Civil Servants departing <a href="https://www.civilserviceworld.com/news/article/change-is-cummings-two-views-on-no10-adviser-dominic-cummings-vision-for-government">of late</a> confirms its demise and <a href="https://uk.yahoo.com/news/simon-case-talks-modernising-civil-060018250.html">uncertain future</a>.</div><p></p>
<p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
Cambodia in theory does have a professional public service but many
positions are filled not on the basis of <span style="color: #336600;"><b>best
person for the job</b></span> but on loyalties, personal and/or
party-political. Many positions are bought, especially those that
have <a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1157454215280619520?s=20">rent-seeking</a>
opportunities. Most annoyingly similar habits have drifted-in elsewhere (<a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2014/09/alnwickdote-no-8-island-of-propriety-in.html" target="_blank">a Sea of Corruption"</a>), at times concealed, even in international agencies and
civil society organisations who advocate against nepotism, cronyism
and conflicts of interests.</p>
<p class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
St Helena does of course have a peculiar problem due to its small
size - geographically 47 square miles, under 5,000 population, as
people know each other or about each other. Usually intimate
knowledge is an asset, good for team-building, but of course if
misused it can also be a liability. St Helena when it comes to
organising services does of course suffer from diseconomies of small
scale.</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b>Conclusion</b></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">Good
governance and different structures and processes of public service
are perennially subject to examination from friend and foe, with
debate much study as former UK Prime Minister Harold Wilson said of
Royal Commissions, setting them up <span style="color: #193300;"><i><b>“takes
minutes and wastes years”.</b></i></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">There is
one thing that unites UK and places like Northumberland with places
as diverse as Cambodia and St Helena, no matter what tinkering is
proposed, unless there is a clear good will for the change on the
part of leaders with the ability to cultivate widespread support in
the population, it simply does not work. Yes, the issues will return
again and again.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtjkWJ_79aSdsMe-Nr2zKp-QH3ydcuro-L36NQYvN_Qgcd5VdNsaOlwBmyIZKyUUnNxNla0mBCslCp1iZ5pv6jhOzpriaw_XhsYTwvi-vRBcOg9PEW7biZeilKObjiqUD77oFsTM88iY4/s1005/NCC.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="957" data-original-width="1005" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtjkWJ_79aSdsMe-Nr2zKp-QH3ydcuro-L36NQYvN_Qgcd5VdNsaOlwBmyIZKyUUnNxNla0mBCslCp1iZ5pv6jhOzpriaw_XhsYTwvi-vRBcOg9PEW7biZeilKObjiqUD77oFsTM88iY4/w256-h244/NCC.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">Northumberland
was the subject of reorganisation creating a unitary authority in
2009, abolishing districts, despite the county's geographical size
and a majority voting against the change. Today it is <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-54002128">dysfunctional
mired in controversy</a> with a suspended Chief Executive and ousted
Council Leader. Although one issue has given rise to the debacle, the
origins can be traced to that “reorganisation” and the way the
“new” Council operates impervious to well-meaning advice. For
more on this, please see <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2019/06/the-rise-and-fall-of-public-service.html">my
blog</a>.</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">Cambodia
in some ways ought to be a successful model of international
nation-building with brand new structures after the chaos of the
Khmer Rouge and its aftermath. It had the largest-ever most expensive
“intervention” under United Nations auspices. Yet despite all the
planning and best expertise, things have never settled as intended.
Indeed there's been much tinkering of the cons<span style="background: transparent;">titution,
structures and methods of administration at national and local
levels. Most have been for party-political purposes in defiance of
donors who paid for reforms. One for example is the decentralisation
of public services, a stated policy over 25 years, that has not seen
one major function devolved locally. My <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2016/02/foreign-aid-is-it-just-illusion.html#more">blogs</a>
and website tell the stories.</span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: transparent;">St
Helena by contrast is small in comparison, yet remarkably not only is
it one of the most Foreign Aid grant-aided per head territories in
the world, but it too has had more than its fair share of “experts”
examining its governance. The latest [expensive] one has visited,
left and added his paper to the vast library of expert reports about
St Helena. I am grateful to <a href="https://twitter.com/westmorelandken">Ken
Westmoreland</a> for reminding me of previous relevant missions not
only in relation to St Helena but also to other relevant small island
states. Some like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alison_Quentin-Baxter">Alison
Quentin-Baker</a> have been most distinguished; <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20031115041211/http://www.gbz.org.uk/sthelena.htm " target="_blank">written authoritatively</a> but even she came and
went without leaving much of a mark.</span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: transparent;">For
those interested I give my take below on the latest review and
reforms – one that no-one else has expressed. This is not the first
time I have done this – I gave <a href="https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/4acb66fc/files/uploaded/Saint Helena Island Over Governed.pdf">salutary
warnings</a> about the UK DfID's plans for the island with the its
new airport, hence my <a href="https://twitter.com/i/events/825981696679899136" target="_blank">"I told you so"</a> Twitter moment.</span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><b><span style="background: transparent;">..…..oo0oo.......</span></b></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #193300;"><i><b><span style="background: transparent;">*
The Royal Commission report and <a href="https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/Policy%20making%20in%20the%20real%20world.pdf">other
studies</a> point out the paradoxes in governance, for example one
evident factor in both local and national government in the UK and
indeed elsewhere: Officers actually want to be policy-makers and
strategists, while elected officials are happier with mundane
details, the converse of their intended roles. One Chief Executive I
knew was happiest when Council Committees poured over wording like
“three alternatives”, they usually amended it to “three
options”, averting attention and time on what each alternative, or
option, entailed. Main issues, the big picture went by default.</span></b></i></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #193300;"><i><b><span style="background: transparent;"><br /></span></b></i></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSI8tTr8jWDZmDppBuKb7B2s7_TReEEEfzZFA33xMasVJcvG7I3n5f4MzPpCxeOSKZ5z3FDZ0Rk5eVOGwKZ5ksCmlAcgRJOOeKNJMM20WHKntN4CLmqr2sG6P3nzxOVTD7HaCXE68O7kc/s506/No+idea.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="264" data-original-width="506" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSI8tTr8jWDZmDppBuKb7B2s7_TReEEEfzZFA33xMasVJcvG7I3n5f4MzPpCxeOSKZ5z3FDZ0Rk5eVOGwKZ5ksCmlAcgRJOOeKNJMM20WHKntN4CLmqr2sG6P3nzxOVTD7HaCXE68O7kc/w500-h261/No+idea.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #193300;"><b><i>A recurring feature throughout all my Foreign Aid writings is how too much store is placed on external experts and so little on local people who in my view are always best-placed to decide on their own problems, priorities and solutions. I first saw this while on St Helena in the 1980s.</i></b></span></div><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><b>..…..oo0oo.......</b>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Saint
Helena Governance and Administration – 2020 – studies, options
and plans.</span></b></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><b><i>Readers unfamiliar with St Helena may like to read <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/06/more-to-saint-helenian-culture-than.html">my popular blog</a> as an introduction.</i></b></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">St Helena
is a tiny island of around 5,000 that has been administered - or at
the mercy of - the UK Foreign Office and Department for International
Development for decades. From September 2020 the two are merging
supposedly in to a joint ministry the Foreign Commonwealth and
Development Office.</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">I first
encountered island politics in 1983 and have observed it ever since.
The over-riding issue is economic. St Helena is not self-sufficient.
It can't pay its way. It depends on a hand-out from the UK
government. It's been like that every year but one in the last
century. Hundreds of initiatives have been tried and failed including
the grandest most expensive venture, the new airport. Some of us
predicted the plan would run in to problems, admittedly they came
about sooner than we expected. Throughout my 37 years connected, and
for decades before, debate has raged about to what extent the
island's governance determines or plays a major factor in its demise.</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">Given the
abject failure of the airport project it was inevitable that [great]
minds would resurrect the debate. Needless to say, as with every
other problem raised the same response
follows with monotonous regularity. Terms of reference are drawn up, budgetary allocations found
and the latest expert is flown-in – shipped-in until the new
airport replaced the much-loved RMS St Helena ship.</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">Needless
to say Saints, as the locals are called, apparently can't do anything
in any area of public service without outside “help”. <a href="https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/ReportStHelenaPoliticalGovernanceReviewReport191204.pdf">Professor
Jeremy Sarkin</a> is the latest of a long line to “go to their
rescue.” The
Island has to decide, going from how it is governed now to one of two
options. Cynics would say it's a choice between two evils, or three,
if you include the current set-up. Let's start with there.</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAy3I09htFat45LRqgZRT_6JEFjC17XL9F8NSlnbDaDkTE7PEH4QFq62UOC0RCFE3WFSdzwC1GeMB1Eb1S-3VYcmBnthd6pDQNGSIorSDC37oTdNqgovdHtEgb3wqcgO9PHADFbJL8E1A/s668/Fagan.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="668" data-original-width="566" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAy3I09htFat45LRqgZRT_6JEFjC17XL9F8NSlnbDaDkTE7PEH4QFq62UOC0RCFE3WFSdzwC1GeMB1Eb1S-3VYcmBnthd6pDQNGSIorSDC37oTdNqgovdHtEgb3wqcgO9PHADFbJL8E1A/w339-h400/Fagan.jpg" width="339" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I warn
you this is a simplification. Most policy and important decisions are
made by an appointed Governor from the UK. Although he has the
colonial legacy of dictatorial powers he (it was only she once)
should decide most things on his own or as a token to democracy as
“Governor-in-Council”. The Council meets with the top salaried St
Helena Government Officers heading public services and the senior
members of the elected Legislative Council. Those senior Councillors
head the relevant committees intended to oversee public services.
Just to explain and complicate the mix, Saints don't hold many of the
salaried posts while some expatriates resident on the Island might
also be elected Councillors. (A fair few officials imported from the
UK have settled there over the years.) In reality budget decisions
are made in the UK and the island must operate within what it's
allowed to do. Unfortunately much of what happens is outside of its
control, not only because of UK, but also as it depends on South
Africa for vital services and supplies – a conscious decision and
consequence of the UK-DfID business plan. Professor Sarkin is also
from there.</div><p></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">The
professor suggests the island chooses between two options: [1] An
enhanced version of the present committee system, that is generally
agreed not to have worked well so far, with the Governor still in
charge. [2] A new “ministerial system” whereby elected officials
would become ministers, and one would be a First Minister. To me
it's not much of a choice – between the totally unknown and the
known but discredited familiar. My guess is another consultant will
be dispatched before long.</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">In my
humble opinion they should go back to basics. How do you get the
best from the people who are there or for whom it is home, without
of course having to keep “building” or importing “capacity”?
<i><b>Who knows what best? </b></i>The island's administrative
structure is remarkably large and cumbersome for just 5,000 souls.
Organisational logic would dictate dismantling parts of the system,
making it simpler and cheaper, not more complicated as is
recommended. In my <a href="https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/4acb66fc/files/uploaded/Saint Helena Island Over Governed.pdf">previous
paper</a> I argued that a UK-appointed Governor can not know what is
best for Saints and should not be imposed arbitrarily on the Island. I won't
elaborate on that here. Instead Ill deal with the officers and
elected Councillors.</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">If the St
Helena Government, on its own or with the help of UK, employs
competent professionals to head its public services, there is much
sense in letting them get on with the job on-the-whole. That is
particularly so for strategic and overall management, skills that few
Saints have or could discharge dispassionately given local
circumstances. One distinguished visitor not long ago voiced what has been common
knowledge for years: <span style="color: #193300;"><i><b><a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-buck-rests-here.html">“St
Helena suffers from bad management and a lack of strategic
management”.</a></b></i></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">Elected
Councillors rarely have the technical knowledge to compete with the
professionalism of these officers. They should, however be able
question consequences of decisions and to represent where and how
they impact on their constituents. To do that they must have access
to independent means to do so. The current set-up and both Sarkin
proposals maintain the two tier set of elected Councillors – the
elite in-the-fold and the others out-of-it. This is probably the
root cause of dissatisfaction. I suggest St Helena sticks to
Councillors as elected officials, and officers as officers. Keep it simple.</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">Why not
allow all Councillors to remain as elected officials and for each of them to be able
to do that job better? They must have recourse to relevant
professional knowledge where they have good reason to question
decisions that they or their constituents are unhappy with. That's not hard to provide given modern communications. Most
importantly if this colonial yoke is to go once and for all they must
have the power to confirm appointing and terminating whoever is
dispatched to the Island including those in charge of public
services. This is their post-colonial right and responsibility.
Abolishing the need for senior Ex-Co Councillors would actually allow
the number of Councillors to be reduced to 6 or 8 ample for the
island and 5,000 population.</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">This
proposal would give Saints ultimate authority while still enabling
the best people to carry out the various professional tasks, and
without spending vast sums on continually “raising capacity”.
The post of Governor is still a post-colonial anachronism. Few
Foreign Office appointees have or ever will serve in a comparable senior
management capacity of heading up a range of diverse public services
or large organisation.</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">Suitable
strategic leaders are found elsewhere in public service and in the
private sector, and should be recruited, a point also made by <a href="https://www.lordashcroft.com/2017/01/hope-for-st-helena/">Lord
Ashcroft.</a> That particular role is quite different from the role
of representing Saints ad St Helena to the rest of the world.</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">St Helena
ought to be represented externally by one of its own. It could be an
elected Councillor, perhaps on a rotational basis, or a person they
select. Whoever is their best choice needs have the support of a
small secretariat that could also provide access to independent
expertise for all Councillors to do their jobs – i.e. separate and
independent from the main administration. If Councillors are seen to
do their job and have recourse to their own support and credible surces of advice, you
are more likely to find decisions in the end that are accepted so
that people move on. If not, as I began this blog, the same things
will crop up again and again. Nowhere does that happen more often than in
relation to St Helena. We see the same issues keep cropping up again and again (like <a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1235495630648365056?s=20">"Fisheries"</a>) as they're never resolved once and for all.</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">But I bet I will be tweeting <b><i><span style="color: #990000;">"I told you so"</span></i></b> again.</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b>A St Helena Update July 2021</b></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">It seems that despite the very low affirmative vote for change on St Helena, the "ministerial system" in a place no larger than a small town, is being pushed through by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and by the St Helena Government. As with so much about St Helena the people promoting the change will be long gone when its implications arise. Absent voters - those who choose not to register to vote and who do not vote despite being registered - are a vital part of any democracy. They tell us how healthy it is or is not.</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDiJOt5y1eJy54GSCBEgViMK-r8uDhoyPndvVoksglR_INRK3jEea1yYNWwdnG_eAeqIa92-Yr0qwJTJacTVvdr0xWh1s6GIjN7fC6hiDe8LBtmeHYxz43xxL6Z83qrjtu0c1ijRKXykA/s1163/Untitled+1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="822" data-original-width="1163" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDiJOt5y1eJy54GSCBEgViMK-r8uDhoyPndvVoksglR_INRK3jEea1yYNWwdnG_eAeqIa92-Yr0qwJTJacTVvdr0xWh1s6GIjN7fC6hiDe8LBtmeHYxz43xxL6Z83qrjtu0c1ijRKXykA/w610-h386/Untitled+1.jpg" width="610" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Too late. Act in haste, repent at leisure?<div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjncon3NNtrJqNMm4utRIF9tgHOAl1mwiNhb6hLCX6vBdyWaY1OFMquS9lEJN0wqc0xGnF9V3yz1pDT-n6yGegKbvtIBkTWoQMwb3ZY683c_YRl3HQeLyTdmBmQHXY_ZDFbzvYkdeaLRJI//" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="490" data-original-width="1440" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjncon3NNtrJqNMm4utRIF9tgHOAl1mwiNhb6hLCX6vBdyWaY1OFMquS9lEJN0wqc0xGnF9V3yz1pDT-n6yGegKbvtIBkTWoQMwb3ZY683c_YRl3HQeLyTdmBmQHXY_ZDFbzvYkdeaLRJI/w579-h203/image.png" width="579" /></a></div><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b>Updates</b></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b>November 2020</b></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">"Fairer Share" suggests a better fairer way to fund local public services. See <b><a href="https://fairershare.org.uk/proportional-property-tax/">video</a></b>.</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b>October 2020</b></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">Fascinating article by Colin Talbot posing the question <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/public-administration-uk/">"<i>Who killed the study of public </i></a><span style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/public-administration-uk/"><i>administration in UK?</i>" </a> I must confess I had not thought of this important aspect. I did of course study the subject as part of my Business Studies course and professional training though I opted for personnel management not public administration. It helps to explain the demise of public services.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #20124d;">Addendum</span></b></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #20124d;">My first years in public service were spent in organisational reviews of major services such as Police and Education. The aim is to design organisational structures to be as efficient as possible while providing fulfilling jobs for the people who work in them alongside best value-for-money for tax-payers. In recent years the National Audit Office has performed this function, assisting the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Commons in its deliberations. One of these was the <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmpubacc/767/76702.htm">review of the St Helena Airport project.</a></span></i></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #20124d;">Any decision about St Helena's governance must take in to account the role and costs of the existing system headed by the Foreign Office appointed (and imposed) Governor. I made a Freedom of Information Request for this on 19 July 2020. There is a delay in replying due to Covid19. However a firm recommendation about this post cannot be made without such information and the alternative uses to which the outlay for this post could be used.</span></i></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #20124d;"><i>I received a reply on 17 September. "The most recent information held is for costs recorded for 2018/19, which is £375k". £31,250 a month is quite modest, although the sum will vary depending with who is appointed and their entitlements. If just over half of that is the personal salary then the Governor would be on a salary higher than the UK Prime Minister, as Prime Minister and MP - <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salaries_of_Members_of_the_United_Kingdom_Parliament">around £160,000 a year.</a> </i></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: left;">UK's smallest local
authority is the </span><a href="https://www.scilly.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Pay Policy Statement 2018-19.pdf" style="text-align: left;">Isles
of Scilly</a><span style="text-align: left;">, population 2,259, it pays its Chief Executive the
full-time equivalent rate of £104,050. The next smallest, </span><a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjLj-PuqPDrAhU1t3EKHdPtArAQFjAAegQIARAB&url=http://www.rutland.gov.uk/EasysiteWeb/getresource.axd?AssetID=25930&type=Full&servicetype=Attachment&usg=AOvVaw2eoqtw6DUXI2XrQC5n_MbL" style="text-align: left;">Rutland,</a><span style="text-align: left;">
39,927 pays its £127,153.</span></span></i></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: inherit;"><span>In
the not-for profit sector, </span><span><span><a href="https://www.savethechildren.net/about-us/accountability#:~:text=CEO and Executive pay">Save
the Children</a> Fund pays £190,000 for its Chief Executive.</span><span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">It
has a </span></span></span><span>US$</span><span> </span><span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span>2.2 billion (£1.65b) turnover, 25,000 dedicated staff across 117 countries.</span></span></i></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #003333;"><b>Anecdotes</b></span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #003333;">You acquire many pearls of wisdom over the
years, as well as hopefully learning from experience. In <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2017/01/inspirations.html">my
blog</a> about days in Dorset I tell about one source of such wisdom
mentioned above – the principles of natural justice. Here's another
one:</span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #003333;">
■ <i><b><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Good people in good
teams do good work even in bad organisations.</span></b></i></span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #003333;">
■ <i><b><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Even in the best
organisations, poor people in poor teams do not work well.</span></b></i></span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #003333;">
■ <i><b><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Good people in good
teams in good organisations always do the best work.</span></b></i></span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #003333; text-align: left;">In Cambodia
authoritarian leadership – quick decisive action – is often
perceived as good leadership. In contrast </span><a href="https://expertprogrammanagement.com/2011/08/action-centred-leadership-john-adair/" style="text-align: left;">“action-centred”
leadership</a><span style="color: #003333; text-align: left;">, based on consultation in the team and people
affected, is often regarded as bad. There loyalty to the leader and
dutiful obedience is still endemic despite being the root cause of
tragedies like the </span><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-10684399" style="text-align: left;">Khmer
Rouge</a><span style="color: #003333; text-align: left;"> rule.</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><b>..…..oo0oo.......</b></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><b>UNDP Job Advertisement</b></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmhBJYL3o_qm3ntZtP8dU6OFdRqbafNRpimUHvXP2tm5Gdg16apOCnnilDFSCOIRfcKnZg-DPcFpNufJ8t5OKok4S2oL9-6I3enPR9AFmbQ82j9C8aN7nWGKGO7VgKaa6ZV50PFKrLeaw/s886/UNDP+salary.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="886" data-original-width="552" height="976" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmhBJYL3o_qm3ntZtP8dU6OFdRqbafNRpimUHvXP2tm5Gdg16apOCnnilDFSCOIRfcKnZg-DPcFpNufJ8t5OKok4S2oL9-6I3enPR9AFmbQ82j9C8aN7nWGKGO7VgKaa6ZV50PFKrLeaw/w608-h976/UNDP+salary.jpg" width="608" /></a></div><br /><b style="text-align: center;"><br /></b><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p></p></div>ANorthumbrianAbroadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548140943705427113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5208414707355071730.post-70950039189864985912020-07-25T03:35:00.008-07:002023-11-08T02:31:32.567-08:00Roll out the Barrel!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOjBkXpAFkVFjdXYJg4dLW6SyB6_PH9Tw1DuB9AqsL7XHyk6NpUSOp63GdzXTVN0VSzazHfrRmxWstiAv-mrwILoAd3cpblITY3zODz7uAnsLvtJ_iggtxAASu-PMXvWesDPOTnGALJMI/s1600/Barrel.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="988" data-original-width="1572" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOjBkXpAFkVFjdXYJg4dLW6SyB6_PH9Tw1DuB9AqsL7XHyk6NpUSOp63GdzXTVN0VSzazHfrRmxWstiAv-mrwILoAd3cpblITY3zODz7uAnsLvtJ_iggtxAASu-PMXvWesDPOTnGALJMI/s400/Barrel.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<b>What
ales you, man? </b>(An Alnwickdote)</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://youtu.be/lQLhfbBt1Lc"><span style="color: #cc0066;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Roll
out Watney's Red Barrel [Video]</span></i></span></a></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
When Bob Caldwell told us <span style="color: #660066;"><i><b>“You must be
one of the boys”, </b></i></span>he didn't add that we'd be having
our first beer of the day at the unearthly hour of 4.45 am. If you
were lucky – unlucky if you're a normal mortal – you'd have two
more before going for your greasy-spoon bacon-and-egg breakfast at
6.00am. Some days you'd be off again for two more “turns” and
that could mean 6-8 more pints by knocking-off time at noon.<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><br /></b>
<b>Set
for life</b></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
We were <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_and_motion_study">“Time and Motion”</a> boys, objects of great suspicion but
essential mates of Watney's Beer-Delivery Dray-Men. Our work decided
their pay or their bonuses to be correct. It was a holiday job but
one that set in-place my career – not just having the occasional
beer but what I do, or did. Then it was “Work Study”. It merged
with “Organisation and Methods” and then shuttled across in to
“Personnel Management”. Today it's all “Human Resources”.</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It is a matter of great pride to me that whenever the
Oxford-Cambridge University Boat Race on the Thames takes place, television
pictures show the one and same Mortlake Brewery of my early
indoctrination. Watneys offered me a job when I graduated.
Reluctantly, most reluctantly I turned it down. I wouldn't be here
today if I'd accepted it. I must confess that my Watney's stint did
settle my post-graduate career choice – helping others to do
their work, letting others do the work.</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY0DfGtVFmNpEQEZKtQwE-WcIHXHHuPjJo48PEf3jzp8DYf566UJeowCUvCpVREpNEA7SKo_Ps3MCJx_nkwzS7qwpbFsT8m50TWrgvnnI5hBGBm2Lgi-t-uWJz1jQuh3AlLB9tJz7X0P8/s1600/Stag+Brewery.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="571" data-original-width="1600" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY0DfGtVFmNpEQEZKtQwE-WcIHXHHuPjJo48PEf3jzp8DYf566UJeowCUvCpVREpNEA7SKo_Ps3MCJx_nkwzS7qwpbFsT8m50TWrgvnnI5hBGBm2Lgi-t-uWJz1jQuh3AlLB9tJz7X0P8/s640/Stag+Brewery.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Gas
disaster</b></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Now I had had the occasional beer before Watney's. Many would say
with good reason that Watney's Beers were chemical concoctions, like
most <a href="https://youtu.be/zMFNh5wVLV8">beers of that era</a>
touted by celebrities likes <a href="https://youtu.be/QAKrghfSwPY">Rowan Atkinson</a> most famous as Mr Bean. Month Python of course immortalised Watney's Red Barrel in their <a href="http://monty%20python%27s%20travel%20agent%20sketch./">travel agent sketch</a>.<br />
<br />
My first taste of beer was in
the <a href="https://www.thefishingboatinnboulmer.co.uk/">Fishing Boat Inn,</a> Boulmer, as small boy (when it was a real pub and friendly). Salty old fishermen
delighted in seeing us squirm with the nasty taste and pretend it was
great. That early introduction did not put off venturing to more
serious tippling around the age of 16. I looked older, never got
asked my age. Confession time. We took to <a href="https://youtu.be/nRklsYZaxeQ?t=15">Double
Diamond</a>. It worked wonders with similar claims by all the
keg-beer chemical concoctions that were all the rage in the 60s and
70s. The Bar Maid at the Plough, Alnwick, offered her Vaux Salmon
Ale (now no more sadly) as either a blow job or a hand-job!<br />
<br /></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWD6KLLOq68nB9qNtK2ZFQvU3g17ru9VO03LlA2Zya7k_54ONikhWw8hSu9RAEPjJ8TsRQ5kZSnJW-J5H9nohJaq17CrCvXpSZMdw5kJEUyE92j-NmIU6DP5BE2T014knqC1GfABcrGvY/s1600/Barrel+Open.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1495" data-original-width="1577" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWD6KLLOq68nB9qNtK2ZFQvU3g17ru9VO03LlA2Zya7k_54ONikhWw8hSu9RAEPjJ8TsRQ5kZSnJW-J5H9nohJaq17CrCvXpSZMdw5kJEUyE92j-NmIU6DP5BE2T014knqC1GfABcrGvY/s200/Barrel+Open.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;">My Beer Barrel Bridport Co-op 1978</span></b></td></tr>
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The gas used to blow beer in to your glass, as distinct from drawn by
hand-pulled pumps, is of course Carbon Dioxide. Watneys delivered 28
or 14 pound canisters with the beer. If you see the beer barrels on
the back of the Dennis delivery truck pictured, imagine them as
aluminium casks; a dozen gas canisters alongside them, and me sitting on the kegs.
Some crews wouldn't let the Time and Motion boys in the cab. One was
Eddie Chamberlain the fastest driver in the fleet. One day in
Hammersmith we hit a bump in the road. A 9 gallon </span><b>Guinness*</b> keg jumped
up to give me a bump on the head and the valve on one of the gas
canisters spectacularly failed. It sent out an icy-cold steamy blast
across my feet. Watney's Health and Safety rules meant I had to take
a taxi immediately back to the brewery to be checked by the nurse.
No concussion but a mild case of frost-bite...... in mid-Summer!</div><div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span style="color: #20124d;"><b>* A slight digression. We had a Pussy Cat we called Guinness because he was black and he graced us for 20 years. I'd gone to Exeter Cat's shelter for a ginger cat but he decided otherwise. I had to go back a few days later for him after being vetted as a fit owner. I asked but how do you know which black cat is him? The lady said "Easy, didn't you notice he has 7 toes on each paw!" So Guinness went home to Pinhoe then to Dorchester and all the way to Saint Helena Island. He had to stay mainly in a big rabbit-hutch style box for 14 days for the journey by ship, but needless to say had other ideas. His name "Guinness" was on the box. The sailors thought that meant they had to give him Guinness to drink. He lapped it up.</b></span></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizAGp20DcVAuQDgTOdtXLGKqKf913hstR8py4WBPFFyCnDaIv3vZYASY6lCZiOAgTijtTqIYU0w7ott3oNI-nmUj8K2PGBJGBXc36Wml8YUCUFGUcHIT3qVO7mW3xIPSr6kMU45nbbYDc/s1600/Barrel+Deliveries.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1131" data-original-width="1591" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizAGp20DcVAuQDgTOdtXLGKqKf913hstR8py4WBPFFyCnDaIv3vZYASY6lCZiOAgTijtTqIYU0w7ott3oNI-nmUj8K2PGBJGBXc36Wml8YUCUFGUcHIT3qVO7mW3xIPSr6kMU45nbbYDc/s640/Barrel+Deliveries.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>What
your right arms for </b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: large; font-weight: normal;">[</span><span style="font-weight: normal;">Courage
Beer TV Ad's <a href="https://youtu.be/w6rsPPqSAuk?list=PLhAxOx7g8wbKNWISc8Rd3aH9svUqkJQAb">Video
1</a> ; <a href="https://youtu.be/-yL3lpf2m7s?list=PLhAxOx7g8wbKNWISc8Rd3aH9svUqkJQAb">Video
2</a> : <a href="https://youtu.be/JaP5mcbcpCo?list=PLhAxOx7g8wbKNWISc8Rd3aH9svUqkJQAb">Video
3</a> : <a href="https://youtu.be/z5vDPRXtaIg?list=PLhAxOx7g8wbKNWISc8Rd3aH9svUqkJQAb">Video
4</a>]</span></span></div>
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One morning, at a Free House, after 4 pints of Watney's Special
Bitter at previous stops - Watney's staff never drank Red Barrel - I'd had enough and wanted to decline mine host's usual post-delivery
offer “<span style="color: #660066; font-weight: normal;"><i><b>What you're having lads?</b></i></span>”
Needless to say my polite refusal brought ribbing from the dray-men. <span style="color: #660066; font-weight: normal;"><i><b>“Can't
take your beer”</b></i></span> and a few more phrases not allowed
in these politically-correct times. I uttered a flimsy excuse “<span style="color: #660066; font-weight: normal;"><i><b>I'm
just fed up of Watney's Special”</b></i></span>. <span style="color: #660066; font-weight: normal;"><i><b>“No
problem”</b></i></span> said the Landlord <i style="font-weight: normal;"><b>“Try this!”</b></i>
He duly pulled me my first pint of <b><a href="https://couragebeers.co.uk/beers/#directors">Courage
Directors</a>”</b>. It was a revelation.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-6ZzHfPAXbA3lluYy48JOiics7JuPFXnK-htiXXQfpyZsvRWJ6tTkFgXatLYdpOIf2aYLuOtl_ILh1G54O4PsJyLgcPOTtsBHaFd7wlVlDx3tOfIol7t_6lcrKuNPdXNOk2Hb301n7Vo/s1600/Red+Barrall.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="243" data-original-width="260" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-6ZzHfPAXbA3lluYy48JOiics7JuPFXnK-htiXXQfpyZsvRWJ6tTkFgXatLYdpOIf2aYLuOtl_ILh1G54O4PsJyLgcPOTtsBHaFd7wlVlDx3tOfIol7t_6lcrKuNPdXNOk2Hb301n7Vo/s200/Red+Barrall.jpg" width="200" /></a><b>The
end of Watneys Red Barrel</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1DS6h7c2nrtdR9Q-bRljY7y4gLiZPmgd9JfhQSbkqhD0FFc7HgRraRrOUw75x00bEEPTzIKx-xaHQ6O75yAnYEhXVZXXx2KqANJTMrSkFTdHkQQblo4_F83GEZte5qCVF7LaoIBAhFSs/s1600/Mao.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="529" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1DS6h7c2nrtdR9Q-bRljY7y4gLiZPmgd9JfhQSbkqhD0FFc7HgRraRrOUw75x00bEEPTzIKx-xaHQ6O75yAnYEhXVZXXx2KqANJTMrSkFTdHkQQblo4_F83GEZte5qCVF7LaoIBAhFSs/s320/Mao.jpg" width="211" /></a>Red Barrel - “Roll out the barrel” was the song and advertising
jingle for <a href="https://youtu.be/lQLhfbBt1Lc">Watney's Red Barrel</a>
that competed with Double Diamond, Whitbread Tankard, etc. (See the
beer Mats.) Now while I was there, Watney's decided to re-launch the
brand, dropping the “Barrel” and calling it just Watney's Red. The
laboratory and marketing boys had co-operated, done their research.
They'd booked the TV slots and advertising hoardings. The first brews
were brewed ready for delivery. Chairman Mao's face was salivating in
anticipation. In celebration, they told the boys in the brewery –
and me – to try it. Next morning they realised there was something
amiss in the chemical concoction. Quite a few boys reported
diarrhoea! Unfortunately it was too late to correct. So the brand
new Watney's Red was in fact the same old Watney's Red Barrel. No-one noticed. The
joys of keg beer.</div><div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfYyE399jfg931h6XSZ58F4uA-S3J5plVLi4AHhcXaNA34pLx5EUkYB3wZbQQuAMyO6D4BOOxIIqCM3i482Mpi_nEPmuTBb8sY-UVM7FVT9XUV1zfOoM2ONjiK6SFb9-0j9q4QHEPWv9-CAUjwUSifU6ZGZwUtrYZeIGjMgPw0WFQWN4gYcCyPtF39sZA/s1619/image_2023-11-08_102959702.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="738" data-original-width="1619" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfYyE399jfg931h6XSZ58F4uA-S3J5plVLi4AHhcXaNA34pLx5EUkYB3wZbQQuAMyO6D4BOOxIIqCM3i482Mpi_nEPmuTBb8sY-UVM7FVT9XUV1zfOoM2ONjiK6SFb9-0j9q4QHEPWv9-CAUjwUSifU6ZGZwUtrYZeIGjMgPw0WFQWN4gYcCyPtF39sZA/w629-h295/image_2023-11-08_102959702.png" width="629" /></a></div><div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div>
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<b>Revelation
Born-Again Beer</b></div>
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<a href="https://camra.org.uk/">CAMRA</a> by chance was formed the
same year 1971 as my enlightenment and I joined it. We'd all drank
proper draught ales before but too often it was a hit and miss affair
as to how they tasted whereas gold old Double Diamond was consistent,
consistently average. Here that glass of Courage Directors draught was the first excellent real beer I'd
had and I've never looked back. Mind you today's Directors is not the
same as the original but does at least retain much of its character. Here in
Northumberland it's worth the trip to the <a href="http://www.seahouses.co.uk/">Old Ship Inn</a> Seahouses for
a pint or two. (Best pub up here.)</div>
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<b>Free
Beer</b></div>
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Watneys gave us luncheon vouchers worth in those days 6 shillings or
30 pence. In the posh white-collar staff restaurant, we could trade
one in, add one and six in cash, and get a good meal..... on white table
cloths with delicate porcelain. As work study boys we could eat there
or go downstairs in to the works canteen to eat on chipped formica tables with
heavy <a href="http://www.woolworthsmuseum.co.uk/hg-chinaglass.htm">Woolworth</a>'s
everyday white plates. The food was the same “<i>just cooked
better for upstairs"</i> said the boys. It was sold for.... one and six-pence. We ate
with the boys, saving our vouchers to spend in the pubs. I spent my
last voucher at the <a href="https://www.thespringgrove.co.uk/">Spring Grove</a> Kingston at Christmas, three months
after I'd left Watneys.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1m_US34m06C36sS5OWvO46vnmb0fvUa-gPlslQGqhTvuCaWx3eMpZuSpfmU-TN0AwKXPwOfCrcP-a6CgPzPVACNMk_Rr0pr1PjmbE49dAWTHildn0MgByFxu0urnNrz5tv3au1G-ey24/s1600/Bass.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="410" data-original-width="298" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1m_US34m06C36sS5OWvO46vnmb0fvUa-gPlslQGqhTvuCaWx3eMpZuSpfmU-TN0AwKXPwOfCrcP-a6CgPzPVACNMk_Rr0pr1PjmbE49dAWTHildn0MgByFxu0urnNrz5tv3au1G-ey24/s200/Bass.jpg" width="145" /></a></div>
Those vouchers opened up adventures. Now they were supposed to be for
food but most pubs didn't care. One voucher was worth three pints of
beer. So I sampled <a href="http://youngspubs/">Young's Special,</a> <a href="http://london_pride/">Fuller's London Pride,</a> and fair
few other draught ales. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bass_Brewery">Bass</a> was and is a special favourite, although it
took me another 30 years and halfway across the world to see it <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2014/06/alnwickdote-no-13-blue-stars-and-red.html">served
at its best</a>.</div>
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Apart from Work Study for the Dray Men I carried out one more very
demanding task. Few people know that Bar Staff actually walk far and
carry much weight in the course of a day. Cellar-men even more so. I
did something then that I still do today. I examine bar lay-outs.
You would be surprised how much effort is wasted, as well as bar staff
cajoling with each other when busy, simply because things are in the
wrong place. Tills and most popular sales should be handiest to
reach. not in far-off corners. We were actually paid to go and study certain pubs – my
first<a href="https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/ergonomics/method-study/string-diagram-procedure-and-purpose-of-string-diagram">
string diagrams</a>. We came up with model “work-station”
layouts. Few pubs today have them – they should.</div>
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<br />
<b>Beer in High Places and Faraway</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFP88WWIBILe5k-rAlcTOSGKeSfwELu5NnK_oFOl17AoKtTc-0P3FT1UE-GAP_0YaC_nhFrlFKCfQM0NoHjbM1H8J4GNM1qw5lMij_lb-nHPdufg0tT-P-p_38UmJXgM8iGOvp0xx1dMU/s1600/Barrel+Close.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1108" data-original-width="1503" height="470" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFP88WWIBILe5k-rAlcTOSGKeSfwELu5NnK_oFOl17AoKtTc-0P3FT1UE-GAP_0YaC_nhFrlFKCfQM0NoHjbM1H8J4GNM1qw5lMij_lb-nHPdufg0tT-P-p_38UmJXgM8iGOvp0xx1dMU/s640/Barrel+Close.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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In my small display you will see the Dennis trucks, built in the
1920s and 1930s that Watneys were still using in the 1970s. They were
ideally-suited for small London streets, as indeed were the Shire
Horse pulled drays – now used mainly for tourists and marketing.
Although I have a Bass model here, it was encountering a Young's team
that I recall best. They delivered the same time as us, down a
cu-de-sac. Shire Horses aren't very good at reversing. It was fun.
Beer deliveries are called turnarounds – that was the longest I
ever recorded.</div>
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Apart from the pride of being associated with Mortlake Brewery, that
job took me in to all kind of places including the House of Commons
and 10 Downing Street. At the time I'd never thought that Prime Minister Ted Health liked his Red Barrel. I suppose he'd thrown out
Harold Wilson's <a href="https://www.theakstons.co.uk/our-ales/permanent-cask/old-peculier">Old Peculier</a> or Yorkshire brew. During the era of "<a href="http://www.historyandpolicy.org/events/event-listing/in-place-of-strife-1969-trade-union-legal-rights-responsibilities-revisited">In Place of Strife</a>" Harold was famous for beer and sandwiches at No 10 to placate the trade unions.<br />
<br />
You will also see in my barrel the bar mats advertising crisps. Those were the days when often the only food you got in a pub was a packet of crisps. Some great old brands there.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEsmmTf3SK89fE_VqfqLwg9EiiqmpFHjFXBGu1ZNvsxGP1lpteM0PsC5jZ06Znzv9dOdjSQcTGKdb4dlGSyVa4iYdPh_e9M-y2rcmhT8l93YiZrGQM2zZKHTr7wqANp5mMxm6nTj9CSr4/s1600/Directors.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1379" data-original-width="1221" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEsmmTf3SK89fE_VqfqLwg9EiiqmpFHjFXBGu1ZNvsxGP1lpteM0PsC5jZ06Znzv9dOdjSQcTGKdb4dlGSyVa4iYdPh_e9M-y2rcmhT8l93YiZrGQM2zZKHTr7wqANp5mMxm6nTj9CSr4/s200/Directors.JPG" width="176" /></a>From London I moved down to Exeter Devon and then Dorchester, Dorset
where excellent draught beers were and are brewed. It's a shame that
Devenish and Eldridge Pope have gone. You can see the Thomas Hardy
Ale bottle on the left. <a href="https://www.hall-woodhouse.co.uk/">Hall and Woodhouse</a> brewer of Badger ales is still going
and I thoroughly enjoyed a pint (or two) last year when coming across
their pub in Twickenham.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguZz54OD5NXhYc218mAK-QUizZ8B-UOCRHRJBKLrTyV63Y-2VSNh6-AAEE5WDmQK1jwIKTQYibdrCoatTBMvz6xbVkTWFq8lq90z7DQk_CW1cNDc3jqavcLGRs2PE4gHAoVDQfaczvsNI/s1600/Cambodia+Beer.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="892" data-original-width="818" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguZz54OD5NXhYc218mAK-QUizZ8B-UOCRHRJBKLrTyV63Y-2VSNh6-AAEE5WDmQK1jwIKTQYibdrCoatTBMvz6xbVkTWFq8lq90z7DQk_CW1cNDc3jqavcLGRs2PE4gHAoVDQfaczvsNI/s200/Cambodia+Beer.JPG" width="183" /></a>I then left these hallowed shores. Occasionally I had emergency
rations of English beer sent out to me on St Helena Island, including
Directors or “<a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2014/06/alnwickdote-no-13-blue-stars-and-red.html">Cock-Fowl
Beer</a>”. I will never understand how South African breweries
succeeded – Castle and Lion were/are never more than bland lagers.
I told them at the Rand Show. (Beer mug top right) Mostly when abroad
though I've had to settle for chemical concoctions. Mind you they are
served with a little <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2016/12/more-to-peering-than-appears.html">more style</a> in Cambodia and South East Asia,
aren't they? (See picture below to end this blog - incidentally Carlsberg, Heineken etc refuse to help these ladies.)</div>
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<b>Most Unusual Watney's Legacy</b></div>
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As stated above if it was not for Watneys, I may not have taken my
career-path. There is one other very important life-skill I learned that stood
me in good stead decades later when working with Dorset Social Services and the
disability sector in Cambodia. <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/03/careless-in-community.html">My
blog tells those stories.</a></div>
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<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg66v_3L-tAcE3n0Lifd6TCZ0LIagBNovBcgfME53LKrUGyQSC5Z8jiDRazWY079lAoPqKpC-TvWWMbPr_Vt3jila7LThKwGlgZy3dKeMyKf7G57ZXAkt1B2gyLNfKkBthB5M_ojDnOLl8/s2454/Courage.....jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="852" data-original-width="2454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg66v_3L-tAcE3n0Lifd6TCZ0LIagBNovBcgfME53LKrUGyQSC5Z8jiDRazWY079lAoPqKpC-TvWWMbPr_Vt3jila7LThKwGlgZy3dKeMyKf7G57ZXAkt1B2gyLNfKkBthB5M_ojDnOLl8/s640/Courage.....jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b><i>Memorabilia from the era of Watneys and Courage. Who remembers the Ushers sign outside pubs or the plaques and posters inside? I do.</i></b></span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
One beer-delivery was to the psychiatric facility in Epsom, to the
staff social club located in the Women's wing. It was one of the
largest residential institutions in the country. The “Ticket-Man”
Vic Johnson, the Dray Man responsible for the paper-work warned me.
<b><i><span style="color: #783f04;">“Stay close to us!”</span></i></b> The beer kegs were placed on a trolley and
wheeled down long corridors past the female patients. Many were
curious about their visitors and wanted to approach but were grabbed
and held back by the attendants, mainly burly men, much to their
chagrin with tears and wriggling to be free. One escaped and grabbed
Vic. Vic was a typical cockney working-class boy, down-to-earth,
quick-witted. Instead of fighting the woman off, he gave her a big
hug and a kiss <span style="color: #801900; font-weight: normal;"><i><b>“There you are darling!”</b></i></span>
and off she went very happy. Quite frankly he showed more sense and
good practice than the staff. One more young lady broke from her
keeper, throwing herself at my feet. That was and remains the only
time in my life a lady has done that, just one fateful attraction.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>The End of Watneys</b></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKHZL48PGarixfJVyPK8lbmvymplG2DazD8loaPwUAjSE4Uuied0pOk6WIJSrr6lPg1YRNnpi4cHBqU50hHHVotSROs83oMxSO-Cbo8-fBuKRjFTd0InlkVO3PNXyCpV2bXhVFIHsXHhs/s1600/Truman.bmp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="226" data-original-width="223" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKHZL48PGarixfJVyPK8lbmvymplG2DazD8loaPwUAjSE4Uuied0pOk6WIJSrr6lPg1YRNnpi4cHBqU50hHHVotSROs83oMxSO-Cbo8-fBuKRjFTd0InlkVO3PNXyCpV2bXhVFIHsXHhs/w154-h157/Truman.bmp" width="154" /></a>My time at Watneys was historic in more ways than one. One of our
competitors was <a href="https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2wzffg">Ben
Truman</a></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihWUlXdyj749i6He2XGohOvgPez_YZxW2wp4KquxVrC6er0dI6gdYCSX2QEoBPtad2jZ48mRmWfhdg9MZt_DQEnSvsDc8gqzq4Td0qwSmWACk4eCnDKqv9s8U2h4YeZurkpoUJyt60byJY8gKNoksce7MeS94aATNo4XDDPF5oWnbbViI7ZF4sB4LbOmo/s557/image_2023-06-26_113350903.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="454" data-original-width="557" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihWUlXdyj749i6He2XGohOvgPez_YZxW2wp4KquxVrC6er0dI6gdYCSX2QEoBPtad2jZ48mRmWfhdg9MZt_DQEnSvsDc8gqzq4Td0qwSmWACk4eCnDKqv9s8U2h4YeZurkpoUJyt60byJY8gKNoksce7MeS94aATNo4XDDPF5oWnbbViI7ZF4sB4LbOmo/w197-h173/image_2023-06-26_113350903.png" width="197" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d; font-size: x-small;"><b><i>Image thanks <a class="css-4rbku5 css-18t94o4 css-1dbjc4n r-1loqt21 r-1wbh5a2 r-dnmrzs r-1ny4l3l" href="https://twitter.com/arbronsious" role="link" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 1; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-align: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; z-index: 0;" tabindex="-1"><div class="css-901oao css-1hf3ou5 r-115tad6 r-18u37iz r-37j5jr r-1wvb978 r-a023e6 r-16dba41 r-rjixqe r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; flex-direction: row; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: "ss01"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: inherit;">@arbronsious</span></div></a></i></b></span><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>
<br />
Watneys
itself was formed from multiple brewery mergers – Watney, Combe and
Reid, and <span style="font-weight: normal;">Mann, Crossman and Paulin
etc. Watneys decided to take over Trumans and launched a bid for it.
Unfortunately Grand Metropolitan Hotels wanted it too. As they
competed share-prices shot up until they got the point where Grand
Metropolitan decided that it made sense to take over both Ben Truman and
Watneys. So they did and Watneys joined many other brews including <a href="https://couragebeers.co.uk/history/">Courage</a> in the same stable.</span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Mortlake Brewery survived producing chemical concoctions until 2015. <a href="http://zythophile.co.uk/2015/12/03/goodbye-to-the-last-of-londons-million-barrel-breweries/">Full history here</a> by Martyn Cornell.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Fortunately
CAMRA succeeded far beyond all expectations. British beer was saved.
I still find Directors my favourite. Not many kegs can match it.
As a Northerner one of the admissions I have made is that beer on the
whole is better in the South, with or without a frothy head. My
older family members used to call it “Pop” and so it was, even
much-vaunted Newcastle Brown. So it was but I am pleased to say that
today things are much better and we now have some great local brews.
<a href="http://firebrickbrewery.com/beers.php">“Toon Broon”</a>
by Firebrick is actually a much improved draught version of the Blue
Star favourite.</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>More Reading and Images</b><br />
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
After posting this blog I was pleased to come across others on the same theme. Many have similar thoughts as mine, a mix of appreciation, nostalgia and good-humoured banter. There is even a resurrection of <a href="https://watneys-beer.com/">Watneys?</a> I enjoyed most <a href="https://www.retrowow.co.uk/retro_britain/keg_bitter/watneys_red_barrel.html">this blog</a> from Retrowow with some of the most apt comments including from John Palmer who was one of the "Lab Boys" I refer to. I can vouch for his statements - very few of us knew the secret of Watney's Export Lager that was indeed excellent. Please see also <a href="https://boakandbailey.com/2014/03/cloning-watneys-red/">"Cloning Watney's Red.</a><br />
<br />
I can't claim to have been a great Watney's beer-drinker. I wasn't persuaded by working there. Among many easily forgettable pubs, I do recall the <a href="https://pubwiki.co.uk/Middlesex/Isleworth/IronBridgeInn.shtml">Iron Bridge</a> at Isleworth, the local of our housemates and the Bull at East Sheen. There's a good walk described <a href="https://londonpostcodewalks.wordpress.com/2013/11/07/sw14-once-sheen-never-forgotten/">here</a> that covers my commute from home in Palewell Park to the Mortlake Brewery. There are some great photographs of it. It also mentions one Young's pub nearby, The Jolly Gardeners but not our favourite at the time the <a href="https://www.eastsheenvillage.co.uk/shop/hare-hounds/">Hare and Hounds</a>.<br />
<br />
The <a href="https://www.weekendnotes.co.uk/walking-the-river-from-mortlake-to-richmond/">walk described here</a> is very much the same nostalgic return I had not long ago, retracing steps around Richmond Park, East Sheen, Mortlake and beyond. It includes Syon House - <a href="https://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2016/01/us-and-them-them-or-us.html">London home of our neighbour,</a> the Duke of Northumberland, and Kew Gardnens that has done much to help <a href="https://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/06/more-to-saint-helenian-culture-than.html">St Helena's</a> endemic plants.<br />
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ANorthumbrianAbroadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548140943705427113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5208414707355071730.post-59854680069300003932020-05-01T06:02:00.116-07:002023-11-17T02:19:50.964-08:00Mekong: Dam, Sand and Blast: Confluence of Calamities<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVH57iz1Y1PglqWjXKS29TAwveXP1nVoBaB6GoXSQFvyRk5jWboWp4x-zMXKiUzmE6m9IE7kJWwCzBVFWDRJwHCFO81f6wxeVLY9VHlHs_9liM_fpEPEMdAhxDSketf0k9V4Z_ggyNw8w/s1199/Mekong.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="676" data-original-width="1199" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVH57iz1Y1PglqWjXKS29TAwveXP1nVoBaB6GoXSQFvyRk5jWboWp4x-zMXKiUzmE6m9IE7kJWwCzBVFWDRJwHCFO81f6wxeVLY9VHlHs_9liM_fpEPEMdAhxDSketf0k9V4Z_ggyNw8w/w563-h317/Mekong.jpg" width="563" /></a></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><div class="jss151" style="align-items: flex-start; box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; letter-spacing: 0.14994px; margin-bottom: 8px;"><div class="jss160" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: auto 0px auto 8px;"><h5 class="western" style="font-family: Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"></h5><h5 align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #073763;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">Tonle
Sap Bottleneck comparison - Sept 2019 vs 2020</span></span></span></h5><h5 align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #073763;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Forward
by <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/5208414707355071730/5985468006930000393#">Brian
Eyler</a> </i></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Published
on Sep 18, 2020</i></span></span></span></h5><h5 class="MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-h5" data-cy="story-title" style="box-sizing: inherit; letter-spacing: 0em; line-height: 1.33; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<p class="western" style="font-family: Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">
</p><p class="western" style="font-family: Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">
<span style="color: navy; font-size: small;">Prior to 2020, the 2019 wet season was one of
the driest on record. The annual reversal of the Tonle Sap in
Cambodia was severely delayed in 2019 but low rainfall plus upstream
dam regulation (mostly from China's 11 mainstream Mekong dams) have
totally erased the annual reversal of the Tonle Sap for 2020. This
comparative image compares two extremely dry late September images.
Remember September 25, 2019 was comparatively very year, so the
flooding you see in the 2019 image is at a very low level compared to
normal conditions. The September 16, 2020 image shows the Tonle Sap
bottleneck at much lower levels - in fact, this is what the Tonle Sap
bottleneck looks like for much of the Mekong's dry season which runs
from December to May annually.</span></p><p class="western" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><i><a href="https://www.johnlowrie.uk/newpage359518d0">Click here for my website entry of the same name</a></i></span></p></h5></div></div></div></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWdjwJCEgaiihwORGL5SezAgTAsBXjonTMNlsMRKILeIL6ToJALoD_y8rf8A8Tzm5m13gd_WVsqZ_kxOq9-UNvG6LGTiAG8XImsPQT7bMohQgMur5wWElW9qP3llNTqdLlbsOIHvHUm74/s1600/A.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /><img border="0" data-original-height="1586" data-original-width="1600" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWdjwJCEgaiihwORGL5SezAgTAsBXjonTMNlsMRKILeIL6ToJALoD_y8rf8A8Tzm5m13gd_WVsqZ_kxOq9-UNvG6LGTiAG8XImsPQT7bMohQgMur5wWElW9qP3llNTqdLlbsOIHvHUm74/s200/A.jpg" width="200" /></a>
<span face="" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Geography
was always my favourite subject at school. I didn't like other subjects so was delighted with my Grade A at “A” level, the university-entrance examinations in
the UK. Human and physical geography have remained of great interest
and relevance throughout my overseas career.</span></span><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: large;"><span face="" style="text-align: justify;">For one year on </span><a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/1987/11/alnwickdote-no-15-no-good-crying-over.html" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">St
Helena</a><span face="" style="text-align: justify;"> I even taught the subject to high school students. In one
small island you have one of the most impressive of planet Earth's
creations – a massive volcanic outcrop thrown up in the middle of
the vast Atlantic Ocean. My geographical students there weren't so
worldly. Some thought that milk was a product from a tin can, not
produced by cows and farmers.</span><span face="" style="color: #cc0066; text-align: justify;"><b>*</b></span></span>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="color: #660066; font-family: arimo, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Geography
lesson: “Rivers in early, middle, and late life” – as see here
the River Aln in old age meandering before it enters the North Sea at
Alnmouth Northumberland.</i></div>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
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<span face="" style="font-size: large;">Geography
features much more in my Foreign Aid career, in almost every
development project. The over-riding aim is to address poverty and
hunger, to meet basic human needs. The ghastly Foreign Aid jargon
calls it “Food Security”. You can still hear today a most
over-used proverb: “<span style="color: #004586;"><i><b>If you give a man
a fish, he eats for a day. If you teach a man to fish, he eats for a
lifetime.”</b></i></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face="" style="font-size: large;">Is
that common-sense? A self-evident truth? You would think so,
wouldn't you? Actually if the words are interpreted literally the
logic no longer holds. They can be opposite to best practice or in
need of considerable qualification.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face="">Now
I could be talking <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/03/smarter-aid-not-more-aid.html#more">again</a>
about “<span style="color: #004586;"><i><b>Don't teach a man to fish, just
give him the Goddam fish!</b></i></span>“ as <a href="https://www.vox.com/2015/8/4/9096899/cash-teach-fish">Dylan
Matthews</a> – a fellow frustrated Foreign Aid worker - put it
well, but I'm not. Mind you what he says, endorsed by
equally-suffering <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-trouble-with-aid-nates-exit.html">Nate
Rabe</a>, are always worth re-visiting. </span>
</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtl7zJfaSPNIuzXmxlaZMsQk6-Y3-V8h9etarkBYLn6w63p7asZzZCJONYzy3DovuOW67vhCUjOolQkoHkO6cnh6YFrXHBEduh7TaxEr2d2sq28IXdlKnjJZDwKgWeRNNNqkTKCpyHQe4/s1600/Sundowner.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="524" data-original-width="1600" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtl7zJfaSPNIuzXmxlaZMsQk6-Y3-V8h9etarkBYLn6w63p7asZzZCJONYzy3DovuOW67vhCUjOolQkoHkO6cnh6YFrXHBEduh7TaxEr2d2sq28IXdlKnjJZDwKgWeRNNNqkTKCpyHQe4/s640/Sundowner.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="color: #660066; font-family: arimo, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Sundowners overlooking the Tonle Bassac Takhmau Cambodia </i></div>
</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span face="" style="font-size: large;">No,
this time, I'm talking about one man-made calamity in-the-making over
my 20 years in Cambodia. I have personally observed it at close
quarters, usually over a beer or two. Not having the creativity of
the <a href="https://twitter.com/aikunming/status/1249737682105692161?s=20">Stimson
Center Team</a> I have borrowed their title for the phenomenon I have
witnessed first-hand <a href="https://www.stimson.org/2020/new-evidence-how-china-turned-off-the-mekong-tap/">“A
Confluence of Calamities”</a>. The calamities are not just confined
to the Mekong confluence with its Tonle Sap and Tonle Bassac
tributaries at Phnom Penh.</span><b style="color: #cc0066; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">*</b><b style="color: #cc0066; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">*</b><span face="" style="font-size: large;"> They extend along its entire length. One
of the world's greatest rivers and its most unique natural wonder is
being damaged:</span><br />
<span face="" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<ul>
<li><div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcHGcPC9lvzLUcSs-eEDzlfO2ISvZ_WAxARVpG1taFrE27L_ITOu5ONqPmZzgKS4V86xnS81PrmpPOk3QgYDFaeaSEZKQreSG5JvCC8IUcPGRVqSFaCR5iJDH8_CTGCAJpDSsLR2hVeHI/s1600/Mekong+rubbish.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="492" data-original-width="680" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcHGcPC9lvzLUcSs-eEDzlfO2ISvZ_WAxARVpG1taFrE27L_ITOu5ONqPmZzgKS4V86xnS81PrmpPOk3QgYDFaeaSEZKQreSG5JvCC8IUcPGRVqSFaCR5iJDH8_CTGCAJpDSsLR2hVeHI/s320/Mekong+rubbish.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="color: #20124d;">Plastic waste greets you at Takhmau jetty.</span></i></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span face="" style="font-size: medium;"><b>In
its early life from mountainous origins in China and Mynamar, due
to dams built for hydro-electric power, water/sediment-flows and
fish-migration patterns have all been altered.</b></span></div>
</li>
<li><div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face="" style="font-size: medium;"><b>In
its middle life, more dams built, as it descends through Laos,
Thailand and Cambodia where vast sand-extraction takes place for
urban construction while untreated sewage and waste pours-in.</b></span></div>
</li>
<li><div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face="" style="font-size: medium;"><b>In
its late life in to Vietnam, with salt-water intrusion due to
reduced flow and accumulation of pollution harming centuries-old
rich agriculture.</b></span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face=""><br /></span>
<span face=""><span style="font-size: large;">The exceptionally-rare natural phenomenon of the Mekong is also at
serious risk –– the reversal of the flow of its tributary the
<a href="http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/tonle-sap-lake-cambodia">Tonle Sap</a> and the massive expansion of its lake of the same name.
Indeed this was greatly diminished in the wet season 2019-20.
Drought affected growing of the staple product rice. Fish-catches
were depleted. The annual <a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1255421852773756930?s=20">bounty of the Mekong</a> - food security and
nutrition for millions - has been <a href="https://youtu.be/B8fs2pn-HgA">mercilessly sacrificed</a>. </span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY2ZfSuKmSpTJzONxTho6iW6I3v3aoIx82ZiUs61FD3fmPwdJkHjgD0vA9o2k4ls8S82KEDbxS6INJHtvFpnoPcEmK-2AnvmQa-VtEqeUYCwatYaHsdlHlgPJ6JrYiFdHXpwEdsTQw8n4/s1600/Beer.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1454" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY2ZfSuKmSpTJzONxTho6iW6I3v3aoIx82ZiUs61FD3fmPwdJkHjgD0vA9o2k4ls8S82KEDbxS6INJHtvFpnoPcEmK-2AnvmQa-VtEqeUYCwatYaHsdlHlgPJ6JrYiFdHXpwEdsTQw8n4/s200/Beer.JPG" width="181" /></a><span face="" style="font-size: large;">That
disaster is not the only one from man's attempts to harness the
mighty Mekong. One of the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-44935495">dams under construction collapsed</a>.
Torrents of water suddenly cascaded downstream from Laos to Cambodia,
with death and destruction in its wake.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span face="" style="font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face="" style="font-size: large;">I
moved to Takhmau in 2000 on the banks of the Tonle Bassac just
outside of Phnom Penh. Today you find many restaurants – they come
and go with monotonous regularity. There is one that survives, only just, from early days along with newcomers, with fine river views,
cooling breezes, and suitable facilities to enjoy a cold beer or two.
Some have canned or live music but mostly the only noises came from
small motorised boats. Not any more. </span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBXd-ILnu8iu-vbVmoYEaTzDjquVSvKdfdhzFljdera6LRP9DrAyI8YoAr1obfQ5mY5zJZWKfPKuCx460sHowGV4Bm9FO-Yq0du3ze5B9lT8YwPLBx2VxJPY3QEBTRFK8TDq9WsD-g6wI/s1600/Collapse.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="1030" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBXd-ILnu8iu-vbVmoYEaTzDjquVSvKdfdhzFljdera6LRP9DrAyI8YoAr1obfQ5mY5zJZWKfPKuCx460sHowGV4Bm9FO-Yq0du3ze5B9lT8YwPLBx2VxJPY3QEBTRFK8TDq9WsD-g6wI/s320/Collapse.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><b><i> <a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1233591934167289861?s=20" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;">Relentless sand-pumping?</a></i></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span face="" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span face="" style="font-size: large;">All that changed when Phnom
Penh's building frenzy began and took off spectacularly. For over a
decade, we have sand-pumping rigs and barges operating
round-the-clock. Occasionally authorities have <a href="https://english.cambodiadaily.com/news/barges-impounded-for-breaking-sand-dredging-ban-in-kandal-49567/">banned</a> them.
River-banks have collapsed, houses lost. The bans have never held. </span><span face="" style="font-size: large;">The
images are photogenic but that is the only good thing to be said.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3kkDLsQWo1Uf_-u5B3-x01gkuMTuNTOiuIrMUctkI5Z-4enb0EBi8fFqdcHIXcisOg6U0rLFkNe7_mIVjkRy0qPPbZKGSsV09HpV77jf-GsYR5QANO5oje_Zj0kesfPWMVZ5o7IaGi98/s1600/Barges.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="241" data-original-width="900" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3kkDLsQWo1Uf_-u5B3-x01gkuMTuNTOiuIrMUctkI5Z-4enb0EBi8fFqdcHIXcisOg6U0rLFkNe7_mIVjkRy0qPPbZKGSsV09HpV77jf-GsYR5QANO5oje_Zj0kesfPWMVZ5o7IaGi98/s640/Barges.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span face=""><br /></span>
<span face="" style="font-size: large;">Over the years I have taken many images of the constant sand-pumping operations. However my colleague Nick Axelrod must be credited with one of the best. He captured sand being pumped from the confluence to fill in Boueng Kak Lake. This land dispute and terrible effect on local people has featured in many of my <a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1243091804175642627?s=20">writings</a>.</span><br />
<span face=""><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDsrjRBsK_DeS7A5pnTTsg6KU2HOABi4D-GR2QIhv9ix98z5uR_Mqy-eM500nEaEohYfIetE5CWuUG_nQEwzZhg-UZMHQcewQVmCiS7CE5Eyd34cKfxUIRLTTeHHH92NjTBPWuBeEUdas/s1600/Nick.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1070" data-original-width="1600" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDsrjRBsK_DeS7A5pnTTsg6KU2HOABi4D-GR2QIhv9ix98z5uR_Mqy-eM500nEaEohYfIetE5CWuUG_nQEwzZhg-UZMHQcewQVmCiS7CE5Eyd34cKfxUIRLTTeHHH92NjTBPWuBeEUdas/s640/Nick.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<span face="" style="font-size: large;">One of my earliest pictures is of Takhmau's oldest sand-pumping operation. It is just opposite the riverside "</span><span face="" style="font-size: large;">sundowner" bar, </span><span face="" style="font-size: large;">close to the new Takhmau bridge </span><span face="" style="font-size: large;">and 1km from Prime Minister Hun Sen's fortress on his flight-path home</span><span face="" style="font-size: large;">. Although pumping has moved a few hundred metres up-stream, laden barges are still off-loaded nearby on to waiting lorries. </span><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1245315359080615937?s=20" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif;">I once counted 8 barges lined-up.</a> </span><span face="" style="font-size: large;"> The sand is then taken to cement-works or construction sites.</span><br />
<span face=""><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk0EzVC4Oa8bKeTInTTIM4CY-2N9-B-VZDfba_CHXrb1-OHo0ySy9vSHIr3epGcFqeYvl00vDz5ULiI7pWPFqMb4gQG4_HVSXtXP9I9IDnjfCRElL_yuwZcKlaHfjMWYi6dMdSTW8cKP0/s900/Helicopter+HS.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="415" data-original-width="900" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk0EzVC4Oa8bKeTInTTIM4CY-2N9-B-VZDfba_CHXrb1-OHo0ySy9vSHIr3epGcFqeYvl00vDz5ULiI7pWPFqMb4gQG4_HVSXtXP9I9IDnjfCRElL_yuwZcKlaHfjMWYi6dMdSTW8cKP0/w643-h297/Helicopter+HS.jpg" width="643" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<span face="" style="font-size: large;">One operation took place throughout my four-month stay in Takhmau from the end of 2019 into 2020. It was literally straight in front of the "Three Barges Inn" (my name) balcony overlooking the river, giving us all a close-up view of the astonishing speed of filling these massive barges. Click <a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1230319733322371074?s=20">on this link</a> for a short video. A compendium of images can be viewed on my website story: </span><b><i><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.johnlowrie.uk/newpage359518d0">"Mekong: Dam, Sand and Blast: Confluence of Calamities."</a></span></i></b><br />
<span face=""><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdHs0uZTtVLR-vYhcQsT07ZSLFonQw0qNuv0NVK78fmCcTV99MPs3KyRAtXtJ1jLTgoB-c39v7i3CsE81EiW-U3Bl9TLw8okxoY-WejepVqp77M5qyDCNlBjl57S6hXIF9FBNKCQk7m0A/s1600/Pump.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1084" data-original-width="1553" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdHs0uZTtVLR-vYhcQsT07ZSLFonQw0qNuv0NVK78fmCcTV99MPs3KyRAtXtJ1jLTgoB-c39v7i3CsE81EiW-U3Bl9TLw8okxoY-WejepVqp77M5qyDCNlBjl57S6hXIF9FBNKCQk7m0A/s640/Pump.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span face=""><br /></span><b style="color: #cc0066; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">* </b><i style="color: #cc0066; font-family: calibri, sans-serif;"><b>Plug for my Geography teachers, “Yogi” Johnson; Lenny Rainbow and “Killer Kirby”.</b></i><br />
<span face=""><i style="color: #cc0066;"><b style="font-size: x-large; font-style: normal;">*</b></i></span><b style="color: #cc0066; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">* </b><i style="color: #cc0066; font-family: calibri, sans-serif;"><b>Greatest calamity at the Phnom Penh confluence on Koh Pich island was a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/nov/23/cambodia-stampede-phnom-penh">stampede</a> over one of the bridges that caused 347 deaths. We had been there earlier in the day. As with the water Festival I was concerned again about the crowds - millions descend uncontrolled on such venues.</b></i><br /><b style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ5pp9okWn-mtryLpHBP02qP3GfVvpLAgva9CC2UuwPX6W78KuuV6_HSW6YhNCxafuVe_w8yQouvs0qnbvVCv980hVMW2h1IOYeU6ksTsaNEXW-t0mxRLPa5D1ZnvWSg5QvBzkxgIBIi0/s2048/Confluence.bmp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1653" data-original-width="2048" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ5pp9okWn-mtryLpHBP02qP3GfVvpLAgva9CC2UuwPX6W78KuuV6_HSW6YhNCxafuVe_w8yQouvs0qnbvVCv980hVMW2h1IOYeU6ksTsaNEXW-t0mxRLPa5D1ZnvWSg5QvBzkxgIBIi0/w540-h434/Confluence.bmp" width="540" /></a></div><b style="background-color: #cccc99; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11.88px;"><i><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: small;"><div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b style="background-color: transparent; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><b style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11.88px;"><i><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: small;"> The confluence of the Mekong with Tonle Sap and Tonle Bassac at Phnom Penh</span></i></b></b></div></span></i></b></b><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Early warnings more reading </b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Please go to this <a href="https://www.academia.edu/3718583/Cooperation_in_the_Mekong_River_Basin_A_Reflection_of_Cambodia_Experiences_in_the_Mekong_Development" style="font-weight: bold;">2005 paper</a> from Mak Sithirith: </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>"Many issues occurred in relation to upstream mentality's projects not necessary unintended, but impacts extend downstream. The case of Yali Dam and its impacts is a clear example of how regional agreement has failed to provide protection to its members from impacts made by another member. Despite the clear case of failure of regional agreement over the Yali dam, the Se San 3, Se San 4 dams are being built on the same river leading to increases international concern about the legitimacy and the accountability of MRC for the Mekong Region. Communities along the Se San continue to suffer from the impacts of these dams. There is inadequate mechanism to address these problems from local, national, regional and bilateral efforts. Local communities bear all the cost and problems while the benefits from these projects go to some where else. </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The issues of lack of scientific information about the impacts are continued to be lacked. Downstream countries are always constrained by the lack of evidence to prove the intensity of the impacts, but the mouth of downstream community speaks out that they have impacts. When the information of these impacts is available? Who accountability is this to the people that are affected?"</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">No debate about the Mekong can take place without China dominating <a href="https://www.academia.edu/29175522/Watershed_or_Powershed_A_critical_hydropolitics_of_the_Lancang_Mekong_Cooperation_Framework_?email_work_card=view-paper">the discourse</a>, both as the largest exploiter of its upper-reaches and its support of major infrastructure projects downstream. This is not just of hydro-power dams but also construction projects built using riversediment sand extracted for concrete and for land-filling. That debate is not helped by <a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1153491457400958976?s=20">rival "research" bodies</a> and vested interests.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Update August 2022</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now that the rainy season is well-underway, the Mekong is at last rising and the reverse flow of the Tonle Sap is underway. It is still too early to assess if the eco-system is anything like normal or still affected by dams, sand-mining, etc. However there is clear evidence of permanent damage as illustrated in this <a href="https://www.rgs.org/about/our-collections/online-exhibitions/lost-lands/">exhibition</a> by Andy Ball. Please also access his <a href="https://twitter.com/_andy_ball/status/1558019361671385090">Twitter thread</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Also please access the Royal Geographic Society link here, also thanks to Dr Chris Hackney for his <a href="https://twitter.com/DrChrisHackney/status/1559178384198062084?s=20&t=akL3gCxt7FFzHs3u58QyTA">Tweet</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Update November 2023</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Excellent <a href="https://youtu.be/7Nf93iRHZoU">BBC documentary</a> with vivid photography and personal stories. However, as I have posted after previous similarly powerful reporting and research studies <b><i><span style="color: #512323;">"not one so far has led to any real change in policies."</span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic-DwQ6CeHcJ3arko1uZzbvYn-19dWlCJMshyphenhyphenQls08MOlRv1d5YUv6OKqQVX4rh68ICKGdz8IlXW4rIx8wcIbo5xoYvakrGpnoxvlgqL8vwOld8-gB13TNX-qE7RpaYWBfaZLmMrOMglPlIV9CNnsfQI_ymZQj_-QiFUNvD2AqD46K0V92hAvaeBgDnqg/s1446/image_2023-11-17_101904934.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="782" data-original-width="1446" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic-DwQ6CeHcJ3arko1uZzbvYn-19dWlCJMshyphenhyphenQls08MOlRv1d5YUv6OKqQVX4rh68ICKGdz8IlXW4rIx8wcIbo5xoYvakrGpnoxvlgqL8vwOld8-gB13TNX-qE7RpaYWBfaZLmMrOMglPlIV9CNnsfQI_ymZQj_-QiFUNvD2AqD46K0V92hAvaeBgDnqg/w523-h283/image_2023-11-17_101904934.png" width="523" /></a></div><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="color: #512323;">Photograph: <a href="@TCristofoletti">Thomas Cristofoletti</a></span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="color: initial;"><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="color: initial;">Update May 2022</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In just the last couple of days, there has been some excellent reporting on the state of the Mekong with concern about its natural sedimentation being disturbed so much that it is having dire effects downstream where rising sea-levels and other factors are coming in to play. Please see articles no 45 and 46 below. To go with those is this<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921818122000637/pdfft?md5=7f14f26f112b98c47daa7d7db4e2843a&pid=1-s2.0-S0921818122000637-main.pdf"> excellent study</a> by Jana R. Cox et al on river deltas generally.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They make good reading alongside other worthy titles this year led by Abbie Sieff's discourse on the Tonle Sap Lake, No 34.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are also some excellent images but I personally still credit Nick Axelrod's above as the most iconic. Roun Ry's images provide vivid documented evidence of the scale of the problem. Note the size of these barges, the amount of sand extracted, when viewed from within the hulls.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBJd_af38bUrLNlEWOcJ_ntMiwWGWut3XBzm-q0o2SQVtDu5i4M-mRHvO_mJAdUEy8n1y5ui174pim4BsS_c57TAt9JWTAhfRfM53UIPFM26qjrsEvD3BI78fbc8EFnN7lHI3_0K3HSvuW8je90HKi0ao15HSYmbbRiORNF2Ert_0wxoxbe-RbuzlB/s1500/image_2022-05-17_135155864.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="999" data-original-width="1500" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBJd_af38bUrLNlEWOcJ_ntMiwWGWut3XBzm-q0o2SQVtDu5i4M-mRHvO_mJAdUEy8n1y5ui174pim4BsS_c57TAt9JWTAhfRfM53UIPFM26qjrsEvD3BI78fbc8EFnN7lHI3_0K3HSvuW8je90HKi0ao15HSYmbbRiORNF2Ert_0wxoxbe-RbuzlB/w523-h348/image_2022-05-17_135155864.png" width="523" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Selection of more recent articles and earlier works</b><b><br /></b>
<br />
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span><b>1. <a href="https://tfipost.com/2020/05/after-unleashing-coronavirus-in-the-world-china-is-preparing-to-starve-laos-vietnam-and-cambodia/">Tfipost:</a></b></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span face="">After
unleashing coronavirus in the world, China is preparing to starve
Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia</span></span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span><b>2. <a href="https://www.phnompenhpost.com/opinion/how-global-appetite-sand-fuelling-crisis">Melissa
Marshke</a> </b></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span>et
al: How the global appetite for sand is fuelling a crisis</span></span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span><b>3. <a href="https://apjjf.org/2020/10/Roney.html">Tyler
Roney</a>: </b></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span>Damming
the Mekong: China, Laos, Cambodia and the fate of Tonle Sap Lake</span></span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span><b>4. <a href="https://www.aseantoday.com/2020/05/how-sand-mining-puts-southeast-asias-farmers-at-risk/">Skylar
Lindsay:</a></b></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span> How
sand mining puts Southeast Asia’s farmers at risk</span></span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span><b>5. <a href="https://www.academia.edu/37050803/Regionalism_Identity_and_Hydropower_Dams_The_Chinese-Built_Lower_Sesan_2_Dam_in_Cambodia">Oliver
Hensengerth</a>:</b></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span> Regionalism,
Identity and Hydro-power Dams; The Chinese-built Lower Sesan Dam in
Cambodia.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span><b>6. <a href="https://cchrcambodia.org/index_old.php?url=media/media.php&p=analysis_detail.php&anid=77&id=5">CCHR</a></b></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span> -
Human Rights impacts of sand-dredging Cambodia.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span><b>7. <a href="https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/mekong-river-offshoot-erodes-like-a-drill-4109230.html">Cuu
Long</a> - </b></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span face="">Mekong
River offshoot erodes like a drill.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>8.</b><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span><b><a href="https://www.academia.edu/1255991/Social_Assessment_of_impacts_on_fisheries_by_hydropower_development_in_the_Lower_Mekong_River_Basin">Jens
Sjorsley</a> </b></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><b>- </b></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span>Social
Assessment of impacts on fisheries by hydropower development in the
Lower Mekong River Basin.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span>9. </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span><b><a href="https://www.academia.edu/10773397/Starving_the_Mekong_A_Report_on_the_Impacts_of_Cambodia_s_Lower_Sesan_2_Dam">Kimberley
Ogonda</a> - </b></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span face=""><span>Starving
the Mekong: Report on Impacts of Cambodia’s Lower Sesan 2
Dam.</span></span></span><br />
<span face=""><span>10. <b><span style="color: #660000;"><a href="https://www.nst.com.my/world/region/2020/07/605834/cambodia-thailand-vietnam-alarmed-laos-project"><span>Shankar Ganesh</span></a> </span></b>- Cambodia, Thailand alarmed by Laos Project</span></span><br />
<span face=""><span>11. </span></span><span face=""><span><b><a href="https://www.voacambodia.com/a/5504337.html">Luke Hunt </a>- </b></span></span><span face="" style="color: #222f3a;">Praying
for Rain by the Mekong as Monsoon Season Begins</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font color="#222f3a" face=""><b>12.<a href="http://www.licadho-cambodia.org/reports/files/231Smoke%20on%20the%20Water_Eng_Final..pdf"> LICADHO</a> -</b> S</font><span face="" style="color: #222f3a;">moke on the water.</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="color: #222f3a;"><b>13. <a href="https://scienceline.org/2020/07/the-covert-industry-that-is-destroying-the-worlds-rivers/">Corryn Wetzell </a>- </b>quoting Dr Chris Hackney's study of Mekong<b>. </b></span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="color: #222f3a;"><b>14. <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/08/cambodia-tonle-sap-lake-running-dry-taking-flooded-forest-fish/">Stefan Lovgen</a> - </b>Cambodia's biggest lake is running dry taking forests and fish with it.</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""><b><a href="https://www.academia.edu/3718631/Tonle_Sap_Lake_and_its_management_the_diversity_of_perspectives_and_institutions"><span style="color: black;">15.</span><span style="color: #222f3a;"> </span><span style="color: #990000;">Mak Sithirith</span></a></b><span style="color: #660000;"> </span><span style="color: #222f3a;">- Tonle Sap Lake, its management, the diversity of perspectives and institutions. Also excellent<a href="https://www.academia.edu/8757056/Applied_Hydrology"> hydrology study</a> on Tonle Sap by the Water and Development Group, <b>Keo Sophanadra</b> et al.</span></span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="color: #222f3a;"><b>16</b>. <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/08/in-cambodia-a-sweeping-new-environment-code-languishes-in-legal-limbo/"><b>Andrew Nachemson</b></a> - In Cambodia a sweeping new environment codes languishes in legal limbo.</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="color: #222f3a;"><b>17. </b> <b><a href="https://thediplomat.com/2020/09/the-last-farewell-to-the-mighty-mekong/">Tom Fawthrop</a></b> - Last Farewell to the Mighty Mekong.</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="color: #222f3a;"><b>18. <a href="https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1200571.shtml" target="_blank">Global Times </a></b>- Hyping China's dam threat in Mekong riddled with loopholes. </span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="color: #222f3a;"><b>19. <a href="https://southeastasiaglobe.com/koh-norea-environment-fears/">Andrew Haffner</a> </b>- Environmental fears as new Mekong island carved out in Phnom Penh.</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="" style="color: #222f3a;"><b>20.</b> <a href="https://cambodianess.com/article/reckless-development-the-loss-of-phnom-penhs-wetlands-puts-the-city-at-risk"><b>Gerald Flynn and Phoung Vantha</b></a> Reckless Development: Loss of Phnom Penh's Wetlands puts it at risk. (See also 39 below)</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span face="" style="color: #222f3a;"><b>21.</b></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: 0.5px; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px 6px 0px 0px; position: relative; text-transform: capitalize;"><a class="link" href="https://https://cambodianess.com/article/takeo-lobster-and-shrimp-catches-down-due-to-environmental-degradation/listing?Nary%20Khorn%20and%20Phoung%20Vantha" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;"> </a><a class="link" href="https://https://cambodianess.com/article/takeo-lobster-and-shrimp-catches-down-due-to-environmental-degradation/listing?Nary%20Khorn%20and%20Phoung%20Vantha" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;"><span style="color: #990000;">Nary Khorn And Phoung Vantha</span></a></li></span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit; text-align: start;">Takeo Lobster and Shrimp Catches Down due to Environmental Degradation.</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit; text-align: start;"><b>22.<a href="https://uk.news.yahoo.com/chinese-dams-under-u-scrutiny-170338698.html"> Kay Johnson and Matthew Tostevin </a> </b></span><span font-family:="" inherit="">Chinese dams under U.S. scrutiny in Mekong rivalry.</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span font-family:="" inherit=""><b>23. <a href="https://youtu.be/TQgLoMJYviE">RFA video</a> </b>showing wholesale filling-in and re-fashioning of the Mekong near Phnom Penh.</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span font-family:="" inherit=""><b>24.</b> <a href="https://southeastasiaglobe.com/land-grabbing-cambodia/"><b>Andrew Haffner</b></a> In Cambodia this village shows even the wealthy are vulnerable to landgrabbing.</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span font-family:="" inherit=""><b>25.</b> <b><a href="https://southeastasiaglobe.com/phnom-penh-flooding/">Wanpen Pajai</a></b> - </span><span bold="" center="" color="var(--linkColour)" font-family:="" font-weight:="" inherit="" text-align:="" var="">As wetlands are filled, Phnom Penh ignores Bangkok’s flooding lessons.</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span bold="" center="" color="var(--linkColour)" font-family:="" font-weight:="" inherit="" text-align:="" var=""><b>26. <a href="https://southeastasiaglobe.com/thmor-san-cemetery-phnom-penh/">David Hutt and Sam </a><a href="https://southeastasiaglobe.com/thmor-san-cemetery-phnom-penh/">Jam</a> </b>One of the more unusual consequences of sand extraction on the Mekong: "<b><i>My cemetery, my home".</i></b></span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span bold="" center="" color="var(--linkColour)" font-family:="" font-weight:="" inherit="" text-align:="" var=""><b>27<i>. </i></b></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/magazine/issues/summer-2021/articles/resilient-rivers">Marta Kasztelan</a></b></span> "Resilient Rivers - helping to protect Mekong".</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><b>28.</b> <b><a href="https://mekongreview.com/the-tonle-sap/">Abbie Seiff</a></b> "Tonle Sap is dying". (See also 34 below.)</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><b>29</b> <a href="https://www.academia.edu/35962958/Large_scale_environmental_degradation_results_in_inequitable_impacts_to_already_impoverished_communities_A_case_study_from_the_floating_villages_of_Cambodia"><b>Glen Althor Rebecca Colvin et al</b></a> "Tonle Sap - impoverished floating communities environmental degradation and inequitable impacts ".</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><b>30.</b> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><a href="https://chinadialogue.net/en/energy/lower-sesan-dam-displaces-cambodians-identity/"><span inherit="" itemprop="name" none="" text-decoration-line:="">Sangeetha Amarthalingam + </span></a></b></span><span inherit="" itemprop="name" none="" style="color: #660000;" text-decoration-line:=""><b>Say Tola </b></span>May 2021 Update on the effects of the Lower Sesan dam. "<font-family: inherit="">Cambodians displaced by dam struggle to retain their identity."</font-family:></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><font-family: inherit=""><b>31. <a href="https://southeastasiaglobe.com/the-politics-of-conservation-in-cambodia/">Alistair McCready</a>: </b>Politics of Conservation in Cambodia.</font-family:></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><font-family: inherit=""><b>32</b>. </font-family:><b><a href="https://www.thethirdpole.net/en/livelihoods/cambodia-sand-mining/">Marta Kasztelan</a></b> with <a href="@TCristofoletti"><b>Thomas Cristofoletti:</b></a> "<span font-family:="" inherit="">The livelihoods and homes of a thousand farming and fishing families are threatened by Cambodia’s largest land reclamation project".</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span font-family:="" inherit=""><b>33.</b> <a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/08/10/underwater/human-rights-impacts-china-belt-and-road-project-cambodia" style="font-weight: bold;">Human Rights Watch</a> "Human Rights Impacts of a China Belt and Road Project in Cambodia". </span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span font-family:="" inherit=""><b><a href="https://twitter.com/instupor/status/1323720853369065473?s=20">34. Abbie Sieff</a></b> "Troubling the water". (See also 28 above.)</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span font-family:="" inherit=""><b><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01436597.2021.1984224">35. Sophkea Young and Sophal Ear</a></b> "Explaining transnational environmental movements against dams in the Lower Mekong region."</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span font-family:="" inherit=""><b>36. </b><a href="https://andyballmedia.com/city-of-sand"><b>Andy Ball</b> </a>- "City of Sand" story and great images around Phnom Penh - one below this list:</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span font-family:="" inherit=""><b>37.</b> <a href="https://vodenglish.news/island-of-the-rich-as-sand-dune-rises-old-neighborhood-upturned/"><b>Andrew Haffner and Mech Dara</b></a> Island of the Rich (follow-up to 23).</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span font-family:="" inherit=""><b>38.</b> </span><b><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07900627.2017.1329138"><span -3px="" nowrap="" word-spacing:="">Frauke Urban, Giuseppina Siciliano & </span><span -3px="" 0px="" 1="" 1px="" 8px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" class="w8" display:="" height:="" inline-block="" line-height:="" margin:="" none="" nowrap="" padding:="" white-space:="" width:="" word-spacing:=""></span><span -3px="" nowrap="" word-spacing:="">Johan Nordensvard</span></a> </b><span style="word-spacing: -2px;">China’s dam-builders: their role</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> in transboundary river management in South-East Asia.</span></span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><b>39. <a href="https://www.thethirdpole.net/en/livelihoods/new-dams-endanger-survival-of-the-mekong/">Gerald Flynn and Phoung Vantha</a></b> "New Dams endanger Survival of the Mekong".</span></span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><b>40</b>. <b><a href="https://thepeoplesmap.net/2021/11/10/ruptured-worlds-a-photo-essay-on-the-lower-sesan-2-dam-cambodia/"> Sarah Milne</a></b> </span></span><a href="@TCristofoletti"><b>Thomas Cristofoletti:</b></a><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"> et al "Ruptured Worlds - a Photo Essay on the Lower Sesan 2 Dam Cambodia.</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><b>41. <a href="@LianneChiaCNA">Lianne Chia</a>: </b></span><a href="https://www.channelnewsasia.com/cna-insider/under-shadow-chinas-mega-dams-millions-southeast-asia-face-fight-survival-2368571">Under the shadow of China’s mega dams, millions in Southeast Asia face a fight for survival</a></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><b>42</b>. <a href="https://www.brimonitor.org/case-studies/the-tatay-river-hydropower-dam/">The Tatay Hydro-Dam, Koh Kong.</a></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><b>43</b>. <a href="@lukeanthonyhunt"><b>David Hutt</b> </a> on <b><a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/mekong-drought-enters-fourth-year-worst-conditions-in-60-years/6436938.html">"Mekong worst drought conditions in 40 years."</a></b></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: inherit;">44. </b><b style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.academia.edu/30734681/The_World_Bank_Hydropower_based_Poverty_Alleviation_and_Indigenous_Peoples_On_the_Ground_Realities_in_the_Xe_Bang_Fai_River_Basin_of_Laos?email_work_card=abstract-read-more">Kanokwan Manorom Ian G Baird</a> </b><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">"</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">The World Bank, Hydropower-based Poverty Alleviation and Indigenous Peoples: On-the- Ground Realities in the Xe Bang Fai River Basin of Laos."</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><b>45</b>. <a href="https://twitter.com/RjpSchmitt/status/1522600626940563456?s=20&t=u-Oa2d02cPozNIOTPBVJyg"><b>Rip Schmitt</b></a> et al <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.abm5176"><b>"Save the Mekong Delta from drowning"</b></a></span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><b>46. </b><a href="https://vodenglish.news/roar-on-the-river-a-torrent-of-sand-shores-up-citys-rise/" style="font-weight: bold;">Andrew Haffner and Rean Ry </a><b><span style="color: #444444;">"Roar on the River - A Torrent of Sand"</span><span style="color: #660000;">.</span></b></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><b>47. <a href="https://southeastasiaglobe.com/the-small-cuts-bleeding-tonle-sap-lake/">Andreas Von Bubnoff</a></b> <b><span style="color: #444444;">"Small Cuts Bleeding Cambodia's Tonle Sap Lake."</span></b> Comprehensive round-up with an array of Mekong international river experts. just one important potential further harm not covered - the <a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1551782364883419138?s=20&t=p3v8Wt0FU9ZUaUJLbaNy4w">proposed canal</a> to connect the Tonle Bassac to the Sea Coast, so Cambodian river-freight does not have to navigate through Vietnam. What harm will this saltwater intrusion cause coming on top of rising sea-levels?</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><b>48 </b>Another gem from <a href="@geraldrflynn">Gerry Flynn</a> this time with <a href="@vuthasrey">Vutha Srey</a> focusing on the sand-extraction and effects on the Mekong and riverbank communities. "<i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/08/mining-the-mekong-land-and-livelihoods-lost-to-cambodias-thirst-for-sand/">Mining the Mekong: Land and Livelihoods Lost to Cambodia's Thirst for Sand.</a>" </i>More too <a href="https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/cambodias-elites-swallow-phnom-penhs-lakes-leaving-poor-marooned">here</a> from them on the same theme.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><b>49<span style="color: #073763;"> Andy Ball</span></b> (No 36) again, with <b><span style="color: #0c343d;">Dr Chris Hackney</span></b> et al and <a href="https://www.rgs.org/about/our-collections/online-exhibitions/lost-lands/">Royal Geographical Exhibition</a>, See August 2022 update.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><b>50</b> <a href="https://thediplomat.com/authors/nicholas-muller/">Nicholas Muller</a> a very comprehensive and thoughtful article: <b><i><a href="https://thediplomat.com/2022/11/the-precarious-state-of-the-mekong/">"The precarious state of the Mekong"</a></i></b></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><b>51 </b> <b><i><a href="https://www.reuters.com/graphics/GLOBAL-ENVIRONMENT/MEKONG/egpbyyadnvq/index.html">How dams starve the Mekong of vital sediment.</a> </i></b>Reuters team. Excellent graphics. Suggests that the natural annual sediment discharged by the Mekong will reduce from 143 million tonnes to just 5 when all dams are on-stream.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>52</b> <a class="author-name" href="https://www.thethirdpole.net/en/author/marta-kasztelan/" itemprop="author" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Person" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Marta Kasztelan</a><b><i> <a href="https://www.thethirdpole.net/en/nature/upstream-dams-are-drowning-cambodias-protected-flooded-forest/">"Upstream Dams are Drowning Cambodia's Protected Flooded Forests.</a>"</i></b> <span class="post-meta__category" color="var(--color__text-light)" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Photos: </span><a href="https://www.thethirdpole.net/en/author/andy-ball/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;"></a><a class="author-name" href="https://www.thethirdpole.net/en/author/andy-ball/" itemprop="author" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Person" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Andy Ball</a></span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYMS6PwxxD2ZjZ_-mkVl1WngDAJtDQ5TSMgVNT-evon3G_nx_qgSNPwuCEeF0ovtRAYfCwU_0xT-2vZe4_4HGZITvdY9RbdBzlA7XW19Vw02pEZ6h2UESFxIR2duw3CGAZhwyJRHBTJr4/s2048/Andy.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1368" data-original-width="2048" height="341" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYMS6PwxxD2ZjZ_-mkVl1WngDAJtDQ5TSMgVNT-evon3G_nx_qgSNPwuCEeF0ovtRAYfCwU_0xT-2vZe4_4HGZITvdY9RbdBzlA7XW19Vw02pEZ6h2UESFxIR2duw3CGAZhwyJRHBTJr4/w508-h341/Andy.jpg" width="508" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span 0.252px="" 12.6px="" letter-spacing:="" pre-wrap="" start="" text-align:="" white-space:=""><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Sand, reportedly from the Mekong and Bassac rivers, is pumped into the wetlands as part of the ongoing development projects. The megadevelopment at Boeung Choeung Ek is expected to require more sand than any other in Cambodia’s history.</span></b></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div>
<b style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">More personal associations with rivers, lakes and waterfalls.</span></b><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Northumberland is well
served by rivers. We have two of the most famous as our boundaries –
the Tweed that markers the border with Scotland and the Tyne that
marks where the true South starts. Although the Aln was our nearest
river, the Coquet is my favourite as it flows through Rothbury and
Warkworth on to Amble, three places with obvious other attractions.
The River Wansbeck has similar appeal.</div>
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlWT2EvsXBOyqJ43Bst2jR4VWAvE4C2Rn2UHG_W4H60Bx9cnyg9LV-S-Wx3YytdjhV4KYVmJlSplBG427aEbTuwd6kNGWOcbw2LELl0-T8YCtA3pqAPflGLj3YH45_y2h6CrWXsRYEwKs/s1600/River.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="1600" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlWT2EvsXBOyqJ43Bst2jR4VWAvE4C2Rn2UHG_W4H60Bx9cnyg9LV-S-Wx3YytdjhV4KYVmJlSplBG427aEbTuwd6kNGWOcbw2LELl0-T8YCtA3pqAPflGLj3YH45_y2h6CrWXsRYEwKs/s640/River.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The next time I lived
near an iconic river it was of course the Thames, with <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2017/11/so-much-older-then-im-younger-than-that.html">Kingston</a>,
Richmond, Twickenham (Eel Pie Island) and Thames Ditton excellent riverside
resting-stops with more fine obvious other attractions.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4LcrKXux5h5Deul4pzw_omRmAeuhejtnpefVRCPMSx8IjhFdjfv_GAohOe9o45Mvo_Gxq3wLxLHobtZM2BLAJtNkSQB8lO08LFHUTq9iH7rslvLhweQVnTXU1byHXRUOoP0Lj8eVEV-I/s1600/River+2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="332" data-original-width="1313" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4LcrKXux5h5Deul4pzw_omRmAeuhejtnpefVRCPMSx8IjhFdjfv_GAohOe9o45Mvo_Gxq3wLxLHobtZM2BLAJtNkSQB8lO08LFHUTq9iH7rslvLhweQVnTXU1byHXRUOoP0Lj8eVEV-I/s640/River+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Abroad I've
visited some great rivers and waterfalls – Niagara Falls, Victoria
Falls and my favourite Howick Falls. Called after our nearby Northumbrian
village but they are found in South Africa. The prettiest waterfall
must be <a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1229929065965965312?s=20">Heart-Shaped Waterfall</a> on St Helena Island that I managed to
reach after cutting through dense undergrowth. How did Maidenhair
Fern get there?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg47aV85yJ7MvOUdbUhao3vwYEsvR4OO6YMe8Yah6OOC43b6ME5MaMHuV1LxYEQHyEWLs0-8hLp_nhjoUb0npKQ5tagb1h_q5IBKHqeuowJG7nzr1GbECSVqyH8tWARQx5ORLERUfZelGk/s1600/Waterfall.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="189" data-original-width="424" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg47aV85yJ7MvOUdbUhao3vwYEsvR4OO6YMe8Yah6OOC43b6ME5MaMHuV1LxYEQHyEWLs0-8hLp_nhjoUb0npKQ5tagb1h_q5IBKHqeuowJG7nzr1GbECSVqyH8tWARQx5ORLERUfZelGk/s400/Waterfall.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span face="">My <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2014/11/cutting-head-to-fit-hat.html#more">first
community development project</a> in Malawi back in 1993-5 was
with fishing communities all around Lake Malawi where even then there
was a crisis due to over-fishing. It was exacerbated by unnatural
environmental hazards such as deadly water hyacinth that was clogging
up lake-shore waters, affecting fish-breeding. Our project there, based in Khata Bay, was
mainly to teach people not to fish, to find other ways of making a
living and to alternative sources of protein. Today in 2020 I see
that that work is still going on.</span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu-wKTyG9zWjUqEwzRvljzOcRNuhed7nJyDOoU8h0tbdyYPrfb8bE7woA2wlPDEzxfhPK8BsopKTgDmZ4JfyNsQjsAhzqQjh4iPVAA4TMsHMs29sVOKH-H0kvCSZ2DKUt7n99iLeLE4as/s1600/Nkhata.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="176" data-original-width="298" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu-wKTyG9zWjUqEwzRvljzOcRNuhed7nJyDOoU8h0tbdyYPrfb8bE7woA2wlPDEzxfhPK8BsopKTgDmZ4JfyNsQjsAhzqQjh4iPVAA4TMsHMs29sVOKH-H0kvCSZ2DKUt7n99iLeLE4as/s400/Nkhata.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i style="color: #660066; font-family: arimo, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;">Nkhata Bay – m</i><i style="color: #660066; font-family: arimo, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;">.</i><i style="color: #660066; font-family: arimo, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;">y home for over two years, the base for our Likoma Chizumulu Fisheries development Project, called after the two islands in Lake Malawi</i></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Finally back to Cambodia. Since 2010 the waterfall that has pre-occupied me more than any other has been <a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1119850146274205696?s=20">Bousra</a> in Mondulkiri. This was the preserve of the Bunong ethnic minority but since the opening up of the province, outsiders have taken it over because it is the province's top visitor site. Sadly the area around it, that should be protected indigenous community lands, have also been grabbed and exploited. We are fighting a hopeless battle to save it for indigenous children.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI6-wFPW87GkAZWpdzlJ6dYztg18xvaHcYOr4pOxbn7TWneg_1p8KsoDFMt91Z0OOHX6XNZRCElROcrm48IpgGlavfx5h_KZxl-KhXqWL0WlfvVkTtR7Y8wRh_jMHK7WT1wqhp1wncc-c/s1600/Untitled+Bousra.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1396" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI6-wFPW87GkAZWpdzlJ6dYztg18xvaHcYOr4pOxbn7TWneg_1p8KsoDFMt91Z0OOHX6XNZRCElROcrm48IpgGlavfx5h_KZxl-KhXqWL0WlfvVkTtR7Y8wRh_jMHK7WT1wqhp1wncc-c/s640/Untitled+Bousra.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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More pictures of the Mekong and its tributaries can be seen on my website story with the same name as this blog. <b><i><span style="color: #4c1130;"><a href="https://www.johnlowrie.uk/newpage359518d0">"Mekong: Dam, Sand and Blast: Confluence of Calamities."</a></span></i></b></div>
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
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ANorthumbrianAbroadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548140943705427113noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5208414707355071730.post-22565993216991324692020-04-14T07:01:00.003-07:002022-09-04T23:56:45.354-07:00Mind how you go! <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEica6rlnSeMRagEJvv_bmA_sH-P5vwZIDoWHDL73AtWyOVHAr7f5Th2lZ2wO7yIQSI6Qh5H3444ydAhtmeOUlDAUAZsAdDZjU1mRKNQznDA7sHeqcemZ4Pqa3TTcp9rASWamTuLgYXt-ys/s1600/Ancient+Modern.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="311" data-original-width="607" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEica6rlnSeMRagEJvv_bmA_sH-P5vwZIDoWHDL73AtWyOVHAr7f5Th2lZ2wO7yIQSI6Qh5H3444ydAhtmeOUlDAUAZsAdDZjU1mRKNQznDA7sHeqcemZ4Pqa3TTcp9rASWamTuLgYXt-ys/s640/Ancient+Modern.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="color: #006666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;"><b>Toilets and Bathrooms Then and Now or Ancient and Modern in United Kingdom<br />The "Netty" image comes from a Northumbrian poem you can read <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/01/print-and-be-dammed-or-haad-your-gob.html">here</a>.</b></i><br />
<i style="color: #006666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><i style="color: #006666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></b></i></i>
<i style="color: #006666; text-align: justify;"><i style="color: #006666; font-size: small; text-align: justify;"><b><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;">(When you've got to go, you've got to go!)</span></b></i></i><br />
<i style="color: #006666; text-align: justify;"><i style="color: #006666; font-size: small; text-align: justify;"><b><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></b></i></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="color: #274e13; text-align: justify;"><b>"</b></span><b style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #274e13;">Wow!”</span> </b><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="text-align: justify;">For
some strange reason <span style="color: #274e13;"><b>"Wow"</b></span> is the desired reaction you need to obtain if
you're selling your house in the UK. At least that's what is said on one <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07c6738" style="font-weight: normal;">TV show in the UK</a>. The <a href="https://youtu.be/0ar7vovnH5I">Kate Bush-like</a> gasp of amazement that matters most is for first sight of kitchens and bathrooms. Yes, if
you get a <span style="color: #274e13;"><b>Wow</b></span> a deal will surely follow.</span><br />
<br />
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">In Cambodia you don't see many
bathrooms with the <span style="color: #274e13;"><b>Wow</b></span>-factor. </span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="color: #990000;"><b>“Errggh!”</b></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-weight: normal;">
is more likely, even in salubrious establishments and residences.
Cleanliness along with godliness haven't quite taken hold yet.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjdBN4G7AZLlRifR-gh_NRHKfgG7CJwQWJfdiB46HvhlKUNiKH53Nb447XeqN5PLEpYW3nadT9_jotuS1li651wYUnKLdZ-uW6v-xmki-Vs43xF5ojR6jy8NEPFp3tioykgI4tVxI33Jc/s1600/Gold.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1408" data-original-width="1209" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjdBN4G7AZLlRifR-gh_NRHKfgG7CJwQWJfdiB46HvhlKUNiKH53Nb447XeqN5PLEpYW3nadT9_jotuS1li651wYUnKLdZ-uW6v-xmki-Vs43xF5ojR6jy8NEPFp3tioykgI4tVxI33Jc/s200/Gold.JPG" width="171" /></a><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">Imagine my surprise therefore to hear about elite Cambodians abroad going to the
opposite extreme. An </span><a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/special/hunsen-family/" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">investigative
journalist</a><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"> chum exposed acquisition of a palatial property in
London that may well have come with with gold fittings in the
bathroom. If they maintain them as they do at home, the glisten will
soon go, they'll lose their glow.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">When
I grew up in the North East of England, too many years ago to
mention, we had a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_streets_are_paved_with_gold">“Dick
Whittington”</a> impression of London where “</span></span><i><b>the
streets were paved with gold</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">”.
Now Dick might have soon been disavowed of that belief once he made
it there but what would he have made of gold bathroom fittings? He
was just ahead of his time. We do know of course about the
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/20/arts/design/gold-toilet-america.html">solid-gold
toilet </a>not far away in Blenheim Palace, the family “seat” of
famous wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill. It was stolen. The
Police had nothing to go on.</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Toilet
humour reminds me of a brush with fame. One of our most famous
Northumberland places is <a href="http://www.lindisfarne.org.uk/">“Holy
Island”</a> also called <a href="lindisfarne:%20the%20official%20band%20websitewww.lindisfarne.co.uk">Lindisfarne</a>
that loaned its name to a local pop group that also found fame in the
1970s far beyond Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Some members are still around
and <a href="https://www.maltingsberwick.co.uk/events/music/4784">perform</a>.
We've seen them in Alnwick and Dunstan. By chance all those years ago
I met up with the original band in London when we booked them to
appear at our college. They were homesick and that was in the days
before the North East's greatest culinary gift to the world –
<a href="https://www.greggs.co.uk/">Greggs</a> – had made its mark. </span></span></span><br />
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj460-yJMrJ3VLOrLzSgZu5t-oVXvGsXZ5i7T20SqBUvMjyCpVzG5minTvFNbMAWlyyY5BMwg1-6VUzVICMAzK1_zT7kqfloAk23TLf-prIAASOf59ylQ8nr6J53_7Wq2CI77moG3BPOug/s1600/Band.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="415" data-original-width="629" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj460-yJMrJ3VLOrLzSgZu5t-oVXvGsXZ5i7T20SqBUvMjyCpVzG5minTvFNbMAWlyyY5BMwg1-6VUzVICMAzK1_zT7kqfloAk23TLf-prIAASOf59ylQ8nr6J53_7Wq2CI77moG3BPOug/s400/Band.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Lindisfarne Band in 1970s from <a href="http://www.thejournal.co.uk/news/north-east-news/lindisfarne-40-years-on-4421296">Newcastle Chronicle</a>.</i></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I did manage to console them with a visit to the <a href="https://www.whiteharthoteluk.co.uk/">White
Hart</a> the only pub in SW London that sold Newcastle Ales. Needless
to say the pub <a href="https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=whats%20the%20crack">“crack”</a>
(local slang for a chat) was about their big hit song </span></span></span><span style="color: #663366;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>“The
Fog on the Tyne is all mine all mine.....”</b></i></span></span><span style="color: #663366;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.</span></span></span></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
The explanation comes later in the song, if you listen carefully and
get the.... err... drift, shall we say: </span></span></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>“</b></i></span><span style="color: #663366;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>We
can have a wee wee, we can have a wet on the wall”</b></i></span></span><span style="color: #663366;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">.</span></i></span></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></i></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">You
see in those days many male toilets were outdoors and consisted of a
concrete wall with a drainage trench below. So you can picture how in
the depths of Winter, a season that can last all-year-round in the
chilly North-East, steam would emanate from hot pee splashing on icy
cold walls – the not so-shrewd observation of the Lindisfarne boys.</span></span></span><br />
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span>
<br />
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjGrDY6S3AAJfCUJFhT1R9S5gAiTBgwoIOmbfgfDWHx7Kdyo900AMhff8RkDnGLhHqbPqpjdrjl3nIMGcaClckalv8ntDzjfx1NgP3euDb9spl7cbfC6LbkRCi4hTSzF2v4sFW4GNyXaw/s1600/LS+Lowrye.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="354" data-original-width="449" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjGrDY6S3AAJfCUJFhT1R9S5gAiTBgwoIOmbfgfDWHx7Kdyo900AMhff8RkDnGLhHqbPqpjdrjl3nIMGcaClckalv8ntDzjfx1NgP3euDb9spl7cbfC6LbkRCi4hTSzF2v4sFW4GNyXaw/s200/LS+Lowrye.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">They would do as every other boy did in those days, Summer or Winter,
aim to see how high-up the wall he could pee, maximising the steam
effect and creating his own <a href="https://genius.com/Lindisfarne-fog-on-the-tyne-lyrics">Fog
on the Tyne</a>! By the way contrary to local opinion another
popular song </span></span></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty_Old_Town"><span style="color: #783f04;">“Dirty
Old Town”</span></a> </b></i></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">is
not about Newcastle or Sunderland but Salford. </span></span></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">In fact my namesake </span><a href="https://thelowry.com/about-us/ls-lowry/" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">LS
Lowry</a><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"> captures it admirably in his paintings.</span><br />
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-align: right;">
<b style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #660000;">Dark Satanic Mills</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Dirty
old town, sky-high concrete walls, and if not fog exactly but an
abundance of air-born pollution brings us </span><b>“</b></span></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>convenient</b></i></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">”ly
back to modern-day Cambodia and Phnom Penh. Who would have thought
that an exile from London would <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2019/12/united-kingdom-first-impressions-and-no.html#more">set
his heart on cleaning it up</a>? Well at least he's.... aiming to
reform local lavatorial habits, especially their hand-washing
inclinations, or lack of them to be precise. He even began this
thankless quest before #Covid19 struck.</span></span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFVdwXH113en04Hf9P1G7AkMOcpK331priUONtbwOBqboPXCm1TMg6j73tkmxbr13daRIZJDqtOhp4srk-nW-5OTaZyetQJHHemYSH7tfgV8gBy7mf_FZFivwYIWwq5qZlVeb_mBhlIS0/s1600/Clean+squat+toilet.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="574" data-original-width="755" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFVdwXH113en04Hf9P1G7AkMOcpK331priUONtbwOBqboPXCm1TMg6j73tkmxbr13daRIZJDqtOhp4srk-nW-5OTaZyetQJHHemYSH7tfgV8gBy7mf_FZFivwYIWwq5qZlVeb_mBhlIS0/s200/Clean+squat+toilet.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">20 years ago in Cambodia, apart
from a nearby bush or hidden corner, you were hard-pressed to find
somewhere to relieve yourself let alone one relatively comfortable
and hygienic. If you succeeded, it would be confined to the “stand
and deliver” facility. Today they're still popular although
sit-along “Western-style” pedestals have thankfully <a href="https://www.lonelyplanet.com/cambodia/toilets">made
in-roads</a>, as have proper urinals.</span><br />
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<div style="font-style: normal;">
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: #006666;"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><i>Not
the bog standard bog in Cambodia but a cleaner one to be gentle on the eyes of readers.</i></span></span></span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7M4IoSyqjQCGz60CIRKBiE67vIthjeX0njzhKe3z5gd7dDaprr8-MYOBa6zVtPyLM4yld9bYXOc8o9XsX0p6QJ1Ss7vmGCyloxeAwAqWOTx0I5kBMf9OcoYuw0rYn8motDXuA6R625AE/s1600/Advice.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="509" data-original-width="644" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7M4IoSyqjQCGz60CIRKBiE67vIthjeX0njzhKe3z5gd7dDaprr8-MYOBa6zVtPyLM4yld9bYXOc8o9XsX0p6QJ1Ss7vmGCyloxeAwAqWOTx0I5kBMf9OcoYuw0rYn8motDXuA6R625AE/s200/Advice.jpg" width="200" /></a><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"></span><br />
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></span>
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">As with other Western imports the new pedestal-style toilets clashed with local habits, requiring some education. Posters can be see to this day.</span><br />
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgluVvwpX34GjrE7KQPTSU29zAlw9HMszLwhWDO9Uv_E_SqlWRWyqE96tTZ9yR4lgz9E_9I2Kq3j10aw1SvqXpk3bV5NW6AwbtpYlCZVIBaQbpKdZYf23j-XQHGS3WDCkLdImVy99l4c3I/s1600/Bin.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="677" data-original-width="764" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgluVvwpX34GjrE7KQPTSU29zAlw9HMszLwhWDO9Uv_E_SqlWRWyqE96tTZ9yR4lgz9E_9I2Kq3j10aw1SvqXpk3bV5NW6AwbtpYlCZVIBaQbpKdZYf23j-XQHGS3WDCkLdImVy99l4c3I/s200/Bin.jpg" width="200" /></a><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"></span><br />
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">One
more oddity of late, for some unknown reason, a spate of </span><a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/604915940568875009?s=20" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">discarded
“Western” toilets</a><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"> keeps appearing around Takhmau. One even
had a toilet-seat intact and that is a definite rarity. Our most famous neighbour PM Hun Sen has been stirring-up anti-Westerner sentiments, but is this a reprisal too far?</span><br />
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioIhfTfNYm_eTRAdPK1MX9HrTlbmzQANWB4zMeqYXcYc4oyIG-22dG7KuCt0gCrfQGq3WivIrVgXqOXarhMRPQ_HA308tfOegBnjlM6M-OExEjZyCigtN4YRcJTDCile3_vnj5P0eQs34/s1600/Cistern.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="929" data-original-width="1089" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioIhfTfNYm_eTRAdPK1MX9HrTlbmzQANWB4zMeqYXcYc4oyIG-22dG7KuCt0gCrfQGq3WivIrVgXqOXarhMRPQ_HA308tfOegBnjlM6M-OExEjZyCigtN4YRcJTDCile3_vnj5P0eQs34/s200/Cistern.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Really - in a 4 star hotel Phnom Penh</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">Old or new in Cambodia these
toilet facilities have one thing in common. They're seldom cleaned. They're often in a state of disrepair – the cistern-lid is off or
no cistern at all! </span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">You may admire your salubrious even sumptuous establishment, enjoying the fine wine, food and “bon viveur”, but Woe Betide if you go to the ”WC”, which by the way is now the accepted term in Khmer. The vernacular words for No 1 and No 2 movements have fallen out of favour – some folks kept mispronouncing “Pochentong” airport, which might go a long way to explain why it's been renamed as Phnom Penh International Airport.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"></span></div>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">Another little quirk, in the
apparent absence of disinfectant and those expensive cube-things
Westerners use, what do Cambodians deposit in their facilities? Don't be surprised to see a block of ice in there. Posher places put
in a bar of soap. Urinals, presumably to counter the smell, are often
graced with slices of fresh lemon or lime and even pineapple slices!
Best to avoid asking for lemon or pineapple in your drinks, just in
case they know where to get them from for you.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBrn1adcTP0YIKuHtdb7hX_inB9R0F3-y_izy99XecaY0d6KA977zlVJkOMCP7FLYZ6gb2S7OeEkbUT_snVenmQnYo6tskeoQLOuL7e5y2k04x06cnznRQdwGmmEUrVQCIBvOrYHb0Cxc/s1600/Urinals.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1029" data-original-width="1600" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBrn1adcTP0YIKuHtdb7hX_inB9R0F3-y_izy99XecaY0d6KA977zlVJkOMCP7FLYZ6gb2S7OeEkbUT_snVenmQnYo6tskeoQLOuL7e5y2k04x06cnznRQdwGmmEUrVQCIBvOrYHb0Cxc/s400/Urinals.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">Urinals too can be a challenge. Many do benefit from a simple soak-away trench. Unfortunately sometimes the connecting pipe is missing, so you pee on your feet!</span><br />
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">Toilet
rolls have been a rarity in Cambodia long before the Covid19
panic-buying. You'll see local womenfolk indicating an imminent
visit, not by picking up their handbag but by gathering a pile of
tissues that adorn restaurant tables. Foreign women only make the
mistake once of not copying them. Every visitor gets to learn to use
the </span><a href="https://southeastasiabackpacker.com/bum-gun-beginners-guide/" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">bum
gun</a><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"> and ultimately to savour it.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">Finally the lady “cleaner”
by the WC door watching you come and go, is not there to clean the
place but to relieve you a little more – of a few Cambodia riels.
It's pay-as-you go, naturally, as much else in Cambodia. These "Guardian Angels" have come in to their own in the Covid age, armed with her spray, she'll see you sanitise your hands, while her friends do the same when you first come in.</span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnSljmWqEd8Q8WGzPzTc0jBy-z6f6mN-bGkKvezA9eZPzjj3kTH1paVJdlEm3JVBJMqpOZrwouSKNMOJ_-75_iJo_BR9bIkFCefKcIWJBumx5FQDKrLjXUpP_OyyL846roZGjJZJ6xLEU7nnRzoYyQUaZOl0fIKETg2t7GtbLqRlJcD9n9LD6Hx0SY/s4368/Guinness%20Girls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3290" data-original-width="4368" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnSljmWqEd8Q8WGzPzTc0jBy-z6f6mN-bGkKvezA9eZPzjj3kTH1paVJdlEm3JVBJMqpOZrwouSKNMOJ_-75_iJo_BR9bIkFCefKcIWJBumx5FQDKrLjXUpP_OyyL846roZGjJZJ6xLEU7nnRzoYyQUaZOl0fIKETg2t7GtbLqRlJcD9n9LD6Hx0SY/w548-h412/Guinness%20Girls.jpg" width="548" /></a></div></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><b>Updates</b></span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">16 March 2020 </span><br />
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">Grateful to <a href="http://allieevolpe/">Allie Volpe</a> in<b><span style="color: #351c75;"><i> <a href="https://elemental.medium.com/weve-been-pooping-wrong-all-along-7a1c5f788a62">"</a></i></span></b></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; text-align: start;"><b><span style="color: #351c75;"><i><a href="https://elemental.medium.com/weve-been-pooping-wrong-all-along-7a1c5f788a62">We’ve Been Pooping Wrong All Along"</a> </i></span></b></span><span face=""trebuchet ms", sans-serif">for making me realise (a) I should have said more about bidets - her movement makes a compelling case - and (b) the bidet, or a His'n Hers combination are essential for the "Wow" bathroom factor.</span><br />
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><b>Postscript</b></span><br />
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><b><br /></b></span>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjE5Bnc_tsI52CtQxSLHwjKj7Qo0L73VliWZa3C81a9LPdFpIymzco9CrjkdCI-b4P72tVmVZ197k4dvHKBAvrKm8VfYRieDt7EJ280atrSSA6IaYfgjJTT09qOjvYwVxD7Ji_Oiv6j3M/s1600/aerial.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="243" data-original-width="640" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjE5Bnc_tsI52CtQxSLHwjKj7Qo0L73VliWZa3C81a9LPdFpIymzco9CrjkdCI-b4P72tVmVZ197k4dvHKBAvrKm8VfYRieDt7EJ280atrSSA6IaYfgjJTT09qOjvYwVxD7Ji_Oiv6j3M/s640/aerial.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">In earlier blogs I have made
the point that the first sign of success in our development projects,
in improving lives and livelihoods, is not what most in the West
would imagine. It is the first sight of a TV aerial above a grass or
corrugated iron roof. Even before that an old decrepit motor-cycle
might appear. In recent years mobile telephones have become early
priorities. The vast expansion of easy credit via Micro-Finance
Organisations (that has <a href="https://www.johnlowrie.uk/current-issues">spawned so many ills</a>) has meant new or quite new motor-cycles and
smart-phones can be seen too.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<div>
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">Oddly a lower priority still to
this day is installing proper toilets or low-cost latrines, despite
our efforts to point them in the right direction. <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2017/03/its-strange-world.html#more" style="font-weight: normal;">It's a strange world</a> but some of us <span style="color: #990000;"><b>still aim to please!</b></span></span></div>
<div>
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div>
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><b>Bog Wall Poetry and Graffiti</b></span></div>
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<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">Artist Banksy has done a lot to change perceptions of images posted publicly but when his art-form started it was regarded as a menace and an eye-sight. How times have changed. Interestingly it is only just beginning to emerge in Cambodia.</span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div>
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">I have yet to see the Khmer version of "<b><i><span style="color: #351c75;">Clap your hand and jump for joy, for I was here before Kilroy</span></i></b>" but there are some to be found. It was also a Glasgow bog-wall message that gave rise to one of my most <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/03/careless-in-community.html#more">popular articles and blogs</a>.</span><br />
<b style="background-color: #cccc99; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-align: start;"><i><br /></i></b>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="background-color: #cccc99; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-align: start;"><i>“If I am working-class and I have a problem, I get a Social Worker. If I am middle-class, I become a Social Worker!”</i></b></div>
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">Here for fellow aficionados are two images collected from Northumberland bogs.</span><br />
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVBphUyYgiEA3a8kHrERiIFX0UDcOrKeIa7FlTquJjnkMhS9vyjbwh9dTe3NXviKPB29xOpDqzw7W6f5y_AMotGNje2UiPVTPyFlg7LVAM6VlkP513Fn3ld9VtnIUqoTi0M5fxF9KdzQk/s1600/Bogs.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1108" data-original-width="1561" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVBphUyYgiEA3a8kHrERiIFX0UDcOrKeIa7FlTquJjnkMhS9vyjbwh9dTe3NXviKPB29xOpDqzw7W6f5y_AMotGNje2UiPVTPyFlg7LVAM6VlkP513Fn3ld9VtnIUqoTi0M5fxF9KdzQk/s640/Bogs.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibPu4UwoVoDBseNyQ441p_6-VJc2CCEc2KIrSP9T1N8eikKo7GEjtavoHqyoXKDa04mZyjT9FJLzUQx3k8dr9IMlzMA1VvQeUhDCwAYVDIZRVt5NH5v2rfUk_1j0I-I-OJ7wEObgvTgno/s1600/Bogs2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="872" data-original-width="1422" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibPu4UwoVoDBseNyQ441p_6-VJc2CCEc2KIrSP9T1N8eikKo7GEjtavoHqyoXKDa04mZyjT9FJLzUQx3k8dr9IMlzMA1VvQeUhDCwAYVDIZRVt5NH5v2rfUk_1j0I-I-OJ7wEObgvTgno/s640/Bogs2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />ANorthumbrianAbroadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548140943705427113noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5208414707355071730.post-7316255755937596422020-04-01T09:03:00.004-07:002022-11-22T17:44:53.029-08:00Doing exactly what it says on the tin: #Foreign Aid amid #Covid19<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHjtGvICvjp7G-2VWUR5mzt1n08w-St6f7RYdrkZ40uCWQsJomKWVHpVxBG9RpXPJ4ECVYOKICuJCwDqkgtQY-po5Twshg02ieU1g1niRHgbHuEg5n5wCc3aanoWUCwjIKR-2VTc4oWMA/s1600/Compile.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1190" data-original-width="1600" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHjtGvICvjp7G-2VWUR5mzt1n08w-St6f7RYdrkZ40uCWQsJomKWVHpVxBG9RpXPJ4ECVYOKICuJCwDqkgtQY-po5Twshg02ieU1g1niRHgbHuEg5n5wCc3aanoWUCwjIKR-2VTc4oWMA/s640/Compile.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-size: small;"><b><i>TV advertisements for charities UK most March 2020</i></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="color: #660066;"><span style="font-size: large;">“</span><i><b><span style="font-size: large;">Doing
exactly what it says on the tin."</span><span style="font-size: x-large;">*</span></b></i><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">Does
Foreign Aid do exactly what is said or promised on TV advertisements?</span></span></div>
<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: large;">Today
many people are housebound, at a loose end, because of the lock-down
due to Coronavirus. This should give them the opportunity to reflect on its
implications, the latest news, and all kinds of issues, while passing time watching television.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">Today
UK charities are reporting that they are facing a <a href="https://www.itv.com/news/2020-03-31/charities-funding-coronavirus-donations-hit-lose-out-government-select-committee/">£4
billion shortfall</a> (US$ 5% billion) in donations. The lock-down has
meant their main sources of revenue from charity-shops and sponsored
runs have all dried up as people can no longer gather in public. The
hiatus extends across the world. Many development projects will grind
to as halt. Few foreign aid donors will make provision for
continuity, let alone allocate urgent extra funds needed, although <a href="https://twitter.com/FrancescoSEA/status/1244762182694260736?s=20">a
good lead</a> is being given by a few pioneers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">The
drastic loss of funding is bad enough but will it be compounded by
money going to other charities who may not be as deserving in the
current situation? Simply put are they already capturing or best-placed to hog the new expanded television audiences with their evoking images and
advertisements?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">Indeed
some of us have been worried about this method of fundraising by charities for a
long time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">A
quick compilation of TV screen-shots shows one image above all others
– a black child suffering or in a dire situation portrayed to evoke
your pity. They have been compiled deliberately to implore you to reach for your telephone to give a small
amount of money straightaway.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">Our
objection to this image is that it stereotypes “the third world”
and Africans in particular, even causing offence, as if they are all
like this and totally helpless. Besides <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-48354692">poverty</a> blights every country even rich ones.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">The
image also reinforces the post-colonial <a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1107955283685462016?s=20">“white
saviour”</a> mentality that many in the Western world know better than
local people about their problems and solutions. Few donors know how
small is the actual amount of Foreign Aid <a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/2019/07/ngos-rich-countries-control-counterparts-poor-countries-refuse-resolve/">money
that ends up</a> with “target beneficiaries” - just 2.1%.</span><br />
<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">The
truth in developing countries is quite different as actual
development aid practitioners in the field can vouch. I do draw</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"> </span><a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-unlikely-foreign-aid-worker.html" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif;"><b>a
crucial distinction</b></a><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">between them and the largely desk-bound corps
of people in aid agency and organisation offices. Most
“beneficiaries” are perfectly capable of deciding on their own what are their problems, priorities, and solutions. They can tell you what help they
need. They can also be trusted on the whole to make proper use of
that help.</span></div>
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<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">Beneficiaries are seldom gullible even if some are vulnerable.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">Original TV donors by contrast are gullible and in some cases just as vulnerable, taken in by heart-string-pulling TV advertisements. Indeed given that other advertisements
in the same time-slots include funeral plans, there is an implied
message to them to do some good while they are still alive!</span><br />
<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">They have no well of telling or finding out which cause is best. I am pretty sure (as a field development-aid practitioner) that one of the 16 captured above provides best long-term sustainable outcomes. But who else knows.... and cares?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">All of the
advertisements are tuned to make it very easy to act on impulse. It's just a simple click.</span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;">One tip I can give you is the more polished is the advertisement, the product of slick marketing, the more wary you should be of both the cause and organisation soliciting your money. For example the world's conservation NGOs, all household names, with royal and celebrity patronage, produce many of the "best". Yet here's a little-known fact. They have all been operating in Cambodia for decades, all with expensive offices, equipment, local and expatriate staff and yet despite their presence <a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1580024942267359233?s=20&t=wr942q014GQ_U33ypaOqTw">large-scale deforestation</a> has gone on unabated throughout and to this day.<br /></span><br />
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">Not only do they invite folks “to give just £2” or whatever with a simple text message on their phone, but actually the same click can set up a regular payment plan. Only in the small print at the bottom of the advertisement </span><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">does it say how to unsubscribe</span><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">, not easily read even if your eyesight hasn't declined with old age. What a rigmarole. Some folks might not even notice their telephone bills have gone up.</span><br />
<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeGA4aGg-eOvygpw7IqzVuo7Y-XORGscFk8dDibY4dS-hlbwYw2v5QKHNcTHEoXhNqETqhBYaNXvQr5fgb5PG4KgB87X3kaZOpll7_rshu7zP9tM0MCpD583r5YRc7CtaU95wvhdqc7_8/s1600/Opt+out.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="97" data-original-width="695" height="88" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeGA4aGg-eOvygpw7IqzVuo7Y-XORGscFk8dDibY4dS-hlbwYw2v5QKHNcTHEoXhNqETqhBYaNXvQr5fgb5PG4KgB87X3kaZOpll7_rshu7zP9tM0MCpD583r5YRc7CtaU95wvhdqc7_8/s640/Opt+out.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">Even more sinister is some charities even say that by texting them you agree to receive telephones calls from them to tell you more about their work, and to part with more money. I know of several elderly folks who have felt harassed by calls to give more than their original modest gift.</span></div>
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-54OJwlctzGxKsC2n6Vf5Ruu4hwe4nsJBVC293o_iQy53m1h8-bVS4CKnk2V-jMvMN7g9_0WCYEpK_WgvFDnb_vXBakyFnYtHi7FibLj1m67yghx86PloPiWBLSjqgOleVX2S-X4G2go/s1600/Warning.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="94" data-original-width="888" height="66" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-54OJwlctzGxKsC2n6Vf5Ruu4hwe4nsJBVC293o_iQy53m1h8-bVS4CKnk2V-jMvMN7g9_0WCYEpK_WgvFDnb_vXBakyFnYtHi7FibLj1m67yghx86PloPiWBLSjqgOleVX2S-X4G2go/s640/Warning.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLn4vGTjw7VRNA3knnvT9bjov9KZpWP7UbUxb8Dj_kQgl2EikUIB1fM5dQvaz9F5xzAHMeZbUClzg52Seu0mXlo1sc6VKEvYBm2AcDjtiOgEeNZ4zQpgmMQIycFJC1vc9XwKTcZAK_S5M/s1600/Do+gooder.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="319" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLn4vGTjw7VRNA3knnvT9bjov9KZpWP7UbUxb8Dj_kQgl2EikUIB1fM5dQvaz9F5xzAHMeZbUClzg52Seu0mXlo1sc6VKEvYBm2AcDjtiOgEeNZ4zQpgmMQIycFJC1vc9XwKTcZAK_S5M/s200/Do+gooder.jpg" width="199" /></span></a><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">I
need here to acknowledge the bright idea of a colleague. <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2020/01/doing-good-not-god-given-talent.html#more">To
do good you must learn first how to do good</a>. Leigh Matthews is
running an excellent series of podcasts on the subject.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">Is
there any other case where people part with their money and have
absolutely no way to see how it's spent? Personally I feel that the
regulator, the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/charity-commission">Charity
Commission</a> should be more active. There needs to be a way by
which more careful informed decisions are made, for better “good to
be done”. There should also be more independent scrutiny so both original donors
and ultimate beneficiaries are protected. There is an argument too in an emergency as now, the charities through their co-ordinating bodies, should look to share and prioritise funds - rich ones that have accumulated reserves and can depend on well-heeled supporters should be prepared to help others.</span><br />
<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">Charitable giving should not be left to chance nor to human impulse and clever TV advertising.</span><br />
<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><b>Update 23 July 2020</b></span><br />
<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">Today the UK Government has announced what was inevitable news that <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-53508933">UK Aid is to be drastically cut</a> and that is despite the onslaught of Covid19 and its devastating impact at home and abroad. Many charities are highlighting this to appeal for funds. I've seen just in the last 24 hours many for various causes from animal welfare, to clean water, eye-care and research for chronic diseases and a nebulous glossy one for conservation. Just now I've seen <a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1286285122036215808?s=20">the only one</a> that I know is absolutely genuine, meets an immediate need on a monumental scale, and ought to be highest priority. The problem is few UK TV viewers have this knowledge and many of them have been conditioned to "charity begins at home". Yes, by all means do give to Food Banks for hungry families, but please don't forget homeless hungry frightened children and families all in danger of their lives.</span><br />
<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGabMNNIwWsXyRpzMHh_L5-22-rVTBgK3juQI02ns1-ZA22VPPMTOkWpPMPcU0Em6K3zSosklWjeENIjKVGE-B_jHsOUE59vjpzfz603Mahl7VthjNj7-AY1vdAvKoe4a8jIV_gxYgArM/s1600/DEC.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="979" data-original-width="1321" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGabMNNIwWsXyRpzMHh_L5-22-rVTBgK3juQI02ns1-ZA22VPPMTOkWpPMPcU0Em6K3zSosklWjeENIjKVGE-B_jHsOUE59vjpzfz603Mahl7VthjNj7-AY1vdAvKoe4a8jIV_gxYgArM/s640/DEC.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
…<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif">.....ooo0ooo.........</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif"><span style="color: #ff0066; font-size: large;">This
blog is the latest in my series of <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/03/smarter-aid-not-more-aid.html">“Smarter
Aid, not More Aid”</a> that so far (March 2020) has 49,322 viewings.
Please go to there to find out more and push it over the <b>50,000</b>!</span></span><br />
<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif"><i style="color: #660066; text-align: justify;"><b>*</b></i> <i>This
phrase is actually a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherwin-Williams_Company">registered
trade-mark</a>, originally for a successful TV advertisement
campaign, and then coming in to common use in the UK that a product
or service </i></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">"</span><b>lives
up to its name</b><span style="font-weight: normal;">"</span></i></span></span><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif"><i>
.</i></span></span><br />
<b style="color: #663333;"><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></span></b>
<b style="color: #663333;"><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Please
note that I have used conventional foreign aid terminology like
“developing country” and “target beneficiaries” as these are
in common use. They are actually part of the problem, detracting from
the partnership of equals approach that should characterise the
sector.</i></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<br />ANorthumbrianAbroadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548140943705427113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5208414707355071730.post-18615002633267446712020-02-02T23:12:00.000-08:002020-02-23T19:47:00.580-08:00 Out-of-Town but not the Talk-of-the-Town<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI9_Ca9HiR325QOSbSH73903mvK_g_y3YheULdmZQAv4gxINf5t9EM31EqqZfjkbSgF6U8_dzmTQSJPWTDuxCL1_u8_NXLeUx3QYZLT5UnXdTeUWwWGh-ow96kjYfh2c3XAqeBOR6-ECs/s1600/Box.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="610" data-original-width="1600" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI9_Ca9HiR325QOSbSH73903mvK_g_y3YheULdmZQAv4gxINf5t9EM31EqqZfjkbSgF6U8_dzmTQSJPWTDuxCL1_u8_NXLeUx3QYZLT5UnXdTeUWwWGh-ow96kjYfh2c3XAqeBOR6-ECs/s640/Box.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">Takhmau lies just 11 kilometres to the South of Phnom Penh.</span><span style="font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">It is the provincial capital of Kandal and still has a provincial feel to it even though it is developing rapidly.</span><span style="font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">Takhmau has become a favourite play-ground, with a great variety of entertainments and eating/drinking venues. My </span><a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2017/01/cambodia-coffee-grounds-for-optimism.html" style="font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">earlier blog</a><span style="font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"> tells the history and ups-and-downs of many of them.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">Last week I wrote about one of our newer restaurants. It still features below.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">Today I am featuring our latest <a href="https://web.facebook.com/ICEPUBCambodiaTK">"Ice Box"</a> restaurant bar, made from containers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFy0Qt1BeKntody-pl2jEWqKl2Moo76Tx63RtnFHH2CSXSZIl-U32nHSi8xdg14d1aeniWs9lsQOYPqNDwAITObzFEv87V4s9xyrdzwR2a01Kg9TUuc13TMm_aRkiFS9vD-4eEkuJxuI0/s1600/Box+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1038" data-original-width="1600" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFy0Qt1BeKntody-pl2jEWqKl2Moo76Tx63RtnFHH2CSXSZIl-U32nHSi8xdg14d1aeniWs9lsQOYPqNDwAITObzFEv87V4s9xyrdzwR2a01Kg9TUuc13TMm_aRkiFS9vD-4eEkuJxuI0/s320/Box+6.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">If business picks up, more will be stacked on top. If Cambodia's garment industry contracts, as expected, there will be plenty more containers available too. Anyway it is always good to see bright keen new enterprising folks, one of whom I am told is extremely popular with young ladies. In my older blog I have referred to the fact that this one small road in Takhmau used to boast 5 beer gardens. They all folded but now we have two new-style youngster-friendly places. The next one along the street "Nest" is cute too - pictured below right and posted in a previous <a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1208963846427168768?s=20">tweet</a>.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ2xlxIGfaWb7bJybxyWPZx0mQWfkPv8wfaQUMhU7fcHOOMp8dVAubdPWhthe8PTkN3pGm6NILtxpoJ_nCrIOpVcNdbelPzMRjwdA_XI6WUpJzEAGn_u-I8-9TP3ONRX3cOdPuqWLKwJc/s1600/Box+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="676" data-original-width="680" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ2xlxIGfaWb7bJybxyWPZx0mQWfkPv8wfaQUMhU7fcHOOMp8dVAubdPWhthe8PTkN3pGm6NILtxpoJ_nCrIOpVcNdbelPzMRjwdA_XI6WUpJzEAGn_u-I8-9TP3ONRX3cOdPuqWLKwJc/s200/Box+4.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">This blog is a shorter update after I had a chat with the latest enterprising restaurant owner trying something different.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First a little background.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Takhmau’s most illustrious resident and our local National Assembly member is the least most likely person you will encounter in town.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">You will see his helicopter most days when he stays here.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">We usually know if he’s not staying here, when he’s away at one of his other palatial abodes, as that is when we get our share of electricity outages. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Prime Minister Hun Sen does put in the occasional appearance on the ground, such as to vote at elections and the annual boat races on the Tonle Bassac. So far we have never seen him in any of our places of entertainment. His absence is probably a relief to all concerned.</span><span style="font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzD_K1b_PG8Q2q82Yd1BDt6mdKCpP5Wo9bSKTiemNlX2Jx2R62aQBYjKASjVuxk-yoDi74sFC_gOjf-PwSBPgU5JSJbHKFvT5dRkOPiSqPvtC0U4ugyBbYz2df9FRt9iGv4xlIErgSSEg/s1600/Sundowner+Main%252C%252C%252C%252C.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1548" data-original-width="1532" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzD_K1b_PG8Q2q82Yd1BDt6mdKCpP5Wo9bSKTiemNlX2Jx2R62aQBYjKASjVuxk-yoDi74sFC_gOjf-PwSBPgU5JSJbHKFvT5dRkOPiSqPvtC0U4ugyBbYz2df9FRt9iGv4xlIErgSSEg/s640/Sundowner+Main%252C%252C%252C%252C.jpg" width="632" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Very close to his fortress, just where his helicopter turns
right and descends on his way home is our latest new restaurant “Veayo”. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Its lights twinkle in the evening after the
sun goes down. Unusually it is on the other side of Takhmau’s bridge over the
Tonle Bassac river that carries the city’s perimeter road.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The restaurant is very easy to reach. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just hop on the No 2 bus, pay 1,500 riels, and
enjoy the air-conditioned atmosphere and local culture as you make your way
through the traffic and fumes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can’t
go wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The bus terminates right beside
the bridge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just yards away you climb
the steps up to the bridge and pedestrian pavement. Then proceed across the
Tonle Bassac river with views upstream all the way to Phnom Penh and its new
sky-scrapers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then descend the steps at
the other side, turn left towards Phnom Penh and 200 metres away on your left
is Veayo Restaurant with its big new Tiger Beer sign.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcsXMihlsRPWiUibNPMBSEeJEXVMYRfFGYh8oPhvp1ZvGK06_r2sico7YoJme3B-9QtZXMzHypdc07G1AWMrzogauxgQ9IW0BeEbvSaaCbI1wuLT1Rm4oM3KNWmHbOlFHO-BDpGwHGikc/s1600/Centre.....jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="462" data-original-width="276" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcsXMihlsRPWiUibNPMBSEeJEXVMYRfFGYh8oPhvp1ZvGK06_r2sico7YoJme3B-9QtZXMzHypdc07G1AWMrzogauxgQ9IW0BeEbvSaaCbI1wuLT1Rm4oM3KNWmHbOlFHO-BDpGwHGikc/s320/Centre.....jpg" width="191" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Veayo's smiling waitress</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I was amused by my chat with the owner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s carried out a survey of his first
customers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Half are families who go out
to eat. The other half consists of groups of men, often in familiar male
company with or without less familiar female company.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Naughty boys!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In essence the survey findings admirably sum
up Takhmau’s entertainment scene. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t
worry though it’s easy to see which are which.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The naughty boy places always have lots of girls already there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’re ready to greet customers and will for
a moment take a quick break from <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2016/12/more-to-peering-than-appears.html">peering</a>
in to their smart-phones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Others girls
will appear from nowhere as soon as there are enough customers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Please be kind to all of them, especially the
young waitresses. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Very few want this
work. It’s their only choice or their last resort. Most girls come far away to
earn money for their families. Once in Takhmau they should be safe to retain
their anonymity and the guise of in a “respectable” occupation as far as folks
back home are concerned. Personally I find what they do is perfectly
respectable. There’s no such thing as a lonely drinker in Cambodia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve seen so many of them come and go over the
years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All are <a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1E2o0bHGfPTSb7UxRhtXoiQbGqeD-SdMu">happy
to be photographed</a> as long as you show them their image, even better give them a
print-copy. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tips are
gratefully-accepted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLg_hzaFJATI80x6XlCv8l-_q9QWkKKXbh1E1uw42k96k80xuPiO1ma7e7w-hpyAdwXWXRo_oXwCwcmWA0sYkBk9pAVRyEWvSs2QGnAmuII81Vwllk5EsMTprHFsIdIkASKjJ6HhYBVlQ/s1600/Ferry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1566" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLg_hzaFJATI80x6XlCv8l-_q9QWkKKXbh1E1uw42k96k80xuPiO1ma7e7w-hpyAdwXWXRo_oXwCwcmWA0sYkBk9pAVRyEWvSs2QGnAmuII81Vwllk5EsMTprHFsIdIkASKjJ6HhYBVlQ/s320/Ferry.jpg" width="313" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Now you could take a more adventurous trip and do what I
do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The British habit of pub-crawls is
hard to break. You could start off from or end up at Veayo, which for the
record, at the moment is not a naughty boy place, although it does provide some
VIP rooms to keep the boys happy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I am still a big fan of the old ferries that still ply their
craft across the Tonle Sap from near Takhmau’s riverside playground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is abuzz with folks in the evening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is just a shame that the play area was
reduced by half to build the Chinese monstrosity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There you find Starbucks, one of the few
businesses to move in. The twin towers were never built, thank goodness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The old ferry costs 500 riels each way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The boatman are characters and so are the few
customers that use it – school-children, old ladies, monks and me!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Mekong for now has been greatly depleted
by dams upstream, so the water-level is low, so please be prepared for the
steep climb up the river-bank.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s the only
exertion needed.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijdrXwHnUVhl8JrKhxum6HXZ21Ob2Z_tak6lTFMhcp0suePVtZ4rQ-r2PJR10zxgdJ4oxTBXc9wveuCvYDKYuTbGM-wJ8SyigUo66mhVIBLZ7m554nvzEClyaRzQl29uFs_ATGhOLjpbQ/s1600/Dancing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="640" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijdrXwHnUVhl8JrKhxum6HXZ21Ob2Z_tak6lTFMhcp0suePVtZ4rQ-r2PJR10zxgdJ4oxTBXc9wveuCvYDKYuTbGM-wJ8SyigUo66mhVIBLZ7m554nvzEClyaRzQl29uFs_ATGhOLjpbQ/s640/Dancing.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000;"><b><i>Takhmau Riverside</i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000;"><b><i>Old playground for adults, brand new one for children.</i></b></span></div>
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<o:p></o:p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9jHEkZFXsvsM53gY8do1bmdVw3aDreyva1tslAxZ_U4YVpjTdR9JcxCtv3zT5C466fYrnE-hCvvqtuOJYn1Q5aJCxx-GttGDyLeEAgv-YlV-45aS2SD0HiS-KL0nMNv6JkXZOHT4mp7Y/s1600/Playground.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1155" data-original-width="1600" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9jHEkZFXsvsM53gY8do1bmdVw3aDreyva1tslAxZ_U4YVpjTdR9JcxCtv3zT5C466fYrnE-hCvvqtuOJYn1Q5aJCxx-GttGDyLeEAgv-YlV-45aS2SD0HiS-KL0nMNv6JkXZOHT4mp7Y/s640/Playground.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">You can then take the straight road up all the way to
Yeayo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are few shops where you can
stop for a cold drink, and there’s plenty to see along the road, including the
opposite river-bank.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Takhmau side is usually my preferred route back where there are some
good family and naughty boy restaurants dotted along the way to the riverside
playground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The naughtiest naughty boy
places, KTVs, are on the next two adjacent roads.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There also family KTV places - they say so for customers to know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have 6 or 7 places with “live” bands, all
easily found or heard an easy walk away. They do have open areas that are
family-friendly. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The music consists of
the familiar Khmer tunes with as many as 20 female singers and hostesses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also have the coffee bars as described in
<a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2017/01/cambodia-coffee-grounds-for-optimism.html">my blog</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzh9ozI1T9sdqh_ZbXilTHBoUfFOM_i4Jef7tafkJtKPQWJYDlEX6-bzUa4Xdg-CWo-KrwT1-E4vSLV4UXJOIhCpRbzSouVLe5xMBQ6VZsgfcZ3ssFLjy9CB3R8CcbUX_0Ljk7G68l1-0/s1600/Takhmau+Dancing+Girls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="541" data-original-width="1600" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzh9ozI1T9sdqh_ZbXilTHBoUfFOM_i4Jef7tafkJtKPQWJYDlEX6-bzUa4Xdg-CWo-KrwT1-E4vSLV4UXJOIhCpRbzSouVLe5xMBQ6VZsgfcZ3ssFLjy9CB3R8CcbUX_0Ljk7G68l1-0/s640/Takhmau+Dancing+Girls.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPN7S6P-GhyphenhyphenczfG1djmJ5fAmluAKKV2rVEwtKv8fdMouzDJyFfah5nz2iDuOERNIVFQzWbTTlfKv8da4zTs40XdgfrsDRoUVf3HD2vYFXyr-Nb0XlnhgSSBnGbHsySS282uWqnvqvGh9c/s1600/Chaplin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="988" data-original-width="1061" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPN7S6P-GhyphenhyphenczfG1djmJ5fAmluAKKV2rVEwtKv8fdMouzDJyFfah5nz2iDuOERNIVFQzWbTTlfKv8da4zTs40XdgfrsDRoUVf3HD2vYFXyr-Nb0XlnhgSSBnGbHsySS282uWqnvqvGh9c/s200/Chaplin.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The nearest restaurant on the Takhmau riverside walk near the
ferry is Chaplin’s – yes, Charlie Chaplin, and it is a family-favourite
place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It even has model cars that
children go in to please their parents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Now anywhere along that road from the bus terminal </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">is a bus stop. Just stick your hand out. It is the route back to Phnom Penh</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> along the riverside
playground.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Drivers will happily stop for you.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Just please remember the bus service ends
around 7.30, despite claims to operate until 8.30pm.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">A tuk-tuk back to Phnom Penh is about $5 and
there are many all times of the day or night. Usually they will find you. if not they converge around Ta Khmau - black Grand-Father roundabout not far inland from the riverside playground.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><i>"School-children, old ladies.... who use the old Ferry.</i></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzbpBW_lB_-eKKzJ8XJ2tXn5PjKwEIsXufWXetEs4wTqUtes6ZUsa8mfn8a2cpWvyi1FP67XdpZ5yMZEoRxo38ErZplTjf-c5YdrGQAEKKc3TX-stQvh38uJq2E7_KjWeTkGoBPXn_yvA/s1600/Ferry+passengers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="659" data-original-width="1600" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzbpBW_lB_-eKKzJ8XJ2tXn5PjKwEIsXufWXetEs4wTqUtes6ZUsa8mfn8a2cpWvyi1FP67XdpZ5yMZEoRxo38ErZplTjf-c5YdrGQAEKKc3TX-stQvh38uJq2E7_KjWeTkGoBPXn_yvA/s640/Ferry+passengers.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #660000;"><b><i>Black Grand-Pa</i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk7glH6o9cajP-7Wr9h3kXwHH4ObNhg5UaNsbzcEQO00aOM8-FdK4NQNzODf0i_JPji8j614ODJCcdG4436Z6lKZdCd14Pa28YDMzEYv6Z-PTeEibarpEvF3M5ofdE0mtZEONxSC9EM-Y/s1600/Ta+Khmau++-+Black+Grand-Pa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1202" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk7glH6o9cajP-7Wr9h3kXwHH4ObNhg5UaNsbzcEQO00aOM8-FdK4NQNzODf0i_JPji8j614ODJCcdG4436Z6lKZdCd14Pa28YDMzEYv6Z-PTeEibarpEvF3M5ofdE0mtZEONxSC9EM-Y/s400/Ta+Khmau++-+Black+Grand-Pa.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #660000;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
<span style="color: #660000;"><b><i>More Hostesses and Singers</i></b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6h17-fwmfT0uteem2jWbKFFNEEcrDY-nIv-lYxDYEDmpNY-UruX9PVsyCbDux1UME5ivOvQ-mNrGr9bMhQWNiRpb7WpPhIhfUHQGWQ0_hPeHfEPN3pcf4DQXafjVvw6AQil2AZrPXxtQ/s1600/Hostesses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1022" data-original-width="1600" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6h17-fwmfT0uteem2jWbKFFNEEcrDY-nIv-lYxDYEDmpNY-UruX9PVsyCbDux1UME5ivOvQ-mNrGr9bMhQWNiRpb7WpPhIhfUHQGWQ0_hPeHfEPN3pcf4DQXafjVvw6AQil2AZrPXxtQ/s640/Hostesses.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b style="color: #660000; text-align: center;"><i> Hostesses from a "Naughty Boy" KTV - please see my <a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1154944448821780480?s=20">Tweet</a> about them.</i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn7TDId_WItaw32WYmICYcqf17Gx2_H-_85Wj03jEntEtiYThVYaFG6pscoQFATZKOnY2PYrno1Bg2tS13V7yt9YnLN9tWNTCYFWmPwOW6tPbuR2qZWJ6bJ-YDxU4X7kRpa9f1hDrhJvw/s1600/KTV.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1294" data-original-width="1600" height="516" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn7TDId_WItaw32WYmICYcqf17Gx2_H-_85Wj03jEntEtiYThVYaFG6pscoQFATZKOnY2PYrno1Bg2tS13V7yt9YnLN9tWNTCYFWmPwOW6tPbuR2qZWJ6bJ-YDxU4X7kRpa9f1hDrhJvw/s640/KTV.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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ANorthumbrianAbroadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548140943705427113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5208414707355071730.post-3089828481500986072020-01-15T17:42:00.002-08:002020-04-04T06:36:55.259-07:00"Doing Good" not a God-given talent.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIYABMCRwLDlYl_eWHh0plWNK0C3a09x0BMEpz_bR3AtP4TOLaibR9Wbf5vdMt-Fxzf0hpjKu2OsQebXaCtRwAyMrdeWFIHjPiR9yjLiVqc-Cm54Z9gbLrVErKKQo88OA00EP09_7aXZA/s1600/Do+Gooder.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="351" data-original-width="350" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIYABMCRwLDlYl_eWHh0plWNK0C3a09x0BMEpz_bR3AtP4TOLaibR9Wbf5vdMt-Fxzf0hpjKu2OsQebXaCtRwAyMrdeWFIHjPiR9yjLiVqc-Cm54Z9gbLrVErKKQo88OA00EP09_7aXZA/s320/Do+Gooder.bmp" width="319" /></a></div>
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<span -0.05pt="" 115="" 12.0pt="" letter-spacing:="" line-height:="">Leigh Matthews’
new podcast series on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/do-gooder/id1493895814">“Doing Good”</a> gets off to a great start with Karen
Flanagan, whose fascinating life-story is a worthwhile listen in its own right.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 115%;">She does of
course endorse the premise behind these podcats powerfully and with passion.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 115%;">That premise is
<b><i><span style="color: #990000;">“to do good you must first learn how to do good.”</span></i></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Doing good is not a God-given talent, at
least not for most of us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Good
intentions are simply not enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Great
efforts and money are too easily squandered. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Things can even go badly wrong as Leigh, Karen
and I can all testify when talking about the scourge of “Orphanage Tourism”
that has swept the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 115%;">Let me
therefore declare we are kindred spirits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The challenge we face is to take our messages to the rest of the
population. These podcasts will help as will the recent book Leigh and Karen as
contributors <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>talk about in this
conversation – <i><a href="https://twitter.com/jmcheer1/status/1214085282783318017?s=20">“Modern Day
Slavery and Orphanage Tourism<span style="font-style: normal;">”</span></a></i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> They explain the drawbacks of "<a href="https://www.globalteer.org/voluntourism/">#voluntourism"</a> more studiously than i<a href="https://www.johnlowrie.uk/rites-of-passage-or-paradox-of-rights-volunteering-and-tourism">n my website</a>.</span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 115%;">Now this
podcast is quite a long listen but please set aside
the time. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is well-worth it. Karen comes out with some pearls of wisdom and
some excellent tips. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two of her stories strike
resonance with me.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 115%;">Leigh invited
me many years ago to do a guest blog for her. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was about </span><a href="https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/4acb66fc/files/uploaded/"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: -.05pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">“Care-in-the-Community”</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 115%;"> an argument against
institutionalised places like orphanages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I started it with some Glasgow graffiti that Karen might say could come
from the Falls Road in Belfast. ”<i>If I am working class and I have a problem
I get a social worker. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I am
middle-class and I have a problem, I become a social worker”. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>You will hear how relevant this is beyond
the wit<i>. </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Karen explains why
motivation must be correct for everyone to be able do good and to be wary of
your own experiences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They can be
impediments.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 115%;">Later on in the
talk, when asked about what great social problem currently afflicts society,
Karen refers to today’s easy access to pornography. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Literally a few hours earlier today I <a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1217270864174993408?s=20">tweeted</a>
about this in Cambodia and the hypocrisy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>People aren’t supposed to talk about sex but many download and watch
pornography.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even worse is many young
children are doing this. Even poor ones these days have smart-phones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Great harm can only ensue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 115%;">Karen refers to
motivation a lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps wisely she did
not refer to vocation or a “sense of vocation” yet that sums up precisely what
the best people in every profession have in abundance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Social workers need it more than most.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A vocational commitment may not be compulsory
“to do good” but it definitely helps as does great resilience as she
recounts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Often the trouble with many
people who want “to do good” – I have in mind “voluntourists” here – their
timeframes are far too short; their expectations too high, and they and their
“beneficiaries” end up disappointed or worse. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 115%;">When I said
that it was wise to avoid “vocation” it was because this word is used in
“Residential Vocational<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Centres”. They
have been part of the problem in Cambodia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>For a long time they were regarded as the right way to deal with
disabled people, herding them away from home, to undertake training in just a
few pre-arranged skills.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The folly of
residential care did not begin with orphanages to cater for tourists wanting
something else to do once they were bored with the wonders of Angkor Wat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet both forms of institutionalised care have
been funded by official foreign aid and private donations by well-meaning
folks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Australians have been among the
most generous and therefore the most misguided.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Let’s hope these podcasts wise them up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 115%;">Let me end this
piece by one more of Karen’s pearls of wisdom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We often refer to “discipline” when talking about a job and even as
guidance in personal lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Karen
implores you to “<i>Steer in a disciplined way</i>”<i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>That’s a pretty good tip for “doing good”
in any walk-of-life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #20124d;"><b><i>My personal
website is: https://www.johnlowrie.uk</i></b></span><span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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"<b><i>Steering is a disciplined way" </i></b>goes aptly with my old <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-best-person-for-job.html">"Good Governance</a>" Teaching poster.</div>
ANorthumbrianAbroadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548140943705427113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5208414707355071730.post-14338614491440079282019-12-12T00:33:00.007-08:002022-04-08T18:05:06.374-07:00Something must be done about St Helena<div class="MsoPlainText" style="background-color: #cccc99; color: #333333;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333;">In the ions of history, BREXIT is the mere bat of an
eye-lid. By contrast St Helena in UK
politics is a chronic irritating case of myopia. Originally I was just going to do a
supplement to my most </span><a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/06/more-to-saint-helenian-culture-than.html#more" style="color: #333333;">popular blog</a><span style="color: #333333;"> on St Helena, thanks to re-awakening by Mr
Ken Westmoreland after we shared some insightful exchanges. Instead I decided on a Sunday morning blog to help us recover from our UK-election hangover. If BREXIT is almost done, </span><b><i><span style="color: #741b47;">"Let's now get St Helena done!"</span></i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I am most grateful to Ken for kindly providing from his ample collection a number of works about St Helena as well as on related subjects – more of UK [ex-] colonies with a special focus on </span><a href="http://www.gibraltarpanorama.gi/167983" style="font-family: inherit;">Gibraltar;</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> on other small island states around the world, and on various governance systems. These topics were of course the subject of the UK House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee's </span><a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmfaff/2174/217402.htm" style="font-family: inherit;">publication</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> earlier this year. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="color: #333333;">There is a rich depth of material and some very distinguished analysies. Many of them agree on essential conclusions, most pertinent of which is that Saint Helenians seem always to end up with a bad deal irrespective of the best of intentions or not. One author Harry Ritchie in his book </span><b><i><span style="color: #4c1130;"><a href="https://irp.cdn-website.com/4acb66fc/files/uploaded/Britain%27s%20Atlantic%20Alcatraz%20-%20St%20Helena.pdf">“The Last Pink Bits</a></span></i></b><span style="color: #333333;"><a href="https://irp.cdn-website.com/4acb66fc/files/uploaded/Britain%27s%20Atlantic%20Alcatraz%20-%20St%20Helena.pdf">”</a> says it better than most, perhaps speaking colourfully for many and for time immemorial. The last chapter was on St Helena whose people he described as being treated like scum by the UK, which moved him to the point of tears, and how the Overseas Development Administration (fore-runner of DfID) had, despite its consultants having worked on things </span></span><b><i><span style="color: #4c1130;">'for years, and years and years, and come up with absolutely bugger all'. </span></i></b><span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">l suppose with the actual building of the airport that jibe might be unfair, although of course the Whitehall mandarins cannot possibly claim not to have been fore-warned that this their most “generous” aid project for St Helena was not generous enough to accomplish its lofty aims. It was to generate extra tourism, revenue and investment so the island would pay its way for only the second year in a century and then beyond. We learned early on that the <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmpubacc/767/767.pdf">DfID business model</a> to accomplish that feat was fundamentally-flawed. </span><a href="https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/4acb66fc/files/uploaded/Saint%20Helena%20Island%20Over%20Governed.pdf">My own paper</a> that anticipated the airport project shortcomings - perhaps tempting fate - gave rise to sardonic laughs on the part of some MPs. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhim3N4nbEHKt-QMIB78_NhSjizQq4cpQ2jqLuD0PPXVYtrgQimx6U1mM5NQlPZsiJsSIJPW2ljfZfnayloTOnMH0VAE6IZOUJQjOynSL4MnvxNLcAfUJP1sKAUs6bKiZh_z0CqL3lmIU/s1600/BB.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="188" data-original-width="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhim3N4nbEHKt-QMIB78_NhSjizQq4cpQ2jqLuD0PPXVYtrgQimx6U1mM5NQlPZsiJsSIJPW2ljfZfnayloTOnMH0VAE6IZOUJQjOynSL4MnvxNLcAfUJP1sKAUs6bKiZh_z0CqL3lmIU/s1600/BB.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333;">Psychology, as I keep postulating in my blogs, is as important if not more so than – to use awful Foreign Aid jargon – “technical capacity-building” which is of course always the “go-to” recipe for DfID and the Foreign Office’s to address shortcomings - <b><i>"dispatch another expert"</i></b>. The latest is South African constitutional lawyer <a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1190942842849501184?s=20">Jeremy Sarkin.</a> As the late <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/592437.stm">Bernard Braine MP</a> used to say while jabbing his thumb </span><b><i><span style="color: #4c1130;">“Something must be done for St Helena”</span></i></b><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="color: #333333;">. </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="color: #333333;">It is fascinating to revisit <a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1982-12-22/debates/2e7d635a-2eb7-47e4-a34b-3a606c1d4e0f/FalklandIslands(ShackletonReport)# ">what he had to say</a> back in 1982 and to see how apt it is still today. I like the "wit or imagination" comment.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="color: #333333;"><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color: #254061; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #254061; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent1; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">“The Minister of
State has rightly stated today that the importance of sea communications should
not be forgotten. Of course. What is now blindingly obvious, however, was not
always recognised before the Falklands invasion. I was delighted to see that
Lord Shackleton saw merit in linking the islands with the excellent St. Helena and
Ascension shipping service. I can perhaps reveal to the House for the first
time that this was a major recommendation in a report that I made on St. Helena
and Ascension following a visit I made there at the invitation of the governor
and the Legislative Council in 1980.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color: #254061; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #254061; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent1; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">In that report,
which dealt with the neglect of St. Helena and its enforced dependence because
of that neglect, I remarked that, to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office,
Ascension, St. Helena and the Falklands, all dependencies in the South
Atlantic, might just as well have been in three different oceans. Yet without
Ascension we could not have mounted the Falklands rescue operation, and without
St. Helenian labour we could not maintain Ascension.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color: #254061; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #254061; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent1; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">St. Helena has a
surplus of skilled and reliable labour, and we have been told this afternoon
that the Falklands are short of tradesmen and skilled people. What happened
then in 1980 when advertisements were published in St. Helena asking St.
Helenians to go to the Falkland Islands and several hundred responded? Did that
project founder on the question of return passages? Here we have a surplus of
labour in one part of the region and a shortage in another, yet nobody in the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office had the <u>wit or imagination</u> to see that
the problem might be dealt with on a regional basis. What happened to the idea
of finding an outlet in the Falklands for the loyal people of St. Helena?<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color: #254061; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #254061; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent1; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Then again a joint
shipping service is crucial to the survival of all three territories. Until the
day dawns when it is possible to hold out the hand of friendship to a
democratic Argentina, we have a duty to ensure not only air but adequate sea
communications for all our dependencies in the South Atlantic.”</span></i></p></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="color: #333333;">I gather from Ken that the "something must be done" was originally coined by <a href=" https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1984-11-09/debates/7ade64f9-05eb-4ca1-82a9-3d2f566775ca/CommonsChamber ">John Marek</a>. Sending for experts might be a sign of doing something or is it really about “</span><b><i><span style="color: #741b47;">kicking the can down the road”</span></i></b><span style="color: #333333;">. Saints simply shrug their shoulders and remark </span><b style="color: #333333;"><i><span style="color: #4c1130;">“Just another expert passing through.</span></i></b><span style="color: #333333;">” They’ve seen it all before far too often.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Their perspectives are seldom sought or analysed in-depth. Mind you, that is a characteristic of Foreign Aid generally. Seldom are “beneficiaries” in charge of their own "problem, solution, priority projects”. That error was not made by Charlotte Parker in her excellent academic thesis <b><a href="http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/51501/1/WRAP_THESIS_Parker_2012.pdf">“Repertoires of a St Helenian Identity”</a></b>. She took a disciplined at times forensic anthropological approach to try to discern “<b>What makes Saints tick</b>”; how have they evolved and what are the main influences? She winkles out a lot of what too often remains unsaid or is not said to outsiders.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It takes much time to get to know people intimately no matter if there is built-up institutional knowledge or not to be passed on. The UK Foreign Office used to pride itself "<b><i>on throwing its envoys in at the deep end". </i></b>Even more than time, you need good knowledge of behavioural sciences, to cultivate the right circumstances where people give of their best. You can’t cultivate that with short postings abroad of 2-3 years. All the experts have never tried to explain why Saints do much better off their own island than on it. Charlotte does well to shed light on that conundrum.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ken Westmoreland has acquired both a masterful knowledge and a fine collection of writings, some of which would otherwise be confined to dusty archives in the bowels of Whitehall and similar in all those far-flung outposts around the world. One by <a href="https://www.lawsociety.org.nz/news-and-communications/people-in-the-law/lawyer-profiles/dame-alison-quentin-baxter-looks-back">Alison Quentin-Baxter</a><span id="goog_1859675543"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_1859675544"></span> caught my imagination as it examined not just St Helena but Niue that of course I had identified as a suitable example for St Helena to emulate (if allowed by the UK.) See also <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20031115041211/http://www.gbz.org.uk/sthelena.htm">Ken's archive </a>from her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Now my mention of Niue was very different from many writers
about St Helena including Ken, who press for some form of closer formal relationship
with the UK, even of direct representation, with innovative suggestions
including a connection with the large St Helenian Diaspora in places like
Swindon. I would be all for that but I think St Helena needs to aspire to be on a par with equally small island communities like Nieu who speak up for themselves. They are more independent. They still receive aid but they have broken free from the <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2019/08/st-helena-free-yourself-from-mental.html">shackles</a> of colonial masters, to reach
out to a wider world that is often more generous.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">St Helena can only be represented properly, truly and authentically by one of its own, not some nondescript British civil
servant as Governor dispatched by London to keep the natives quiet for another stint of 2-3 years. Besides his or [just once in history] her task is impossible, for even their bravest and brightest. They are also charged with delivering the “Fagan” message.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ironically I suspect the UK relationship with St Helena
would improve with greater autonomy, in fact to change towards the “more equal partner”
that <a href="https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/4acb66fc/files/uploaded/Saint%20Helena%20Island%20Over%20Governed.pdf">I talk about</a> between “developed and “developing” countries envisaged by the <a href="https://www.oecd.org/dac/effectiveness/parisdeclarationandaccraagendaforaction.htm">Paris; Accra, Busan and other Foreign Aid Effectiveness</a>” conferences. Surely St Helena is as
entitled as all the other “small island states” to pursue assistance from whoever might give it - China; US (via Ascension workers), Portugal, and France, etc. It has ties with all of them in one form or another. That is of course unless “Fagan”
does a “Scrooge”, has a sudden revelation and wakes up a changed man.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Change there most certainly should be. Has Britain ever paid fair
dues for St Helena’s services to it? It exploited the
island as a naval way-station and prison, and does similar with Saints emigrating to work for it. Some of us know the post-WW2 <a href="https://www.saw-productions.com/content/one-hundred-men">100 men</a> and domestic servants sent to the UK and its other realms. Who keeps gaining most from St Helena Island's loss? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I wonder what a fair rent would be for appropriating St
Helena to detain Napoleon; “freed” slaves, and Boer prisoners-of-war? Was rent ever paid? If not it’s overdue and
I bet it's worth a lot more in today’s money than an airport or two.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333;">Before I conclude I will point out <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20031115041211/http://www.gbz.org.uk/sthelena.htm">one more notable paper rescued</a> by Ken from its dusty fate, hopefully to rest in a cyber-space cloud for posterity so future generations can look back. Will people be still para-phrasing?</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: inherit; font-size: large; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">"Something must be done about St Helena!”</span><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: inherit; font-size: large; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">.....ooo0ooo.....</span><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: inherit; font-size: large; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>More reading:</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #0f243e; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 128;">My other blogs about St Helena<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #0f243e; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 128;">The easiest way to access my blogs is to use online search engines and
enter Helena.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0f243e; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 128;">Here are links to the most recent one(s) and the most popular measured by
direct viewings as on 16 December 2019. Actual numbers are higher as they are picked up
via Twitter and other Social Media. My new website <a href="http://www.johnlowrie.uk/">www.johnlowrie.uk</a> also includes some as
well as my main paper on the island’s tourism plans and hopes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0f243e; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 128;"><a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2019/12/something-must-be-done-about-st-helena_36.html">http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2019/12/something-must-be-done-about-st-helena_36.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0f243e; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 128;"><a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/06/more-to-saint-helenian-culture-than.html">http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/06/more-to-saint-helenian-culture-than.html</a>
(3,589)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0f243e; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 128;"><a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/12/i-love-to-go-wandering.html#more">http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/12/i-love-to-go-wandering.html#more</a>
(2,000)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0f243e; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 128;"><a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-buck-rests-here.html">http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-buck-rests-here.html</a>
(1,946)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0f243e; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 128;"><a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2016/01/lucy-v-sasha-who-is-right-ask-doris.html">http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2016/01/lucy-v-sasha-who-is-right-ask-doris.html</a>
(1,830)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0f243e; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 128;"><a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2016/12/saints-heed-your-pope.html#more">http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2016/12/saints-heed-your-pope.html#more</a>
(1,636)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0f243e; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 128;"><a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2016/09/rocking-all-over-world.html#more">http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2016/09/rocking-all-over-world.html#more</a>
(1,605)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0f243e; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 128;"><a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2014/11/alnwickdotes-no-5-fish-and-chip.html#more">http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2014/11/alnwickdotes-no-5-fish-and-chip.html#more</a>
(425)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0f243e; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 128;"><a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2014/12/a-little-light-relief-anecdote-from.html">http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2014/12/a-little-light-relief-anecdote-from.html</a>
(299)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0f243e; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 128;"><a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2019/08/st-helena-free-yourself-from-mental.html#more">http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2019/08/st-helena-free-yourself-from-mental.html#more</a>
(177)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0f243e; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0f243e; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 128;"> See also this blog where I talk
about Island music including the <a href="http://sainthelenaisland.info/nationalsong.htm">“Dave Mitchell”</a> anthem:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0f243e; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 128;"><a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2014/10/alnwickdotes-no-7-best-laid-plans-of.html#more">http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2014/10/alnwickdotes-no-7-best-laid-plans-of.html#more</a>
(130)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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ANorthumbrianAbroadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548140943705427113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5208414707355071730.post-21040852663792778442019-12-11T01:03:00.001-08:002020-02-04T23:41:32.935-08:00United Kingdom First Impressions and No, Nos!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqP7PuUbT824O7eL3hACs2ifG-coasvQGL5VjlzcyXl2fDULbAVKYuhoUuMCGfH_egnas4czpNnKsAxllx9-M7gzY3WXi2wPQ_MYNiA0RQq4ALmj0KrHnTiTwNGM57484R5wcQ6SPIzRY/s1600/Brits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1061" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqP7PuUbT824O7eL3hACs2ifG-coasvQGL5VjlzcyXl2fDULbAVKYuhoUuMCGfH_egnas4czpNnKsAxllx9-M7gzY3WXi2wPQ_MYNiA0RQq4ALmj0KrHnTiTwNGM57484R5wcQ6SPIzRY/s640/Brits.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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<i>The following piece was written for<a href="https://www.learningenglish-cambodia.com/learning-english-abroad/life-in-the-uk-test.php"> Learning English Cambodia</a></i><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><b><i><a href="https://www.learningenglish-cambodia.com/why-do-International-students-study-in-the-uk.php">"Why study in UK?</a></i></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;">You’ve succeeded at last.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your
dream has come true and you’ve finally arrived to be a student in the United
Kingdom. Well you will have had your first introduction to this quaint nation’s
many peculiarities. You’ll face many more before you’re safely settled in to
your new home for the next chapter in your life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
Yes that<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>first introduction is to
the queue, the orderly queue, that you went through at Border Control. Woe
betide anyone who jumps the queue, any queue, in the UK. They are soon admonished.<br />
<br /></div>
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<a name='more'></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;">
<o:p></o:p></span>
Here we must give you your first tip. Brits especially in uniform don’t
mind being asked for advice. Some thrive on it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So always please <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ask: “Sorry, is
this the queue for...... non-EU passports? “No this is the queue for the ladies
toilet – you go over there!”</div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;">Note the use of the all-important multi-purpose word <b><i><span style="color: #990000;">“Sorry”</span></i></b>. You are not
apologizing, just using a better way to say “Excuse me!” More is said on this
later.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;">Once you have managed to find your way out of the airport you might have
to cross the street and have to navigate your way to the right mode of onward
transport. Both might entail saying “Sorry” a few more times, and/or by
gesticulating the same meaning, raising a hand that also serves as a polite “Thank
you”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;">Drivers of vehicles usually but not always stop for you – beware – and not
just at pedestrian crossings but at junctions. Now please don’t get in to the
habit of expecting and acting upon it. Wait until signalled. If not it might
lead to your early visit thanks to a rare selfish driver to the excellent free
accident/emergency NHS (National Health Service) clinics. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Plus of course it is not something you dare<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>risk once back at home, at least in many parts
of the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;">Once aboard your transport you will notice that nobody talks. They never
did that in past times before the craze for peering in to Smart-phones went
universal. The silence is only broken if something happens..... like a
delay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then they’ll burst in to chatter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;">You might be asked to join in the grumble. That might be your first unsolicited
question or comment. Most likely it will be the incessant one you will hear
most often in the UK and for which you must have a ready-made “small-talk”
reply.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Nasty weather, isn’t it?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Try to respond with something like “Yes but a
nice change for me.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’ll soon have
your first transient friend. If you want to keep the chat going you can venture
safely with ”Isn’t your NHS (National Health Service) wonderful?”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;">If nothing happens and silence prevails, you need to be warned about more
“No, no’s” about to befall you and the escape route skills you will need
master.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;">Firstly please avoid eye contact and above all do not stare at
people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It will most likely attract a
scowl of derision and possibly some abuse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He or she might even think you fancy them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;">The next “No, no” is to enter someone’s space. Even in a crowded train,
people have imaginary territorial boundaries around them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite having no intention of accidentally
bumping in to them, or of invading their space, be quick to say.... “Sorry!”
and look away. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A cursory half smile does
no harm. That’s your escape route.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Soon you will be thirsty and hungry. You might want a drink
or cup of soup.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So here is your next
“No, no”. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please don’t slurp, or not
audibly as at home where it’s a sure sign of culinary satisfaction to one and
all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Brits don’t slurp. It’s a sign of
bad manners for them, of poor upbringing. In fact you should practice not
slurping so as not to be caught unawares and inviting disapproving looks.</div>
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Afterwards you might want to relieve yourself and get to use
one of the many words in common use for toilets. Or just say “Sorry, toilet
please?” as that is mostly OK these days, thankfully. If you want to sound
superior you may ask for “Ladies or Gents” provided you have an appropriate
distinct appearance of one of the usual binary choices. If you are of the
modern non-binary variety, stick to toilet and just dive in to whichever suits
you.....while avoiding eye contact.</div>
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And:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please <b><i><span style="color: #990000;">do not
forget to wash your hand</span></i><span style="color: #990000;">s</span></b>! If you don’t, you will be rebuked. The publisher of
this page (<a href="https://twitter.com/TutorCambodia/status/758444004174245888?s=20">Learning English Cambodia</a>) is an expert in this regard, exporting the admonition, with some
success but mainly bemusement around South East Asia.</div>
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Now let’s be clear. I hope all this is not daunting.
Everyone soon gets the hang of it and much more of British idiosyncrasies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well-honed use of “Sorry” and your best
innocent smile rarely fails to work or to impress. Please note also two other
words used here very often –<b><i><span style="color: #990000;"> “Please</span></i></b>” and <b><i><span style="color: #990000;">“Thank you”</span></i></b>. Those three words will
take you a long way in the UK, just fine and dandy!</div>
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Welcome to the UK.</div>
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<b>An Anecdote<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Having dutifully pleased and flattered the publisher
gentleman, I now wish to disavow the content, in part or at least with
qualifications.</div>
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I used to live and work in Dorchester Dorset whose County
Hospital hosted staff from <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/06/more-to-saint-helenian-culture-than.html#more">Saint Helena Island </a>in the South Atlantic for
professional training. With a population of just 5,000 or so, there are no
strangers there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One cheery chappie was
Rodney “Eggshell” Benjamin whose strengths were far more sturdy than his nickname
suggested. He was a nurse, paramedic and anaesthetist. Most boys on the island
have nicknames and they're used all the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some
hardly know their real name. You will not need an educated guess to how Rodney
acquired his.</div>
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Now Rodney cut a diminutive figure, as well as a striking
one, having darkish skin and green eyes.<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Despite being new to the big wide world of Dorchester, at
least compared to Jamestown on St Helena, he had no fears of walking out and
about, even making his own way to town to and from my house, and our
rendezvous at the <a href="https://www.oldshipinndorchester.co.uk/our-pub/">Old Ship</a>. I followed not long after him.</div>
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He behaved exactly as he did at home greeting every
passer-by with a friendly smile. <i style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">“Good morning, Sir” “Good morning Ma’am”. </i><span style="color: #990000; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"> </span><i style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">“Hello, you, how you is?” </i>to the children.</div>
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For the most part everyone, despite their surprise, greeted
him back, although of course few stopped to chat as would occur on St
Helena.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now although Dorset folks seldom
greeted strangers in this way, there was no doubt about it, Rodney soon became
quite a celebrity.</div>
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I have to admit though I did overhear the occasional after-greeting muttering of “Wierdo!”</div>
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Despite that Rodney made this little part of the world as
friendly as his small part, at least for a while. In many ways it is a shame
that it never caught on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dorchester folks are
fine but strange.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTTBfmXSlXFGBYWI6lctqDDPc5C1gCVoouzeCmcVAGhqsNVBxFphnfV8K3PpvvLEcf4T7WA9fx56jqmRKQj1DHS0jurW5S5fj3yMg64DqyG1GWQB6cRkwfHUl4Huf_cAjqE8soV80bxrc/s1600/Old+Ship.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="709" data-original-width="514" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTTBfmXSlXFGBYWI6lctqDDPc5C1gCVoouzeCmcVAGhqsNVBxFphnfV8K3PpvvLEcf4T7WA9fx56jqmRKQj1DHS0jurW5S5fj3yMg64DqyG1GWQB6cRkwfHUl4Huf_cAjqE8soV80bxrc/s320/Old+Ship.jpg" width="230" /></a></div>
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<b>Postscript on the <a href="http://oldshipinndorchester.co.uk/">Old Ship</a> and another Rodney. <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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A couple of years later I myself went to St Helena and
stayed for 7 years. Then I returned to Dorchester and wandered in to the Old
Ship. As if time had stood still local punter Rodney was propping up the same
corner of the Bar. As I was getting my Eldridge Pope IPA, he interrupted his
contemplation of his glass, looked at me and said <b><i><span style="color: #632423; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 128;">“Hello John, Oi (I) not seen
thee for a little while!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i></b>I
told him where I’d been and for 7 years. <b><i><span style="color: #632423; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 128;">“Thought it was a few months, not
years, ah well, not much to tell you, all same round ‘ere!”</span></i></b></div>
<br />ANorthumbrianAbroadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548140943705427113noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5208414707355071730.post-39272228430331482402019-11-27T21:10:00.004-08:002021-07-22T02:03:20.391-07:00Best years of my life 1969<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEC0Kn-EqTaj1nMS-5rRPjhRzR7lSG5omanPWZmMzPYbQDpS29Lh0-SDLoXK8Tmkgkw4f9twOqmaOHGGZ2IDPlBxjwOjCkTjWJMxsjLr5JyZmQUTkx8xwiin6yUewihnV2g1Q8gV0yvDE/s1600/Kingston+1970.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="760" data-original-width="1344" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEC0Kn-EqTaj1nMS-5rRPjhRzR7lSG5omanPWZmMzPYbQDpS29Lh0-SDLoXK8Tmkgkw4f9twOqmaOHGGZ2IDPlBxjwOjCkTjWJMxsjLr5JyZmQUTkx8xwiin6yUewihnV2g1Q8gV0yvDE/s640/Kingston+1970.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #632423; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px;">Image of Kingston 1969. The arcade is just like the one where Eric Clapton once strummed his guitar and where we bought our secondhand LP records. The guy passing by hiding his face has more than a passing resemblance to one who used to lurk for hours in the Kingston Penrhyn Road refectory. He hasn’t changed much since but these days Ashby de la Zouch pubs are more his haunts (and feline rather than female company!)</span></i></b></div>
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Almost without fail on a Saturday night in the Fleece Inn Alnwick, the very familiar tones of Bryan Adams and “Best Days of Your Life” – or <a href="https://youtu.be/9f06QZCVUHg">“Summer of 69”</a> will be performed and rapturously received, by what can only be described as a dwindling grey-haired audience.<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
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<b><i><span face=""arial" , "sans-serif"" style="color: #632423; font-size: 10pt;">“Standin' on your mama's porch<br />
You told me that you'd wait forever<br />
Oh, and when you held my hand<br />
I knew that it was now or never</span></i></b><b><i><span face=""arial" , "sans-serif"" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
</span></i></b><b><i><span face=""arial" , "sans-serif"" style="color: #632423; font-size: 10pt;">Those were the</span></i></b><b><i><span face=""arial" , "sans-serif"" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></b><b><i><span face=""arial" , "sans-serif"" style="color: red; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">best days of my life</span></i></b><b><i><span face=""arial" , "sans-serif"" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span face=""arial" , "sans-serif"" style="color: #632423; font-size: 10pt;">Oh, yeah<br />
Back in the summer of '69, oh<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span face=""arial" , "sans-serif"" style="color: #632423; font-size: 10pt;">Man we were killin' time<br />
We were young and restless<br />
We needed to unwind<br />
I guess nothin' can last forever, forever, no!<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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Now nostalgia can play tricks.
Memories are easily distorted over time. Yet 1969 was a seminal year for me. 2019 marks it was 50 years ago. The anniversary, sadly, is
going by hardly marked.</div>
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As if to evoke memories and
cajole a reaction an advert on <a href="https://www.thedrum.com/news/2019/06/17/dhl-celebrates-50-years-trade-with-bryan-adams-summer-69-spot">UK
TV for DHL</a> appears frequently featuring Bryan Adams and his song.</div>
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Now most readers of my blogs
aren’t old enough to remember 1969.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
worth a look back in order to reflect on where we are today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You might be surprised by some relevancies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
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Cambodians please watch the video
of Kingston-upon-Thames in the 1960s. You will also like seeing the British TV
documentary of 1969 that shows life in Cambodia with Prince Sihanouk expressing
himself, his hopes and fears, very articulately. Everyone will like viewing it.</div>
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Aaron McFally’s Kingston <a href="https://youtu.be/59lc7822Zq0">Video</a> seems quirky but that’s how such
documentaries were done in those days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The images are exactly as they were when I went to Kingston in
1969.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Around 12 minutes in you can see
the then Colleges of Technology and Arts, just as they are in today’s Kingston
University.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is some charming
footage of how local democracy operated. Kingston was in fact the smallest
local education authority in the UK to host a Polytechnic, the new breed of
higher education institutions of the time, and how this came about was actually
the subject of my degree course dissertation there.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The Thames Television <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPUXRgbM4AA">documentary</a> on Cambodia
in 1969 is a classic. The following year Sihanouk was deposed and soon
afterwards the infamous Khmer Rouge regime took over, a tragedy and its
aftermath that still blights Cambodia today.</div>
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Now I certainly knew of and
remember Prince Sihanouk from the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We were the generation of Woodstock and Isle of Wight ”Flower-Power” Pop
Festivals. <a href="https://youtu.be/nXspsfoPX50">Country Joe and the Fish</a>
sang:</div>
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<b><i><span face=""arial" , "sans-serif"" style="color: #632423; font-size: 10pt;">Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span face=""arial" , "sans-serif"" style="color: #632423; font-size: 10pt;">Next stop is Vietnam;<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span face=""arial" , "sans-serif"" style="color: #632423; font-size: 10pt;">And it's five, six, seven,<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span face=""arial" , "sans-serif"" style="color: #632423; font-size: 10pt;">Open up the pearly gates,<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span face=""arial" , "sans-serif"" style="color: #632423; font-size: 10pt;">Well there ain't no time to wonder why,<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span face=""arial" , "sans-serif"" style="color: #632423; font-size: 10pt;">Whoopee! we're all gonna die.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Well as we know Sihanouk’s worst
fears came about and Cambodia was caught up in the deadly conflict.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Young people around the world railed against
the aggression.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were a lot of
student protests, fore-runners of those in Hong Kong and concern for
global-warming today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One led by
Kingston Students Union was to protest against Education Secretary Margaret
Thatcher’s decision to abolish free school milk for children in British schools. (One of many cruel decisions she made.)</div>
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<br /></div>
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It is so weird to think that
years later King Sihanouk and I <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2014/09/alnwickdote-no-12-honorary-girl-guide.html">would
share a laugh</a> when I told him about this. He had his own reasons to despise Maggie.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Now viewers of the two videos can
draw their own conclusions but a few stick out to me.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1-x5YgxKkyRDCBmE5pLajwSnUelPO1IW8SsBUoBof4GDarzml7MT1dgtMdi7Oeoi67DXnvxO46-r3Hsd_9afrYiqX81GlxCcG-fSxnIRS7DrcnWWgwgw8qOjEv2GtdZW-vmt9E9a9UCI/s1600/Sihanouk+Film+1969.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="491" data-original-width="586" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1-x5YgxKkyRDCBmE5pLajwSnUelPO1IW8SsBUoBof4GDarzml7MT1dgtMdi7Oeoi67DXnvxO46-r3Hsd_9afrYiqX81GlxCcG-fSxnIRS7DrcnWWgwgw8qOjEv2GtdZW-vmt9E9a9UCI/s200/Sihanouk+Film+1969.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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In the Thames documentary Prince
Sihanouk is seen mixing with local people and without bodyguards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today’s ruler Prime Minister Hun Sen has
always resented the adulation, love and popularity of Sihanouk and reverence
shown to him – despite sharing a lot of the same untoward characteristics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He and his ruling party contrive to emulate
these scenes but fail miserably. Also as I know living near him in Takhmau he
has probably the largest personal troop of bodyguards of any leader in the
world. That says a lot about him.</div>
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<br />
<br /></div>
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<br />
Today 1960s<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pop Music, theirs of that era, based on ours
is very popular<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- check out <a href="https://youtu.be/STrU2WcbZaY">Space Project</a>'s <i>"House of the Rising Sun</i>".
King Sihanouk was of course a<a href="https://youtu.be/Z6Hq5YrqhSA"> virtuoso</a> in his own right, performing even in the
last years of his life.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Sadly the local democracy shown
of Kingston at that time seems to be a luxury today. Public services have been
cut and as we see in <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2019/06/the-rise-and-fall-of-public-service.html">Northumberland today</a> administration and governance are
streamlined.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> It no longer</span> commands the kind of respect and confidence depicted in the old documentary. No wonder the UK no longer has a model of excellent practice it can export to the world.<br />
<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6jueSW_wGBVdPIwZXn1JElo4qrRGQvwVZgAimTh1IF8znu7z1rZbO3nhagQgqrWkzXPtBgHgo0mW2kmJqcbHSFbDhXmaZ_ZgA__ikvwme88z8j2I5KL7ab7OiH833BWteOeiIoE3o5NE/s116/Logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="116" data-original-width="115" height="92" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6jueSW_wGBVdPIwZXn1JElo4qrRGQvwVZgAimTh1IF8znu7z1rZbO3nhagQgqrWkzXPtBgHgo0mW2kmJqcbHSFbDhXmaZ_ZgA__ikvwme88z8j2I5KL7ab7OiH833BWteOeiIoE3o5NE/w91-h92/Logo.jpg" width="91" /></a></div>I used to amuse many of my good
governance students in Cambodia by telling them about the local government
“reorganisation” of 1974 in the UK.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
was part of my job to help make the change in Surrey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We nicknamed it “<span style="color: purple;"><b>disorganisation</b></span>” and the
truth is over the years there have been far too many “reforms” of local
government and health services. Strange too that apart from working on the then new logo, we also worked on relocating from Kingston, <a href="https://formersurreycchq.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/194/2021/07/Crops-19888-Surrey-Council-County-Hall-boards-JULY-2021-v12-CROP-min.pdf">a move</a> that took almost 50 years.<br />
<br /></div>
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I pop back to Kingston every so
often <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2017/11/so-much-older-then-im-younger-than-that.html">–
see one blog</a>. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Spring Grove still
fascinates.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The students are much more
diverse than in our days and strangely a lot younger!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR3pV9006EVh0jF8BGv2h9boX-nJyLTU_3iuIKP_xFPI14FKzAIqCyewQpDQMnYzwNhkugOogFyS6pgB_C25z44fjQjYWVyx16eNCsr6Pr8KoSHmbxRtYuwoaXBarCLE5FmAYmx80HSNg/s1600/Spring+Grove.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="241" data-original-width="320" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR3pV9006EVh0jF8BGv2h9boX-nJyLTU_3iuIKP_xFPI14FKzAIqCyewQpDQMnYzwNhkugOogFyS6pgB_C25z44fjQjYWVyx16eNCsr6Pr8KoSHmbxRtYuwoaXBarCLE5FmAYmx80HSNg/s400/Spring+Grove.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />ANorthumbrianAbroadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548140943705427113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5208414707355071730.post-9708395615864776492019-08-19T00:06:00.000-07:002019-08-20T20:46:31.507-07:00Scents and sensibility<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ywD4OeDzXjk6_fxtz5g57QoIZOLv8M6GCcSEAzZitjJ-ZVwULu87AGWUlmIADnWS6L_D-sRTyrgWF1HN87acihOCjy_kR0l4fBG7ZAcmcYpjMgIpTQuierTLDzeQ932EGE6ks8lHrEU/s1600/Golden+champa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="402" data-original-width="600" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ywD4OeDzXjk6_fxtz5g57QoIZOLv8M6GCcSEAzZitjJ-ZVwULu87AGWUlmIADnWS6L_D-sRTyrgWF1HN87acihOCjy_kR0l4fBG7ZAcmcYpjMgIpTQuierTLDzeQ932EGE6ks8lHrEU/s640/Golden+champa.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #006600; font-family: "inherit" , "serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">The ‘Golden Champa” Chanel’s
secret ingredient or Ladakh’s secret to keep? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My ears pricked up immediately on hearing about India’s
decision last week <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-49329370">for
direct rule of Kashmir</a>. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I once had
some remote (very remote of course) involvement with Ladakh and some good
people there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2019/08/long-overdue-why-ladakhs-new-status-in-india-should-be-welcomed/">mixed
views</a> as ever on India’s move but one thing I do recall is how honourable
and ethical were our erstwhile Ladakhi colleagues. That’s something very rare
in Cambodia.</span></div>
<a name='more'></a><o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">There wasn’t a lot of sensibility in </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sense_and_Sensibility" style="font-size: 12pt;">Jane Austin’s novel</a><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
where personal conduct throughout was open to question. That’s a question as
relevant today in the world of Foreign Aid. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We may refer more to “ethical conduct” or the
lack of it. How often is money put ahead of principles?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My colleagues in Ladakh were not guilty of that, not in the
least.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The flower above still features in <a href="https://bbook.com/beautyjunkie/chanel-sublimage-what-the-350-price-tag-also-funds/">Chanel’s
advertising</a>, Indeed it still lauds its co-operation with the Ladakh Society
of Traditional Medicine (<a href="http://www.lungtatravel.com/ladakh-society-for-traditional-medicine.html">LSTM</a>).
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It could be that these are old sites
maintaining such claims but they have not been taken down yet. They do,
however, serve Chanel’s interests among its customers who like a <i>“feel-good”/“doing good for others”/"doing good for the environment”</i> factor to assuage
their profligacy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Now it is not for me
to tell LSTM’s full story, and they might not want it told, but suffice to say here
that not all Chanel’s claims were correct, according to LSTM, including the
part it played in the “discovery” and exploitation of their Ladakh local
plants. The scent in the air was not so sweet. The upshot was LSTM rejected
Chanel’s lucrative offer of funding. (I wonder if the two sides<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ever reconciled?)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is strange to think how<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>India’s Ladakh and Cambodia’s Mondulkiri came
to be connected but that is precisely what occurred through <a href="https://cnrs.academia.edu/LaurentPordie">Laurent Pordié</a>,
Anthropologist and Pharmaceutical Scientist. Laurent had found his way to both
places. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He established the NGO <a href="https://mondulkiri-centre.org/uploads/Nomad%20RSI%20Annual%20Report%202014%2028%20April%20Part%20i.pdf">“Nomad RSI”</a> that I joined in 2010. [See notes at end]<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am pretty
sure I recall seeing him many years earlier. He was just about the only
other “barang” (used by Cambodians to describe a foreigner) in Sen Monorom the
main town of Mondulkiri. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Locals were
worried about him because he was ill with malaria. He wasn’t unduly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s one of the reasons why Nomad RSI did
ground-breaking work in malaria prevention health education? (<a href="https://www.pdffiller.com/295113533-NC_Annual_report_2011_final_16_02-2pdf-Nomad-RSI-Cambodia-Annual-Report-2011-Sen-Monorom-Mondulkiri-Province-Cambodia-nomadcambodia-gmail-nomadrsi-Various-Fillable-Forms">Annual Report 201<span id="goog_689371925"></span><span id="goog_689371926"></span>1</a> page 6 - Extract with Laurent below.)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhps2Pu7oApSQfNpEq_j-lVVbOmLftgrnLVzDBu34Ifx72sL45HPKivIZ9Vkt3icI3CvCo2uWTeNaitWDvP8jpWHV9rlo9ZxWVsHTKsSIb10Ljt8bObGqYgYVmgzfAocSNXg8nNkKFt6jg/s1600/Traditional+Medical+Book+Final_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1525" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhps2Pu7oApSQfNpEq_j-lVVbOmLftgrnLVzDBu34Ifx72sL45HPKivIZ9Vkt3icI3CvCo2uWTeNaitWDvP8jpWHV9rlo9ZxWVsHTKsSIb10Ljt8bObGqYgYVmgzfAocSNXg8nNkKFt6jg/s320/Traditional+Medical+Book+Final_01.jpg" width="304" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Chanel as it happens was also funding our work in
Mondulkiri. We were well-advanced is securing larger longer-term funding from
it, for important work in traditional medicine. Indeed Laurent with Nomad RSI’s
then President Calum Blaikie had co-written authoritative “Introductory
Remarks” in </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.medbox.org/nomad-rsi-cambodia-annual-report-2013/download.pdf" style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">our book</a>. (See also <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303830182_Natural_remedies_used_by_Bunong_people_in_Mondulkiri_province_Northeast_Cambodia_with_special_reference_to_the_treatment_of_11_most_common_ailments" style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Francois Chassagne</a> Extract
2013 Annual Report below.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What should we do? Should we stand alongside our Ladakh
colleagues or look after our own vested interests?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Could we separate ourselves?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Was it a case of tainted money?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Nomad Board of Directors spent inordinate
time trying to resolve the issue. Not even the copious red wine and kind
hospitality of Elisabeth in the Pyrenees made that task easier.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNESoD42y3gSt4Q9dbhM7RGqeC-NIYcPhIAmVg35kuItk66Vi6LmYfAriZARXJEV5wxPQqZ-1F0reDRP2HkIOFxm4HGixQ07kOSqiRSNdsqXrVTCxLEaszAWQELwmgxEM6zPfcPN8WHI0/s1600/St+Laurent+France.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1089" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNESoD42y3gSt4Q9dbhM7RGqeC-NIYcPhIAmVg35kuItk66Vi6LmYfAriZARXJEV5wxPQqZ-1F0reDRP2HkIOFxm4HGixQ07kOSqiRSNdsqXrVTCxLEaszAWQELwmgxEM6zPfcPN8WHI0/s320/St+Laurent+France.jpg" width="217" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #006600; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">← </span></i>Nomad RSI’s Board met for annual conventions
and important meetings at the Board Secretary’s house in the Pyrenees. They
seldom had time to enjoy the scenery. The snow fell heavily delaying members
from Paris to discuss LSTM and Cambodia business.</b></span></i><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 16px;">I can recall only one other NGO in Cambodia in 21 years ever refusing to take funds for ethical reasons. Far more common is the phenomenon of “chasing money” where NGOs reinvent who they are and what they do to meet the proposal guidelines of donors. That of course – as I also <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjmjvy3hpPkAhUCg-YKHb7PCK0QFjAAegQIABAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.scribd.com%2Fdocument%2F11621086%2FThe-Name-of-the-Game-is-Sustainability-but-Does-the-Last-Player-Count-by-John-Lowrie&usg=AOvVaw07OgqyKuAquKah7404CBqZ">grumble</a> about – is where the professional fundraisers are in their element.</span><span style="font-size: 16px;">The big international NGOs all have them. I call them the “usual culprits”. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Small local NGOs can’t compete. They tend to
miss out and even worse their senior staff have wasted time working on futile
applications when their time and effort could be spent on direct activities or
supervising them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The UK does have excellent <a href="https://www.institute-of-fundraising.org.uk/membership/individual-membership/code-of-conduct/">fund-raising
standards</a> that ought to be adopted worldwide in Foreign Aid. For example in the
<a href="https://www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/code">Code of Practice </a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Clause 2.7.1 says <b><i><span style="color: #351c75;">“You must use all funds raised
for a particular cause for that cause”. </span></i></b> This has always been the one to interest me most.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is partly because of often <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2018/08/malfeasance-in-foreign-aid-essay.html">witnessing
it not observed</a> - one case is described <a href="https://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2013/09/alnwickdote-no-10-fit-and-proper-in-aid.html">here</a> - but also because there is a real dilemma for local NGOs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many donors these days do not cover “core” costs
but direct beneficiary-related activities only, so basic salaries and overheads have
to be covered. If people can’t be paid their salaries or essential bills paid
such rent and electricity, you can see the temptation to use money differently,
not in accordance with approved budgets. Few in Cambodia see this as fraud
although it is.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LSTM was clear in its understanding. Chanel’s money was not
what it thought the money was for, their purposes, common purposes, shared ideals, with Chanel
as they thought originally. Some of us in Cambodia accepted LSTM's stance that this must be
respected. The upshot is we never did get the funding from Chanel and sadly we
never managed to replace it. The work is on-hold apart from occasional visiting
researchers. So the traditional health practitioners of Mondulkiri have never
had sustained support for their work, validated (or dismissed) by modern
science. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If they do hold the key to
potential discoveries, they are likely to stay undiscovered. The province and its
indigenous people are losing their forests at a shocking pace in the name of
national economic development. Their medicinal plants are disappearing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Perversely those people making money from the decimation of
the forests sometimes share their ill-gotten gains with locals. One former
self-help group member, astride his brand new motor-cycle and brandishing his
new Smart-Phone, <a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1119973957573148673?s=20">told me</a>
<b><i>“If you can’t beat them, join them</i></b>!” He knew it was tainted money
and the end of his community’s traditional lives and livelihoods<b><i> “But
they’re going to take it anyway, so we might as well get a share”. </i></b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="color: #274e13;">It’s a kind of sensibility, even if it makes no sense.</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="color: #274e13;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="color: #274e13;">.....ooo0ooo.....</span></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Notes and more viewing or reading:<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b>
1. Nomad RSI in Cambodia "localised" its operations and handed over to the local NGO created for this purpose "Mondulkiri Indigenous People's Association for Development" (MIPAD) still going strong as at August 2019. Please go <a href="http://mondulkiri-centre.org/index.php?page=our-own-organisation-mipad">here</a>. They prefer to update on their <a href="https://web.facebook.com/Mondulkiri-Indigenous-People-Association-for-Development-280577912069530/">Facebook</a><span id="goog_689371897"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_689371898"></span> or <a href="http://mondulkiricentre.wordpress.com/">Wordpress</a>.<br />
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b>2. Green action as a luxury strategy in the field of cosmetics:<br />
<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "inherit" , "serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/46888431.pdf">https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/46888431.pdf</a><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">3. Gonzalo Chacon's insightful film as part of his M.A. in Visual Anthropology dissertation, produced in collaboration with Ladakh Society for Traditional Medicines:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "inherit" , "serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Excellent film: <a href="https://vimeo.com/29322841">https://vimeo.com/29322841</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b>Extracts from 2011 and 2013 Nomad RSI Annual Reports</b><br />
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ANorthumbrianAbroadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548140943705427113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5208414707355071730.post-36196472122547547902019-08-07T20:18:00.002-07:002021-06-14T02:59:42.601-07:00St Helena - Free Yourself from Mental Slavery<br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;">The BBC World Service airs some brilliant shows. One today (8 August
2019) surrounds the topic of Bob Marley’s “</span><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3csz4y8" style="text-align: justify;">Songs of Redemption</a><span style="text-align: justify;">”.</span></div>
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It gave me <b><i><span style="color: #1f497d; mso-themecolor: text2;">“Emancipate
Yourself from Mental Slavery”</span></i></b> the final hook needed to complete
my long-held contention about why the UK constantly fails in its efforts to
make Saint Helena Island self-sufficient.<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
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In fact whenever I hear Bob Marley I always think of St Helena. Even
though Caribbeans are quite different, they do share with Saints common British
colonialism and slave origins from Africa. </div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOFu6b3w6c0">Songs of Redemption</a>
is both introspective and meant for an outside world. Lyrics in songs like this
do convey messages, not always obvious, sometimes inadvertent, and often
compelling – if the words are heard and understood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Saints have been singing them for many years.</div>
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<i><span style="color: #632423; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 128;">Won't you help to sing<br />
These songs of freedom?<br />
'Cause all I ever have<br />
Redemption songs<br />
Redemption songs<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #632423; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 128;">Emancipate yourselves from mental
slavery<br />
None but ourselves can free our minds<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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This broadcast came soon after ceremonies to mark <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/08/ghana-marks-400-years-slave-trade-190801160921870.html">400
years of slavery in Ghana</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>St Helena
was used to help stamp out the slave trade. The remains of many who died there
were unearthed for the building of the new airport. Their genes are a big part
of the melting pot of the DNA of today’s Saints.</div>
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The late great Stedson George, former Head-teacher, self-confessed
maverick, used to say “It’s the slave-like mentality”. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I heard him say this often to explain aspects
of local behaviour that many expatriates found incomprehensible. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Few ventured to ask more. It was politically
incorrect to do so. If asked, he was happy to explain that slavery does have
some advantages. You don’t have responsibility. You don’t have to worry about
your next meal. Life is simple if you are a dependent. It suits some. It can become
deeply-ingrained. Yet it is not a natural human characteristic.</div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #1f497d; mso-themecolor: text2;">“Emancipate
yourself from mental slavery”.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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The first
song I think of when describing Saint Helena is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HHT_V294Co">Blue Mink’s Melting Pot</a>:</div>
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<i><span style="color: #632423; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /></span></i><i><span style="color: #632423;">Take a pinch of white man</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #632423;">Wrap him up in black skin<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
Add a touch of blue blood</span></i><span style="color: #632423;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #632423;">And a little
bitty bit of red Indian boy.....<o:p></o:p></span></i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<i><span style="color: #632423;">What we need is a great big melting pot</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #632423;">
Big enough enough enough to take</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
The world and all its got And keep it stirring for a hundred years or more<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
And turn out coffee coloured people by the score</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg1IJ7PklOlD6vVLnZuVg2lB6nYf-5uuYOWF6wcDOcLhpurNHJu_GUXtbFf4A0HrlGRHOi8-ONHJmffgNMjIPKeXZcokgTBcwkUKfWNQWaEXUfmimhp7hUUprvSbBBvm9Q2xd2JyturUQ/s1600/Frederick+Douglass.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="852" data-original-width="615" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg1IJ7PklOlD6vVLnZuVg2lB6nYf-5uuYOWF6wcDOcLhpurNHJu_GUXtbFf4A0HrlGRHOi8-ONHJmffgNMjIPKeXZcokgTBcwkUKfWNQWaEXUfmimhp7hUUprvSbBBvm9Q2xd2JyturUQ/s200/Frederick+Douglass.jpg" width="143" /></a>Even within the same family you can see markedly mixed physical human
features – dark skin and blue or green eyes. Rodney Benjamin has that distinction.
Two dark-skinned parents might give birth to a light child - “a throwback” I
was once told.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fortunately unlike in the
rest of the world the fidelity of the mother would not be questioned. Besides Saints
have absolutely no time anyway for ideas like “<a href="https://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/23/messages/847.html">The sins of the fathers vested upon children”. </a></div>
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<i><span style="color: #4f6228; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">A former slave</span></i><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">,</span> <a href="https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/former-slave-freed-newcastle-couple-12126390">Frederick
Douglass</a>, <i><span style="color: #4f6228; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">found his way all the way to my part
of the world in Newcastle and made quite a name for himself.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
</div>
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The next song in a similar vein was a favourite with Cheryl Bedwell (née
Anderson) and her teenage friends like Louise Benjamin, who was nicknamed “Bob
Marley”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was Boney M’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiX2PbrBXCQ">“Brown Girl in the Ring”</a>.<br />
<br /></div>
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<i><span style="color: #632423; font-size: 11pt;">There's a brown girl in the ring</span><span style="color: #632423; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="text-align: start;"><span 11pt="" font-size:="" lang="FR">Tra la la la la la</span></span><span style="text-align: start;"><span lang="FR" style="color: #632423; font-size: 11pt;"><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />Brown girl in the ring</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />Tra la la la la</span></i><br />
<span style="text-align: start;"><i>She looks like a sugar in a plum</i></span><br />
<span style="text-align: start;"><i>Plum plum</i></span></div>
</div>
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
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<span style="text-align: justify;">It is though Bob Marley in </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x59kS2AOrGM" style="text-align: justify;">“No Woman, no Cry”</a><span style="text-align: justify;"> to me
that personifies St Helena most. In fact I used to be sure he wasn’t singing </span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trenchtown" style="text-align: justify;">“Trench Town”</a><span style="text-align: justify;"> but “Jamestown”
and of course Jamestown has its government yard, the Public Gardens next to the
Colonial Castle.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="color: #632423; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 128;">No, woman, no cry<br />
No, woman, no cry<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #632423; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 128;">'Cause, 'cause, 'cause I remember when we used to sit<br />
In the government yard in Trenchtown<br />
Oba observing the 'ypocrites<br />
Mingle with the good people we meet<br />
Good friends we have, oh, good friends we've lost<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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Many Saints, at least in my era, would argue that Judy Boucher would
personify how they feel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her reason for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0zVeUIhHBs">“Why I can’t be with you
tonight</a>” is not the same as theirs. Many families are separated because
family members leave the Island in search of work and fulfillment not available
at home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They must escape to break the
shackles of mental slavery. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What they
leave is the team without some of its best players.<br />
<br /></div>
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<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #632423; font-family: inherit;">So please understand my situation<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #632423; font-family: inherit;">I love you<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
But I cannot be with you<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
If I could be in two places at the same time<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
Believe me<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #632423;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I would share my love with you</span><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAPmKwRwLnKR30faSCp7JoeiXEqAcxQkgqTSEKEl9E6CNm0HLDCVbLnmgPyJnH2L7FCtOuUyc0TRmrjaKApyGTOov50JK7t8RwJd0haxlF5f9Ibb7efFtUA_G-xkU7s9ueA4MxtNPGgvg/s1600/Saints+working+away+from+home+Ascension+Island+-+Image+.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="512" height="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAPmKwRwLnKR30faSCp7JoeiXEqAcxQkgqTSEKEl9E6CNm0HLDCVbLnmgPyJnH2L7FCtOuUyc0TRmrjaKApyGTOov50JK7t8RwJd0haxlF5f9Ibb7efFtUA_G-xkU7s9ueA4MxtNPGgvg/s640/Saints+working+away+from+home+Ascension+Island+-+Image+.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="color: #4f6228; font-size: 10pt;">Saints working
away from home on Ascension Island, the nearest home-from-home too –<a href="file:///D:/Blogs/the-islander.org.ac"> Image the-islander.org.ac</a></span></i><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Johnny Carter, once the Customs Officer by day, is an enduring star
singer by night. In my day his turn with the Standard Band or Syncopated Saints
would start with “<a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjpsdzDn_LjAhWxheYKHTPJAMEQwqsBMAB6BAgJEAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D05ZgyoZvhgI&usg=AOvVaw3RSk1RDV4d55axJfjt2MfV">Wooden
Heart”.</a><br />
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<i><span style="color: #632423;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Treat me nice, treat me good<br />
Treat me like you really should<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
'Cause I'm not made of wood</span></span></i></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #632423;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And I don't have a wooden heart</span><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
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So please look
carefully at all of these lyrics and underlying sentiments. They’re saying
something to an outside world. </div>
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<br /></div>
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They tell me
what my academic and professional skills have been telling me for years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am [in today’s parlance] firstly a worker
in human resources; secondly one in human rights (pro-actively retired too).</div>
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<br /></div>
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The objective
in human resources is to get the best performance from your people. The
objective in human rights is for all people to be treated fairly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The two schools of thought are about
facilitating individuals to achieve their maximum potential in life.</div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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You don’t
get that by treating badly the ones around you – and please be under no doubt,
if they feel that they are getting a bad deal – DfID and your constant
give-as-little-as-possible hand-outs to St Helena please note – morale does
inevitably suffer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You are fostering
dependency, not enterprise nor a spirit of self-sufficiency. It doesn’t tell Saints
to:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #1f497d; mso-themecolor: text2;">“Emancipate
yourself from mental slavery”.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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You don’t
get people to try their best anywhere if you keep letting them go and do
nothing to make it worthwhile staying. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
my day – I am sure it is the same today – the salaries and rewards to [often
less qualified more inexperienced] expatriates were vastly superior to local Saints
able to do the job as well or good enough. My persistent question is <b><i>"Why do Saints do better off their island than on it?</i></b></div>
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Young Saints
do aspire to higher things. Many accomplish it. Most one way or another can
only sustain their success off the island, not on it. Some stuck at home want to emulate
their exiled friends but can’t. Many do try their best but their best efforts
fail for reasons beyond their control. That has been the fate of those who
invested money and effort in the greatly anticipated but non-materialised
post-airport tourism boom.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
How do they
feel?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How do people feel on the Island
if they are there through no choice? How do people feel if they are doing a job
they love but feel that they are inadequately rewarded?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How do they feel if their job is an
artificial way of receiving a handout to live on at a basic level only? Remittances from loved-ones abroad to top up income or pay for special items, while welcome, are still acts that confer dependency. </div>
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<br /></div>
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The wooden
hearts in development assistance must address the human spirit before you Saints
can:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #1f497d; mso-themecolor: text2;">“Emancipate
yourself from mental slavery”.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #1f497d; mso-themecolor: text2;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_VY-d05xEgMaAjhIQCMaw71Csb2nia3f133PsN1bPHJAwYKIWWZbsvfWE20UHwkhp9EAZW3TkFfstoclm7F7dIqUiIRcAu8aQBBevWj0HIn6XtiXW8QCTyJLfMkC_M7zujPzeS9YN9a0/s1600/Reading.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="261" data-original-width="608" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_VY-d05xEgMaAjhIQCMaw71Csb2nia3f133PsN1bPHJAwYKIWWZbsvfWE20UHwkhp9EAZW3TkFfstoclm7F7dIqUiIRcAu8aQBBevWj0HIn6XtiXW8QCTyJLfMkC_M7zujPzeS9YN9a0/s640/Reading.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #1f497d; mso-themecolor: text2;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #1f497d; mso-themecolor: text2;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b><i><span style="color: #4f6228; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Many Saints have settled in the mother country, ever since “the
100 men” helped to rebuild post WWII Britain, and of course our successful
campaign to have their full UK citizenship restored. Many make an annual trip to <a href="http://www.welovesthelena.com/saints-big-weekend-reading-sports/">Reading</a>
to catch up with old friends and family. <a href="http://sthelenatourism.com/over-1700-saints-descend-upon-reading/">1,700
in this feature</a> – almost as many as half of the population remaining on the
island.</span></i><br />
<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="text-align: justify;">St Helena's "100 men" and their descendants could so easily have been caught up in the "</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windrush_scandal#:~:text=The%20Windrush%20scandal%20is%20a,UK%20by%20the%20Home%20Office." style="text-align: justify;">Windrush</a><span style="text-align: justify;">" hostile environment roundup if we hadn't succeeded in </span><a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/986223401474953216?s=20" style="text-align: justify;">persuading</a><span style="text-align: justify;"> Tony Blair's government to restore full UK citizenship to Saints. At least in that regard </span><a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2019/12/something-must-be-done-about-st-helena_36.html#more" style="text-align: justify;">something good</a><span style="text-align: justify;"> was done.</span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #4f6228; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">.......ooooo0oooo.......<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Notes<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br />
1. My article that pre-warned DfID its airport/tourism plan was flawed can be accessed <a href="https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/4acb66fc/files/uploaded/Saint%20Helena%20Island%20Over%20Governed.pdf">here</a>.</div>
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<br />
2. My other
blogs on St Helena can be accessed via my most popular one.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/06/more-to-saint-helenian-culture-than.html"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“More to St Helena than Naploeon”.</a></div>
<br />
3. Twitter is now a very good way to keep in touch with UK politicians who take a great interest in St Helena - such as <a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeFoulkes">Lord George Foulkes</a> who I have dealt with since 1987. In fact you just need go in to Twitter and search "lowriejohn StHelena". <a href="https://twitter.com/lowriejohn?lang=en"> John Lowrie</a><br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3RxrQkDLQSWoyI3DZhTM-h5udKRnvz1bUeNZoYVUkb93peWhcNmbjlIKydx0UEtbWNNeCAQas9WnKagK6S2q_ZpRHUHlg9z3jV8JuJaGNhKhjSLd4tz7z73_KrifFurG8_jFbaovS7wk/s1600/Tweet.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1136" data-original-width="582" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3RxrQkDLQSWoyI3DZhTM-h5udKRnvz1bUeNZoYVUkb93peWhcNmbjlIKydx0UEtbWNNeCAQas9WnKagK6S2q_ZpRHUHlg9z3jV8JuJaGNhKhjSLd4tz7z73_KrifFurG8_jFbaovS7wk/s640/Tweet.jpg" width="326" /></a></div>
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<br />ANorthumbrianAbroadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548140943705427113noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5208414707355071730.post-75082389464067460082019-06-04T01:21:00.060-07:002023-06-27T21:04:31.122-07:00The Rise and Fall of Public Service<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNc2H7v9pDSQqbx7wyYnFePX5b8_wLbFG_xG4IyGoNimW4ayXUOie11Rx5xX5bsjyN5lRS5ArTHzIbw8aNVk66vSb0xIxSvHE-YC8YxSTgHiA7YoknPd5fh3-ENgClMSxbZEKnGTvqldg/s1600/Ealing.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="937" data-original-width="815" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNc2H7v9pDSQqbx7wyYnFePX5b8_wLbFG_xG4IyGoNimW4ayXUOie11Rx5xX5bsjyN5lRS5ArTHzIbw8aNVk66vSb0xIxSvHE-YC8YxSTgHiA7YoknPd5fh3-ENgClMSxbZEKnGTvqldg/s640/Ealing.jpg" width="556" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #20124d; font-size: small;">Ealing Town Hall</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMOfTw9FrsCHtVYglgMBknA-Fjpj_5AvZl1iO-CMeKZsE4Z68xZDM7znbo5eJzes55Y8sStO-ix8O_p3Plzfs_tgMpVm0QB3k4y3h-H-VMGhzTIVqs85My1UXwKnJPFyliX5EDlGGrE1w/s1600/Ealing.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1117" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMOfTw9FrsCHtVYglgMBknA-Fjpj_5AvZl1iO-CMeKZsE4Z68xZDM7znbo5eJzes55Y8sStO-ix8O_p3Plzfs_tgMpVm0QB3k4y3h-H-VMGhzTIVqs85My1UXwKnJPFyliX5EDlGGrE1w/s320/Ealing.jpg" width="222" /></a><b><i><span style="color: #984806; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #984806; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><i><span style="color: #984806; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></i></b></span></i></b>
<b><i><span style="color: #984806; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">My UK public
service career began here in 1970 as a pre-graduate experience placement. In
1974 I joined Surrey County Council, moving on to Devon County Council in 1975
and to Dorset County Council in 1978 where dealing with <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/03/careless-in-community.html">“Social
Services”</a> was the biggest challenge. I left for overseas life and work in 1985,
going to St Helena; Saudi Arabia, Malawi and Rwanda before settling in SE Asia
working mainly in Cambodia. My profession and training is in “organisational
development” and “human resources” - how to obtain the best performances from
people. I retired from full-time work in
June 2016, only to encounter maladministration at Northumberland County Council.</span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="color: #984806; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: georgia; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Update June 2022 - it seems I am not the only one to have misgivings about the way Northumberland Council was operating. Belated Vindication? Please see<a href="https://uk.news.yahoo.com/report-describes-fear-intimidation-northumberland-193509529.html"> this article</a>, latest update below and links to reports. The main report makes graphic and sad reading.</span></div>
</div>
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<br /><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><i>Please see the</i></span> <b><a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2020/09/public-service-no-way-on-its-way-or.html">sequel</a> </b><i><span style="color: #351c75;">to this blog and </span></i></span><span style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #351c75;">my </span></i></span><b style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.johnlowrie.uk/newpagecdf989a7">website entry</a></b><span style="text-align: left;"> -<span style="color: #351c75;"> <i>the case</i></span><i><span style="color: #351c75;"> </span></i></span><span style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #351c75;">for better public service everywhere also published</span></i><span style="color: #351c75;"> </span></span><b style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.academia.edu/44230186/Public_Service_Do_or_Die">here</a></b><span style="text-align: left;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Bournemouth Dorset 1984</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Mr Ricketts couldn’t believe his luck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’d asked for a pay rise and got twice as
much as he’d asked for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His trade union
representative Mr Watson beamed approvingly: <i><span style="color: #1f497d;">“Never”</span></i>
he said<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i><span style="color: #1f497d;">”Never
has his union won a pay upgrade by two whole grades”</span></i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mrs Bicknell chairing the Appeals Committee
addressed all three of us. <i><span style="color: #c0504d;">“We don’t care what
the rules are supposed to be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are
correcting an injustice and that is our job as elected Councillors.”</span></i></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As the local authority’s management
representative, I was not surprised, although the rules were actually the law of the land at the time.
Pay rises were restricted, allowed only if bigger responsibilities had been
taken on. That was not the case for Mr Ricketts. It was though democracy at
work, for good or for ill, and how some of us do miss it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Years later my experience at Dorset County Council was the
foundation for [trying to] introduce good governance in to public service in
Cambodia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One simple principle was
over-riding: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“You must consult people before making a
decision that affects them.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Cambodia 1998 to now</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Unfortunately the absence of this principle was and still
remains the case in Cambodia despite our efforts and official edicts otherwise.
Equally unfortunately it seems public service in the UK is going the same way
as the commitment to maintain public services has declined. It’s a pity as it
is just one more moral lead in the world that the UK is guilty of sacrificing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Cambodia could do with the likes of Mr Ricketts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Police work and judicial decision-making
seldom rely on <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249916019_Lethal_Violence_Crime_and_State_Formation_in_Cambodia">forensics</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mr Ricketts
was Dorset’s top Fingerprints expert and his painstaking meticulous examination
of finger-prints left at crime-scenes had convicted many felons beyond
doubt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was rare, a civilian employee,
not a Police Officer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Successive
governments keen to reward Policemen had awarded them annual pay rises far
ahead of civilian colleagues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So Mr
Ricketts had fallen well behind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There
was an argument that our elected Councillors were restoring the status quo and
with it justice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Now in Cambodia public service, it is invariably the other
way round.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Somebody important wants to change or upset the status quo, to change
things in their favour, adversely affecting other people. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Often they are not consulted and in perhaps
the most common occurrence of <a href="http://www.licadho-cambodia.org/land_concessions/">land developments</a>,
they are denied rights of representation, a fair appeal, and compensation.
Invariably those with most to gain are connected with the ruling party. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As we often relate to the wider world, corruption in Cambodia
starts before birth. Mothers-to-be pay informal fees for maternity and
child-care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Children do the same to
attend school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Few workers can gain jobs without
paying “commissions”; “facilitation fees” and extra financial inducements for
essential permissions and documentation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So the process goes on in every facet of life until and including death - Yes - fees have to be paid to do that and to have<a href="https://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-parting-of-dearly-departed.html"> funerals</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In recent years there have been NGOs and trade unions trying
to bring about a fairer more equitable society where any Cambodian appellant
like our Mr Ricketts (or his family) will not be punished for exercising
rights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Occasionally we even find a few
Mrs Bicknells, public officials prepared to do the right thing, but these are
indeed rare, almost all are afraid of a certain fate by doing so - a spectacular fall from grace for going
against <i><a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/961138556474417153">“how
things work in Cambodia</a></i>”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Although <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/03/smarter-aid-not-more-aid.html">“#Foreignaid”</a>
is no longer as big an element in Cambodia’s national revenue, and contributions
from “The West” are much less now than from #China, the UK taxpayer is still
forking out for public services as he or she does in the UK.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is still some direct bilateral support
as you can see from examining the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/world/organisations/british-embassy-phnom-penh">British
Embassy’s website</a>. Plus until and unless BREXIT does occur fully and cleanly, a
big chunk is disbursed via the European Commission.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In addition and less known are the many
multi-lateral and international agency contributions made via UN bodies,
World Bank, and the likes of the <a href="https://www.theglobalfund.org/">Global Fund</a> for TB, AIDs, and Malaria, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So we do have a continuing future
interest as well as a past one to see our taxpayers' money is not wasted. (That is one of
the roles of the <a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1034733377180639232">National Audit
Office</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1088995682508103680">Public
Accounts Committee</a> that have no real equivalent in Cambodia.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjanzb4ONmoJ9ELsanqzoV_aGrL9hnWRvpc_VTPPgibDPGIVR4nIj_m-Kdhy47poCd3sH9em8uwXp2mCavYcwLobtcawDHaNNCvxeyAfN68jzuK3-JtOQxkXtR2uEhp_hxLlIdNr4Frfnc/s1600/HR.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="474" data-original-width="670" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjanzb4ONmoJ9ELsanqzoV_aGrL9hnWRvpc_VTPPgibDPGIVR4nIj_m-Kdhy47poCd3sH9em8uwXp2mCavYcwLobtcawDHaNNCvxeyAfN68jzuK3-JtOQxkXtR2uEhp_hxLlIdNr4Frfnc/s320/HR.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I do regret that we have not done more to export and implant
the notion of a <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/1999/03/alnwickdote-no-18-travelling-in-style.html">“neutral
public service</a>”, and many opportunities missed to do so, as well as key
concepts of accountability with checks and balances through similar state
institutions. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In recent years the UK has
been reticent to promote such ideas and <a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/761378905920012288">human rights</a> because of priority given to trade and not wishing to alienate
authoritarian regimes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A few years ago after a <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-unlikely-foreign-aid-worker.html">three
decade career in international development</a> and human rights I had my first
encounters with public service in the UK – with one notable exception** – since my
formative professional career from 1974 to 1985.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Northumberland UK 2016 to now.</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The first thing you notice is how public services are under much less directly-elected member control, indeed some have been contracted out in
entirety. There have also been swingeing cuts in budgets since the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/cjres/article/11/3/541/5123936">Global Crisis of
2008</a>, that have led to corresponding cuts in staffing and other “efficiencies”. One of
these is automation of administrative procedures, so decisions are conveyed
impersonally with follow-up actions pre-determined and set via computers unless overt action
is taken to stop it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My late Aunt who
was suffering from dementia received a letter from the debt collection agency
engaged by the local authority to enforce arrears of payment of Council Tax.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had failed to reply to notices that had
arbitrarily cancelled her benefits when it was “discovered” her sister-in-law was
living with her and "<b><i>she had failed to disclose this material fact"</i></b>. That set in automatic referral to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2019/sep/11/cut-bailiff-use-council-tax-non-payment">bailiffs as controversially is standard practice</a> by Councils today. The problem was that the lady
did not live with her but abroad and had only used her address to receive and
collect her renewed driving licence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuYaR6YJejFkHwl-T2tp7gdyaScbEwszq0QXZgyGbU4m-ckTm6IXjCxB6jkGYFuSAV79HLeoeg85rMcOMaJw79p0lXMt708um3KCbh7QnVTtGhqio7uAaj5SMYqVZlu35ILZhmiiKgx7U/s1081/Fairer+Share.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1081" data-original-width="851" height="329" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuYaR6YJejFkHwl-T2tp7gdyaScbEwszq0QXZgyGbU4m-ckTm6IXjCxB6jkGYFuSAV79HLeoeg85rMcOMaJw79p0lXMt708um3KCbh7QnVTtGhqio7uAaj5SMYqVZlu35ILZhmiiKgx7U/w245-h329/Fairer+Share.jpg" width="245" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I then had a similar experience. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After many years abroad, many as a volunteer,
I only qualify for a basic state pension and a small private pension. It means
that my income is below the figure the government allows for a “pensioner
couple” of </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">£2</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">55.25<span style="color: #cc0000;">* </span>a week to live on (US$320). </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Despite that the Council has forced me to pay
full Council Taxes and other penalties. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Furthermore the Council resisted my representations and one from an elected Councillor on my behalf. Most significantly today there is simply no longer an independent appeals committee as existed in my days in
Dorset. Whatever happened to <b><i><a href="https://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/constitutional-law/principles-of-natural-justice-constitutional-law-essay.php">"the Principles of Natural Justice"</a></i></b> that were drummed in to us in our early public service careers?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><span>"</span></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/5208414707355071730/7508238946406746008#"><i><b>Fairer
Share</b></i></a><span style="color: black;">"
suggests a better fairer way to fund local public services instead of
Council Tax - <b><a href="https://fairershare.org.uk/proportional-property-tax/">video here</a></b></span><span style="color: black;"><span>) </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></span>
</p><p class="western" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-size: 12pt;">◄ </span><span style="color: #134f5c; font-size: 12pt;"><i><b>Fairer
Share Council Tax website - please go <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/5208414707355071730/7508238946406746008#">here</a>:</b></i></span></p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Now these may be just two personal examples but they are
precisely the kind of public service policy deficiencies that <a href="https://srpoverty.org/">UN Rapporteur</a> Professor <a href="mailto:@Alston_UNSR">Philip Alston</a> highlights in his <a href="https://undocs.org/A/HRC/41/39/Add.1">report on poverty in the UK</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He did not go looking for faults but he found
them. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He would have preferred to conclude that the UK was serving as a best example to the wider world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Instead o</span>ur UK reputation is now tarnished,
compounded when followed by the exact same kind of official denial by the
government that circumspect regimes in other countries make against what are supposed to be
international standards and benchmarks by which all nations are judged.</span><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #c00000;"><br /></span></i></b>
<b><i><span style="color: #c00000;">Justice
Delayed is Justice Denied: </span></i></b><i><span style="color: #c00000;">Normally
in law the status quo is maintained pending an appeal. Northumberland County Council
insists that its decisions must be implemented immediately, so any extra
charges it levies must be paid straightaway. The money must be found! If not
its automated defaulting procedures are invoked ending up with its debt
collection agency, and of course ratings at credit agencies. If the status quo rule applied, it would be
more likely to expedite appeals instead of delaying them. Indeed this policy is
probably designed in the hope that people simply give up. In my case, despite several
reminders sent to them, it was only after invoking the Council’s formal complaints
mechanism that I received a response, appeal turned down (of course) – 10 months
overdue.</span></i><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Little wonder therefore that public service is suffering a
fall in the UK and in the eyes of the outside world. If that trend continues where will developing
countries be able to learn from? </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Will it deter the rise of citizen-friendly public services in the rest of the world - as in Cambodia’s case - from a very low base? </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">If Cambodia copies the latest UK model, a leap
directly in to similar automation via latest Smartphone outreach, my fear is that it will mark the
end of “prior consultations” with people in person or groups, and no concept of local representative
democracy as some of us once knew it.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><i>** The exception, my encounter with the Charities Commission is partly told<a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2013/09/alnwickdote-no-10-fit-and-proper-in-aid.html#more"> in this blog</a>. It led to my ongoing campaign for fairer more effective Foreign Aid.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL7FuIGxPQBELcV4Zz6cJrpSpNaaPhU90GdpRpJxV2gHiLpX6m16roy3OH5eUa8XXQnASvQ_R0Rq5-goau4za4v7tIgswZoDVW4rea5eB1xfsxNyInwMZ3GXRM25AS9SIBjf1mLacrP-U/s1600/Lidl.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1048" data-original-width="1071" height="391" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL7FuIGxPQBELcV4Zz6cJrpSpNaaPhU90GdpRpJxV2gHiLpX6m16roy3OH5eUa8XXQnASvQ_R0Rq5-goau4za4v7tIgswZoDVW4rea5eB1xfsxNyInwMZ3GXRM25AS9SIBjf1mLacrP-U/s400/Lidl.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>One of the shocking developments of late in the UK has been the rise of and need for <a href="https://alnwickdistrictfoodbank.co.uk/">"Foodbanks"</a>. Poor people who have no other means go to them to feed their children, dependents, and themselves despite the UK having one of the most advanced state welfare "Safety-Net" provisions. I should be able to live reasonably comfortably but extra retrospectively-imposed Council Tax bills etc. did force shopping habits such as waiting for the last-minute drastic reductions on fresh food such as this still fresh salad from LIDL supermarket to just 20 pence. Apparently to live like this in the UK is "reasonable" and no hardship. (See "Valuation Panel" below)</i><br />
<b><span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Additional Notes</span></b><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Updates</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">May 2023</h3><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/northumberland-county-council-budget-cuts-26928652">Here we go again</a>. Same situation, same council, but will sense and decency prevail this time?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyHgKG3oCYMU19E90tME1dzDaDlgb_-K-ERFpWhIccWUYTOjcwbfns4Lch1Kp4bkRcBOrjStrHwRVg4YyJTLlsK9KQFrNAturacGtncpOdccIK9JRw1kd_lMh6QokzqvKVK0g_uPY0B0kBeh0usouK9OIxhoTj1280NTPuB9UZ9XKU9GtITQBYz1uT/s1668/image_2023-05-18_080931789.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1668" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyHgKG3oCYMU19E90tME1dzDaDlgb_-K-ERFpWhIccWUYTOjcwbfns4Lch1Kp4bkRcBOrjStrHwRVg4YyJTLlsK9KQFrNAturacGtncpOdccIK9JRw1kd_lMh6QokzqvKVK0g_uPY0B0kBeh0usouK9OIxhoTj1280NTPuB9UZ9XKU9GtITQBYz1uT/w547-h167/image_2023-05-18_080931789.png" width="547" /></a></div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;">June 2022</div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii3zIm1nTtOvGp6-X-KR56x6ymMWBp83rYkj5TetPBBqTGl11mCLZZ3UbJdiSALy9TB5YLrwqEkrOYHzJdgsLCeYMerm9jLECCXILXDhC_r8YvItAqXZTpVaDbFGaz0I0hOjAyG_h9Bc8mR2Z04hk5Psr8hdPcYb5MSajBy3vv6L2l6BMylBmdPBHH/s994/image_2022-06-13_133708731.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="674" data-original-width="994" height="345" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii3zIm1nTtOvGp6-X-KR56x6ymMWBp83rYkj5TetPBBqTGl11mCLZZ3UbJdiSALy9TB5YLrwqEkrOYHzJdgsLCeYMerm9jLECCXILXDhC_r8YvItAqXZTpVaDbFGaz0I0hOjAyG_h9Bc8mR2Z04hk5Psr8hdPcYb5MSajBy3vv6L2l6BMylBmdPBHH/w606-h345/image_2022-06-13_133708731.png" width="606" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">As added at the start of this blog. there are some astonishing revelations about the internal governance of Northumberland County Council in an <a href="https://northumberland.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s11106/02.2%20NCC%20Governance%20Review%20finalwatermarkcopy.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1e1btjygz7MxwKh9X8AKxkM3aqOYabg_gyE5h-7xwiFiXj0eveG2iVXRs">investigation</a> just released, Now this relates only to leadership and management involving both officers and elected members. It does not delve in to if the same shortcomings were found in dealings with the public. However several of the findings corroborate what I had tried to raise about the Council's governance. I am pleased to say the Council Leader, Glen Sanderson is revisiting them. It would be good to get the answer I never did from then Councillor Robbie Moore about how certain policies were adopted and if the powers exercised to officers were duly delegated with no recourse to elected members. The investigation does indicate that at times elected members and officer colleagues were treated with derision, the same feeling that I felt.</span></h3><div><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">November 2021</span></b></h3><div><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Well Northumberland County Council has "done it again". It has out-of-the-blue issued a letter to me - but sent to someone else's address - informing me of something I am not aware of and arbitrarily imposed a suspension of my Council Tax discount. It is news to the people at this address and me that I have moved there. Will they explain? How long will they take to correct it and to apologise? (Scroll down to "</span><b style="text-align: left;">6 Representations to the Local Government Ombudsman" </b><span style="text-align: left;">below</span><b style="text-align: left;">.</b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEZNDh0ewmM2Ug0yDAKFm8Dhijw43doOBSZXKkBu2koSo4QU5Mpfk85rI_AsWpZ1MPuohI18ixnG0KlCK_Ka7BelnVW60nXbbLLgH7JiLkJhvzgs7OzkNhzx0AZhMmp8l3vQmKr5K9v_k/s696/NCC+27+Oct+2021.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="696" data-original-width="465" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEZNDh0ewmM2Ug0yDAKFm8Dhijw43doOBSZXKkBu2koSo4QU5Mpfk85rI_AsWpZ1MPuohI18ixnG0KlCK_Ka7BelnVW60nXbbLLgH7JiLkJhvzgs7OzkNhzx0AZhMmp8l3vQmKr5K9v_k/w245-h366/NCC+27+Oct+2021.jpg" width="245" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Remember that my appeal against their decision was not pursued by the Ombudsman because they convinced his office that they had sent letters to me notifying me of a right to appeal to the Social Entitlement Chamber. They hadn't but my word was not accepted.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><span style="text-align: left;">4 November - whatever went wrong has now been put right thanks to DWP in Alnwick whose </span><a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1456527548108705796?s=20" style="text-align: left;">treatment</a><span style="text-align: left;"> and public service is in marked contrast to Northumberland CC's.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">November 2020</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">"Fairer Share" a group campaigning to replace Council Tax has taken up <b><a href="https://fairershare.org.uk/supporter-letter-systemic-failings-in-the-system/">my case</a> </b>as an example for deep and urgent reform. Please follow the link to see more about them.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><p 0px="" 1.4="" border-box="" font-family:="" line-height:="" margin:="" news-gothic-std="" sans-serif=""><i style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">One of our supporters, John, has shared his personal experience fighting against the unfair Council Tax system in Northumberland. He supports Fairer Share because he agrees that we need one simple, fairer tax system.</span></i></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: news-gothic-std, sans-serif, news-gothic-std, sans-serif; line-height: 1.4; margin: 18px 0px 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;">Dear Fairer Share,</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: news-gothic-std, sans-serif, news-gothic-std, sans-serif; line-height: 1.4; margin: 18px 0px 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><b>My complaint is</b> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;">not just about the level of Council Tax bills, but also about the way councils arbitrarily make decisions and enforce them, employing automated processes that end up with debt collectors. </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: news-gothic-std, sans-serif, news-gothic-std, sans-serif; line-height: 1.4; margin: 18px 0px 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">My first experience of Council Tax was when my late aunt—who was elderly and suffering from dementia—had her Council Tax discount benefit wrongly cut off. </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: news-gothic-std, sans-serif, news-gothic-std, sans-serif; line-height: 1.4; margin: 18px 0px 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Unfortunately, similar methods were also employed on me, despite being a pensioner on an income level that should qualify me for a Council Tax discount and housing benefits. I had helped my aunt buy her house on the basis that it would come to me after her death. When she died, it took us 7 months to sort out her affairs and carry out essential work to the house, so it could be brought up to the required standards and be lived in safely.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: news-gothic-std, sans-serif, news-gothic-std, sans-serif; line-height: 1.4; margin: 18px 0px 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">The council however, acted immediately to disqualify my Council Tax discount and housing benefits from the date the property title was passed to me. Its capital value was used to disqualify my entitlement even though it was a liability not an asset. The council made me pay the full Council Tax on the inherited house as well as the rented property I was previously staying in nearby. I was also made to repay “overpaid” housing benefits. The council and the Valuation Office both </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;">rejected my argument that paying two sets of Council Tax, plus paying back housing benefit constituted severe hardship. </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: news-gothic-std, sans-serif, news-gothic-std, sans-serif; line-height: 1.4; margin: 18px 0px 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;">My income as a single pensioner was reduced to far below the sum the government specified for pensioners to live on</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">, ironically the same formula used to determine benefits in the first place. At the same time as they refused to alleviate the hardship they had caused, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;">the council were giving out exemptions to private landlords</span> for carrying out the same kind of essential repairs that I had to.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: news-gothic-std, sans-serif, news-gothic-std, sans-serif; line-height: 1.4; margin: 18px 0px 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;">I was not only concerned about the money and hardship, but also the way the council behaved throughout.</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: news-gothic-std, sans-serif, news-gothic-std, sans-serif; line-height: 1.4; margin: 18px 0px 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOpnIJNmYYCO-zKI9L1ytT-c5z-aL7sb-Q890lmFiNxWGJAWj0jYdlOALiCjbGu-k6Y72K8SYG-4XZ179tIhTM-jM4GG1cVz0h_-gOLjOQ_Nxj7Isb80oIViK9UgwHdp2q9jZ4TWPYiaE/s711/image_2020-10-14_142911.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="697" data-original-width="711" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOpnIJNmYYCO-zKI9L1ytT-c5z-aL7sb-Q890lmFiNxWGJAWj0jYdlOALiCjbGu-k6Y72K8SYG-4XZ179tIhTM-jM4GG1cVz0h_-gOLjOQ_Nxj7Isb80oIViK9UgwHdp2q9jZ4TWPYiaE/w227-h223/image_2020-10-14_142911.png" width="227" /></a></div><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;">I was pleased to come across your campaign as the current system needs to be simplified. I do wonder how many there are out there paying too much and not having fair assessments or appeals</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">, </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">especially with millions of homes going into debt since the start of the pandemic. There seems to be major systemic failures</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">. </span><p></p></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">October 2020</span></b></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"></p><span style="font-size: medium;">Please <a href="https://www.itv.com/news/tyne-tees/2020-10-14/cummings-to-have-years-of-unpaid-taxes-on-durham-properties-written-off"><b>note this decision</b></a> by the Valuation Panel in Durham to allow Dominic Cummings off paying Council Tax for his second properties.</span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Valuation Panel in my case confirmed the council's decision to make me pay full Council Tax on the property I inherited (even for the period when it was unfit for habitation while essential remedial work was made), as well as on my rented place, despite my income below the government's figures to live on.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq4_vVLMzg3D0Bmy33HKQi50zdeEEI-s3caNXuuXG1CGtzUxRPSJHxz4VuRV5YQ9iAnUg5D8bsIuoIsHQzHQ-OVxTKJlio-6Z8ADfMIYFnb2IGEXCE8ehKmTHZ5RqJqa6o0fLhh10x9j0sPc4k5ZLnovYDM9gzcFSMWjDDj7IqtSMxOQm-uemyg9Vi_BM/s960/image_2023-06-28_105426293.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="774" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq4_vVLMzg3D0Bmy33HKQi50zdeEEI-s3caNXuuXG1CGtzUxRPSJHxz4VuRV5YQ9iAnUg5D8bsIuoIsHQzHQ-OVxTKJlio-6Z8ADfMIYFnb2IGEXCE8ehKmTHZ5RqJqa6o0fLhh10x9j0sPc4k5ZLnovYDM9gzcFSMWjDDj7IqtSMxOQm-uemyg9Vi_BM/w228-h283/image_2023-06-28_105426293.png" width="228" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Fascinating article by Colin Talbot posing the question <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/public-administration-uk/">"<i>Who killed the study of public </i></a><a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/public-administration-uk/"><i>administration in UK?</i>" </a> I must confess I had not thought of this important aspect. I did of course study the subject as part of my Business Studies course and professional training though I opted for personnel management not public administration. It helps to explain the demise of public services.</span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b>Minor Update April 2023 </b>- We visited "the scene of the crime". Very nice too. The Dom didn't spoil Barnard Castle - let's hope he doesn't <a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1593767689310425090?s=20">Holy Island</a>.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>June 2023</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Surely UK public service cannot be more marked and marred than by <a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1673889241766477825?s=20">hefty payments</a> given to <a href="https://twitter.com/2DORR/status/1673791782931374080?s=20">get rid of badly-performing leaders</a>? And they have no qualms taking the money despite it having an enormous impact on the level of services to people that they were appointed to promote not harm.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">September 2020</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">*</span><span> Interesting to see that very few people are taking up their <a href="https://uk.yahoo.com/news/full-pension-credit-uptake-could-230100832.html">option of full pension credit</a>. The qualifying figure for a pensioner couple is now £265.20 a week which by chance is close to my combined pensions income, meaning I do still pay a small amount of Income Tax. As questioned in my blog above, what status does this figure have if officials can disregard it? Of course my question was never put to the Social Entitlement Chamber, was it?</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">August 2020</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Two fascinating developments has arisen - or erupted - with Northumberland County Council the most dramatic of which is <a href="https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/northumberland-county-council-daljit-lally-18741902">the suspension of the Chief Executive</a>.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The other is the release of the <a href="https://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/news/politics/council/third-complaints-against-northumberland-county-council-upheld-after-ombudsman-investigates-2936519">Ombudsman's report</a> in investigations in to the Council and the statement : <b><i><span style="color: #4c1130;">"I would ask the Council to reflect on the way it implements remedies, with a view to providing us with more timely responses in the future."</span></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Substitute "decisions" for "remedies" and you have the nature of my complaint from 2016 onward, never treated with respect, and of course not examined by the Ombudsman despite my request to do so.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It is an inescapable fact that there is one single recurring issue - the governance of the Council and its systemic lack of basic good governance procedures. Let us hope that there is now a full external investigation. See also <a href="https://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/news/politics/council/northumberland-county-council-chief-executive-extended-leave-after-making-serious-allegations-against-leader-2939253">Gazette report</a>.)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>2 </b><b style="text-align: justify;">Addendum January 2020</b></span><br />
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<span face="calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;">As I freely admit,
the years away from the UK meant I did not see much of what went on there,
especially the fine detail. I have done some catching up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
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<span face="calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;">It is clear that
apart from draconian cuts in centralised financial support of local government,
the range and levels of service have been cut; hived-off, and in some ways put
under greater central government control. I can see from James Downe et
al of Cardiff University <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/238094287_External_Inspection_of_Local_Government_Driving_Improvement_or_Drowning_in_Detail">that
external inspections in many sectors proliferated</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><span face="calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #984806;">“....there is a
danger that local government is being ‘inspected to destruction and that this
is diverting resources from service provision, stifling innovation, lowering
morale and creating confusion”.</span></i></b><br />
<span face="calibri, sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face="calibri, sans-serif">Indeed that seems to
have led to local government senior officers being more accountable upwards and
outwards to bodies controlling inspectors than in my days. Then the main
accountability was to locally-elected Councillors who in turn were held to
account by their constituents as well as local media and commentators.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigrwmt29cyhA3V9bG7VU13kgbcmzg1qH-Jf5O61vv6INbKQFgOJQ6oFnPQ0Ee1JQHqnMq-nNffm_OkFlaszKCeOcCHGx0BsgsPHPgnA5BsDTA4m-c9GUcFTzsDyO1caBhPW4Wx98rimHM/s1600/Quote+1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="423" data-original-width="796" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigrwmt29cyhA3V9bG7VU13kgbcmzg1qH-Jf5O61vv6INbKQFgOJQ6oFnPQ0Ee1JQHqnMq-nNffm_OkFlaszKCeOcCHGx0BsgsPHPgnA5BsDTA4m-c9GUcFTzsDyO1caBhPW4Wx98rimHM/s640/Quote+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span face="calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;">I can now see why
local democracy has been diluted to the point where representations made by
local Councillors not only go nowhere but are treated with disdain. I am truly
surprised by their lack of confidence, even impotence, and their lack of
command of the detail of both policies and their implementation governing
decisions. It means local democracy no longer works.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisIJ9NYWIiAqL73-bChGuvcq-xl5pLdnVzTqy9cgYsJjR_2l-tH2gjoAQBzRJIdzEXJutClmOUjePDwoLjxvWUVzVIEx6OFupcOnvdVVmyxABph8GXKPymZN7QksNttjTSq7uLUjKVfRA/s1600/Quote+3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="257" data-original-width="843" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisIJ9NYWIiAqL73-bChGuvcq-xl5pLdnVzTqy9cgYsJjR_2l-tH2gjoAQBzRJIdzEXJutClmOUjePDwoLjxvWUVzVIEx6OFupcOnvdVVmyxABph8GXKPymZN7QksNttjTSq7uLUjKVfRA/s640/Quote+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span face="calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;">Now with “Housing
Benefit” being incorporated in Universal Credit and therefore administered by
DWP, it will only leave Councils with powers to decide on Council Tax discounts. That
is still important. They may they choose that low income and hardship are salient factors, as enlightened ones will, or not as those like Northumberland that have priorities other than the best interests of all of its residents including poor ones. Councils like this will continue to be able to impose
poverty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span face="calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;">It seems many will
also continue the practice of arbitrary referral to debt collection bailiff
services to enforce their decisions, so elderly pensioners even with dementia
will end up there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="calibri, sans-serif">The question yet to
be replied is </span><b><i><span face="calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #660000;"><u>“Will
the government’s figures for the sums people must have to live on be respected?"</u></span></i></b><span face="calibri, sans-serif"> Will those minimum threshold figures govern decisions? Or will the rules be so sacrosanct that they must be
religiously followed, lest bosses and external inspectors find fault with
administrators?</span></span></div>
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<span face="calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #3c4043; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #3c4043;">Irrespective of
centralised or local administration the point is systems must work for
"clients" to be served, and there must be effective appeal and
redress mechanisms. If not there will be more criticisms from the likes of UN
Human Rights Rapporteurs that the system keeps failing them. Ultimately
clients, only after much suffering, </span><a href="https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/disabled-man-starved-to-death-after-dwp-stopped-his-benefits/ar-BBZpgXI" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif;">pay
for failure with their lives</a><span face="calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #3c4043;">.</span><br />
<span face="calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #3c4043;"><br /></span>
<span face="calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #3c4043;"><b>2. The Finale</b></span><br />
<span face="calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #3c4043;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span face="calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #3c4043;"><span><span style="color: #3c4043;">In most advocacy campaigns there comes a time when you must conclude </span><b><i><span style="color: #990000;">"We've given it our best shot, got nowhere, no point in wasting more time and effort for now"</span></i></b><span style="color: #3c4043;">. In my case I tend to go further than most before reaching this conclusion - as seen with the complaint of poor Cambodian disabled people that we took all the way up to the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Commons.</span></span></span><br />
<span face="calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #3c4043;"><span><br /></span></span>
<span face="calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #3c4043;"><span>It is evident usually well before that "the system" or the people in it are not willing to be moved, regardless of the merits of arguments. They find ways to dismiss or get round them. The most sure way is to bounce you back to someone at a much earlier stage of proceedings, so that you must start all over again.</span></span><br />
<span face="calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #3c4043;"><span><br /></span></span>
<span face="calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #3c4043;"><span>A registrar at the Social Entitlement Chamber has just done that in response to my latest enquiry rather than answering my question as to what guidance has been given where claimants dispute ever having received due notice of rights of appeal - exactly what format must it take to be clearly understood as well as proof of delivery? I posed the question directly because one Ombudsman's ruling (in contrast to mine) reported that Councils must report disputes to the Chamber, it is is not solely the obligation of the claimant to register his or her appeal.</span></span><br />
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<span face="calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #3c4043;"><span>As mentioned in this blog, the best independent examination of how the UK social security and safety-net system works has been by the UN Human Rights Rapporteur for Poverty. He concluded that the system was failing the country's most vulnerable, keeping and even putting them in dire poverty. Little wonder some like disabled claimant <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/jan/28/disabled-man-starved-to-death-after-dwp-stopped-his-benefits">Errol Graham</a> end up taking their own lives.</span></span><br />
<span face="calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #3c4043;"><span><br /></span></span>
<span face="calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #3c4043;"><span><span style="color: #3c4043;">A summary of my case </span><b><i><span style="color: #741b47;">"Pillar to Post"</span></i></b><span style="color: #3c4043;"> has been forwarded to the UN Rapporteur in the hope that it will help frame follow-up review questions for how the new system of Universal Credit rolls out. Will it correct shortcomings or will they all be transplanted from the old system as I strongly suspect? Please </span><a href="mailto:lowriejohn@gmail.com" style="color: #3c4043;">contact me</a><span style="color: #3c4043;"> for a copy and for a summary of the case I also pursued (for poor disabled Cambodians) to the point of having to give up.</span></span></span><br />
<span face="calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #3c4043;"><span><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: medium;">3. "Talking the Talk" in Cambodia.</span></b></div>
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<i><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></i></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
Cambodia has had so many years of "foreignaid" that is not just development professionals who use the jargon with consummate ease. Although as I explain in other blogs there is not a lot left to show for our extensive "Good Governance" training - detailed in my <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2018/02/your-mission-is-over-you-go.html">exit blog</a> - much of the content does crop up again. In fact both the Prime minister and Minister of Interior have repeated publicly that government officials are "to serve the people". Indeed PM Hun Sen in August 2018 told them <i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/hun-sen-officials-you-are-servants-not-bosses">"You are servants, not Bosses".</a> </i>To people unfamiliar with Cambodia, these words will be taken on their merits. </span></div>
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To others, we know that they are intended for external audiences, especially international countries and organisations concerned about the crackdown on freedoms and Civil Society. Domestic audiences, least of all government officials, will pay no heed at all to them. Similar sentiments have been expressed often before, especially in media coverage of good governance training. As an authoritative study explains and I often tweet, the system of public service in Cambodia is based on "rent-seeking". These are informal cash payments collected at every interface with citizens with a share posted up through the staff structure with ultimately a share ending with the Minister. It is why ministers are wealthy despite official salaries of around US $1,000 a month. (For more, please see <a href="https://www.globalwitness.org/it/reports/hostile-takeover/">Global Witness</a> (2016) and PM's claim: <span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>"his US$ 13,800 annual salary</i><i> was his sole source of income".</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span>
More can be seen in my <a href="https://mondulkiri-centre.org/uploads/London%20Presentation%20Nov%202005.pdf">2005 London presentation</a> as to why<i style="font-weight: bold;"> "Wealth percolates up in Cambodia; it does not trickle down."</i></span><br />
<i style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></i>
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<b>4. Wise Words
or Bemused Looks</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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One of my favourite memories of [trying to] introduce <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2018/02/your-mission-is-over-you-go.html">Good
Governance</a> in Cambodia was the session I introduced for citizens to express
their opinions on public service. Now
please bear in mind this training was only for the most senior officials in all
ministries in ranks below Director-General equivalent of Permanent Secretary in
the UK , and all local authorities including Provincial Governors.<br />
<br />
Before getting down to detail I would tell them about my earliest days in local government in the UK with a quip and let them ask questions. I'd explain that I was involved in setting up a new local authority, Surrey County Council, as part of "local government regorgaisation", except we nicknamed it "<b><i>local government disorganisation</i></b>". (It and subsequent reorganisations well and truly live up to the name)<br />
<br />
I had
adopted and translated a small form that peculiarly I happened to have not from
the UK but from then apartheid South Africa. You simply ticked a few boxes to
say how satisfied you were with whoever dealt with you in public service. We began by each participant noting the last
time they were a customer of public service, then to use that experience to
complete the form anonymously and post it in a box.</div>
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Then a selected team would open the box and analyse the
results. Results almost always expressed
dissatisfaction. I don’t think you should read unduly in to this but education
and children’s schooling was usually top grumble. Those days were before today’s
proliferation of private schools that is confirmation of the grumble. Then they would usually debate if this form
should be introduced in their service. Would feedback help? Many said that it
was the right thing to do, wise words, but all expressed their true feelings in
expressions of bemusement on their faces. Not for the first time was the
unstated message “<b><i><span style="color: #943634; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 191;">That’s not how we do things in Cambodia</span></i></b>”.<b><i><span style="color: #943634; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 191;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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The next session was on a similar theme. This I did borrow
from Surrey County Council and our Chief Executive, Mr F.A. Stone, who was of
course known as “Fast One!” He was keen to have a new corporate image and one
way to show this. although I have forgotten the exact details was for three simple
standards to adhere to such as:</div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 24.6pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->If someone comes to see you, don’t keep them
waiting for more than 15 minutes.</div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->If someone telephones you, don’t keep them
hanging on for more 5 rings.</div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->If someone writes to you, answer within 3 days.</div>
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The standards included what to do if you couldn’t meet them.
You had to give holding arrangements, when you would go back to them, or pass
them to someone else that could see you. Above all he insisted from now one
every citizen must know the name and job-title they were dealing with.</div>
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<br />
I do not need to dwell long on how this suggestion went down
in my sessions. Again most said it was a
great idea but expressions on faces told me <b><i><span style="color: #943634; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 191;">“It won’t work here!”<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1f497d; mso-themecolor: text2;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<i><b><span style="color: #1f497d; mso-themecolor: text2;">I find it sad that in 2019 in
Northumberland (and Cambodia) neither of these practices of good governance exist. I must add that in June 2016 I made formal representations to Northumberland County Council's Chief Executive suggesting a return to good governance with an assurance that "they would be taken in to account". </span></b></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNdpMBgRdPKY_zZK4xTYSyHf_jcwg2LAWmaXwwIjvUJrz1ZY27VAZoHAaPjOiLixROvVftmugeG3hvLMJ3m9Q53den_oJ2NhjL2NKG9L6CMCyPCZrFnUjLomQyG9uuimsCD_hSrmA-ixk/s1600/GG.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="272" data-original-width="416" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNdpMBgRdPKY_zZK4xTYSyHf_jcwg2LAWmaXwwIjvUJrz1ZY27VAZoHAaPjOiLixROvVftmugeG3hvLMJ3m9Q53den_oJ2NhjL2NKG9L6CMCyPCZrFnUjLomQyG9uuimsCD_hSrmA-ixk/s400/GG.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><o:p> </o:p> </span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #4f6228; font-family: inherit; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">An example of another Good Governance session in those pre-Powerpoint
days.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #4f6228; font-family: inherit; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"> If you want to try
the test go <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-best-person-for-job.html">this
blog</a>:<o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
<i><span style="color: #4f6228; font-family: inherit; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></i>
<br />
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5. <b>There’s a right
way and a wrong way to do things.</b></div>
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Very often I am critical of the way leaders do things in
Cambodia, and this is not simple Cambodia-bashing. I learned from the wrong
ways some things were done in the UK as well the right way from good bosses. I
feature one in my <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2017/01/inspirations.html">“Inspirations</a>”
blog with his equally charismatic Social Services colleague who also began one
of most read widely-publicized articles and blogs about “<a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/03/careless-in-community.html">Care-in-the
Community.</a> In fact the theme of this
sub-section has been in other blogs such as <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2012/10/alnwickdote-no-14-never-dismissing-too.html">“Never
dismissing too lightly”</a> and “<a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-best-person-for-job.html">Best
person for the job</a>”.<br />
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I am therefore amazed that public service in the UK has gone
backwards while #Cambodia has shown some signs that it might go forward. It won’t
if it takes a lead from regressions in the West while countries like UK and USA
- or their compatriots - keep telling it
what it should do. As stated above idle
disrespect for the UN’s Human Rights Raporteur on Poverty emboldens
authoritarian leaders to dismiss all such reports out-of-hand too.</div>
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Now much of my early learning and professional experience
was founded on <a href="http://www.employeerescue.co.uk/advice/i-dont-want-to-lose-my-job/investigation/">“The
Rules of Natural Justice”</a>. Indeed
they have stood me in good stead over the years. One of the many lessons that should have been
learned from the “OXFAM Haiti scandal” is that “Abuse-of-Power” occurs all too
easily, especially in #foreignaid, where Country Directors enjoy considerable
freedom. If they work where there is weak or no Rule-of-Law without proper
external supervision and inspection, some evil people will have their evil
ways. OXFAM’s Haiti Director exploited underage prostitutes. I have always held
that whatever standards I would be held to in the UK must be applied abroad. I have managed to deal with some of the worst
human rights violations, not shying away from them (unlike others) by staying
true to these values.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0m3uya6HrHjTYaMlH1WUzKMkAEDDiKhzbvTXy6ZLzzykDK4exjcl5_k6f07mNuSvnWA4A51-M2IsJJDF5NZwrpMIEVx3ac5DcLdSo2JPAHkdJTkIqiew_wNvH5KF4NiqZnoQSKgol07E/s1600/Triangle.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1117" data-original-width="1600" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0m3uya6HrHjTYaMlH1WUzKMkAEDDiKhzbvTXy6ZLzzykDK4exjcl5_k6f07mNuSvnWA4A51-M2IsJJDF5NZwrpMIEVx3ac5DcLdSo2JPAHkdJTkIqiew_wNvH5KF4NiqZnoQSKgol07E/s640/Triangle.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Now I wonder though am I guilty of being stuck in the past
in an unattainable world of old-fashioned values?</div>
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Do I or do I not have a right to have Northumberland County
Council decisions re-examined, properly, independently and fairly? Is it not obvious that it simply no longer
observes the Rules of Natural Justice?</div>
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Is there no-one there to do as I did many years ago in
Dorset and advise the Chief Executive that if she is involved in a decision or
personally setting the ground rules, she should not preside over a complaint or
appeal hearing?</div>
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<br /></div>
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Northumberland Council opposed me having a right to appeal
to the Valuation panel (on just part of my overall complaint) and now the local
Government Ombudsman also seems reluctant to accept the case too. Why? I have had to chase them up as the auto-response
message to say that a staff member would be in touch within 4-5 days proved
incorrect. Earlier in the saga, when I
asked them “Do I have to appeal to the Valuation Panel first?” they regarded my
question as a full formal complaint and dismissed it out-of-hand.......because “You
have not exercised your right of appeal to the Valuation Panel”. Needless to say they did not reply to my response to that.</div>
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<br />
A few years ago the population of Northumberland voted against having one large unitary authority, but it was imposed upon them. There are reasons for its unpopularity. One is that while cuts to services are made and Council Tax bills go up, it enjoys<a href="https://www.morpethherald.co.uk/news/council-expects-tax-surplus-but-rates-deficit-this-year-215777"> a large surplus in its Council Tax</a> collection. So much of that money bolsters reserves that c<a href="https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/council-criticised-offering-85m-loan-12607205">an be borrowed by one of the UK's richest men</a>. Again at one time the #UK was a firm advocate of the concept of Conflicts of Interests. More on<a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2015/05/privilege-wealth-and-inequality.html"> this here</a>.</div>
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This does not fill you with confidence. Indeed it may be one
of the reasons why a lot of people tell me they have no faith in local democracy.
What is the point if you consult a Councillor about your case. He says that he
will take it up and come back to you – then doesn’t despite reminders.</div>
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In Cambodia at least we know why that happens - either we have not bribed him enough or the other party has bribed him more!<br />
<br />
<b>6 Representations to the Local Government Ombudsman </b><br />
<b><br />9 August 2019</b> - The Local Government Ombudsman has at long last replied to me to ask "<b><i>If my complaint is the same one or a new one?"</i></b>. I have submitted all the papers even though it looks like a waste of effort. I have asked for specific answers to my questions about officials not being bound by the figures that the government says people should have to live on and to impose their decisions arbitrarily.<br />
<br />
<b>4 September 2019 </b>- The Ombudsman sent me a draft response proposing to dismiss my complaint as I had had two rights of appeals, one of which I had exercised and it had failed (Council Tax), and the other I had failed to exercise (Housing Benefit). I replied to indicate that I was not aware - and had never been made aware - of a right of appeal over housing benefit - quite the contrary the Council indicated it had no choice but to apply national rules. Also more importantly my main complaint is not about money but the way that the Council makes and enforces decisions, including several failures to respond, and that this should be examined as "maladministration". The Ombudsman has referred the case for more investigation.<br />
<br />
<b>11 September 2019 - </b>Excellent <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2019/sep/11/cut-bailiff-use-council-tax-non-payment">article</a> condemning Councils like Northumberland's widespread use of Bailiffs to enforce payment of Council Tax and my <a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1171710854569611264?s=20">Tweet</a> on it.<br />
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<b>29 November 2019</b> – I will spare you the detail ( please ask if
you want it) but finally, surprise, surprise the Ombudsman dismissed my complaint. The main reason is they have only examined
the housing benefit element of my complaint and they have accepted the Council’s
submission that I failed to register an appeal to go to the Social Entitlement
Chamber. This is despite me maintaining I had seen no communication outlining
such an appeal and it was not mentioned once in reply to my letter asking what
rights of appeal existed; subsequent telephone calls with officers, in response
to my representations made by a County Councillor, and even in the course of
the hearing with the Valuation Panel.</div>
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So at the end of the day, my main question has never been
answered, or cleverly evaded – namely <span style="color: #990000;"><b>the way the Council makes and enforces its decisions -</b></span> plus of course how can benefits be cut off and additional penalties be imposed
arbitrarily that take claimants' income far below the figure the government
specifies they should have to live on – nor have any of the issues of delay;
failure to reply, and if natural justice is observed in automated processes.</div>
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In my November 2019 blog <a href="http://anorthumbrianabroad.blogspot.com/2019/11/best-years-of-my-life-1969.html#more">“Best
Days of My life 1969</a>”, there is a video of Kingston Borough Council from
that time. We did not think so at the time but now we can see that for local
government in the UK those really were the best days. Financial cuts are part
of the problem but a lot more besides has deteriorated. It is astonishing that a United Nations
Rapporteur could find the UK so wanting in 2019.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>2 November 2021</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">As stated above, I decided to inform the Ombudsman that Northumberland County Council had repeated the exact same treatment that I find constitutes maladministration. Fortunately in this case it did accept my word but blamed the Department of Work and Pensions for wrong information. It will be no surprise to see that the Ombudsman again behaved as expected. I decided to post a review on <a href="https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.lgo.org.uk">Trust Pilot</a>.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzi1CxBfg8zl4XDQhemiazT4jSOzCBQJCwQYZoaCe5wnIRLnJgraUBYyxf6lQ7rHvxtknQ_7VogYUPRWteIwrAF9adh-NxnUXHERiL4wf593p4DyrkETd14cWomNC6SUGlylkfom8aE84/s716/Review.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="716" data-original-width="634" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzi1CxBfg8zl4XDQhemiazT4jSOzCBQJCwQYZoaCe5wnIRLnJgraUBYyxf6lQ7rHvxtknQ_7VogYUPRWteIwrAF9adh-NxnUXHERiL4wf593p4DyrkETd14cWomNC6SUGlylkfom8aE84/w444-h502/Review.jpg" width="444" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>4 November - whatever went wrong has now been put right thanks to DWP in Alnwick whose <a href="https://twitter.com/LowrieJohn/status/1456527548108705796?s=20">treatment</a> and public service is in marked contrast to Northumberland CC's.<br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Additional Note</b></div><div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<b>11 December 2019 - </b>email from UN Human Rights Rapporteur on Poverty:<br />
<br />
<table bgcolor="" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; width: 100%;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="font-size: 12.8px;"><h3 style="display: inline; font-size: 12.8px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0pt;">
<a href="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/h/12s0qfszzbjql/?&th=16ed364495a585ba&d=u&n=v&dhm=1&v=c#m_16ecf2c88fef02cd" style="color: #0000cc;"><span style="color: #790619;"><b>Alston, Philip</b></span></a></h3>
<philip.alston@nyu.edu></td><td align="right" style="font-size: 12.8px;" valign="top">4 December 2019 at 11:30</td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2" style="font-size: 12.8px;">To: John Lowrie <lowriejohn@gmail.com></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><div class="r" style="padding-top: 6px;">
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<tr bgcolor=""><td colspan="2" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><div class="msg" style="padding: 10px;">
Dear John Lowrie,<br />
<br />
I very much appreciate your taking the time to write and to explain the ways in which the welfare system is capable of mistreating people and being entirely unresponsive to their plight. Your aunt's case seems reasonably representative of others that I have come across and I often ask myself why the relevant bureaucracies are not capable of adapting or adjusting their procedures to avoid obvious injustices. My focus is, as you would know, not on individual cases but on how the system as a whole operates and I can assure you that I will continue to try to shine the spotlight on that dimension.</div>
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