Hidden worship: The struggling to pray under KR

                               

By: Zahron Sokry

The worship to the God is one of the five main pillars in Islam, and every single Muslim has to pray five times a day. However, Cham Muslim could not fulfill this obligatory properly during the Khmer Rouge regime, since every religion was prohibited to practice. Cham Muslim in Khpob II village in now Tboung Khmum province struggled to pray despite the prohibition.

Before the dawn break about 4:45 a.m., the sound of calling people for Morning Prayer can be heard in an ethnic Cham Muslim village called Khpob II village. This village is about an hour far away from Soung city by riding motorbike.

As the Mu'adhin, the caller to prayer finished the calling, many people start walking to pray in the mosque together. They gather to pray peacefully without any distraction in the mosque called Shahidan mosque. Unlike nowadays, Cham Muslim people living under Khmer Rouge regime could not go to pray in the mosque, where they have to worship to the God.

Ke Tiveou, a victim in Khmer Rouge regime.

Ke Tiveou could not fulfill her praying obligatory properly, and she had to pretend to be sleeping in order to pray. When she was in the field, she had to tell a liar and make an excuse in order to pray.

She said “First we could pray openly but it became harder and harder later on. They (the Pot Pot spy) did not allow to pray, but I was pretending to sleep in order to pray. When there was quiet, I sat down to pray, but when they came, I broke the pray and spoke with them.”

She sometimes had nothing to eat and felt exhausted, but she rarely stopped worshipping to the God. In a painful expression on her face, she said she was afraid of The Khmer Rouge spy seeing her too, but saying she feared God the most.

"In this world, I was afraid of their mistreatment, but in the hereafter I fear the God only, not them.”

Looking up to the roof, Tiveou continued recalling her memories in the Khmer Rouge regime. She said even though she could not fulfill the praying on time, she tried to make it for another time.

“I secretly prayed with my mother when the time of praying came. When I could not pray the noon prayer, I made and combined it to with the next prayer. I did these things because I lived under their (Khmer Rouge) control. I was quite scared that if I found praying, I would result in death. Luckily, they never found me in praying.”

During Khmer Rouge regime, every religion was prohibited to practice, since the Pol Pot considered all religion to be reactionary.

A witness of Khmer Rouge regime Sos Mohammad Nour said Khmer Rouge forbad him as well as other people in his village since 1973.

 “Pray! We could not pray at all. We hid to pray, pray in a sleeping manner, pray in the water.”

Mohammad Nour claimed Khmer Rouge put more restrictions on Cham Muslims because of Koh Phal and Svay Klaing villages’ rebillions.

A former rebellion in Koh Phal village, Sos Sles who is 67 years of age recalled what had happened in his village back in Khmer Rouge regime. He said in Ramadan, the holy fasting month of Muslims, Khmer Rouge cadres called the villagers to gather in a meeting. It started in the afternoon and lasted until about 8 p.m. The villagers became angry, as they could not have the iftar, the breaking of fasting on time.

“The commotion started around 7 or 8 p.m. because they (the Pol Pot) caused us to have no iftar, and then we clashed with them. They ran away because it was a night time already.”

A research at Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam) Ms. Farina So said prior to Khmer Rouge took the power from Khmer Republic’s Lon Nol, about 60% of the country was already controlled by Khmer Rouge since 1973. The areas controlled by Khmer Rouge were named liberated areas. Koh Phal village was in the liberated areas too, and Khmer Rouge started to implement their policies to smash the religion and the customs. And the protest also started.

 “Before the mass protest started, Khmer Rouge started to smash Koh Phal village until 1975.”

Isa Osman, a former research at DC-cam, stated in his book Oukoubah that “Khmer Rouge’s goal was to kill Cham, to have Cham erase their customs and tradition, shut down the mosque and forbad worship.

Mr. Osman said Khmer Rouge prohibited ethnic Cham not to speak their language, and forced them to consumed pork. Khmer Rouge also killed hakim, religious leaders, and Taun, religious teachers.

Those who faced arresting in Khpob II village were mostly educated people. Village chiefs or hakims were all arrested, as they were considered educated persons.

After hearing the arrest of her brother, Tiveou felt painful and thought that her brother would be tortured and executed to death. She could barely cry in pain of the arrest of her brother.

 “Even nowadays, I always want to cry when I think of my brother. I don’t know where he was killed, and where he was buried. I had not seen my brother, as he was escorted at nighttime. I could not do anything but cried at the home. They arrested him as he was hakim and village chief.”

According to Mr. Kienan Ben, a historian, saying that only 20 out of 113 ethnic Cham hakim survived in 1979.

Striving to save Cham culture

September 1, 2017
By: Zahron Sokry

Few Cham people know how to read and write in their language, and even fewer are interested in learning about the legacy of their ancestors. But Leb Ke is different.

One of the leading Cham language and culture specialists in Cambodia, Mr Ke is working hard to preserve the Cham identity.

Faced with the challenge of encouraging young people to explore their heritage, Mr Ke has created Cham fonts for Android smartphone keyboards, hoping it will inspire a change in the way they communicate.

By the end of this year, he plans to publish a 2,500-word Cham to Khmer language glossary.

Mr Ke fears the value of the Cham identity is declining in communities, since Cham people do not understand their heritage and fail to educate themselves about it.

“Cham people should place more value on their own language and should carry out research regarding their alphabet, literature and culture,” Mr Ke said.

The 37-year-old has written six books on Cham literature for the Cultural Heritage of Cham Language organisation.

His team spent two years producing just one Cham language book, since there are few documents remaining on Cham culture.

Mr Ke admits that Cham people lack access to resources to carry out research, since most educated Cham people were killed during the Khmer Rouge era, while piles of important documents were destroyed.

He said elderly people at the time packed up and buried some documents in the ground to keep them safe, but most were damaged.

Mr Ke’s books have helped teach more than 3,000 young students in Cham communities to read and write, while about 20,000 people across the country are familiar with his work.

Cham people represent the core of Muslim communities in Cambodia, with more than 200,000 members of the ethnic group nationwide.

Mr Ke and his team have also introduced Cham language learning programmes to almost 20 communities, supported by the US Embassy in Phnom Penh.

“We want people to be able to read the Cham language and recognise the alphabet,” said Mr Ke, who hopes a young generation of Cham people will continue his work.

Mr Ke, who was born in a Cham community in Kampong Chhnang province, said there were no formal school classes for teaching Cham literature, but he learned to read and write the language with elderly people in his village when he was a boy.

“When I was young I went to listen to the older people in my village telling stories about Cham culture and history, and reciting beautiful poems about education and life. It made me more curious to know about my identity as a Cham person,” Mr Ke said.

That curiosity encouraged him to start collecting Cham books and materials.

He said the elders in his village always told him he must work hard if he wanted to preserve the identity of the Cham people.

He borrowed books about Cham culture and history from older people in his village to read and copy.

“I copied the books by hand, page by page, because I could not borrow them for long,” said Mr Ke, who has been able to read and write in Cham since the age of 12.

He noted the majority of Cham communities where people can still read and write are in Kampong Chhnang, Pursat, Battambang and Kratie provinces, with about 10 percent of Cham people in Cambodia being able to read the language.

“Some Cham people have abandoned their language now,” said Mr Ke, who one day hopes there will be a Cham language newspaper, warning the culture will fade away without strong action to preserve it.

“Literature helps make religions and cultures more beautiful,” added Mr Ke, who has travelled to several countries to give lectures about Cham identity.

He said many Cham people feel that being identified by their ethnic group is disrespectful, now preferring to be known as Khmer Muslims.

However Mr Ke argued that being Cham is separate to being Muslim.

Cham is an ethnicity not a religion, but people are confused when they hear the word Cham and think all Chams are Muslim, he said.

“It is nonsense when you call Cham people Khmer Muslims. Cham is Cham,” he said.

“If we embrace Islam, we should ask ourselves which ethnicity we are – Cham, Javan or Khmer.”

He argued that some Cham people unknowingly rid themselves of their identities by the way they dress and live their lives.

Mr Ke, whose name is not traditionally Cham, said Cham parents prefer to name their children in Malay or Arabic. Few Cham language names remain, other than nicknames.

“When the minority of parents do give their children a Cham name, others criticise and say the names are not beautiful. It shows that Cham language has been devalued,” he said.

He added he regrets the fact his parents called him an Arabic name as opposed to Cham.

Speaking at a lecture organised by the Buddhist Institute last month, Mr Ke said Cham families, particularly in cities, were often embarrassed to speak their language outside the home.

He called on Cham people to band together to save the language, vowing he would fight to save the culture until last breath.

Two bombs found in sandpit

July 24, 2017
By: Zahron Sokry

The Cambodian Mine Action Centre yesterday removed two unexploded MK-82 bombs from a sandpit in Kandal province’s Kandal Steung district.

CMAC director-general Heng Ratana said five of his team members and local authorities worked together to remove the bombs after receiving a report of the discovery from local people.

“We have already transferred the bombs to a safe place and will defuse them later,” Mr Ratana said.

“CMAC has found more than 90 unexploded MK-82 bombs in the last year.”

From 1969 to 1973, the US dropped about 500,000 tonnes of explosives on Cambodian soil.

Earlier this month, Ly Thuch, secretary-general of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority, said the government wants to commit to being mine-free in 2025.

See original website: http://www.khmertimeskh.com/5074409/two-bombs-found-sandpit/

Ancient Buddha remnants found

August 9, 2017
By: Zahron Sokry

Remnants sandstone of Buddha statues

Four sandstone remnants of Buddha statues dating back to the Jayavarman VII era were discovered at an Angkor-era hospital site on Sunday in Siem Reap province.

Em Sok Rithy, deputy director of the International Centre of Research and Angkor Documents, said the remnants were discovered at the Tonle Sngout temple by a group of Apsara Authority archaeologists working with colleagues from the Singapore-based Institute of South-East Asian Studies.

“There are more remnants, but we have discovered only four so far,” he said, adding that the artefacts were buried about 30 centimetres under the ground.

Examinations of the remnants show that they are different pieces of statues, he said.

“We have placed them in the museum temporarily. They will be publicly displayed after we finish analysing and studying them,” he said.

Mr Sok Rithy added that among the remnants was one so-called medicine Buddha, which was being checked by specialists.

The archaeologists late last month also found a temple door guardian sandstone statue in the Bayon style from 1180 CE to 1230 CE.

See original website: http://www.khmertimeskh.com/5077329/ancient-buddha-remnants-found/

Medics add safety to circumcision

July 28, 2017
By: Zahron Sokry

Twenty-seven Cambodian Muslim medical volunteers, made up of six doctors and 21 nurses, have visited a Muslim community in Mondulkiri province to give free circumcisions to 100 boys.

Boys recover in one week when circumcision

 is carried out

 correctly, 

but botched procedures take longer to heal

The service was funded by Malaysia, Singapore and Arab countries, with the help of volunteer Nann Allavy.

“I go and collect boys from my community, most of them aged between four and 12, to be circumcised,” Mr Allavy explained.

He said he was happy to do the work because he could help orphans and many boys from low-income families, as well as rich ones.

Villager Ith Kai, whose six-year-old son was circumcised by the volunteers from the Association for Coordination and Social Development, said he was very pleased to have his child treated by a specialist doctor.

He said his son could run and play football normally less than a week after circumcision.

“Unlike a few years back when young boys were circumcised in my village, my child has healed quickly,” Mr Kai said.

Kop Roly, head of Hospitals Beyond Boundaries, said that when circumcision is carried out by skilled doctors, children can heal in one week at the most.

When procedures are carried out by unspecialised medics, patients take at least a month to recover.

Dr Roly, who is also a medical volunteer team leader, said that unspecialised traditional circumcisers charge about $10 to $13.50 for each treatment, while skilled doctors charge from $50 to $60.

He said high quality private hospitals using modern materials charged even more.

Mr Kai added: “We support and want to have this kind of programme again in our community next year because the doctors not only provide a free circumcision service but also do so in a professional way.”

Circumcision is a well-known practice among Muslim communities around the world.

The age of circumcision is not clearly specified in Islamic laws but is generally done before puberty. The Prophet Muhammad circumcised his grandsons Hasann and Husayn when they were seven days old.

According to Hadith, the spoken reports of the Prophet Mohammed, Prophet Abraham was also circumcised, but when he was elderly.

There is no concrete evidence showing when circumcision started.

Circumcision is close to obligatory under Islamic law, or sharia.

The ritual is not explicitly mentioned in the Quran, the holy scripture of Islam, but is considered a custom from the earlier times of the religion.

In western countries, circumcision is done on Muslim boys at an early age.

Dr Roly said that in Cambodia, boys aged between six and 12 were easy to circumcise because they would obey the doctors.

Traditional methods of circumcision practised by Cambodian Muslims are declining because they risk far more harmful effects than the modern ways, he added.

“Traditional circumcisers don’t know how to stitch well,” Dr Roly said.

“They can make boys bleed profusely and become infected.”

Sos Basary, 44, who was circumcised at the age of about 15 in a traditional way by a local unskilled medical man, said he could not walk properly for a month.

“For the first few days I felt so much pain from the incision of razor. I went soaking in the river, and took natural leaves to wrap the wound.”

Dr Roly said male circumcision was crucial in reducing transmission of HIV through sex, and reduced the incidence of penile cancer, which occurs in men of 50 years and older.

He added that it also helps decrease by up to 70 per cent the chance of cervical cancer in women.

According to the World Health Organisation, male circumcision helps reduce the risk of heterosexually acquired HIV infection in men by about 60 percent, and should be considered an effective intervention for HIV prevention in countries and regions with heterosexual epidemics, high HIV and low male circumcision prevalence.

Dr Roly said the foreskin contains no harmful organisms but moisture can get trapped, creating an environment for bacteria to grow.

Saut Phearum, a urologist and specialist in male reproductive health at the Khmer Soviet Friendship Hospital, said circumcisions should be done on non-Muslims as well for the sake of health.

He said that parents had to check whether their sons’ foreskin could be rolled up.

He advised parents with children aged five and upwards who cannot roll up their foreskin to take them to hospital for treatment.

Dr Phearum also said that penile cancer occurred most often to uncircumcised people, mostly over the age of 45.

See the original website: http://www.khmertimeskh.com/5075390/medics-add-safety-circumcision/

Endangered species on display

The critically endangered giant ibis. KT/Chor Sokunthea

August 10, 2017

By: Zahron Sokry

sokry.zahron@gmail.com

Nine photographs of rare Cambodian animals are being displayed at the Ministry of Environment, urging the public to participate in preserving critically endangered species.

Ty Srun, site manager of Birdlife International Cambodia based in Stung Streng province, said it was important to show the public more about which species were endangered.

The nine species being displayed are the giant ibis, the sarus crane, red-headed vulture, vulture, white-shouldered ibis, black-necked stork, greater adjutant, white-necked heron, and Eld’s deer.

Three among the nine are in critical danger, such as the giant ibis, white-shouldered ibis and vulture species.

Mr Srun said that Cambodian people have little knowledge about endangered species.

“We encourage the public to learn about endangered species and help protect them,” he said.

After displaying the pictures, Birdlife will hand them to the Ministry of Environment for safe keeping in an eco-library inside the ministry.

See the original website: http://www.khmertimeskh.com/5077518/endangered-species-display/ 

Causes of Using Drug

Drug is a serious issue happened in our society for ages. It occurs in many forms and causes trouble, which affects individual and society as a whole. It is reported that more than 16,575 Cambodian people are drug-addicted.  Why drug is used among Cambodian people? What are the causes of drug usage? To understand deeply, we have to think about some factors that are the causes of people, especially adults using drug. Indeed, there are three reasons why individuals use drug: peer pressure, loneliness, and curiosity.

The first reason of individuals using drug is due to peer pressure.  They associate themselves with wrong people. That’s why those people may lead them to use drug. It is natural that people surrounded by others who are drug-users are also using drug themselves for some time, since they easily fall prey to peer pressure. They may not realize that peer pressure would lead them to be a part of those people, as saying in a proverb “Birds of a feather flock together.”

Drug-users may probably feel lonely inside themselves. Since they want to feel good for a few moments, they might think of using drug to relieve themselves from feelings of emptiness and stress, regardless whatever results would affect them. Psychologically, some drug-addicted people start using drug because they think they will avoid the situation they are facing with and forget all problems they have.

Finally yet importantly, people, specifically adults use drug owing to the growth of their curiosity toward it. As society fills with toxic things, especially when the drug becomes rampant, curios-minded adults want to experience how it tastes. They will fall prey to drug after experiencing for some times. They are not always bad people but victims. For instance, in some specific movies, it shows teenagers are passionate and want to use drug when they hear their friends talking about how it makes people feel.

To sum up, drug usage is a major problem in our society. It has been used among young people because of peer pressure, loneliness, and curiosity. It shall be a time government as well as related to institutions have to find effective solution for this serious matter in order to make our society free from drug.

⏩⏩⏩Note: This Cause and Effect essay is just for my homework, which I submitted to my English Writing Skills II class (at Department of Media and Communication, Royal University of Phnom Penh.)