AN
ANGEL GIVEN BACK
Right
from my first trip to the dump I noticed a young girl of about 12 years old (it
is often difficult to judge age with Asians ) always standing about 2 meters
away from me. She never spoke to me but would just smile whenever I glanced her
way. She would not get in the line for food, and just stood there alone. Against
my better judgement I would always relent and take her an armful of food, ( I
tried always to get the children to stand in an orderly line, as there would
have been bedlam if I did not ) but she would just stay there, what could I do?
I could never turn her away. She would just stay put, close by me and smile,
this ritual went on just about every time I went up there.
A
couple of years later I had a late night phone call (I hate answering the phone
late at night as is invariably bad news). I was told that a young girl at the
dump had been killed by one of the trucks that day. They did not give a name!
My heart pounded. All the faces of the girls that fitted the description rushed
through my head. Next day, for a change, the newspapers reported the death. I
won't call it an accident. I will call it indifference to human kind. The truck
had sped into the dump so fast it bounced its load of a huge metal casting off
and it hit some of the children, killing one and injuring two others. They took
her to two hospitals that refused to admit her (no money) by the time they got
her to a third hospital, she was dead. The other two children survived thank
goodness. I was not surprised at the killing. The whole dump was a disaster
waiting to happen.Mix that with indifference and you have certain death.
According to the families this happens a lot, we just do not hear about it. I
often wonder how many little bodies are underneath that trash heap.
I
went to the dump as soon as possible, very fearful of what I was going to hear.
But I could get no information on who had been killed.The dump families were
tight lipped because the police had been there and had told them to keep quiet,
so it all seemed at the time to end there. I did a dump trip a few days later,
the usual procedure. The death was paramount in my mind. I was angry because I
could not put a face to the victim. As always, feeding 500 hungry children is
very all consuming, I kept looking around to see if I could think of a face
that was missing, I moved on with my thoughts, I had my hungry children to see
to. Then suddenly it hit me like a bolt out of the blue, my little girl was not
standing behind me and smiling, I was struck with horror, oh no, not my little
girl that stands and waits as usual! She fitted the description! Please no,
don't let it be her! But she was missing! I thought I am paranoid perhaps she
is just not about today. But I had that nagging feeling in the back of my mind,
6th sense, daft sense, worry, guilt because I had not been there to help her,
you name it, I felt it!
Next
time I went to the dump I took her photo just in case she was not there, so I
could ask someone. I was now getting very desperate and frantic, as well as
frustrated because I could get no answers. She was the only one I knew that was
missing, but thinking rationally I did not know them all. That did not pacify
me. I showed her photo around and everyone shook their heads, they did not want
to talk about it. They had been threatened by the authorities of being thrown
off the dump if they talked to anyone. I suppose if you looked at it
technically, they were trespassing, but in Cambodia nobody gives a monkeys
unless it concerns some rich dick that has something to lose! i.e. The
authorities! or ' Khmer Riche '
So
with a somewhat somber heart I went home trying to adjust myself to the very
real possibility my little smiling girl had been killed. My mind was full of
'what ifs'. Many of my friends said I get too close to them emotionally, and in
this case yes, and I was paying the price, but how can you not care about them?
I had not seen her now for months and I had resigned myself she was indeed the
victim and was dead.
A
few months later I was at the dump doing my thing, handing out the food, there
seemed to be more children than usual that day, I paused for a moment, I
do not know why, I turned around, there on a mound of earth about 2 meters away,
smiling her lovely smile, the sun shining through her dark long hair making it
look like golden sunlight and a glow all around her was my girl, she was not
dead. She's alive! I just stood there for a moment, then I rushed up to her and
gave her the biggest hug I dare. She is alive, she is here! She smiled a big
giggly smile, she must have thought I was crazy! I was so overjoyed, this was
better than winning the lottery. The last few months had been sad, I had
thought so many times of her lying dead in that hospital, and I was not there.
The terrible issue here is, if it had been a westerner taken to any hospital in
Phnom Penh they would have been taken in at once, no question. But here was my
girl smiling away and her odd little giggle because I was so pleased to see
her. She still did not speak to me, I did not care, she was alive and healthy,
that is all that mattered!
I
learned later she had gone away to the provinces to stay with family on that
fateful day. Just gone for a break which with the circumstances nearly gave me
a heart attack!
Before
the old dump closed she came up to me and showed me her new baby. She was now a
mum. It seemed a hundred years I had known her and the anxiety I had gone
through! Some people at the dump could not understand why I was bothered. They
said she was a bit simple in the head, I did not care, to me she was my ANGEL
GIVEN BACK to me.
BABY
DAVID
I
was at the dump one day, and I know, I am always saying this, but after the
loss of my wife, this was the only place I felt happy.
A
very heavily pregnant girl came up to me and gave me a big hug as most of them
did, she was about 26 years old, she looked a little nervous, then she asked me
if I could help her? I said of course, if I could. She told me her husband had
left her ( the usual story here), she had a little daughter about 4 years old,
our mum to be was very frightened because the baby was due and nothing was
happening and nobody was going to be there to help her. So as always, I gave
her extra food to keep her and the little girl going, I asked her where she
lived and I promised I would come and talk with her later that day, and see
what we could do for her.
I
was discussing her with a good Dutchman friend called Henk, he was a professor,
he said he would go out and buy her all the things she would need for the new
born baby. Next day Henk was good for his word, his girlfriend turned up with a
huge bag full of baby clothes and all the items needed for a new arrival. I
took all this up to our mum to be, she was over the moon at all the gifts, and
the relief in her eyes was reward enough for me, she could not believe she had
been given, so much! She lived in the usual chicken hutch type shack, but it
was immaculate, it was so clean and neat, I could not believe it possible, she
was trying so hard for her little family, she certainly deserved all the help
we could give her. I gave her an extra bag full of food with her baby goodies
to keep her going for a few days. I gave her my telephone number and told to
call me anytime, she looked so relieved and happy. Just a small thing to us,
made such a great difference to the outlook of this lovely little family.
On
the next trip to the dump I had the paramedic check her over, he decided the
baby was due imminently, and was concerned, he was obviously no expert in these
matters but he wanted her to have a scan, which of course she had never had. We
had her scanned and this confirmed she was due, but worryingly it was going to
be very difficult for her, if not life threatening. I kept calling on her
almost daily, taking food and a small present for the little girl, I did not
want her to feel left out because of the new baby. A week went by, nothing
happened, she was now very uncomfortable indeed. I remember my own wife back in
the UK many years before when we had our own children, so I was no stranger to
this situation. Our mum was typically very small, as most Khmers, so we took
her back to have another scan, I know this seems over the top, but, Khmers are
notoriously lax about time and dates, she could be well over due or only just
due, so I erred on the side of caution. The baby was due anytime, but she was
going to need a 'c section', it was impossible for her to have the
baby naturally. This was now very scary. She obviously did not have
the funds for this, nor did we, I always kept an emergency fund, but this had
been depleted recently with various other emergencies. I was greatly worried,
we needed this within a few days, I did not have it, but I was determined I
would get it one way or another, come what may. This girls life and her baby's
life was in the balance of a few hundred dollars. The doctor had arranged the
hospital for her in three days time, I was desperate, I was not going to take
her to the poor hospital because I had a horrendous experience there once
before, it was so horrific it makes my hair stand on end to even think of it
now, you can read about this in another chapter called ' Chanda's story'. I had never been so worried, I was
running out of time and there were no options.
A
very wonderful thing happened! The next day a very lovely English couple came
to visit me, they had been to the dump with me two years before and were very
supportive, I think very religious to, but this had never been mentioned,
thankfully, as you all know by now my feelings about this subject. They had
kept in touch with me by email to keep up to date on what the project was
doing. The lady was one of the quiet religious people that I told you about
before, did not preach or boast, just got on with it and did her thing, keeping
a very low profile. She always wanted to help, bless her, whatever her beliefs.
She came to the bar that day and said I looked very down, I said things were bit
heavy going but did not want to spoil this lovely ladies day with my and my
mum-to-be problems. She said ' David, we have raised some money for your
project back in England and I have brought it for you to spend as you wish on
your children' she said how much did I think she had, I replied $50 would look
very good at the moment! She said I have $1400 dollars for you, I nearly burst
into tears with relief. We were desperate. Our young mums life was in the
balance and along comes some money to solve the problem. This was one of the
very few occasions I have asked myself, is there after all a God? And, is he
helping me to help my children? This is still something I doubt, when I see my
children suffer so, but small acts like this cannot be explained!
I
explained to the kind couple, that with their permission I would like to use
some of the money for my mum to be. They were happy for me to spend it in any
way I wished, in any way to help my families. So next day we went to the dump
together, I introduced them to our mum-to-be, and explained that this English
couple were going to pay for the hospital to have her baby. She burst into
tears and hugged my English saviors. They took our girl to the market and
bought her lots of food and anything else she might need. Our couple was so
pleased they could see their money going to do good things at once, as we
always do on our project, we try to get the job done, these children are hungry
now! It needs to be dealt with now!
I
thanked them so much for their kindness, they said ' we knew you would make
good use of whatever money we brought you and we are so pleased we came at this
time'. They said I looked so much better that day than the first day they came,
if they only knew! They said ' we know some people are giving you a bad time on
the Internet, but please do not give up because of them, please carry on
helping those poor people' I could have cried!
The
couple had to leave the next day, but said they would return in a couple of
weeks, I promised to keep them updated by email and SMS.
I
have to tell you, I know I knock a lot of these religious groups that have come
to me to sell their 'rice bowl' conditional charity, and I have sent them away
with a flea in their ears. You do not give with a condition attached, which is
what these groups do. They are not like this wonderful couple that came
quietly, got on with the job in hand and left quietly without a 'holier than
thou' word! This good couple did not sell their religion, or give help
conditionally. They just got on with helping less fortunate people than
themselves. They have my total respect, whatever their beliefs! I do hope their
God walks with them forever.
The
days went by, no baby, so mum goes into hospital, baby delivered safely, mum
happy and healthy and little daughter thrilled at having a new brother. Husband
had returned for this happy event, so I hoped it might be a reconciliation, who
knows? I went to see mum about a week later at home, took food as always, and
to check everything was ok. Young mum gives me a huge lingering embarrassing
hug, she said she had given the baby a name, I said oh good, not
knowing the procedure in Cambodia for names. She said I have called him 'David'
after you. I was so embarrassed, I did not know what to say, this had never
happened to me before. Davee had said she wanted to have a boy and wanted to
call it after me, this was not to be, even my ex wife in England did not
suggest this. I was overwhelmed, I can say no more!
Our
lovely couple returned and I took them to see baby David, we laughed together
and said this must be the first Khmer baby called David. I will forever be
indebted to this lovely English couple and I shall always think of them when I
think of 'baby David'.
Beautiful stories by a kind man, finding ways to help the impoverished. Neeson would have just taken the children into istitutional care, as he has so many others, without regard to the psychological, emotional and developmental issues that he causes.
ReplyDeleteHow about some of you so called supporters of Fletcher, start putting your name to your posts. Your support has so much conviction when you post anonymously. Could that be because you dont want to be known in public as supporting a convicted sex offender?
ReplyDeleteRachel, you are OBSOLETE! Nothing you have written has any value. . NOT wanting anyone as ignorant as you to know my name, is why I'm anonymous. Why don't you just continue sharing your hate with your family. Surely they can learn to hate just like you do.
DeleteHaha is that the best response you can write. ignorance is a person who writes defaming, non-substantial posts whilst hiding like a coward behind an anonymous title.
ReplyDeleteYou are a weak. pathetic excuse for a man!
Rachel, whilst I disagree with your fatwa against David Fletcher, based as it is on 2nd and 3rd hand information, I do admire that you put your name to your comments. I wish everyone would. Apart from anything else, this would lead to much more civil conversations, dialogues, than occur when commentators feel that they have the licence, Anonymously, to hurl whatever abuse they like at each other.
DeleteProbably the first thing I have agreed with you on. Im not scared to put my name on any comments i write James - these are my opinions and I stand by them.
DeleteBut if you have the credibility that you say you have James and you believe in your blogs, then i would suggest that you remove the 'anonymous' posting ability and make anyone who wants to contribute like an adult, add their name. That way, Neeson, McCabe or any other coward posters cannot write on this blog or write cowardly defaming drivel unless they put their name to it.
Might hurt your blog ratings though so i dont expect you to do that!
Rachel
DeleteYes, you are entitled to your own opinions but not to your own facts. If you wish to believe that that world is flat, this is your opinion,. If you wish to believe that the moon is made of green cheese, again, this is your opinion and you are entitled to it.
What you ar ejot entitled to are your own facts. Or, to put it another way, you have no right to expect that other people will accept your opinions as facts.
You have never met David Feltcher. You have never met Yang Dany. You have never attended a court appearance or read court transcripts. What you have done is take on board 2nd and 3rd hand information, processed it in your brain until it takes on the illusion of fact, and then offered it to the world as fact. You have no doubts at all about what you perceive to be facts - regardless of the fact that much of what you believe is not backed up by facts.
When I first communicated with you a year ago you were filled with righteous indignation that certain expatriate men in certain expatriate bars were behaving in ways that were, at the very least, immoral and, at the worst, illegal. You did not base your assessment on what you had seen with your own eyes but on what you had heard. Perhaps what you heard was true. On the other hand, perhaps it was scuttlebutt. The possibility that it was scuttlebutt did not cross your mind. It must be true because the stories confirmed your worst suspicions about men.
Herein lies the danger in believing unquestioningly in scuttlebutt. Most of those who spread scuttlebutt have an ulterior motive of one kind or another. They are usually trying tyo destroy someone else's reputation or exacting revenge for some real or perceived injury. Or both.
A few months ago I was presented with one such story of something witnessed at a bar. It had happened, I was assured. 100%. It was witnessed by many people. I thought to myself, "Well, if so many people really witnessed it, maybe it really did happen." Upon further questioning, however, it turned out that the person who insisted the event in question was 100% true, she had not actually witnessed it. She had friends who had, however, and she totally trusted them. Upon closer questioning it turned out that none of the friends had actually witnessed the event in question but had heard about it from friends who swore they were there. And so on. I could not find one person who could actually confirm, on the basis of what they saw, that it had occurred. It was a great and very believable story and perhaps it was true. However, I have never been able to get independent confirmation of it and so have never mentioned it.
So, be very careful wen you point a finger of accusation at someone on the basis of what you have heard. If you did not witness it, there is a good chance that you are being roped into someone else's hate campaign.
As for 'anonymous' blogging, when I started this blog I made it perfectly clear that there would be no censorship. I have had to break this rule only three times, I think (maybe four) as a result of comments made that were clearly defamatory. Otherwise I have allowed anyone who wants to defame me to do so, to call me whatever name they choose and heap whatever abuse they like on me. And many commentators have done to same when attaching people who they disagree with.
I would much rather that such personal abuse did not occur but it is rife on the internet and it is clearly here to stay. So, no, I am not going to change the rules of the game in mid-stream. Anyone can write what they want. I think that intelligent readers can discern for themselves which comments are worthy of attention and which are not.
No-one is under any obligation to read this blog and I strongly suggest that you don't if (whoever might be reading this) you think it is all bullshit. Do something else with your time.
Ricketson is not going to do that. It would stop him claiming that everyone is Scott. It would stop him making his own anonymous posts and claiming they are Scott. It would reveal this blog to be two or three people yelling at each other. It would show Scott has never even been on here.
ReplyDeleteJames - there is only one way to obtain the utmost credibility after that post, and that is by making everyone add their names when posting. Do you have the stomach to do it?
DeleteDear Team Neeson (aka Anonymous 9.55)
DeleteIf this blog is just 2 or 3 people yelling at each other why on earth are you here joining in the yelling?
ricketson is a fucking coward. All these blogs are designed for is to boost his ratings on google and keep his name exposed as he has nothing else going for him. The weak cunt would never change the status. If he does then i will happily put my name to my posts because i will finally see who the low life germs he has supporting him and writing fucking shit are.
ReplyDeletehahaha I can't stop laughing in preparation for ricketsons worm like response to not stopping anonymous bloggers.
Dear Team Neeson (Anonymous 11.13)
DeleteOK, which is it? 2 or 3 people yelling at each other(low ratings) or me with nothing better to do with my life than go for ratings? It can't be both.
I still don't know what ratings have to do with anything. Of what value would high ratings be to me?Will they help me pay the rent? Buy me dinner?
Ratings for this blog, for any blog, for any online publication of Facebook clip, is determined by how many people watch to watch and/or read. Given that it is only 2 or 3 people, why would I put this amount of energy into it? To get it up to 5 people yelling at each other?
As always, your prose has a wonderful poetic quality to it. You are clearly a man of wit and intelligence!
Suggestion: Stop adding your voice to the yelling.
just another clear deflection from answering the question. You haven't answered 3 people who have asked you will you stop allowing anonymous postings? Yes or No
DeleteIts not that hard a question rickets,
I answered the question very clearly. It is no. N-O Read my lips. I will not, at this late stage, be censoring this blog in any way. I hope that is clear enough for you.
Deleteratings chaser
DeleteI personally think that any blog that allows people to write opinionated and often very descriptive diatribe in an anonymous format, has minimal credibility and opens up criticism from both sides of the argument.
ReplyDeleteWhat is worse is a blog that screens all comments and the administrator controls what is added and what isn't - i.e. that pathetic blog Penhpal written by Robert Jamieson - it has zero credibility which is reflected by the extremely low number of posters - well actually I think you can count the number of posters on one hand.
James I certainly hope you add new credibility to your blogs and stop allowing anonymous posters.
Rachel, my opinion is that you are simply a C-U-N-T and have been ever since I first met you! According to Tom S (who does have something of value to add to this discussion), you also post anonymously.
DeleteHahaha, thanks for the compliment Robert Jamieson. Coming from an inept individual such as yourself who is less advanced in mental state than most other men I know, I won't break out the Kleenex just yet.
DeleteAs for Tom Selig - I have never met the man and wouldn't know him if I walked passed him so I think your attempt to lower me to your standards has failed - I never post anonymously. As you would know on your Penhpal blog where I always post with my name. Posts that you always screen and never allow to be shown simply because you are a coward.
hahaha I've met Jamieson - he is a weird cat that one. Nice reply Rachel - I like a woman who is not afraid to throw mud back.
DeleteAnonymous 3.40am - pissant, retard and cock smoker are some words that come to mind when I read you post. hahaha smacked down by Rachel Matters.
Crocodile mouths, chickadee brain. Rachel doesn't matter. Anonymous 5:53, RM has some importance to YOU? hahaha
DeleteNo dickhead - i dont know Rachel Matters so how can she have important to me. But she certainly has more credibility than you - fucking moron.
DeleteI think Robert Jamieson is a creep and a coward. Why I think this way? Well he runs a blog site called Penhpal that is xenophobic to everything Cambodian. When you try to add a comment to his blog that is contrary to what he is writing he moderates it first and deletes it so it does not appear on his blog. Coward? Yes the pinnacle of a coward!
DeleteAnd if you saw the comments this creep and sorry excuse for a male has written back to me because of my difference of opinion, then you will understand why I want to expose him as the repulsive individual that he is.
So anonymous 6.46am - Rachel does matter. If I didnt you wouldn't write such insignificant comments as the one you have written. Perhaps you should go back to scrounging around bars for free beers and loitering around coffee shops in the hope to get free wifi.
LOSER!
Rachel, when I started this blog I made a promise to my readers that all comments would be allowed; that there would be no censorship. I do not intend changing the rules this far down the track. Intelligent readers can figure out for themselves which comments are worthy of attention and which can be ignored. And readers can make their own assessments as to the credibility or otherwise of what is written here. If I were to start another blog I would probably block trolls who have nothing whatsoever to offer to the topic in hand. Too late to implement such a policy now. Next time
ReplyDeleteI look forward to this blog James and to good debate from people who have the intestinal fortitude to add their name to a post or comment.
DeleteRachel Matters posts from a Tor Browser that anonymizes her IP address and encrypts her posts. So how much credibility do you want to give this person ? Rachel Matters has many names, her favourite is ANONYMOUS !
DeleteDoes "Ratchel Matters" really matter ?
ReplyDeleteThe web can be a bitch. It doesn't allow you any privacy and even a
school kid could profile the Neeson Tean Troll alias Ratchel Matters.
His equally abusive language can be found on many blogs related to
Cambodia. The infamous khmer440 is just one of them.
This person (Rachel Matters) is really mentally disturbed and i cannot think of any other reason why he is so very abusive to anyone that he regards to have a different opinion or perspective on matters that his own.
My advise to him is to go and seek professional help or he will risk
turning into another expat zombie in Cambodia. Perhaps this warning is coming too late.
The fact is that James Ricketson puts his finger right on the wound that
this entire aid sector in Cambodia is ignoring. The Cambodian gov. had
enough and passed the NGO Law even though powerfull entities like the US
gov. and the EU threatened to cut all aid and thereby take the Cambodian
gov. hostage. It's unfortunate that most Khmer cannot see that they are
merely puppets in this vicious game.
The "totally unbiased" western press, icluding the English speaking
press in Cambodia will now turn to the Khmer youth again to continue
their fight against this gov. This media also recently reported that a
total of 60 countries have recently passed similar laws to curb the wild
west gung ho NGO sector. Of course these countries were labelled as
"totalitarian" but at least they don't shoot people because of the wrong
color or run Guantanamo Style torture prisons.
The fact that NGO like "Transparency Intl." and not-so Human Rights
Orgs. like Licado and Adhoc are in the front seat to fight a law that
enables more transparency of NGO in Cambodia while asking more
Transparency from the Cambodian gov. shows the hypocrisy we're dealing
with. Just look at Licado's Website and check out the Donor section.
Nicely veiled they show who has spend more than x amount etc. leaving
open which donor donated exactly how much and thereby drives the main
engine of Licado. No such thing as REAL Transparency here. Naly Pilorge
, Licado's Director showed just how vicious a character she is when she
described the NGO Law as a muffle by the Cambodian gov. to silence and
curb NGO.
For now the Cambodian gov. has not caved in and been taken hostage but that
doesn't mean that these people will poison Cambodia less than they did
for the past years.
Sorry to ruin your day Tom Selig but your internet skills aren't very good - I am not a man and I am not a Neeson supporter. Is it so hard for you to stomach that a woman has intelligence and an opinion? I guess not - thats is why you live in Cambodia and surround yourself with poor young girls who due to their economic status have to act subserviently to you. Quite disgusting really!
DeleteBut i won't waste my time adding descriptives about you - a reader only has to look throughout this blog and others to see what the majority of people think about Tom Selig. So sad!
I certainly have never seen anything that could pass as intelligence from you Rachel. That fact that you call yourself 'intelligent', is VERY stupid!!
DeleteMy 4 year old daughter would come up with a better more intelligent comment than the one you have written anonymous 2.23 am - surely you can write something better.
DeleteI find it extremely funny how some of the males on this blog and the Penhpal blog, like yourself, struggle to digest criticism from a female. You seem to feel very intimidated which suggests something about your male anatomy.
Since the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, pretty likely that your daughter is an ignorant, hater just like you. Please don't credit yourself with an ability to judge intelligence. You have none and you can't.
DeleteHahaha whoever you are anonymous 10.41 - you are a complete fuckwit. Seeing that you are so intimated by a woman giving you spray, I wouldn't be surprised if you one of those low life kiddie fiddlers as well.
DeleteKeep it up Rachel matters - i love seeing these insignificant little worms getting a flogging.
Ha ha, it is Rachel doesn't matter also posting as anonymous! Tom S has you all figured out!!
DeleteTom S - sorry to disappoint you but the anonymous poster @5.29am is not me. i don't use and would not use the expletives used in that post. Thank you for sharing your marijuana induced conspiracy theory though. It made me laugh this mooning whilst drinking my latte.
DeleteJames - my argument about having your posters add their real names when posting is emphasised here by the panic driven comments of Robert Jamieson and Tom Selig. It does make me laugh at how quickly they move into defensive mode when someone writes posts that exposes their insignificance.
ReplyDeleteTheir trepidation makes my morning coffee and reading of your blog very enjoyable.
Rachel
ReplyDeleteJust as anyone can write whatever they like here and call themselves 'Anonymous',so too can anyone post here and call themselves 'Rachel', or 'To', or 'Dick' or 'Harriet'.
Forcing people to use their own names (even if I had s desire to do so, which I don't) is no solution to any problem. In order to be sure that a post was from the person they claimed to be, I would need to have their email address and be in a position to confirm that they are who they say they are. But even this is not a solution because anyone can start of a Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo address under whatever name they like so we are back tyo square one.
I think that there is no solution in this new internet age we live in - other than to rely on the intelligence of those who read blogssuch as this to be able to distinguish between the genuine bloggers who have something to contribute (whether you agree or not) and those that are just trolls or who have their own particular axe to grind.
One clear signifier of 'trolls' us their tendency to swear and use abusive language - as if they were teenage boys i a school playground looking to start a fight. No-one who has an argument to run with, a line of thinking they believe in, needs to resort to foul or abusive language.
In amongst all the dross that appears here in the form of comments, there are also lots of terrific contributions to various dialogues of importance.
As you would know, as a blogger, it is very easy to tell which blogs are capturing people's attention and which are not. Yes, when the trolls get involved the page hit rate gos up a little, briefly,but soon drops back. There are a few people who come here looking for blood, waiting to see who is going to demolish whom, but the bulk of the 200+ people who visit here each day do so out of interest in the matters under discussion.
And this is as it should be.
Its Friday - I think I will go an spend my high salary on some ice cold beers this afternoon. I will be sure to think about all the low life kiddie fiddlers who are rotting in Cambodian prisons while I enjoy my life. Suck shit you vermin!
ReplyDeleteThis is a stupid 'troll' comment and, it seems, no-one is going to bother to rise to the bait. Thank God! What an unpleasant experience it must be, Anonymous 8.56, to have to live with yourself on a day to day basis.
DeleteDavid Fletcher s able, from time to time, to get text messages to me from jail.
ReplyDeleteThe following is Mr Fletcher's most recent text message to me (I am not in Cambodia). It speaks for itself. The 'trolls' will have their fun with it; that goes without saying.
"Hello James,
I want to reassure you on some of the ridiculous allegations made by trolls on your blog.
They falsely accuse me of putting money from the dump project into the business and not showing accounts. If they read my book 'The Conspiracy' they will, if they have the I.Q., see that apart from me not ever taking food from my childrens' mouths, there is no way I would put money into a drunken partner who was drinking the profits and his drinking Australian Mafia buddies.
As for the accounts avaialbilty, all full accounts with receipt numbers were available to anyone at anytime on the bar computer. Ross Wright and his 'ilk' were too lazy to even bother to look.I gave out many copies to guests and helpers when required and to a respected childrens charity in Thailand to hold.
Ross Wright and his muppets stole my records of helpers for their own project CHOICE. They wrote to all guests demonising me. They used my email to try to find evidence of wrong doing; there was none. I may have made a few mistakes in bookkeeping, i am not infalliable. If any laws were broken, it was Ross Wright and CHOICE that that did so.
As far as unsavory things going on in the bar, this is a joke. I was very strict on this. I even threw out some customers for lighting up a spliff, knowing the plebs would jump at the chance to accuse the bar of allowing drugs. In any case you know that part of my life has been combating the drugs cartels.
As far as underage girls on the premises was concened, no way. If i was in doubt I would check their family book for birthdate and copy it on the computer for safe keeping.
The vigin thing is just pure maliciousness. I could name names now, but the plebs will have to read my book where I do and nothing to do with my bar.
On the point of anything seen as wrong doing in my bar, why was this not reported to the police with hard evidence? As you are aware I have challenged all these gossip mongers to come up with hard evidence of their demonising since 2009. None have come up with a single piece of evidence and this includes the NGOs involved and the impotent Human Rights NGOs.
Thank you as always for listening.
David
James, posting the method of communication of this msg online would directly relate to the commencement of a severe restriction of ALL communication devices, prisoner & guard, that commenced for me, a two year long utter isolation. 1000s of us were treated like animals for years for no reason we could understand. But I was the one who paid daily for want was being said in the World outside. There are open enemies here & your tell the enemy how you got the information knowing they can hurt us stuck in hell with it. You are doing fantastic, important stuff here. But it must be done in a way that helps the ones suffering while getting ppl to listen & understanding. Powerless ppl of all ages have to endure each day til someone gets the word out. Please be careful of the ramifications on those still enduring. Noone deserves to be left alone.
DeleteJames, posting the method of communication of this msg online would directly relate to the commencement of a severoty of restriction of ALL communication devices, prisoner & guard, that i witnessed, a two year long utter isolation. Thousands of us were treated like animals for years for no reason we could understand. Though im quite sure the reactions to my case partners internal continuous of occupation didn't help. But David & I & others were the ones who paid daily for what was being said in the World outside. There are open enemies here & your telling the enemy how you got the information knowing they can hurt us, stuck in hell, with it. You are doing fantastic, important stuff here. But it must be done in a way that helps the ones suffering while getting ppl to listen & understanding. Powerless ppl of all ages have to endure each day til someone gets the word out. Please be careful of the ramifications on those still enduring. Noone deserves to be left alone.
DeleteAll I can say is if the language used by David Fletcher in his letter to you Ricketson is any gauge of his intellect, then he is as sharp as a bowling ball!
ReplyDeleteYou are obsessed, aren't you Anonymous 6.13, with the idea that the world is filled with winners and losers; with people who have sharp minds and idiots as sharp as a bowling ball. No doubt, as well as considering yourself a 'winner' in the race of life, you also believe that you have a mind that is sharp as a tack. Perhaps you do but if so it is hard to imagine why you would feel the need to denigrate those who, in your opinion, have not been blessed with your remarkable intellect!?
DeleteThe world is all about winners and losers Ricketson - thats how the world goes around. Do you think we are living in a bubble where everyone is equal and under achievers like yourself and half of your followers can just slime through life achieving nothing, slagging everyone else who is achieving and somehow be respected for their great contribution.
ReplyDeleteSorry - it doesn't work that way. Not sure who anonymous 6.13pm is - but your comments are true. Fletcher and others who have been convicted of abusing children, and many other scum bags in Cambodia for that matter, have come to Cambodia because they are sharp as bowling balls, but can look better than what they really are amongst many other under achievers.
I pity you ricketson - you really do believe in your own press and you think that a few keyboard warriors (aka your blog supporters) are quality citizens that mean something and contribute to Cambodia. Frightening!
Dear Scott Neeson
DeleteNo, the world is not all about 'winners' and 'losers' - much though it is necessary for you to present yourself to the world, ad nausuem, as a 'winner'. A very large proportion of the world's population (including the bulk of Cambodians) have had the generic misfortune to have been born into poverty of a kind that it is next to impossible to extricate themselves from. They are no more 'losers' as a result of their accidental birth, than you are a 'winner' as a result of your own.
Yes, Scott, you are greatly admired for the work you do. You guarantee this with endless photos of yourself with smiling children and, more recently, with yourself with a smiling Dalai Lama. The many millions of dollars you have made for yourself and CCF have had, as their basis, the concept that the best place for the children of materially poor families, is in an institution. You persist with this funding model because it is where the money is. Naive sponsors and donors such as the Blackburne Property Group, David & Caroline Ryan, Goldman Sachs, Gives John and Cammie Rice , Roland Emmerich , Steven Tisch Family Foundation
Sumner M. Redstone Charitable Foundation and the The Cripps Foundation haver swallowed your marketing pitch hook, line and sinker and pour huge amounts of money into CCF coffers in the belief that they are helping poor families - as opposed to guaranteeing that the children of these families remain in institutions that you know are damaging to their emotional and phychological well-being.
A time of reckoning will come; a time when your generous sponsors and donors will begin to ask some questions they should have asked years ago. When they do, and if they are perceptive enough to be able to differentiate between the truth and clever PR, they will desert you. They will not want to be seen, a few years down the track, as having been complicit in the creation of a 'stolen generation' of Cambodian children - a human rights abuse perpetrated by yourself not primarily to make yourself very rich (though it is doing this also) but to convince the world (and perhaps yourself also) that you are a good man - without whose generosity all these institutionalised children would be working in the rubbish dump. This is not so. Were you generous in a way that was intended to help entire families, and not merely individuals within it, you would be emptying your institutional care facilities and pouring the bulk of CCF's financial resources into assisting families, within communities.
The most blatantly obvious manifestation of CCF's real objective is to be found in your housing program. CCF boasts of having built more than 200 homes for poor families. Great PR. If only it were true.
The reality is that these homes (in excess of 200) were given to CCF. Not only did CCF not pay one cent for them, CCF in fact makes a profit on each one of them at the point where they are given to CCF by telling those giving the homes that they cost more than CCF actually pays for them.
So, right at the outset, CCF is making money out of these 'gifts'. Then, what does CCF do? Give the homes to poor people, as was the intention behind the gifts? No. CCF then rents these homes to to poor families and imposes strict conditions on the families that rent them. If they do not obey your rules, Scott, they are out. Turfed out of their homes.
For as long as this housing scam continues, you will be able to build your empire bigger and bigger until you have 1000s of materially poor Cambodians in Kingdom Scott. ANd of course the more homes you build, the more kids you incarcerate, the more you will appear to be a hero to those (including your sponsors and donors) who do not bother to look past the Facebook photos and glossy PR to what is actually going on.
You may succeed in fooling a lot of people for a long time, Scott, but your Kingdom is a house of cards and will eventually collapse - as did Somaly Mam's.
Short version 1) I'm not Neeson and 2) YOU ARE A FUCKWIT RICKETSON
ReplyDeleteWow! I'd love to read the long version! No doubt I will, in due course, Scott!
DeleteLong version - 1) I am not Neeson and 2) you are a fucking disgrace for an individual and a fuckwit!
ReplyDeletehahaha i like the short version better!
ReplyDeleteIs Scott Neeson the most notorious 'family wrecker' of the 21st century? Has he done more to take children from their families, than any other man alive in the 21st century? Is he now trying to glorify himself as someone who 'keeps families together', after he has taken over 700 children from their families
ReplyDelete?
Agree, he is a disgrace!!
Deletehahaha it was all quiet for a week and because the Ricketson movement had nothing credible to say, one of the fuckwits, just to keep their pathetic blog going, had to write a boring old parrot comment. Talk about bottom of the barrel losers!
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