Photography Guest Of The Week Morten Svenningsen

Morten Svenningsen is quite a creative young man who I wanted to introduce you all to as this blog's first Guest Photographer of the Week. He is based in Nepal where he lives with his family. Morten enjoys coherent groups of people interacting and to that end founded Gaia Photos, comprised of a group of photojournalists that is rapidly becoming a trusted source for editors from around the world. Morten is also a music lover and a terrific author who writes a blog too. This guy does it all while producing great photography.!

Morton was born in Denmark in 1974. After working a few years as an engineer (microwave electronics) he graduated from Copenhagen Media School in 2004 and has been working as a freelance photojournalist since then. He won the title of Danish travel photographer of the year in 2005 and his writing and photography work has appeared in several magazines, books and newspapers around the world. His main interests are in the socio-political fields, and he primarily focuses on inequality and the transcendence of human suffering. Morten is also the director of Gaia Photos.

Please visit mortensvenningsen.com to get a closer look at his work or visit his blog "Occasional Outbursts From a Photojournalist in Nepal"

While you are at it, please have a look at Gaia Photos too!
John Brown Photojournalist On LIGHTSTALKERS
My Mondo Library Photographs
My Photoshelter Archive Homepage
GAIA Photojournalism Collective

UN Secretary General Ban Ki- moon Plans To Visit Laos Soon But What Will He See?

As you may already know, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon plans to visit Laos soon. What will he see? Well for the most part, only what the Pathet Lao communists allow him to see of course.

PRESS FREEDOM

In Laos there is only one "legal" full-time photojournalist given "official" permission by Pathet Lao to do photojournalism work there on a daily basis out in the open and he contributes to AFP. Presumably, all his transmissions are reviewed. The rest sneak around and say they are tourists on holiday if asked. Laos ranked 161st out of 169 countries listed in the 2007 Worldwide Press Freedom Index.

Ask photojournalist Thierry Falise. He regularly contributes (text and photos) to magazines and dailies L'Express, Le Point, Paris-Match, Le Figaro Magazine, Marie-Claire, Marie France, VSD, Grands Reportages, Time, Newsweek, The New York Times, The Sunday Times and many more.

In 2003, along with a French colleague, he was arrested on his way back from a forbidden trip in the Laos jungle to an abandoned Hmong community, former ally of the CIA during the Indochina war. Both reporters were sentenced to 15 years in prison but, thanks to a vast international solidarity campaign, they were released after five weeks.

SPEAKING OF THE HMONG PEOPLE

In Phonsavan in 2007 a Hmong “guerilla” fighter turned over 150 starving women and children to a village headman about 16 kilometers from the town center. The Hmong are taken to refuge type detention centers and are malnourished and mistreated according to the last people from civil society who actually saw one of these facilities. Malnourished Hmong in rural Laos can be observed just 15 kilometers from Luang Prabang. Normally, a visitor wouldn’t observe this as the Pathet Lao government is very particular as to what aspects of their society outsiders can legally see, and it has been less than 10 years since Laos opened its doors to "full-fledged tourism".

In June 2008 over 800 ethnic Hmong were forcibly returned to Laos from Thailand. While former UN Human Rights Commission Louise Arbour issued a statement of concern, Hmong sources told Inner City Press that the UN's Department of Political Affairs, while polite, had declined to participate in meetings by Hmong leaders seeking to avert these forced returns, and that the UN Development Program had declined to meet with Hmong, saying it is outside of the mandate, which involves engaging only with governments, whether in North Korea, Myanmar, Zimbabwe or Laos. Whether UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon will address this topic, well we will have to wait and see.

This is a continuing story.

HEALTHCARE

Organized healthcare in rural Laos is virtually non-existent. Basic medicine such as aspirin is unavailable in the countryside where doctors earn $40-60 USD per month and diagnostic equipment is scarce. Take the case of sixteen-year-old Khenemone Chanmeechai, a resident of the National Rehabilitation Center (NRC) in Vientiane, Laos. She began losing her vision at age nine as a result of conjunctivitis. By the time her parents could afford to get her to a hospital in Vientiane, the damage was irreparable and the doctors told her she would not see the world again. She gradually lost her vision. "It is so hard to live my life but I have to carry on." she laments.

REHABILITATION

The National Rehabilitation Center (NRC) is a one-hundred percent foreign funded institution comprised off roughly ten NGO's that provide a variety of services. According to an NGO official, the facility receives no funding from the Pathet Lao government. Rather than a facility for bed-ridden, chronically ill or terminal patients, it serves as a "half way house" for people fortunate enough to get there. Other than approximately one hundred thirty blind and deaf children living in dormitories and attending classes, there are few permanent residents. At times, it appears to be a ghost town. See for yourself.

EDUCATION

Typically, teachers in Laos earn $20 USD per month while trying to educate student bodies 120-400. Many schools are comprised of main structures containing three or four classrooms along with a detached dirt floored bamboo bungalow reserved for the youngest students. They sit on thin wooden benches wearily resting heads in hands, as textbooks that would offer diversion are unaffordable. The paucity of secondary schools in the Lao countryside as well as the sheer distance between primary schools and high schools is problematic. The biggest boulder along the road of scholarship may be a near total lack of a basic infrastructure. In other words, Laos needs more schools and school supplies, and after that, a way to get to these schools. Here is a look at what I'm talking about.

FUTURE PLANS

Laos is a communist state inhabited by 6 million people, and ranks among the world's poorest nations. The country stands to win big if their hydropower potential is tapped since Laos has 60,400 cubic meters of renewable water resources per capita, more than any other country in Asia. The landlocked country's almost complete lack of basic infrastructure coupled with a poorly educated workforce has precluded the benefits of large-scale foreign investment enjoyed by some of its neighbors, but six large mainstream dams are being proposed.

Is dam construction the best way to provide Laos with sorely needed energy? Not according to Guy Lanza, Director of the Environmental Science Program at the University of Massachusetts (USA). In an email interview that recently appeared in The Cambodia Daily, Lanza, an expert who has studied the region for nearly 40 years remarked, "The most pressing issues related to hydroelectric dam projects include ecological damage and human suffering. Planners tend to view water in terms of quantity rather than quality."

Speaking of planning, virtually all funding for Lao dam construction will come from China through state-owned financial institutions such as the Chinese Export-Import Bank. There is scant information regarding the financial details for these projects available to the public however

RESOURCE ALLOCATION

According to The World Bank, one-half of Laotian citizens are living below the poverty line. Fifty to sixty percent of the populace still lives a subsistence lifestyle, mostly, but not completely, independent from government involvement. In Laos, rice grown by rural farmers in small villages is divided into thirds, the first third going to the communist Pathet Lao government. Instead of being able to sell this rice and keep the profits for themselves, the government procures it and administers the proceeds. Additional thirds go to the village rice collective as well as the growers and their individual families.

Whereas foreign aid has accounted for over 40% of the annual national budget some years, 40% of that amount goes directly to the Pathet Lao government payroll. Determining how important the government views funding of education is difficult at best, for Laos ranked 168th Transparency International's 2007 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) out of 179 countries listed.

Let's see what UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon gets to see while in Laos. My guess is not much.


John Brown Photojournalist On LIGHTSTALKERS
My Mondo Library Photographs
My Photoshelter Archive Homepage
GAIA Photojournalism Collective

Cambodia's HIV Problem Due To "Foreign Films Portraying Youths Who Are Always Happy And Enjoy Having Sex With Their Friends" States Cambodian NGO

Um Uro (Below)

Career Path

What's your job? That's a common question asked by young university aged students of foreigners residing in Cambodia. It's a normal query that young people ask everywhere perhaps, since they themselves wrestle with their own life plan.

Ask a student in the USA and see how many of them say their life's ambition is to become a NGO worker. You might get an odd stare. New college graduates in Cambodia have a different view of this career path as NGO jobs are relatively well paying and enjoy high status. Billions of dollars have poured into Cambodia over the past 30 years from international aid donors, but that funding has barely made a dent in alleviating the people's needs.

Many of these institutions, foundations and NGO's receive money from various governments around the world. These entities want to stay in business, so many times actual problem solving falls way behind securing even more financing as a top priority. After all, how is a NGO going to ask for more money to throw at a problem if the problem has actually been solved?

With that being the case, one of the best jobs available to a university graduate in Cambodia is that of a "money chaser". Money chasers usually speak passable English, know how to use emaiI and search the web in quest of NGO Land's golden eggs. They can be seen hanging around internet shops and computer outlets striking up conversations with foreigners. Think of a dog sniffing your pant leg.

On The Job

As with any career, successful money chasers gain a reputation and are sought after within the "non-profit" industry. Mr. Um Ero, former deputy director of the now defunct American tax payer funded NGO, Khmer Ghvith Thmei Organization (KTGO) is a money chaser in Kampong Cham Cambodia.

One day Mr. Um Ero, was alerted to the following RFA:

Request for Application (RFA) # 07-A-2 HIV Prevention Interventions with Most at-Risk Population (MARPs)

"Pact Cambodia, under a cooperative award issued by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through Pact Community REACH, is pleased to announce this grant competition to local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), faith-based organizations (FBOs) and community-based organization (CBOs) currently responding or with the capacity to quickly and efficiently respond to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Cambodia especially in the area of HIV Prevention with Most AT-Risk Populations including men who have sex with men (MSN) and Entertainment Worker."

Um Ero was certainly the right man to be tasked with digging out this money for KTGO as he holds the following certifications:

A certificate of completion in word and excel at Cambodian Rights and Justice Protection.

A certificate of completion in Internet and E-mail course at Kampong Cham Community Information Center (CIC).

A certificate of completion in office administration management at Maharishi Vedic University.

He prepared a response to the RFA touting KTGO's capabilities and requested $66,005.00 USD. Here are some of the unedited details as written:

Part I. Technical Approach

Cambodia is developing so people‘s knowledge are very low as well as they are easy to receive the foreign culture and civilizations through the foreign films especially the youths who are always happy and enjoy having sex with their friends so having sex make them infect HIV/ AIDS. In the past these things always happened among the direct sex workers, indirect sex workers and freelance sex workers but so far AIDS/ HIV spread among the youths particularly garment workers, the youths in secondary schools, high schools, institutes and universities which are near the town or city. The reason that they infect HIV/ AIDS because they are aware of AIDS/ HIV little so it is spreading from one to one day so that they are so quick to develop their love with their partners and they do not know how to use condom, not enough advisory service.

Aim to prevent AIDS/HIV spreading or infection among the youths in the secondary schools, high schools, institutes and universities in order to encourage the youths how to use condom .

Expected result: the youths are aware of AIDS/ HIV infection or spreading and how to use condom when they have sex with their partners to reduce HIV/AIDS infection.

Activity 1: select 60 core volunteers (30 women) in the 10 secondary schools, 60 core volunteers (30 women) in the 5 high schools, 20 core volunteers (10 women) in the 5 universities so the grand total is 140 core volunteers (70 women).

Aim to select the core volunteers in order to disseminate to go on after they receive training course on AIDS/ HIV and assist to advise the youths who wonder on the AIDS/ HIV issues.

Activity 2: conduct training course for core volunteers for four courses per course for five days and per course has 35 trainees.

Aim to conduct training course in order to improve more knowledge on AIDS/ HIV infection and AIDS/ HVI danger and to take knowledge to disseminate friends in schools or in communities that they live.

Activity 3: conducting education or dissemination on AIDS/ HIV in target school and per school disseminate 3 times so whole total is 75 times. Dissemination has to ask question or answer and give a prize to who answer correctly.

Activity 4: Broadcast provincial radio, cooperating with Kampong Cham provincial Health Department to broadcast AIDS/ HIV information one hour per day.

Activity 5: KGTO will monitor and evaluate works of core volunteers to monitor and evaluate project and conduct monthly meeting with core volunteers once a month.

How to monitor and evaluate the project: monitor project of KGTO will conduct once a month through monthly meeting of core volunteers by focusing works that achieved per month. Issue that happens in the project will find the solution to solve it.

A few budget requests (annualized) are listed below:

Administrative staff salary: $11,420 USD

Programatic staff salary $10,200 USD

Other Benefits for Administrative Staff $8,280 USD

Condoms $4,500 USD

T shirts $4,500 USD

Books and pens $2,250 USD

The Question - What's Missing?

There was a lot of language in the proposal commonly used by money chasers including;

Strategic planning, monitoring and evaluating, developing, resolution, advocacy, experience, preparation, training, workshop, session plan and facilitate.

What would all of this evaluation and monitoring be measured against to ensure that all of the activities KGTO proposed in order to secure 66 grand actually worked? Hmm, no one thought of that in this blind quest for good old American cash.

Surprisingly, one of the proposed program positions was that of project manager. The person slated to assume that position was Ms. Ros Poravy who "worked at a hospital as data collecting of HIV/AIDs in Kampong Cham province". It seems to me that people who profess to want to help others should be able to determine whether they are actually changing things for the better or not, yet not one person affiliated with KTGO had gone so far as to benchmark what the HIV infection rates in the communities they proposed to help were.

Simple data to acquire such as statistical information regarding old cases, new cases, deaths, percentage of HIV sufferers using ARV vs. not using the drugs etc., all categorized by age group, gender, sexual orientation, occupation, drug free or user and so forth. I mean hey, if you state in a proposal that the prevalence of HIV in Cambodia was contributed to by "the foreign culture and civilizations through the foreign films especially the youths who are always happy and enjoy having sex" (as stated above) don't you want to know if your efforts for your countrymen are paying off for THEIR SAKE?

The Answers

Pact Cambodia specifically stated NGO's that could "quickly and efficiently respond to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Cambodia especially in the area of HIV Prevention with Most AT-Risk Populations including men who have sex with men (MSN) and Entertainment Workers" should respond to (RFA) # 07-A-2 HIV Prevention Interventions with Most at-Risk Population (MARPs).

The KGTO proposal states, "In the past these things always happened among the direct sex workers, indirect sex workers and freelance sex workers" it continued, "AIDS/ HIV spread among the youths particularly garment workers, the youths in secondary schools, high schools, institutes and universities which are near the town or city. The reason that they infect HIV/ AIDS because they are aware of AIDS/ HIV little so it is spreading from one to one day so that they are so quick to develop their love with their partners and they do not know how to use condom, not enough advisory service."

Obviously KTGO missed the point despite claiming in the proposal they had "Years of experience in HIV/AIDS programming, HIV/AIDS broadcast media (radio) expertise, and had worked closely in the past with the Department of Information." If true, KTGO would have known it would have had little trouble procuring free condoms in Cambodia, and might have been able to track down some low cost bananas as well. Whatever the case, these matters make little difference to Cambodia's professional money chasers.

I asked Mr. Um Ero three very specific questions regarding this funding request:

1. Do you know what the current HIV infection rates are in the communities you propose to help?

Answer: "No."

2. Are you going to talk to the prostitutes and the men who visit them over in the wooden shacks by Bangkok temple and if not, why not?

Answer: "No, we would be too embarrassed to be seen there."

3. Is Mr. Thann Thavy, Executive Director of KTGO, interested in lowering the HIV rate thereby saving lives or is he more interested in receiving 66 grand?

Answer: "He is interested in getting the money."

So there you have it folks, a brief look at deceit, incompetence, unbridled greed and indifference. The gold rush is on and nothing will stop the money chasers of Cambodia.

PS: KTGO didn't win this bid before they were shut down for corruption.

Addendum: The following is analysis of the KTGO assumption:

"they are easy to receive the foreign culture and civilizations through the foreign films"

1. 20 % of Cambodians have access to electricity.
2. Having electricity doesn't mean one has a television.
3. Having a television does not mean automatic access to cable.
4. Foreign films are shown on cable, and cable costs $ 15 USD per month.
5. 40% of Cambodia's populace earns $15 USD each per month.
6. 80 % of Cambodians have no access to electricity.
7. No electricity means no television.
8. Few cinemas exist in Cambodia, even in Phnom Penh.
9. Kampong Cham is Cambodia's third most populated city.
10. One cinema exists in Kampong Cham town and shows local films.
11. Not all foreign cultures and civilizations produce films that portray "youths who are always happy and enjoy having sex with their friends".

Now that KTGO's corruption has been exposed, subsequently forcing its closure, maybe some caring and intellectually honest Cambodians will step in to do the real work needed to help the country progress.

John Brown Photojournalist On LIGHTSTALKERS
My Mondo Library Photographs
My Photoshelter Archive Homepage

Corruption Is Not A Crime In Cambodia

"I want to help poor people but I don't know how", said Um Ero (white tank top above) one morning in Kampong Cham, Cambodia. Mr. Um Ero is a self proclaimed "corruption fighter".

The problem is, old Um Ero wouldn't know a good case of corruption when he sees it even if it was growing out of his nose. Or would he?

Mr. Um Ero received a letter from Debra J. Hulse, Chief of Party, LAAR Program, Pact Cambodia dated October 1st, 2007. The following is the complete un-edited transcript.

01 October 2007
Mr. Um Ero
Khmer Ghvith Thmei Organization (KTGO)
# 85, 5 Village, Veal Vong Commune
Kampong Cham district
Kampong Cham Province

Subject: Termination of Sub-agreement SAG-07-003-V0 under the USAID funded LAAR Program

Dear Mr. Um Ero,

Pact hereby notifies Khmer Ghvith Thmei Organization (KTGO) of immediate termination of the sub-agreement SAG-07-003-V0, between KTGO and Pact Cambodia, effective 01 October 2007. This agreement is being terminated for cause as allowable within Article 18, "Suspension or Termination for Cause", of the Sub-Agreement dated 01 March 2007.

Pact/LAAR has determined that KTGO is failing to uphold the terms and conditions of the agreement SAG-07-003-V0 as stated under Article 5, "Special Conditions to the Grant Assignment". The indications of inadequate performance and management within the KTGO organization are:

1. Lack of adequate management for quality program implementation as per the following occurrences:

a. Pact/LAAR received notification in mid-July from the KTGO director (Than Thavy) that he was "busy with another project" and would reduce his time in September 2007. At the meeting between Pact staff and KTGO management on 04 September 2007, Pact learned that the KTGO director started working full time with a different organization (DAI) in August 2007 and did not assign anyone else to be acting director.

b. KTGO financial officer has admitted to falsifying the director's signature on official documents during his absence.

c. Upon request of Pact, KTGO director notified the KTGO Board of Directors at a meeting on September 2007 that he would be leaving KTGO (but he did not specify that he was resigning) in order to work for and gain new experiences from DAI. The Board asked the current part-time deputy director who is also a public school teacher to be acting director, during the absence of the director (Than Thavy). Pact did not receive formal notification of Than Thavey's resignation until 12 September 2007, at least one month after he had started working full-time at DAI.

d. KTGO budgeted, as part of this agreement, only 10% of the time of the Deputy Director. This is not considered to be adequate management coverage with the Director not in the office during the work week.

2. The director was deducting 10% from everyone's salary and putting the money in a special bank account to be used as back-up funds to help pay the rent and share the costs incurred in keeping volunteers. He stated that everyone agreed and volunteered to give this money, but there is nothing in writing. Pact was unaware of this hold-back and was covering the full cost of LAAR staff salaries as per the agreement.

3. During a meeting with KTGO staff on 12 September 2007, some staff demonstrated a lack of understanding about LAAR or their responsibilities in working to meet program objectives.

Pact is an organization committed to prevention of corruption. Under Article 18, "Special Provisions," of agreement SAG-07-003-V0 with KTGO, it is stated that "No offer, payment, consideration, or benefit of any kind, which could be regarded as an illegal or corrupt practice, shall be made, promised, sought or accepted--neither directly or indirectly--as an inducement or reward in relation to activities funded under this agreement. . .Any such practice will be grounds for immediate cancellation of this agreement." In this regard, Pact has discovered the following:

4. A field officer at KTGO (Than Sothy) was hired without any formal recruitment process, as was used for hiring of other staff. Director originally told Pact that Than Sothy was a "distant relative" but later admitted that he is in fact his brother.

5. Pact contacted some alleged participants of LAAR trainings provided by KTGO to confirm and got information that conflicted with records from KTGO. Pact staff confirmed that at least one document was submitted to Pact containing forged participant signatures and indicating that per diems were given, though the participants stated they were not.

6. As noted earlier, the director's signature was forged on official documents.

All assets purchased by KTGO with USAID/Pact/LAAR funds are to be immediately relinquished to Pact staff. Attached is a list o the equipment to be returned.

Pact/LAAR will be available to meet with KTGO management, if further clarification is required on above decision. There are two copies of this letter, one in English and one in Khmer. The English copy takes precedent over the Khmer version.

Sincerely,

Debra J. Hulse
Chief of Party, LAAR Program
Pact Cambodia

cc: KTGO Board of Directors

What a mess huh? It' great for a watchdog like Hulse to step in to end this nonsense, that's for sure. What was this outfit receiving USA tax money for? Well, here was their self described "pubic face".

"The Khmer Ghivith Thmei Organization (KGTO) is a Kampong Cham-based non-partisan, non-profit, non-governmental organization, registered with the Ministry of Interior since October 2003. The organization is dedicated to poverty reduction and to the promotion of good governance and human rights. Its principal areas of program emphasis include training, support for the Volunteer Youths for Development and Peace Network (VYDAPN), and good-governance/anti-corruption. As a partner of Pact Cambodia, KGTO has used Danida funding to promote increased transparency and accountability and to prevent corruption. KGTO has cooperated with rights-promotion organizations including LICADHO and and CSD, and is a regular participant in the national level Decentralization & Deconcentration Working Group (DDWG).

When I asked Than Thavy if these allegations were true he replied, "Yes." When questioned as to whether he feared being punished he simply stated with a chuckle, "Nah. this is Cambodia!"

As for Mr. Um Ero, as mentioned in the letter above, he is a school teacher. According to a survey conducted by Cambodian Social Development (CSD), 50 percent of all bribe money is paid in the education sector. Don't believe me? Go ask a school kid. Does this guy kind of remind you of Kenneth Lay, the former Enron boss who claimed he didn’t know what was going on? Just asking.

Oh, and about that equipment, some nice stuff including:

6 Motorcycles (Honda Dream C125, 2006) @ $1250 USD each ($7500 total)
6 mega pixel digital camera, $300 USD
2 Filing cabinets @ $120 each

The first time I met Than Thavy he asked, "Why don't you a story on me?" Suddenly his thoughts seemed to vanish though and he waked me outside to proclaim, "Hey, look at the motorcycles America bought me!"

At least this time we got them back. Here is your story sir.


John Brown Photojournalist On LIGHTSTALKERS
My Mondo Library Photographs
My Photoshelter Archive Homepage