DUDE TV Broadcasting live from Cambodia

Hi all,

Here is the infomercial I promised!

Since I have been in Cambodia for a while, I thought you may have had enough of me banging on about my travels, so here is some content about Cambodia for you to digest.

Estimated Number of Landmines in Cambodia: 6 Million
Number of Cambodians Maimed by Landmines: Over 50,000
Estimated Number of Orphans in Cambodia: 470,000

Hello: johm riab sua
Yes: baat(m) jaa(f)
No: te
Please: sohm
Thank you: aw kohn
Excuse me/I'm sorry: sohm toh
1: muy
2: pii
3: bei
4: buan
5: bram
Does anyone here speak English?: tii nih mian niak jeh phiasaa awngle te?


Population of Cambodia: 14m
Phnom Penh (Capitol) : 2 million
Currency: Riel, $1 = 4,100 approx riel
National Icon: Temples of Angkor

--some info i ripped off the internet--
April 1975, the Khmer Rouge regime attempted one of the most brutal and radical restructurings of society ever seen. The goal was a peasant-dominated agrarian society, led by Brother Number One, or Pol Pot. Proclaimed Year Zero, the KR closed down Phnom Penh, halted all currency and postal service, and allowed only one flight into and out of the country for years. The entire population was pushed into the provinces, and forced to endure long days of labor in the fields, and given little to eat.

The Angkor, or organization, as it was called, ruled everything, forcing people to live in communes, and give over on a daily basis the fruits of their labor. Hundreds of thousands starved to death, while still more were killed as a result of their previous status as educated, wealthy, urban. Food, dispensed by the Angkor only, consisted of watery porridge and rice. Work was incessant and backbreaking. Malaria, dysentery and disease stalked children in particular, killing additional hundreds of thousands. Life for the majority of the people was unending misery. Ultimately, an estimated 2 million Cambodians died, an estimated 25% of the then population.

The rule of the Khmer Rouge lasted three years, eight months and twenty one days. The regime was finally overthrown in early January 1979 by invading Vietnamese forces. Pol Pot operated throughout the 1980’s from the Cambodia/Thai border, and the Khmer Rouge stayed active in politics until the 1990’s. Finally, in 1998 democratic elections took place, but non-violent elections were not held until 2003. Today, Cambodia is victim to rampant corruption at all levels of government, and for the most part, development and industry is stalled. Presently, much of the budget is sustained by international donors, and little of the money actually reaches a majority of the population.

In 2006 the annual gross national income, per person was $350 a year.

Thats all for now folks!

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