Cambodian Dress

The lines of culture distinguishing one country from another are blurring. The globalization of technology, information and finance has allowed wealthy countries to export not only their political and economic ideologies to developing countries but their traditions and values as well.

The Cambodian government has made aggressive rhetorical efforts to preserve the integrity of traditional Khmer culture, but younger generations are hungry for a change. In a seemingly uphill battle to maintain cultural identity in an increasingly homogeneous global community, one man has made it his mission to preserve the past for future generations.

From household items and clothes to jewelry and sculpture, Liv Saa Em's private collection is one of the largest in Cambodia.

"It is my favorite thing to do since I was young. I like to keep antiques in my house because my parents bought a lot of antiques from villagers to keep at their house.

Upon first glance, Liv Saa Em could be mistaken for an ancient Khmer man in his traditional dress. Ancient relics adorn his house as well, stretching from the front door into the darkest corners. The building is his sanctuary; a place Liv Saa Em says keeps him smiling. Visitors to the house, which doubles as a museum, often have offered the collector money for his goods. But Liv Saa Em's mission is to maintain Khmer culture for Cambodia. His message: History is not for sale.

The robbery of Khmer artifacts, for sale to foreign countries, is a rising concern. In efforts to preserve the integrity of Cambodia's tangible history, the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts recently prohibited the exportation of artifacts from Cambodia to Vietnam and Thailand. Liv Saa Em agrees with the act's passage, as he too works to preserve artifacts so that all of Cambodia may enjoy them in years to come.

Since the tender age of 13, Liv Saa Em has taken the cue of his parents, who were avid collectors. Now preserving artifacts is not only a hobby--it's a mission. "I'm very upset when I see our artifacts exported to neighboring countries," he said. "We know that they are really Khmer artifacts, but I have no ability to take them back to the country." Even when it is not in transit, safeguarding art is not always easy. Liv Saa Em said artifacts kept in the National Museum cannot be promised security, and his house in Tang Yab, Prey Kabas district of Takeo province is no better. Pieces of history were shattered in 1976 when young Khmer Rouge soldiers destroyed his parents' house and the artifacts in it.

Unable to forget the loss, Liv Saa Em has made a conscious effort to buy pieces for his private collection at home. Trading medicine or rice for art, the collector has purchased relics from Takeo, Kampong Speu and Phnom Penh. Now Liv Saa Em's reputation for collecting precedes him, and tourists that visit his home hoping to make a purchase are always denied.

"I love Khmer artifacts and I love to keep them forever," Liv Saa Em said.


Liv Saa Em's love affair with the past started when he was just a boy. "I wore simple cloth like other people when I was young," he said. But after completing his studies, Liv Saa Em developed a style of his own. Entering adulthood, he wore the ancient Khmer cloth donned by people of the Funan period and shaved his head so that only a tuft of hair sat atop the middle of his crown.

Businessmen raised Liv Saa Em, the youngest son of a nine-member family that often dressed in traditional Khmer clothing. He was the most beloved of the lot then. Today he is alone. Liv Saa Em's brothers, sisters and parents perished during the war.


Struggling to overcome the loss of his family, Liv Saa Em filled his time honing his skills as a silk maker. He mixes together a rainbow of colors to produce the vibrant fabric that is exported to Japan today and earned him the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts' Award for Best Quality Producing in 1993. His Excellency Nut Narang, the former Minister of Culture and Fine Arts, personally recognized Liv Saa Em as the first successful producer of best quality silk following Pol Pot's regime. His creativity is unceasing. Liv Saa Em rearranges the relics in his house to assume a new look every week. In the afternoon visitors can find the collector sitting amidst his artifacts, which he says are a comfort to him. The house, an increasingly popular tourist destination, has drawn curious visitors from around the country and the world. Movie production companies have made the trip as well, using his traditional house for the backdrop to particular scenes.

Liv Saa Em preserves the past to protect the future. Concerned that irresponsible development could damage ancient artifacts, the collector suggested that Cambodia develop a tourism industry based on the riches of Khmer artifacts and temples.

CAMBODIA REPORTS SWINE FLU INCREASE

Cambodian Ministry of Health has reported an increase in the number of cases of the H1N1 virus being reported to authorities. A further five cases have been confirmed in the last week - bringing the total number to 14. According to the Phnom Penh Post, the latest cases involve four Americans who developed the flu following a recent trip to Bangkok and the final case concerned an Irish man who was stopped at Phnom Penh International Airport after he showed signs of the virus. Ly Sovann, the deputy director of the health ministry's communicable diseases control department, said: "We have had 14 cases of swine flu in Cambodia, but nobody has died. We will continue to monitor swine flu at the airport and border crossings."He added that people with a fever, cough or breathing difficulties should contact the special swine flu hotline for advice on treatment. Cambodia confirmed its first swine flu case in June after a US student entered the country as part of a school trip.

Kind Of Sports

Crowd Pleasures

Brawler Juan Urango was the biggest winner of the weekend after his entertaining victory over Randall Bailey to retain his IBF title.

Charactors of Sport

Sport is an activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively. Sports commonly refer to activities where the physical capabilities of the competitor are the sole or primary determinant of the outcome (winning or losing), but the term is also used to include activities such as mind sports (a common name for some card games and board games with little to no element of chance) and motor sports where mental acuity or equipment quality are major factors. Sport is commonly defined as an organized, competitive and skillful physical activity requiring commitment and fair play. Some view sports as differing from games based on the fact that there are usually higher levels of organization and profit (not always monetary) involved in sports. Accurate records are kept and updated for most sports at the highest levels, while failures and accomplishments are widely announced in sport news.

The term sports is sometimes extended to encompass all competitive activities in which offense and defense are played, regardless of the level of physical activity. Both games of skill and motor sport exhibit many of the characteristics of physical sports, such as skill, sportsmanship, and at the highest levels, even professional sponsorship associated with physical sports.

Sports that are subjectively judged are distinct from other judged activities such as beauty pageants and bodybuilding shows, because in the former the activity performed is the primary focus of evaluation, rather than the physical attributes of the contestant as in the latter (although "presentation" or "presence" may also be judged in both activities).

Sports are most often played just for fun or for the simple fact that people need exercise to stay in good physical condition.

Although they do not always succeed, sports participants are expected to display good sportsmanship, standards of conduct such as being respectful of opponents and officials, and congratulating the winner when losing.

Venus battles back from the brink

Third seed Venus Williams was three points from defeat before recovering to beat Russia's Vera Dushevina in the first round of the US Open.

Williams, 29, required treatment to her left knee after just three games of the first of the night session matches.

And Dushevina, the world number 47, was close to a shock victory in game 10 of the second set before Williams came back to win 6-7 (5-7) 7-5 6-3.

Williams will face fellow American Bethanie Mattek-Sands in round two.

It was a wildly erratic performance from the former champion, who struggled especially on serve with 10 double faults and seven foot faults.

The knee was clearly an issue and she had it taped during an injury time-out early in the match.

"She played so well, moved so well and did so many things so well but I had so much help from the fans here," said Williams.

"I felt so much energy when I was serving to stay in the match in the second set. I am going to do my best to prepare for the next round."

Asked what it would take for her knee to be better for the second round, Williams said: "A lot of prayer. It's going to be a lot of prayer. Everything I can throw at it. But, you know, I'm tough."

Venus's sister, defending champion Serena Williams, earlier cruised into round two with a 6-4 6-1 win over Alexa Glatch.

The second seed raced 5-1 ahead but allowed her 19-year-old opponent to close the gap to 5-4 before serving out the first set.

Williams, 27, rallied in the second and came through to set up a meeting with Melinda Czink.

Bidding for her third Grand Slam title of 2009, a 12th in total and her fourth US Open, Serena survived a lapse in concentration midway through the first set to advance in just over an hour.

She began strongly but was broken when serving for the set at 5-2 as world number 103 Glatch settled after a nervous start.

Serena made no mistake at the second time of asking, however, and then powered through the second set.

"Ten years ago I definitely wasn't a favourite," said Williams, who won her first US Open title in 1999. "I felt like I had nothing to lose and I like that attitude.

"When you play with that attitude then you can go a really long way. That's how I would like to approach it this year."

Earlier, Kim Clijsters marked her Grand Slam return with a 6-1 6-1 thumping of Ukraine's Viktoriya Kutusova.

Former world number one Clijsters retired in 2007 and is making her first appearance in New York since winning the 2005 title.

After a two-year break, during which she got married and had her first child, she is without a ranking and gained entry to Flushing Meadows via a wildcard.

But she produced a devastating display of movement, timing and power to destroy Kutusova and looked no less dominant than in her last US Open appearance - a 6-3 6-1 victory over Mary Pierce in the 2005 final.

With five breaks of serve, the 26-year-old Belgian stormed to victory in just 54 minutes and will now play 14th seed Marion Bartoli, who thrashed Rossana De Los Rios 6-1 6-0.

"It was nice to come out here on centre court (Arthur Ashe Stadium) and open the tournament, as I didn't get to do so as defending champion a few years ago," said Clijsters.

"I'm glad I won in two sets without wasting too much energy. I had a few butterflies, more than I normally do because it was centre court and my first match back at a Grand Slam.

"Driving up here this morning, just seeing the court, the memories came back. It's a very special court to me and I really enjoyed it.

"My serve hasn't been going the way I wanted it to but today it was really good."

Elsewhere, seventh seed Vera Zvonareva beat Nuria Llagostera Vives 6-0 6-4 and eighth seed Victoria Azarenka made light work of Alexandra Dulgheru.

Azarenka has been tipped by many as an outsider for the title and the Belarusian won 6-1 6-1 to set up a second round meeting with Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, who ousted Marta Domachowska in straight sets.

Agnieszka Radwanska, the number 12 seed from Poland, saw off Patricia Mayr 6-1 6-2 and she will now play Maria Kirilenko after the unseeded Russian beat Mariya Koryttseva 6-2 6-1.

Another comfortable victor was Italy's Francesca Schiavone, the 26th seed easing to 6-1 6-2 win against Yvonne Meusburger.

But things were far tougher for 15th seed Samantha Stosur, who battled to a 6-4 4-6 6-4 victory over Ai Sugiyama of Japan.

Stosur converted seven of 13 break points and Sugiyama six of 16, but it was the Australian who prevailed to set up a second-round meeting with unseeded American Vania King.

King's passage was secured by the withdrawal of Anastasiya Yakimova when trailing 2-1 in the opening set.

"I am very happy to go through and winning was the main thing," said Stosur. "There were so many momentum changes and I got the last one.

"I will have to play better in the next round. I just don't know why this tournament has never been good to me."

Amelie Mauresmo, the 2006 champion and 14th seed, overcame Tatjana Malek 6-3 6-4 and now plays Aleksandra Wozniak, a 6-1 7-6 (9-7) victor over Laura Granville.