ASIA / PACIFIC
April 6, 2015
THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 5
U.S. first lady urges Cambodian students to seek more freedoms
EDUCATION & EMPOWERMENT. U.S. first
lady Michelle Obama nudges Savean Mao, left, a high
school student, as a gesture of encouragement, on the
outskirts of Siem Reap, Cambodia. Mrs. Obama was
in Cambodia to promote the education initiative “Let
Girls Learn,” which was launched to lift barriers that
block more than 62 million girls around the world
from attending school. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
IEM REAP, Cambodia — Michelle
Obama urged Cambodian students
to finish their education and speak
up to demand greater freedoms and more
equality on a landmark visit to a Southeast
Asian country that has been ruled by an
authoritarian strongman for decades.
The U.S. first lady’s comments did not
explicitly criticize Cambodia’s human-
rights record or its government under
Prime Minister Hun Sen. But she sent a
pointed message, one that she delivered
seated beside Hun Sen’s wife, Bun Rany.
Human-rights groups praised the
remarks as a rare foray into foreign affairs
for a first lady.
“Even though Mrs. Obama didn’t name
names, it’s more than we have heard in a
long time from a first lady on a foreign
trip,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia
director of Human Rights Watch. “Now it’s
time for President Obama to state publicly
what rights benchmarks he expects to see
from Cambodia, and press Hun Sen to
commit to it.”
Mrs. Obama wrapped up a five-day trip
to Asia last month to promote the U.S.-led
education initiative “Let Girls Learn,”
which she and the president announced in
March. The community-based program, to
be run by the Peace Corps, is meant to help
millions of girls in the developing world
stay in school and overcome economic or
cultural pressures that force many to drop
out.
“Let Girls Learn” is starting in 11
countries, including Cambodia. Mrs.
Obama’s visit followed a three-day trip to
Japan, which is helping to fund the project.
The trip gave the first lady, who
travelled without her husband, a chance to
soak up some of Asia’s rich culture. In
Japan, she visited Buddhist and Shinto
shrines, and in Cambodia she travelled to
Siem Reap, home to the famed Angkor Wat
temple complex.
S
students for state scholarships.
Mrs. Obama’s trip marks the first by a
sitting American first lady to Cambodia.
Barack Obama became the first U.S.
president to visit Cambodia in 2012, and
pressed Hun Sen in private on a variety of
human-rights and political issues during a
meeting that White House officials
described as tense.
Hun Sen is one of the world’s
longest-serving heads of state, and has
been regularly criticized by political
opponents and human-rights groups for
monopolizing power and brutally crushing
dissent. His supporters say he has helped
stabilize the country, which is still
haunted by a 1970s genocide that saw
nearly 2 million people die under the
ultra-communist Khmer Rouge regime.
During its brutal reign, the Khmer
Rouge closed schools and executed
intellectuals among its many victims.
Foreign aid and investment have helped
the economy grow rapidly in the past
decade, but the education system and
overall development remain stunted.
Even today, most Cambodian children
drop out of school. According to 2014
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At a high school outside of Siem Reap,
Mrs. Obama greeted students with a
traditional gesture of hands pressed
together and a head bow. She walked the
compound’s dirt paths and then met with
10 girls who shared tales of rising early to
feed their families and help with farming
before heading off on long treks to school
and studying late into the night.
“You are role models to the world,” said
Mrs. Obama, seated on a wooden school
chair beside the students and Cambodia’s
first lady. Education brings empower-
ment, she added, and urged the teens to
“finish your education and then follow
your dreams.”
“Use your voices to advocate for good
things — whether it’s more education,
better healthcare, more freedoms, more
equality,” she said. “Not just here in
Cambodia, not just here in Siem Reap, but
in the world. I hope that you all will feel
empowered to do that.”
As Mrs. Obama spoke, Bun Rany smiled
and made no comment. However, she
expressed Cambodia’s “full support” for
the education initiative, and said the
government was giving priority to female
statistics from the Education Ministry, 95
percent of children enter primary school,
but only 20 percent finish secondary
school.
Poverty is the main problem, especially
in rural areas, where families can’t afford
the minimal costs of education and keep
children home to help support the family,
according to UNICEF.
Cambodia’s problems with child prosti-
tution, child labor, and human trafficking
also play a role, and often target girls.
After meeting students, Mrs. Obama
spoke to a group of U.S. Peace Corps
volunteers who will be running the global
project and called on them to share
American values with their students.
“Values like equality, inclusiveness,
fairness, openness ... aren’t just American
values, we know this. They are universal
human values,” she said. “When girls get
educated, when they learn to read and
write and think, that gives them the tools
to speak up and talk about injustice and
demand equal treatment. It helps them
participate in the political life of their
country
and
hold
their
leaders
accountable.”
To wrap up the day, the first lady
changed into casual clothes, sneakers, and
sunglasses and toured Angkor Wat,
Cambodia’s grandest monument, built in
the 12th century by the Khmer empire.
A tour guide led her to one of the area’s
popular photo stops, where the temple’s
iconic towers are mirrored in a reflecting
pool.
“It’s beautiful,” Mrs. Obama said. “It’s
amazing.”
Associated Press writer Sopheng
Cheang contributed to this report.
Spri
n
By Jocelyn Gecker
The Associated Press
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