28/12/2009
By ANGELA CROMPTON
The Marlborough Express (New Zealand)
Marlborough will always be a place of treasured memories for Cambodian couple Phirum and Sokphal Keo.
Blenheim was their home from 1987 until 2006, but now they are back in Cambodia, determined to help rebuild it after the "killing fields" days of the Pol Pot regime.
Speaking in Blenheim last week before flying to Dunedin on the last leg of a three-week holiday, Mr and Mrs Keo said they originally came to New Zealand as refugees. Mr Keo arrived in 1979 after stowing away in a Red Cross plane; his wife in 1980 after fleeing Cambodia on foot to Thailand with her family.
Their first New Zealand base was Dunedin and it was at an English language class at the polytechnic where they met and fell in love. Marrying and moving to Blenheim, they ran a takeaway business on Grove Rd and raised two children, Patrick and Emily. Both are now grown and living in Wellington and it was Emily's graduation from Victoria University that brought them back to New Zealand this time.
While staying for a few days in Blenheim with Mrs Keo's sister Synath Heng, the couple caught up with former colleagues. Mr Keo went to his old golf club, met long-time friend mayor Alistair Sowman and talked with Kaikoura MP Colin King and his predecessor, Linda Scott.
Mr Keo was an active member of the National Party while living in Blenheim, and in latter years was treasurer for its Kaikoura office. He now belongs to the National Party equivalent in Cambodia, the opposition Sam Rainsy party.
The ruling government had all the right principles on paper, Mr Keo said, but corruption remained rife in Cambodia.
He said the prime minister had too much power and even the banks and the court system lacked any real autonomy.
Life in New Zealand had taught the Keos that freedom of speech and people looking after one another make communities strong.
Following the mass executions during the Pol Pot regime, many Cambodians just want to look after themselves. But Mr Keo remains positive that good changes will happen and identifies "justice and education" as the keys.
Children in many areas have substandard education because their schools have no teachers.
"They don't get paid, so they turn up for a couple of hours, then go off and do something else to make money.
"If you want your child to have an education, you send them to a private school. Poor people can't afford that – and if you aren't corrupt, you can't make enough money."
The Keos said they themselves made "just enough to survive", but had no thoughts of living in New Zealand again.
"What we learned from this country is a lot of positive thinking that we can take to Cambodia to teach people," Mr Keo said.
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