FEB 2011
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First Swedish Ambassador to Cambodia ScandAsia.dk
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Coming Events SSM Family Fun - Kids Pizza Party Date: 12 Feb 2011 Location: Nerofico, Bukit Damansara
Your FREE ScandAsia Magazine ScandAsia is the only magazine that covers all the Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish residents in South East Asia. We also publish a ScandAsia magazine in China, Thailand, and Singapore.
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The Scandinavian Society Malaysia will host the Family Fun Party on 12 February 2011. The party will start at 11.30 am. Spend a family day where the kids will make their own pizza plus half a dozen mini dishes dessert and free flow of mineral water while the parents enjoy a delicious Italian lunch and imported wine. Pizza making is limited to 16 children, from age 6 and up. Register only by email to birgittefrier@gmail. com. Please note that first come, first served basis!
EuroCham Annual General Meeting Date: 3 Mar 2011 Location: HCMC and Hanoi,Vietnam As every year, the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam AGM is held to share with their members on their activities, achievements and plans and to elect a new Executive Committee representing their business interest and raising the members’ voice for the year 2011-2012. Stay tune at http://www.eurochamvn.org.
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B2B Textile and Garment Delegation in Vietnam 2011
Piyanan Kalikanon piyanan@scandmedia.com
Date: 28 Mar - 2 Apr 2011
Nattapat Maesang nattapat@scandmedia.com
The Embassy of Denmark in Vietnam invites Danish companies in the sector of textiles and garments to participate in a delegation in Vietnam from 28 March to 2 April 2011. A business trip for knowledge-sharing will be organized to provide sector highlights and give Danish and Vietnamese companies the opportunity to exchange information and ideas concerning the development of the textiles and garments industries of the two countries. Subsequently, the delegates will be joining a TechChange with Vietnamese companies in their respective sectors, meaning a good starting point for further exploration of the Vietnamese market. Deadline of sending application to the B2B programme is no later than Monday the 28th February 2011. Contact the B2B programme: Mrs. Le Thi Thanh Loan, Email: thaloa@um.dk. Tel: +84-4-38231888 Ext. 131/Mobile: +84912286268. http://www.b2bprogramme.com.
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The Nordic Club Jakarta Annual General Meeting Date: 28 Apr 2011 The Nordic Club Jakarta will have the Annual General Meeting together with coffee morning on 28 April 2011. It will be a forum for people from the Nordic Countries to connect their friendship and join fun activity with your friends. The venue will be announced shortly at http://www.nordicclubjakarta.org/ or inquiries please contact the president at president@nordicclubjakarta.org.
Can Can & Michael Jackson
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ome 190 happy Scandinavians participated and enjoyed the food at the Great Nordcham Christmas Party in HCMC on Saturday night the 3 December 2010. The event was sponsored by Jyske Bank and the food was prepared under the guidance of Henrik Boserup, author, lecturer, and one of Denmark’s most famous chefs. Boserup was an active participant in the party and served personally the Norwegian linjeakvavit for all the guests. During the dinner a group of girls danced Can-Can and later entertained in a dance show dressed as Michael Jackson. “Heering, pork meatballs. It is all there. I hope you enjoy the food,” Henrik Boserup told the participants adding that he had not cooked much himself, but mostly conducted the many talented chefs in the kitchen of Equatorial Hotel, situated in the heart of HCMC.
By Indius Pedersen, Jutland Press Photos by Disraporn Yatprom
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1. The Norwegian priest talked about the meaning of Christmas. 2. Nordcham Chairman Sigmund Stroemme talked about the meaning of Linie akvavit. 3. The young dancers impersonated Michael Jackson. 4. John Rockhold of Carl Bro got a warm hug. 5. Hi Mum! 6. Soeren Nielsen of Jyske Bank - main sponsor of the evening - was seated in the middle at the head table. To the right is Nordcham Vice Chairman Søren Juelsbak.. 7. Ms. Mai Phan and Ms. Anh Le of Jutland Press enjoyed the evening. 8. Celebrity Chef Henrik Boserup helped the youngest poarticipant to some of his Christmas delicacies. 9. Sigmund Stroemme conducted the auction. 10-11 Happy winners of some of the items up for auctioning. 12. Lars Wendelbo and Søren Juelsbak, Nordcham Vice Chairman and Head of the Baluteer in Saigon enjoyed the party 13. Guests enjoying the event.
Scandinavian Ideas and Initiatives Benefit Expatriates in Hanoi By Anh Le
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3. Norwegian stall 4. Commercial Table of Song 5. From the left: Enzo Filoni, Kristian Dahl, Susanne Jepsen, Urzi Filoni at ther Danish stall
6. Swedish stall with Coordinator Eva Borchgrevink, Anne McElroy & Ruth Clewett, 7. Charity Tables Coordinators at the Charity making Dreams Come
True’s tent. 8. Finlands stall was well staffed.
golf and tennis are also available; for Hanoi’s newcomers, HIWC offers a lot.
responsibility of each field, for instance, there is one coordinator to take care of the organization of the club, one for the magazine, one for the membership, etc. The club has throughout many years been a place for expatriate women meeting and establishing a strong network. The club has a lot to offer also for those who has been in Hanoi for several years. Ms Merete Dahl from Denmark tells about her relation to HIWC: “Even though I have been an expatriate as well as a member of the club for three years, I still think I can gain a lot from the club,” she says. “It remains a pleasure to join the club’s luncheon or coffee morning and say “hello” to new members. Merete is actively joining the club as a web coordinator. Scandinavian people are well-represented. It can be due to the Scandinavian socio-culture that they always participate actively in the society. Many positions on the HIWC’s board are filled by Scandinavian and they will normally be there until they no longer stay in the country.
1. Alfred Poulsen and Christian Jensen as the pirates with the Danish stall in the background 2. Ruben Lykkegren at the Danish stall
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t is not easy to be a foreigner living in a country with a totally different culture. This is where Hanoi International Women Club (HIWC) makes a big difference as a gateway to the integration in Vietnam. The goal of the club is to provide the expatriate women a better quality of living in Hanoi, which makes them feel at home and welcomed when they have to stay in the country. People can share their different findings, just from where to buy a blue cheese to how to get around the city most conveniently. Hanoi International Women Club was founded in 1986 by a group of about 30 diplomatic women in Hanoi. The number of member increases gradually as more expatriates are coming to Hanoi and today the club has about 250 members from more than 40 countries, 25 of which are Scandinavian. The club provides its members with many monthly arrangements such as coffee morning, newcomers welcome, helping hand and cocktail evening and also Luncheon four times a year. Outdoor activities like
Charity Bazaar The biggest event of the club is the Charity Bazaar, which is held once a year in the last Sunday of November. The participants are divided in five main groups: country table, corporate sponsor, commercial table, charity table and visitors. The income of the bazaar mainly comes from the Country table group, which is representative of different countries paying for a stall to sell their traditional food and stuff. Through the bazaar, the club has been able to bring together different cultures and show its diversity. All the proceeds of the bazaar are used for charity purpose such as supporting aid projects, helping disadvantaged women and children in primary Northern Vietnam. The profit from last year has, for example, been used to support the eye operation. The HIWC is being run by the effort from many voluntary coordinators. The coordinators arrange the activities and have their own
Facts HIWC started in 1986, 25 years anniversary in 2011. 250 members from 45-50 countries, 25 of this is Scandinavian countries Monthly arrangements: Coffee mornings, newcomers welcome, helping hand and cocktail evenings + 4 luncheons yearly. Outdoor activity like golf, tennis, mahjong, cooking classes, book clubs etc. HIWC is managed by a board of 14 coordinators, each has its own field of responsibility Charity Bazaar every year Charity Projects is running by the Community Aid Commitee CAC.
February 2011 • ScandAsia.South East Asia
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ScandAsia News Brief Philippines Peace Talks to Resume
30 years with the Finnish Embassy
Luis Jalandoni, chief negotiator of the Communist Party of the Philippines, speaks during a media forum in 2004 in Manila
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hilippines peace talks expected to resume in February 2011 in Oslo, Norway, have been boosted by the Philippines government’s recent release of 43 alleged insur-
gents. “The release of the prisoners means formal discussions will go ahead sometime in February in Oslo, Norway,” the UPI quotes the Communist Party. “The Communist Party of the Philippines today welcomed President Benigno Aquino’s order for the Department of Justice to withdraw charges against the Morong 43 as a boost of goodwill for the forthcoming resumption of peace negotiations,” a party statement said. Earlier in this month, two days of exploratory talks were conducted in Hong Kong between the Philippines government and communist-led groups with the aim to restart formal peace negotiations. Formal talks with the government were suspended in 2004 when the National Democratic Front, an umbrella group of leftist organizations including the CPP, walked out of negotiations.
aria Rode celebrated on Wednesday 15 December her 30 year anniversary working at the Finnish Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. When starting at the embassy, she was only 25 years old and had just gotten married. “Since then, she has gradually become the pillar of the embassy that ensures the continuity of the work even when the embassy’s Finnish staff changes,” writes Anne Mutanen in an portrait on the Embassy’s website on the happy occasion. “Indeed, during her career she has witnessed so many staff changes that she cannot even count them all. Even so, she still remembers all the names and faces of the people she has worked with during the years. Instead of the calendar, when looking back, she uses the different ambassadors to measure the time. In total, she has been working for seven different Finnish ambassadors and two charges d’affaires,” Anne Mutanen writes. The portrait of the wellknown person recalls, that when Maria Rode in 1980 began her work at the embassy, it was only eight years since Finland and Malaysia had established their diplomatic ties in 1972. It still took another eight years before the embassy got its first ambassador. “Since then, the embassy has moved several times but Maria hopes that it will not do so any time soon because she is very fond of the current location in Wisma Chinese Chamber on Jalan Ampang.” Maria Rode was five years ago awarded the Order of the White Rose of Finland with golden cross to commemorate her 25 year career at the embassy. According to the article, Maria Rode has one wish that is still not fulfilled. “Maria’s biggest wish is to get to see Finland, the country she has been serving for so long, covered in fresh white snow.”
Three Million Kroner to Children in the Philippines
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tairway Denmark, an organisation working with sexually abused children in the Philippines, have been granted three million DKK to continue and improve their work. “This is the largest amount we have ever received and it will make Stairway able to move up to an entirely different level in the work we are doing,” says President of Stairway Denmark, Søren H. Sørensen. The project builds on the work Stairway has been doing over the last ten years on the prevention of
8 ScandAsia.South East Asia • February 2011
sexual abuse of children. As part of the project, Stairway Foundation Inc will over the next five years train at least 48 other child care centres across the Philippines in handling the abuse cases. The 48 partners works in each of their own communities with prevention, education, training and further spread of knowledge and methods in close collaboration with the local police and social services. Moreover, building an active network of organizations working with the problem.
Confidence in the Ca
Anne Höglund, the first Swedish Ambassador to Cambodia, has had Cambodia on her agenda since 2003. And she has a huge confidence in the country’s helpful and hard working population. The Asian Kingdom is going trough a remarkable development and she will do what she can to to make the Swedish share of that process as big as possible. By Bjarne Wildau
10 ScandAsia.South East Asia • February 2011
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he Swedish Development Cooperation Section in Phnom Penh was upgraded to an Embassy in August 2010. Sweden thus became the first Scandinavian country to appoint an Ambassador to Cambodia, Anne Höglund, who arrived in August 4. 2010. “Sweden has been cooperating with Cambodia in development matters for many years through the Sida Representations Office in Phnom Penh. You can say it worked well. But one thing is to work trough development projects. Another thing is to hold political discussions on a frequent basis. Things are changing in Cambodia. It is now one of the fastest growing countries in the Far East,” says Anne Höglund.
And she continues: “Following the development in Cambodia the Swedish government saw an increasing need for further diplomatic connections between Sweden and Cambodia. The Representations office carried its own limitations. Sweden wanted political access to the government of Cambodia. And the Swedish Business world also expressed desires to get a stronger Swedish representation in Cambodia,” Ambassador Anne Höglund explains.
Ericsson and H&M Companies like Ericsson, Hennes and Mauritz, and TeliaSonera are already active in Cambodia, but many more could try their luck there. Despite the new status as an
ambodian People We have so many Swedish companies in commercial centers like Singapore, Bangkok and Hong Kong. Those companies have many possibilities in developing business in Cambodia. We just have to get their focus towards Cambodia Embassy SIDA still has a lot to say to say about the daily running of the Embassy. “The Embassy will be administrated by SIDA until 2012. And we will get commercial support from Swedish Trade Council in Thailand to help us with that part of the upgrading of the Swedish Representation Office in Phnom Penh”. So why did the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs choose Anne Höglund as Sweden’s and Scandinavia’s first ambassador to Cambodia? The 50 year old Swedish mother of three children has a master degree in Political science, Social Anthropology, and Economic History, speaks English, Spanish, Italian and French. The latter could be useful in the former French colony.
20 years at the Ministry She has been serving at the ministry for foreign affairs more than 20 years. Since 2003 at the Depart-
ment for Asia and the Pacific. From 2006 as its deputy director. She had visited Cambodia twice before her posting. “I was here first time in 2008. I won’t say I got a big impression of the country. The entire visit lasted less than 40 hours and I never got out of Phnom Penh,” the newly appointed ambassador is laughing. Next time was in June 2010. Maybe the appointment as an ambassador was already in the cards at that time. At least she got a much deeper knowledge of the Kingdom that time. “We were here to discuss a new country strategy for development with our Cambodian counterpart and the government. That time I got out of Phnom Penh and I saw the huge contrast between the capital and the countryside. But of course you se that al over the world. The difference between the more developed capitals and the rural areas limping behind”.
Amazed and impressed During that stay Anne Höglund was amazed and impressed by the friendliness she met everywhere in Cambodia. “The Khmer people are extremely helpful and hard working. And I have a lot of confidence in the Khmer people. They have a lot of will and energy to progress,” says the Swedish Ambassador, who is the only addition of staff after Sida Representations Office in Phnom Penh was upgraded to an Embassy. The commercial side of the Embassy is where you will se the biggest changes from representations office to Embassy.
Luckily she can draw on the highly experienced Swedish Trade Council in Bangkok to promote trade between Sweden and Cambodia.
Import and export “The trade between Sweden and Cambodia is still limited but there is potential for an increase. In 2008 the Swedish export to Cambodia was approximately 53,1 million SEK and the import from Cambodia approximately 145,2 million SEK. The Swedish import is dominated by garments and shoes and the Swedish export by telecom,” the ambassador explains. And she has a clear idea about from where the improvement of the Swedish activities shall come from. “We have so many Swedish companies in commercial centers like Singapore, Bangkok and Hong Kong. Those companies have many possibilities in developing business in Cambodia. We just have to get their focus towards Cambodia”.
Consular services If we make a check up on the consular service, where Sweden is far behind Norway and Denmark, Swedish nationals still have to count a lot on the Swedish Embassy in Bangkok and their own abilities to travel to Bangkok, if they have to apply for a new passport. “It will take some time, before we can issue regular passports here in Phnom Penh. What we can do is to help countrymen in urgent matters. Within an hour or so, they can obtain an emergency passport valid to help them back to Sweden”, ex-
Guan Gong
plains Anne Höglund, who among all her new duties, got the challenge to find a new location to the new Embassy.
Looking for a better location The Swedish Embassy is located on the second floor in the same building as the Danish representation office which is also acting as a Norwegian General Consulate. The Danes occupy the ground floor. “We surely need to get away from here. The building is too old and far too small. So we are looking around for something newer and better. We haven’t decided on anything yet but for sure we will move from here in 2011”. Anne Höglund arrived here the 4. of August. It’s a little too early, but the youngest and the oldest of her children had to join their new school from the start of the new semester. Back in Sweden, Anne Höglund 15 year old son and her husband are still waiting. “We are also working on that. Hopefully my son and my husband can join the rest of us in 2011. It will not be easy for my husband, he is working in the pacemaker industry, I am afraid it’s a little too early for that industry in Cambodia right now. So my husband has to find something different. Let’s see. We all hope the best,” Anne Höglund is laughing once again.
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February 2011 • ScandAsia.South East Asia
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Eleven Good Years in
I Actually, we have no plans of going back to Denmark again. I’m enjoying my life fully at the time, we are enjoying the diversity and possibilities here, but of course you always develop new interests
Erik Lund is the Danish General Manager behind the successful Sunquick product line manufactured by Barkath Co-Ro in Butterworth. By Søren Lykke Bülow
12 ScandAsia.South East Asia • February 2011
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o far, it has been eleven good years. That is how Erik Lund describes his time in Malaysia. He lives on the island of Penang, close to the Thai-Malaysian border, together with his Danish wife and one of their three kids. On the mainland, in the city of Butterworth, he is General Manager of Barkath Co-Ro, the company that produces the well-known fruit-drink Sunquick. ”In the beginning Sunquick was seen as a typical Ramadan product, a product that celebrates the end of the fast,” Erik explains about the immediate success that Sunquick had when it was introduced in Malaysia 40 years ago. The company had to crack the nut and make Sunquick an everyday product. ”We started up some extremely intense campaigns where we for instance gave away free stuff – like drinking bottles. This paid off, and now we are an all-year product.” ”Sunquick is known as a high quality product, and that has a lot to do with it as well,” Erik explains.
Long CO-RO history Barkath Co-Ro is a joint venture of equal shareholding established in 1992 between the Malaysian company Kumpulan Barkath Sdn. Bhd. and the Danish Co_Ro Food A/S. Apart from Malaysia, Sunquick is manufactured in 17 countries and sold in 105 countries. ”One of the reasons for the success is the diversity of Sunquick. It is used not only for drinking. It is also used in cooking food, the lemon flavour is for instance popularly used in the ‘lemon chicken’ dish, and it is also used for ice cream and cakes,” Erik explains. Barkath Co-Ro has also achieved some big awards for its presence and work in Malaysia. The one, Erik Lund is most proud of, is the 2003 National Productivity Award. But Barkath Co-Ro has also entered the ‘Enterprise 50’ as the 27th best company in Malaysia and the Best Joint Venture Award, which was handed over by Malaysia’s Prime Minister. The management of the company has also received prizes for
Malaysia among others its team building efforts at the Malaysian based factory. ”Our factory is running on team spirit, and we have done a lot to gather groups here. This has made it easier to deploy different optimization initiatives,” Erik says. For instance, everyone in the production facility have been given Truck Certificates. This has made each employee less dependent on specific staff. The staff in the warehouse and maintenance has also been instructed to run the machines. This means that they can succeed during breaks and when there is a shortage of staff. ”This optimizes our process much more. We reach some goals we never would have been able to, if we didn’t optimize,” says Erik.
Annual team building Once every year, Erik brings his team on a team building course. This has had a clear effect on the staff. According to him, one of the best trips were when they climbed Mount Kinabalu, the tallest mountain in Malaysia. ”People trained for eight months in advance, and we had a training session on each Saturday. Except for two persons, everyone participated. It led to courage and a better team spirit,” Erik says. At another point, Erik wanted them to learn snorkeling. Something that tourists always do, but at the same time a thing, no member of the staff had ever tried. Once again, it happened over a period of time, starting with basic training in a swimming pool and ending up with a regular team building course on the east coast. ”It’s all about getting them to break some boundaries,” says Erik. ”They are absolutely terrified at the beginning, but still it creates a great feeling of unity, and it creates a feeling of achieving something. This, I believe, has really affected the entire factory.”
three years old when the family left Denmark in 1999. He has been brought up in Malaysia, but will move to Denmark next summer to be part of a football camp and live at a boarding school. And although it is now 11 years since Erik left Denmark, he is not acting completely as a native Malaysian. ”In the beginning I learned quite a lot Bahasa Malay, but I must – with shame – say that I can’t speak it. I never use it, because at the factory everyone speaks English, and between friends it’s always Danish or English. So I have quietly forgotten it,” he says. tomers,” he says. ”We were not hit by the global economic crisis. Sunquick is a product many people switch to when money is low. Instead of buying ready-to-drinks like Coca-Cola, it is cheaper with Sunquick.” ”Actually, we often see prosperity when crisis hits,” he states.
From good to great The 57-year-old Erik Lund started his career with Ro-Ro in 1982 as a Chief Engineer at the company’s factory in Saudi Arabia. After four years there, Erik came to the Danish headquarters, where he among other things worked as head of productions, head of packaging and ended up as Project Manager abroad, which fitted in perfectly
with the possibilities of getting the job in Malaysia. It might seem as quite a big jump to move from Denmark to Malaysia. But for Erik Lund it was not that big a problem. ”I think that when you already have been posted far away once, you and your family have already reflected upon many of the things that need to be considered,” says Eric. ”Of course, your family has to be willing to make that offer and move with you, but my wife and I agreed that it would be exciting to try. Besides, two of our children were of an age where they would be moving away from home,” he says about his now 32-year-old daughter and 30-year-old son. Their youngest son was only
Whatever the future brings Erik Lund is currently living a good life, but at the age of 57 he knows that job wise it might very soon be his last chance to try something new. He has no plans of changing the current situation though. ”Actually, we have no plans of going back to Denmark again. I’m enjoying my life fully at the time, we are enjoying the diversity and possibilities here, but of course you always develop new interests,” he says. ”For now I have chosen to engage myself in the board duties of the Chamber of Commerce down here. You get very useful information and excellent opportunities for networking there.”
Keeping costs low ”We have a tight organisation in the factory, we are only 43 people here in Butterworth,” says Erik. ”Because we can run with such a narrow organisation, we can also keep our prices low. Our fixed costs are at a relatively low level. This is important - for us as well as our cusFebruary 2011 • ScandAsia.South East Asia
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Psychiatry in Cambodia Ka Sunbaunat og Edvard Hauff in front of photographs of victims of the Khmer Rouge regime which remains a collective trauma for the Cambodian people.
Fifteen years ago, Norwegian psychiatry professor Edvard Hauff went on a home visit in a rural area of the traumatized Cambodia where the son was possessed by an evil spirit. Text and photos by Fridtjof Morten Jonassen
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nside the hut, Edvard Hauff found a teenage boy with ball and chain around his legs. The boy had been acting strange over a long period of time; he was constantly exhilarated, saw bizarre things and played the guitar and sang songs without breaks. The mother was on the ground crying and the boy’s sisters had left ashamed of the brother’s behavior. They were all convinced that the boy was possessed by evil spirits and, therefore, considered to commit collective suicide. In a culture where it’s all about presenting a
blameless appearance, this was truly a disaster. However, Hauff recognized the boy’s behavior as a manic psychosis and gave him some psycho pharmaceuticals. Only months after Hauff’s visit, the young man was fit as ever and had even opened his own stall in the village. “It is experiences like that, which makes it meaningful and fulfilling to work with psychiatry in this country,” says Hauff. But how did a psychiatry professor from Ulleval in Norway find his way to the rural areas of Asia’s backyard? I meet Edward Hauff at the medical faculty in Phnom Penh, where he is invited to be an external examiner for the senior students, who for the last three years have specialized in psychiatry. Apparently Hauff is a star within the field of psychiatry in Cambodia. “My good friend Edvard is the father of psychiatry here in Cambodia,” explains professor and Dean Ka Sunbaunat, and continues: “Our traumatized people had until a few years ago no chance of receiving psychiatric treatment. Thanks to Edvard, modern treatment has become available throughout the entire country.”
Rigid examiner The stress level for the already nervous students isn’t exactly reduced
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Founded by Norwegian a previous life are the reason you have problems in your current life; because of a violent past it is a continued post traumatic disorder. “We find plenty of useful references from Buddhism, which we use in psychiatric knowledge acquisition and therapy. We focus on the messages of the religion; about true understanding, the right way of thinking, and about what can cause such disorders. On the other hand the idea of Buddhism, of karma, can seem passive if you believe that most of your life is already decided by faith.”
Medicine is dispensed by the polyclinic in the morning. The products used are all well-known and clinically well tested. The bars are a safety precaution. when they are told that the professor from “the North Pole” is going to be their examiner. Not only is he half a meter taller than most people in Cambodia, last year he failed several students. “What did your patient experience during the period of the Khmer Rouge?” Hauff asks the last of the students to be axamined that day. Mak Raveang humiliatingly admits that she had forgotten to ask that particular question. On the other hand, she satisfactorily accounts for potential diagnoses and possible treatments, and, thus, passes. “Congratulations! You are now Cambodia’s 38th specialist in psychiatry,” Hauff says. “But remember to ask your elderly patients this. Some were inflicted great physical and psychological traumas during Pol Pot,” adds Hauff.
Royal Blessing Not until the middle of the 90’s did doctors of Cambodia get the opportunity to specialize within the field of psychiatry. Edvard Hauff has been instrumental in providing this education. Cambodia now has 38 psychiatrists spread across the country’s poly clinics. Dr. Sunbaunat, who was among the first group of educated psychiatrists, makes it clear that without the effort of Edvard, things wouldn’t have been so successful. Initially, the program was financed by Norway. Today, the national health department has taken over the responsibilities. But at the faculty in Phnom Penh, they believe that it is still very important that external professionals contribute in raising the standard.
Traumatized history Professor Ka Sunbaunat is one of the victims of the Khmer Rouge. He lost most of his family during the horrible years from 1975 to 1979 but luckily he survived. One of his brothers was tortured to death simply because he had eaten fallen
Laos is next fruit, which he had found on the ground. Like many others Sunbaunat was sent to the countryside in order to work in the rice fields under inhuman conditions. After Cambodia was freed by Vietnam, Sunbaunat’s first thought was that revenge wouldn’t heal him. Instead he decided to become a psychiatrist in order to help other people. He has no problems treating former Khmer Rouge supporters. During the trial against those guilty of the atrocities, Sunbaunat was responsible for the psychiatric observation of the main suspect “Duch” of the Toul Sleng prison. But personally he has no faith in the ongoing process: “The trial won’t cure the distress of the people nor hinder that something like it will ever happen again. At worst, it will have a negative effect if people won’t find the conviction to be righteous,” Sunbaunat says.
Ball and Chain and Bamboo cages Previously there was a great risk that mentally ill patients would be put in bamboo cages or put in ball and chain. Especially psychotic patients were mistreated. “Only 13 years ago, I heard about a schizophrenic man, who was trampled to death by a monk who was trying to exorcize evil spirits,” Sunbaunat tells. Traditional healers hit patients or inflicted facial bruises with hot steam. Today, the offer of modern treatment is well-known in all of Cambodia, which means that families bring their sick family members
to the poly clinics. The biggest poly clinic in the country is in Phnom Penh, which daily receives about 300 patients. The hospital was once built with support from the Soviet Union. Patients and their families are waiting in cool corridors with palm leaves poking through holes in the walls where there should have been windows. A psychotic and anxious young man is held tightly by a fellow patient. Monks and pregnant women are first in line. “Although we’re short of time and everything happens a bit fast, the accuracy of the diagnoses and treatments are good enough,” Hauff says. The amount of cases of depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder is about the same as in the West. Common issues are young psychotic men from small villages in the rural areas and depressed middle aged women from the city. A consultation is 2 US dollars while the medicine is free. The drugs that are used have long been on the market such as lithium, which is used when a patient needs to be treated for bipolar disorder and Haldol, which is used to treat psychotic illnesses.
The training and educational program has become internationally acclaimed. The World Health Organization and the national health department in Laos currently wish to establish something like the success of Cambodia in its even poorer neighboring country of Laos. Colleagues Hauff and Sunbaunat have already started planning.
Psychiatry in a culture of Buddhism Hauff believes that important symptoms are the same regardless of one’s culture. However, the way symptoms are construed and descriptions of such vary. Delusions can be interpreted differently and in the Buddhism culture you are most likely to believe that atrocities in February 2011 • ScandAsia.South East Asia
15
Aava Resort & Spa Ready to Roll The high season in Thailand is fully flowing, and the same goes for Finnish resort, Aava Resort & Spa in Khanom. The new resort was fully booked since December 13th and the owners Kati Häkkinen and Atte Savisalo will be busy for months to come. By Søren Lykke Bülow
K
ati Häkkinen and Atte Savisalo are currently enjoying their lives in Khanom, on the main land close to Koh Samui in the south-eastern part of Thailand. In September, their new resort, Aava Resort & Spa, celebrated its Grand Opening, and now the Finnish couple for the first time are facing the challenges of Thailand’s high season. ”Right now it’s going pretty well. Khanom was affected by all the floods in the autumn, and our basement was destroyed because of the water. We lost our server, had some electricity black outs and such things. But we were soon up and running again,” Kati Häkkinen says.
Positive reactions Aava Resort & Spa has actually had visitors since December 2009, although it didn’t inaugurate officially before February 2010. The visitors,
who have stayed at the resort so far, have mostly left the place with great satisfaction, says Kati. ”98 percent of the customers have seemed very happy about Aava Resort & Spa,” says Kati based on feedback from her guests. She sees another type of customer going to Khanom than for instance to Koh Samui. ”Most of the people who come here have already travelled a lot in Thailand. They have seen most of the tourist places, and now they are looking for a more relaxed area, and in that sense Khanom is a bit of a paradise.” The Finns have all-in-all found a place where not many foreigners normally go, but in an area that has great potential. ”The Khanom area is simply wonderful. When you look around in the area there is just such an abundance of beautiful beaches, and as it turns out, more and more
people ask for prices of land here,” Kati says.
Quickly attractive The minimalistic Avaa Resort & Spa has quickly become a success in Khanom, and with fully booked rooms, interest has been growing increasingly and fast. ”We have been mentioned in media all over the world which has been great for us. But one of the important ways for us to promote ourselves is by promoting Khanom. We never promote only Aava Resort & Spa,” Kati says. ”That is because Khanom is such a different place from most of the places that the tourists normally go to. If we only promote only Aava Resort & Spa, then a customer might think that they might arrive at a place like Phuket or Hua Hin. So our focus is on the area, the beauty and how natural Khanom is,” she explains as one of the reason for the success.
Co-watching the area Kati Häkkinen emphasises the area’s ability to always think of what is best for the surroundings as an important part in the development of Khanom. ”The local community really follows the instructions and regulations put in place here. The society is waiting for the development of Khanom, but everyone is focused on not ending up as Koh Samui for instance,” she says. ”Khanom people are proud of the area, and there is a mutual respect around here,” Kati mentions 16 ScandAsia.South East Asia • February 2011
as one of the important reasons that Khanom will keep its spirit and not ‘sell-out’ too much to tourism. She believes that people in Khanom have learned a lot from Koh Samui, where the development suddenly took a ‘wrong turn’, as she calls it. The population of Khanom is really focused on the originality and quality of the area. The feeling is that the local population will not succome to modern mass tourism.
The high season The first really challenging tasks for Kati and Atte has been the high season that started before Christmas and continues long into the spring. ”We have high hopes for the high season. We were fully booked from 13th of December and all the way until the 15th of January. Then we had a few weeks off with some rooms left, and the we are fully booked again for the rest of February. It looks very good for us,” Kati says. The customers are not only from Finland. Many different nationalities come by. ”We have had many Thai companies coming and, as it turns out, many Thai families do trips in the weekends, so we have had a lot of Thai customers. But now we are in the season, where many Scandinavians will come.” ”Around Christmas time, 98 percent of our customers were Finns, but the rest of the time it is a mix of all types of people,” says Kati Häkkinen.
Staffen Herrström’s Time Cut Short while the consulate and the trade council in Ho Chi Minh City will not be influenced by the budget cut.
Frustrations
Staffen Herrström, newly appointed Ambassador of Sweden to Vietnam, is frustrated that his embassy will be closed down. By Anh Le
F
our months working in Vietnam as ambassador is a short time, but Staffen Herrström, newly appointed Ambassador of Sweden to Vietnam, has already gained a lot of popularity among Vietnamese inside and outside of Vietnam. With his enthusiasm and vast experience from his previous positions as a politician, state secretary, deputy director general for the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and ambassador to Tanzania, it did not take him long time to take control of his new posting as ambassador of Sweden to Vietnam. Then suddenly came the surprising message that the government had decided to close down the embassy. The closure will take place in the second half of this year,
Staffen Herrström came to Vietnam together with his wife, Karin Herrström and their two daughters; Sofia and Amanda in September 2010. The Ambassador has so far enjoyed his stay in Vietnam where all of his thought are centered around the staff and the work. It frustrates him that he will have such a short time together with his staff and that many of the things he had planned to do will now not be possible to carry out. Among other things projects related to children rights and the rights of lesbian and gay people. “I would have liked to put more effort into the issues around children’s rights not to suffer from violence and domestic abuse and the issue of the rights of the lesbian and gay people,” he says regretfully. He also regrets that he will not be available for the many Swedish companies in Vietnam if they should need his assistance in the coming years. This prominent presence of Swedish companies in Vietnam is something that makes him feel proud as a Swede. “We have many great companies here. Take Ericsson, Oriflame, Ikea ect and they take care of social responsibility for the workers and introduce green solutions.”
He has no doubt that the presence of Swedish companies in Vietnam and their working concept make the Vietnamese companies more competitive.
Alternative ways The presence of the Swedish embassy in Hanoi as well as the many Swedes and Swedish companies in Vietnam has somehow become a matter of course as Vietnam has such a good and long-term relationship with Sweden. “There are so many Swedes here that are really close to Vietnam, not just foreigners coming and going, but really at home here, - and there are so many Vietnamese seeing the relationship to Sweden as in a category of its own.” “It is important that we find alternative ways to nurture and to build something that can keep this special relationship.” “During the coming months we will explore alternative forms for representation. Should there be a consulate in Hanoi or not is something we need to find out very soon,” Staffen Herrström says. When he heard the bad news, his first thoughts were about his staff. How would they be doing then and how would their future be affected? “I will do everything possible to take care of my staff and to maintain the relations with Vietnam during the time remaining for me in Hanoi,” he says.
LAND FOR SALE Lot FP 91 in Emville Golf Resort Size of lot 9800 sqf or 909 sqm
for details contact
Bo Jeansson bo.jeansson@spray.se 012-339 5289
February 2011 • ScandAsia.South East Asia
17
Medium
Baked Salmon Fillet in Foil
Evil
N
ot only is this an easy way to bake fish, but preparing salmon fillet with savory rosemary and vegetables makes this a delicious and flavorful meal. It is a known fact that seafood is healthy food and that salmon, especially, is very rich in Omega 3 Fatty Acid, which lowers our cholesterol. Baking the fish in aluminum foil makes the clean-up easy, so this recipe has numerous benefits. This recipe is for four people.
Ingredients: 1 pound fish fillet - skin on 1 small onion, thinly sliced Fresh rosemary, chopped. 1/2 tablespoon olive oil 1/2 tablespoon lemon zest 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice Ground sea salt Coarsely ground black pepper Aluminum foil
Are you done?
Preparation: Brush olive oil on a large piece of aluminum foil. Place rinsed and dried fillet, skin-side down on foil. Sprinkle lemon zest, salt, pepper and rosemary
W
hen you have completed the above puzzles, please send your solution by fax to +66 2 943 7169 or scan and email to puzzles@ scandasia.com. We will make a lucky draw among the correct answers. Five lucky winners will receive a ScandAsia polo shirt. Name:
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Deadline for submitting your solution is 15 March 2011 18 ScandAsia.South East Asia • February 2011
Vegetables: Broccoli florets Sliced red peppers Sliced yellow squash Thinly sliced red skin potatoes Arrange vegetables over fish. Spritz lemon juice and sprinkle ground sea salt sparingly. Fold foil tightly around the salmon fillet and vegetables and place on a baking sheet in a preheated oven at 350 C.. Bake 20 minutes.
Serving Suggestion: Place serving platter on top of the foil-covered salmon fillet. Turn platter over and remove foil. Remove skin from fillet. Garnish with tomatoes, parsley sprigs and lemon slices.
This is a great fish recipe and believe me, Norwegians know how to cook seafood.
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