To
all of those at Citiopointe who have written to me or, more particularly, those
who are former members of Citippionte, thanks for the information you have sent
me. I now have a pretty good idea of what takes place on one of Citipointe’s
‘poverty tours’ in which supposedly sexually abused girls experience the thrill
of having their hair washed in unison by cashed-up tourists who undergo no
background checks at all conducted by Citipointe. This speaks volumes of
Citipointe’s commitment to the concept of ‘duty of care’. And yes, the very
fact that Pastor Mulheran, from Australia, can threaten to have me ‘forcibly
removed’ speaks volumes of Citipointe’s
relationship with the Ministry of Social Affairs. I am hoping that this is an
ambit claim and that the relevant Minister, Khuon Ranin, does not take his
orders from Citipointe church!
Continuing
on with Pastor Mulheran’s letter of 21st Feb. We are in the midst of
his demands…
4.
That you remove all content which reveals the location of the Home, the staff
and the organization, and all defamatory material relating Citipointe Church
and SHE Rescue Home.
I have
never revealed the location of the Home, staff and the organization in
Cambodia. I have mentioned only the names of Rebecca Brewer and Leigh Ramsay –
the two members of Citipointe who offered to help Chanti and then got her to
sign a sham contract – a subject to which I will return.
Khuon
Ranin, Minister of Social Affairs, Veteran and Youth Rehabilitiation
undersecretary of state has clearly revealed the legal nature of the custody
and the care of the girls within the SHE
Rescue Home.
Khuon
Ranin has not ‘clearly reveled the legal nature of the custody and care of Rosa
and Chita – despite my several letters to him; has never revealed to Chanti or
myself the legal nature of the custody and the care of the girls within the She
Rescue Home’. I have asked more than once but never received a reply. If you
have a copy, Brian, of the relevant legal document (which of course you must)
please provide Chanti with a copy of it. Surely Chanti has a right to be
provided with a copy of any legal document that deprives her of access to her
own daughters. This is not just a matter of law but of common decency. Please
also provide Chanti with a copy of any legal document that Citipointe believes
gave it the right, during the 15 months that Chanti was repeatedly asking for
her daughters to be returned to her, to retain custody of the girls. Not the
sham document that Chanti put her thumb print on and which is legally worthless.
If it is this ‘contract’ that you are relying on to justify Citipointe’s
retaining custody for those critical 15 months the church does not have a legal
leg to stand on and is guilty and Human Trafficking. These two legal documents
are crucial to an understanding of what has taken place here but Citipointe has
refused, point blank, to supply copies of these documents to Chanti or myself
as her advocate. In the event of my arrest and subsequent trial Citipointe will
beobliged to provide the court with these legal documents.
If you
wish to sue me for my use of the words ‘stolen’ and ‘kidnapped’ please go ahead
and do so, Brian. And get your lawyers to brief you on the laws relating to
‘False Imprisonment.’ I will write to Khuon Ranin again this week in yet
another attempt to have the legal nature of Rosa and Chita’s incarceration in
the She Rescue Home clarified; along with a request that Chanti be provided
with copies of any and all documents relating to her daughters. I will also ask
Khuon Ranin for his response to your threats to have me ‘forcibly removed’.
Such forcible removal would have to be approved by the Minister. In the event
that he approves such ‘forcible removal’ I will ask in accordance with what law
he will be doing so?
Due
to the under-secretary of state’s declarations you are clearly aware of the
defamatory nature of your allegations against us that we had ‘kidnapped’ or
‘stolen’ the girls. (See further details below.)
Citipointe
held Rosa and Chita for 15 months contrary to Cambodian law, Brian, and, as you
know, this can be proven. You can get on your high horse about my use of the
words ‘stolen’ and ‘kidnapped’. Would you prefer that I used ‘trafficked’ in
future to bring my accusation more in line with the precise law Citipointe
broke?
5
That you remove all adverse or defamatory content (if any) of any other
organization such as Chab Dai on the internet or within the documentary film,
as the SHE Rescue Home and Citipointe Church take full responsibility for any
and all actions in relation to the issues and these in no way should implicate
Chab Dai or any other organization.
I
implicate Chab Dai only in the sense that the organization does not admonish
Christian members of the coalition such as Citipointe Chruch when they are in
breach of Cambodian law and the legal and moral rights to both the children in
their care and their mother. I am sure that Chab Dai is more than capable of
fighting its own battles and doesn’t need your help but the fact that the
organization sits on its hands and says or does nothing speaks volumes. I would
like to point out, however, for Chab Dai readers, that right at the outset
Citipointe constantly referred to Chab Dai and LICADHO as having given the
church the ‘green light’ to retain custody of Rosa and Chita in contravention
of Cambodian law. Chab Dai has had ample opportunity to request that Citipointe
provide documentary evidence of the church’s right to hold Rosa and Chita for
15 months against the wishes of the girls’ mother and it has done nothing. And
continues to do nothing. Through its inaction, through its silence, Chab Dai appears
to condone the actions of one of its members. On another question, Chab Dai
also condones the notion that it is somehow or other beneficial to the supposed
victims of sexual exploitation to become tourist attractions for ‘poverty
tourists’; in the belief, it seems, that for a traumatized victim of Human
Trafficking it is a rich and rewarding experience to be lined up with fellow
victims and have your hair washed by the latest group of ‘Poverty Tourists’ to
roll into town. Chab Dai also condones, by its silence, the notion that it is
OK for NGOs such as Citipointe to actually make a profit out of such ‘poverty
tours’.
6.
For rehabilitation to occur the Government must be convinced that the family
under their own power has the ability to support the whole family without the
need for continual external support.
This is
nonsense, Brian. For starters, the a
statement is totally contradicted by Citipointe’s own Sponsorship programme
which, quite correctly, is based on the premise that poor families require help
to be lifted out of poverty. The most effective way that any NGO (or filmmaker)
can help a family is to provide the kind of support that makes it possible, in
time, for the family to become self-sufficient. My buying a tuk tuk for Chantis
family is one such initiative. My paying the school fees for Chanti’s son,
James, and daughter Srey Ka, is another small gesture on my part of help the
family become self-sufficient.
Has
Citipopinte loaned the family money to buy a tuk tuk? Has Citipointe at any
point this past close to five years paid any school fees at all for Chanti’s
other children? The answer is no. Citipointe has done nothing to help lift the
family out of poverty. The acquisition of a small house for the family in Prey
Veng (assisted by my friend who is a true Christian) is yet another step in the
right direction. For 18 years Chanti has wanted to return to the provinces to
be close to her family and, since she met and married Chhork, to be close to
his family also – just a few kilometers from their new home. Moving back to the
provinces is now a very real possibility but it is clear from the tenor of your
letter that Citipointe has no intention of relinquishing the hold the church as
on Rosa and Chita and allowing a move to the provinces to occur. Yet again, Citipointe has shifted the
goalposts. It can do this because it has never once put down in writing just
where the goalposts rest.
If
Citipointe is truly interested in reintegration (after close to five years of
doing nothing to facilitate it) why doesn’t the church pay for the renovations
that need to be done to make the house in Srey Veng fully habitable by what is
now quite a large family? The cost: $1,500.
Let the church put its money
where its mouth is. Let Citipointe actually put in writing what it is prepared
to do to facilitate reintegration and perhaps Chanti will take the church
seriously. After close to five years of broken promises and zero assistance she
has no reason to trust you at all. And nor do I. Trust has to be earnt through
actions performed. It is not something you earn merely by calling yourself a
Christian. Act like Christians, Brian. True Christians. Help the entire family.
By
continuing to intervene in these matters you are hindering the reintegration
process.
My
‘continuing to intervene’ is manifested in my modest attempts to help Chanti’s
family become self sufficient – something Citipointe has not done this past
close to five years and which the church clearly has no intention of doing. In
close to five years what has Citipointe done to help Chanti’s family become
self-sufficient without ‘external support’? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. The
church has not done one thing (not one) to help Chanti’s family become
self-sufficient. My acquisition of a tuk tuk for the family last year was a
first step in the direction of helping the family become self-sufficient. My
paying the school fees for James and Srey Ka is another small contribution made
by myself to see to it that Chanti’s children get a decent education.
If
Citipointe wishes, at this late date, to demonstrate that the church is truly
interested in reintegration (after close to five years of doing nothing to
facilitate it) why doesn’t Citipointe pay for the renovations that need to be
made to make the new house in Srey Veng fully habitable by what is now quite a
large family? The cost: $1,500. Let the
church put its money where its mouth is.
Let Citipointe actually put in writing what it is prepared to do to facilitate
reintegration and perhaps Chanti will take the church seriously. After close to
five years of broken promises and zero assistance she has no reason to trust
Citipointe at all. And nor do I. Trust has to be earnt through actions
performed. It is not something you earn merely by calling yourself a Christian.
Act like Christians, Brian. True Christians.
Help the entire family.
Even
organizing to have me arrested in Cambodia (a threat that raises interesting
questions about Citipointe’s relationship with MOSAVY!) will not stop my film
from being made. Citipointe’s best hope of coming out of CHANTI’S WORLD with
any dignity and credibility is to get serious about helping the entire family
become self-sufficient. This can be done in various small ways that do not
require a great deal of money. They do, however, require a level of cultural
sensitivity and respect that Citipointe has demonstrated a total lack of this
last close to five years.
Whilst
the details of how Citipointe might genuinely help the entire family should
arise out of consultation with the family (something Citipointe has never done)
I would suggest that the following be on the list for discussion:
(1) Renovation
of the house in Prey Veng
(2) Providing
the entire family with access to good medical and dental car
(3) Provide
tuition for all of Chanti’s children in the English language. Being able to
speak, read and understand English will enhance their job prospects when they
are young adults.
(4) Provide
Chanti with appropriate advice on how to avoid having any more children. She
does not want to have any more but, in the absence of any advice from
Citipointe in the realm of birth control, she continues to have them.
Culturally inappropriate though it is, I have had to step in and advise Chanti
and Chhork on how to prevent further babies from arriving. This is a job that
should, by rights, be performed by a qualified Cambodian woman and to this end
I have found a doctor to advise Chanti and Chhork as to their options. The bill
for this could be picked up by Citipointe, as could the bill for the birth of
what, hopefully, be Chanti’s last baby.
(5) Respecting
the right of Chanti and Chhork to bring their children
up as
Buddhists, rather than as Christians on the Citipointe mold.
…to
be continued…
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