Swiss tabby

Last evening I took the kids for a walk around our village. It was freezing cold but I wanted to make it a regular routine for us here just like how we used to do it in Laos after dinner to keep a bit of the fat away. When we crossed the park where we normally went for our weekend ice skate, we were followed by this little tabby out of nowhere. It was quite a strange coincidence as my kids were just talking about how difficult it was to see cats here when it suddenly appeared. The cat followed us almost 1 km on our track up till we reached our home. The cat appeared tame and used to human contact so my first thought was it must have an owner. But it was clearly looking for food. My two little sons were begging me to keep it. I told them their mum won't like the idea of keeping pets in the house. When we reached home, I told mrs about our encounter and I took some leftover crab pate in the fridge and fed the cat. Obviously it finished it very quickly. I told the kids we can't keep the cat in the house and told them that the cat must belong to someone and he or she must be frantically looking for it by now. My kids obviously didn't buy that as I wanted to let the cat out and it refused to go. I told the kids the cat could stay only for one night. So last night the cat slipped into the duvet and slept with my two kids. I took this photo this morning when my boys were still asleep.

Our first ski trip

On Boxing day, we went to chamonix-mont blanc. The place is about 50 miles from Geneva. A very well known ski resort. It is located at the foot of mont blanc or the white mountain. I was so thrilled to make this visit as I have never skied before. But it ended with some pain as I twisted my knees when I fell down the slope. As I had previous surgeries on the cruciate ligaments, the thought of having them torn again had somehow reminded me that I am just too old for any form of dangerous activities. The kids nevertheless had so much fun and they didn't want to stop...I will definetly come back again.

Frolicking in the snow

The winter break for the kids began a few days ago and thankfully the snow began to drop. My kids spent no time immediately playing in our back yard and enjoying the snow covered compound with snow ball fights and rolling themselves down the gentle slope. The snow does bring back old memories of my time spent in the UK living in a beautiful countryside in north yorkshire in a village called copmanthorpe. Winter would be cold and we would often get snow a few inches thick which was a lovely sight to behold. That was some 24 years ago when I was doing my A levels and now I am back in Europe, in Geneva to be specific, on a different mission-as a wandering and wondering dad trying to understand if he could be part of the process in convincing the world if there's anything worth fighting it's fighting for peace and equal rights for everyone on this earth. Salam

fun in the snow

IMG00220-20111218-0820.jpg

First snow ball fight in geneva

New house

its almost 1 am and I have trouble sleeping. We just moved into our new residence since we arrived a month ago. Somehow I got awaken by "someone" knocking at my bed room door every morning. I'm not kidding. There must be a story about this house and I am determined to find out.
Sent from my BlackBerry® Smartphone supplied by Swisscom

Happy Birthday to the woman of my life

Happy Birthday to the woman of my life

My woman,
I want you to know,
Now and Tomorrow,
Never will I cease,
In saying I love you,
Ever and ever.

Minnie, I love you :-)

Sent from my iPad

The untold love story of Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi

The untold love story of Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi

Michael Aris, Aung San Suu Kyi and their first son Alexander, in 1973
Photo: ARIS FAMILY COLLECTION/GETTY IMAGES

By Rebecca Frayn
Last Updated: 8:38AM GMT 11/12/2011
Aung San Suu Kyi, whose story is told in a new film, went from devoted Oxford housewife to champion of Burmese democracy - but not without great personal sacrifice.

When I began to research a screenplay about Aung San Suu Kyi four years ago, I wasn't expecting to uncover one of the great love stories of our time. Yet what emerged was a tale so romantic – and yet so heartbreaking – it sounded more like a pitch for a Hollywood weepie: an exquisitely beautiful but reserved girl from the East meets a handsome and passionate young man from the West.

For Michael Aris the story is a coup de foudre, and he eventually proposes to Suu amid the snow-capped mountains of Bhutan, where he has been employed as tutor to its royal family. For the next 16 years, she becomes his devoted wife and a mother-of-two, until quite by chance she gets caught up in politics on a short trip to Burma, and never comes home. Tragically, after 10 years of campaigning to try to keep his wife safe, Michael dies of cancer without ever being allowed to say goodbye.

I also discovered that the reason no one was aware of this story was because Dr Michael Aris had gone to great lengths to keep Suu's family out of the public eye. It is only because their sons are now adults – and Michael is dead – that their friends and family feel the time has come to speak openly, and with great pride, about the unsung role he played.

The daughter of a great Burmese hero, General Aung San, who was assassinated when she was only two, Suu was raised with a strong sense of her father's unfinished legacy. In 1964 she was sent by her diplomat mother to study Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oxford, where her guardian, Lord Gore-Booth, introduced her to Michael. He was studying history at Durham but had always had a passion for Bhutan – and in Suu he found the romantic embodiment of his great love for the East. But when she accepted his proposal, she struck a deal: if her country should ever need her, she would have to go. And Michael readily agreed.

For the next 16 years, Suu Kyi was to sublimate her extraordinary strength of character and become the perfect housewife. When their two sons, Alexander and Kim, were born she became a doting mother too, noted for her punctiliously well-organised children's parties and exquisite cooking. Much to the despair of her more feminist friends, she even insisted on ironing her husband's socks and cleaning the house herself.

Then one quiet evening in 1988, when her sons were 12 and 14, as she and Michael sat reading in Oxford, they were interrupted by a phone call to say Suu's mother had had a stroke.

She at once flew to Rangoon for what she thought would be a matter of weeks, only to find a city in turmoil. A series of violent confrontations with the military had brought the country to a standstill, and when she moved into Rangoon Hospital to care for her mother, she found the wards crowded with injured and dying students. Since public meetings were forbidden, the hospital had become the centre-point of a leaderless revolution, and word that the great General's daughter had arrived spread like wildfire.

When a delegation of academics asked Suu to head a movement for democracy, she tentatively agreed, thinking that once an election had been held she would be free to return to Oxford again. Only two months earlier she had been a devoted housewife; now she found herself spearheading a mass uprising against a barbaric regime.

In England, Michael could only anxiously monitor the news as Suu toured Burma, her popularity soaring, while the military harassed her every step and arrested and tortured many of her party members. He was haunted by the fear that she might be assassinated like her father. And when in 1989 she was placed under house arrest, his only comfort was that it at least might help keep her safe.

Michael now reciprocated all those years Suu had devoted to him with a remarkable selflessness of his own, embarking on a high-level campaign to establish her as an international icon that the military would never dare harm. But he was careful to keep his work inconspicuous, because once she emerged as the leader of a new democracy movement, the military seized upon the fact that she was married to a foreigner as a basis for a series of savage – and often sexually crude – slanders in the Burmese press.

For the next five years, as her boys were growing into young men, Suu was to remain under house arrest and kept in isolation. She sustained herself by learning how to meditate, reading widely on Buddhism and studying the writings of Mandela and Gandhi. Michael was allowed only two visits during that period. Yet this was a very particular kind of imprisonment, since at any time Suu could have asked to be driven to the airport and flown back to her family.

But neither of them ever contemplated her doing such a thing. In fact, as a historian, even as Michael agonised and continued to pressurise politicians behind the scenes, he was aware she was part of history in the making. He kept on display the book she had been reading when she received the phone call summoning her to Burma. He decorated the walls with the certificates of the many prizes she had by now won, including the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize. And above his bed he hung a huge photograph of her.

Inevitably, during the long periods when no communication was possible, he would fear Suu might be dead, and it was only the odd report from passers-by who heard the sound of her piano-playing drifting from the house that brought him peace of mind. But when the south-east Asian humidity eventually destroyed the piano, even this fragile reassurance was lost to him.

Then, in 1995, Michael quite unexpectedly received a phone call from Suu. She was ringing from the British embassy, she said. She was free again! Michael and the boys were granted visas and flew to Burma. When Suu saw Kim, her younger son, she was astonished to see he had grown into a young man. She admitted she might have passed him in the street. But Suu had become a fully politicised woman whose years of isolation had given her a hardened resolve, and she was determined to remain in her country, even if the cost was further separation from her family.

The journalist Fergal Keane, who has met Suu several times, describes her as having a core of steel. It was the sheer resilience of her moral courage that filled me with awe as I wrote my screenplay for The Lady. The first question many women ask when they hear Suu's story is how she could have left her children. Kim has said simply: "She did what she had to do." Suu Kyi herself refuses to be drawn on the subject, though she has conceded that her darkest hours were when "I feared the boys might be needing me".

That 1995 visit was the last time Michael and Suu were ever allowed to see one another. Three years later, he learnt he had terminal cancer. He called Suu to break the bad news and immediately applied for a visa so that he could say goodbye in person. When his application was rejected, he made over 30 more as his strength rapidly dwindled. A number of eminent figures – among them the Pope and President Clinton – wrote letters of appeal, but all in vain. Finally, a military official came to see Suu. Of course she could say goodbye, he said, but to do so she would have to return to Oxford.

The implicit choice that had haunted her throughout those 10 years of marital separation had now become an explicit ultimatum: your country or your family. She was distraught. If she left Burma, they both knew it would mean permanent exile – that everything they had jointly fought for would have been for nothing. Suu would call Michael from the British embassy when she could, and he was adamant that she was not even to consider it.

When I met Michael's twin brother, Anthony, he told me something he said he had never told anyone before. He said that once Suu realised she would never see Michael again, she put on a dress of his favourite colour, tied a rose in her hair, and went to the British embassy, where she recorded a farewell film for him in which she told him that his love for her had been her mainstay. The film was smuggled out, only to arrive two days after Michael died.

For many years, as Burma's human rights record deteriorated, it seemed the Aris family's great self-sacrifice might have been in vain. Yet in recent weeks the military have finally announced their desire for political change. And Suu's 22-year vigil means she is uniquely positioned to facilitate such a transition – if and when it comes – exactly as Mandela did so successfully for South Africa.

As they always believed it would, Suu and Michael's dream of democracy may yet become a reality.

Rebecca Frayn is a writer and film-maker. 'The Lady' opens nationwide on December 30

Article from the Daily Telegraph UK

Sent from my iPad

IMG00181-20111211-1442.jpg

My first sunday stroll near my new residence

IMG00177-20111210-1433.jpg

This is lunch...kebab sandwich. We do groceries at Carrefour just across the french side, which is five minutes drive from our new residence. The kebab cost 4 euro each. Slightly cheaper than in Geneva. I used to recall in the old days when the French still used their franc, things were way much cheaper but not anymore. With the current euro crisis, I wonder if they will ever go back to their old franc. Well just a thought. I am sure it won't happen as the Euro zone is trying to save their currency by coming out with a new tougher treaty to punish those rogue members that failed to control their public debt. Obviously UK being outside the Zone as expected did not agree to it as any tougher financial regulations imposed by the Union would adversely affect london's competitiveness as a financial centre. The right to issue your own fiat currency is a symbol of an ultimate sovereignty for any country and I doubt that UK is going to give that up easily.

IMG00175-20111210-1143.jpg

The beautiful lake geneva

IMG00150-20111204-0853.jpg

Final day breakfast at Royal Manotel. This morning is our final day having breakfast at the hotel where we have been staying since the day we first arrived here. Its a cozy little hotel right along Rue De Luasanne one of the main streets in the heart of Geneva. We quite like the hotel. It has all the basic amenities that one can expect in a 4 star hotel. A small kitchen for us to have our home-made dinner (and my night snacks) and they serve very good breakfast with a some halal plates like the lamb sausages as well as ham made out of turkey. The only problem is it only has one bathroom for me, mrs and the kids to use. So every morning we would have our own traffic jam when everyone is queing up to use it.

PERISYTIHARAN HAK ASASI MANUSIA SEJAGAT 1948

UN HUMAN RIGHTS DECLARATION 1948

what would you do if your life time ambition to become a doctor dashed out because your application to study medicine at a University was denied simply because you failed to submit a sufficient number of photos required all because the admission office lost some of your photos without any fault of yours?

what would you do when you were arrested by the police and detained without charge for more than 48 hours when the law stated that you could only be detained no longer than 24 hours?

what would you do when the police arrested you, they started taking the laws into their own hands by beating the hell out of you and you suffered serious injuries as a result?

what I asked above were actually real cases that happened in countries that I won't mention here but I am sure similar situations actually would have happened before or are even happening as I write this in many parts of the world..

Do you know 10 December is the International Human Rights Day?

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was drafted between January 1947 and December 1948. It aimed to form a basis for human rights all over the world and represented a significant change of direction from events during World War II and the continuing colonialism that was rife in the world at the time. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is considered as the most translated document in modern history. It is available in more than 360 languages and new translations are still being added.

The UN General Assembly adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris, France, on the December 10, 1948. It was first observed on December 10 that year and has been observed each year on the same date. Each year Human Rights Day has a theme. Some of these themes have focused on people knowing their human rights or the importance of human rights education.

Below is the Declaration in my own language, Malay. Every member country of the UN must observe this Declaration.  The Declaration may not be a legally binding Treaty but states have a moral and political obligation to respect it as it was adopted by the UN General Assembly. Many international lawyers now believe that it is now forming part of customary international law. Many individuals whose rights were affected have actually used the Declaration as a basis to initiate their claims before the national courts. There Declaration also is used to interpret what it means to be the fundamental human rights enshrined in the UN Charter which is binding on all states.

Below is the excerpt on the official translation given in Malay:

Bahawasanya pengiktirafan keutuhan kemuliaan dan hak samarata serta asasi yang tak terpisah bagi seluruh umat manusia adalah asas kebebasan,keadilan dan kedamaian dunia.

Bahawasanya pengabaian serta penghinaan terhadap hak asasi manusia telah pun mengakibatkan tindakan terkutuk yang telah melanggari perasaan hati umat manusia, dan munculnya sebuah dunia di mana manusia akan menikmati kebebasan berucap dan menganut kepercayaan serta kebebasan dari rasatakut dan citarasa telah pun diisytiharkan sebagai aspirasi toragung seluruh umat manusia.

Sekiranya kita tidak mahu mendorong manusia dalam keadaan terdesak, sebagai pilihan terakhir, memberontak mementang kezaliman serta penindasan, maka adalah penting bagi hak asasi manusia dipertahankan oleh kedaulatan undang-undang.

Bahawasanya adalah penting bagi memajukan perkembangan perhubungan persahabatan di antara negara-negara.

Bahawasanya rakyat Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu, dalam Piagamnya telah sekali lagi menegaskan kepercayaan mereka terhadap hak asasi manusia, terhadap kemuliaan serta nilaidiri manusia dan terhadap hak samarata lelaki dan perempuan dan telah menetapkan keazaman untuk memajukan perkembangan sosial dan taraf hidup yang lebih sempurna dalam suasana kebebasan yang lebih luas.

Bahawasanya Negara-Negara Anggota telah berikrar untuk masing-masing mencapai, dengan kerjasama Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu, pengutaraan kehormatan sejagat terhadap, serta pematuhan, hak asasi manusia dan kebebasan asasi.

Bahawasanya satu fahaman bersama terhadap hak serta kebebasan ini seluruhnya adalah terpenting demi menjadikan ikrar ini kenyataan sepenuhnya. MAKA DENGAN INI

Perhimpunan agung mengisytiharkan

Perisytiharan sejagat hak asasi manusia ini sebagai suatu ukuran bersama terhadap pencapaian oleh seluruh umat manusia dan kesemua negara dengan tujuan supaya setiap individu dan setiap badan masyarakat, dengan senantiasa mengingati Perisytiharan ini, hendaklah berazam melalui pengajaran dan pendidikan bagi memajukan sanjungan terhadap seluruh hak-hak dan kebebasan ini dan secara langkah-langkah berperingkat-peringkat, di bidang negara dan antarabangsa, bagi menjaminkan pengkitirafan dan pematuhan sejagatnya yang berkesan, kedua-duanya di antara negara-negara anggota masing-masing dan rakyat wilayah-wilayah di bawah bidangkuasa mereka.

Perkara 1.

Semua manusia dilahirkan bebas dan samarata dari segi kemuliaan dan hak-hak. Mereka mempunyai pemikiran dan perasaan hati dan hendaklah bertindak di antara satu sama lain dengan semangat persaudaraan.

Perkara 2.

Setiap orang adalah berhak kepada semua hak-hak dan kebebasan yang termaktub dalam Perisytiharan ini, tanpa sebarang apa jua pembezaan, seperti bangsa, warna kulit, jantina, bahasa, ugama, faham politik atau lain-lain fahaman, asal-usul bangsa keturunan atau sosial harta-benda, kelahiran atau apa-apa taraf lain.

Seterusnya, tiada sebarang pembezaan boleh dibuat berasaskan pada taraf politik atau bidangkuasa ataupun antarabangsa sesebuah negara atau wilayah datangnya seseorang itu, sama ianya merdeka, beraùanah, tanpa pemerintahan sendiri atau berada di bawah apa-apa sekatan kedaulatan lainnya.

Perkara 3.

Setiap orang adalah berhak kepada nyawa, kebebasan dan keselamatan diri.

Perkara 4.

Tiada sesiapa pun boleh diperhamba atau diperabdikan; keabdian dan dagangan hamba abdi hendaklah dilarang dalam semua bentuknya.

Perkara 5.

Tiada sesiapa pun boleh dikenakan seksaan atau layanan atau hukuman yang zalim, tidak berperikemanusiaan atau menghinakan.

Perkara 6.

Setiap orang adalah berhak kepada pengiktirafan di mana jua sebagai seorang insan di sisi undang-undang.

Perkara 7.

Semua orang adalah samarata di sisi undang-undang dan berhak tanpa apa-apa pembezaan kepada perlindungan yang samarata di sisi undang-undang. Semua orang adalah berhak kepada perlindungan yang samarata daripada sebarang pembazaan yang melanggar Perisytiharan ini dan daripada sebarang hasutan terhadap pembezaan sedemikian.

Perkara 8.

Setiap orang adalah berhak kepada pemulihan yang berkesan oleh tribunal-tribunal kebangsaan yang kompeten terhadap tindakan-tindakan yang melanggar hak-hak asasi yang diberikannya oleh perlembagaan atau oleh undang-undang.

Perkara 9.

Tiada sesiapa pun boleh dikenakan tangkapan, tahanan atau pembuangan negeri secara sewenang-wenangnya.

Perkara 10.

Setiap orang adalah berhak dengan samarata sepenuhnya kepada pembicaraan adil dan terbuka oleh suatu tribunal bebas dan saksama, dalam penetapan hak-hak dan tanggungannya dan sebarang tuduhan jenayah terhadapnya.

Perkara 11.

Setiap orang yang dituduh dengan kesalahan keseksaan adalah berhak dianggap tidak salah sehingga dibuktikan salah menurut undang-undang di dalam perbicaraan terbuka di mana dia telah diberikan segala jaminan yang perlu untuk pembelaannya.

Tiada sesiapa pun boleh diputuskan bersalah atas sebarang kesalahan keseksaan oleh kerana sebarang tindakan atau ketinggalan yang tidak merupakan suatu kesalahan kesiksaan, di sisi undang-undang kebangsaan atau antarabangsa, pada masa ianya dilakukan. Tiada pula boleh dikenakan sebarang hukuman yang lebih berat dari hukuman yang terpakai ketika kesalahan keseksaan itu dilakukan.

Perkara 12.

Tiada sesiapa pun yang boleh dikenakan kepada sebarang gangguan sewenang-wenangnya terhadap keadaan peribadi, keluarga, rumahtangga atau surat-menyuratnya, atau percerobohan ke atas maruah dan nama baiknya. Setiap orang berhak kepada perlindungan undang-undang terhadap gangguan atau percerobohan sedemikian.

Perkara 13.

Setiap orang adalah berhak kepada kebebasan bergerak dan bermastautin di dalam sempadan sesebuah negara.

Setiap orang berhak meninggalkan mana-mana negara, termasuk negaranya sendiri,dan kembali semula ke negaranya.

Perkara 14.

Setiap orang berhak memohon dan menikmati perlindungan politik dalam negara lain daripada sebarang aniaya.

Hak ini tidak boleh dituntut bagi pendakwaan yang benar-benar timbul daripada kesalahan bukan politik atau daripada tindakan yang bertentangan dengan tujuan-tujuan dan prinsip-prinsip Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu.

Perkara 15.

Setiap orang adalah berhak kepada suatu kewarganegaraan.

Tiada sesiapa pun boleh dilucutkan kewarganegaraannya secara sewenangwenangnya atau dinafikan hak menukar kewarganegaraanya.

Perkara 16.

Lelaki dan perempuan dewasa, tanpa mengira bangsa, kewarganegaraan atau ugama, berhak berkahwin dan menubuhkan keluarga. Mereka adalah berhak kepada hak-hak samarata berhubung dengan perkahwinan, dalam tempoh masa perkahwinan dan pada pembubarannya.

Perkahwinan hanya boleh dilaksanakan dengan persetujuan bebas dan sepenuhnya oleh pihak-pihak yang bercadang untuk berkahwin.

Keluarga adalah yunit kumpulan semulajadi dan asasi dalam masyarakat dan adalah berhak kepada perlindungan oleh masyarakat dan Negara.

Perkara 17.

Setiap orang berhak memiliki harta secara bersendirian serta secara berkongsi dengan orang lain.

Tiada sesiapa pun boleh dilucutkan harta-bendanya secara sewenang-wenangnya.

Perkara 18.

Setiap orang adalah berhak kepada kebebasan berfikir, perasaan hati dan ugama; hak ini termasuklah kebebasan menukar ugama atau kepercayaannya, dan kebebasan, samada secara bersendirian atau secara bersama-sama dengan orang-orang lain dan secara terbuka atau bersendiri, menganuti ugama atau kepercayaannya melalui pengajaran, amalan, pemujaan dan pematuhan.

Perkara 19.

Setiap orang adalah berhak kepada kebebasan pendapat dan mengeluarkan fikiran; hak ini termasuklah kebebasan memegang pendapat tanpa gangguan dan menuntut, menerima dan menyebarkan maklumat dan buah fikiran melalui sebarang media dan tanpa mengira sempadan.

Perkara 20.

Setiap orang adalah berhak kepada kebebasan berhimpun secara aman dan menubuhkan persatuan.

Tiada sesiapa pun boleh dipaksa menjadi ahli mana-mana pertubuhan.

Perkara 21.

Setiap orang berhak mengambil bahagian dalam kerajaan negaranya, secara langsung atau melalui wakil-wakil yang dipilih dengan bebas.

Setiap orang adalah berhak kepada peluang samarata kepada perkhidmatan awam dalam negaranya.

Kemahuan rakyat hendaklah menjadi asas kewibawaan kerajaan; kemahuan ini hendaklah dibuktikan melalui pilihanraya berkala yang sejati yang mana hendaklah diadakan secara sejagat dan samarata dan hendaklah diadakan secara undi sulit atau melalui acara pengundian bebas yang ketara.

Perkara 22.

Setiap orang, sebagai anggota masyarakat, adalah berhak kepada keselamatan sosial dans berhak menjadikan suatu kenyataan, melalui usaha negara dan kerjasama antara-bangsa dan menurut organisai dan sumber-sumber dalam negara masing-masing, hak-hak ekonomi, sosial dan kebudayaan yang termesti bagi kemuliaannya dan perkembangan bebas keperibadiannya.

Perkara 23.

Setiap orang adalah berhak kepada pekerjaan, kepada pemilihan pekerjaannya secara bebas, kepada keadaan-keadaan pekerjaan yang adil dan berfaedah baginya dan kepada perlindungan daripada pengangguran.

Setiap orang, tanpa sebarang pembezaan, adalah berhak kepada penggajian yang sama bagi kerja yang sama.

Setiap orang yang bekerja adalah berhak kepada pembayaran saraan yang adil dan berfaedah baginya yang mana mempastikan buat diri dan keluarganya suatu kehidupan sesuai dengan kemuliaan manusia, dan yang mana ditambah, jika pertu, oleh cara-cara perlindungan sosial yang lainnya.

Setiap orang berhak menubuh dan menjadi ahli kesatuan sekerja bagi memperlindungi kepentingan-kepentingannya.

Perkara 24

Setiap orang adalah berhak kepada rihat dan masa lapang, termasuk batasan munasabah keatas masa bekerja dan cuti bergaji yang berkala.

Perkara 25

Setiap orang adalah berhak kepada suatu taraf hidup yang memadai bagi kesihatan dan kebajikan diri dan keluarganya, termasuklah makanan, pakaian, perumahan dan pengawasan perubatan serta perkhidmatan sosial yang perlu, dan berhak kepada perlindungan ketika berlakunya pengangguran, kesakitan, ketidakupayaan, diperjandaan, keuzuran atau lain-lain kekurangan kehidupan dalam keadaan di luar kawalannya.

Ibu dan anak adalah berhak kepada jagaan serta bantuan khas. Semua kanak-kanak, samada dilahirkan di dalam maupun di luar nikah, hendaklah menikmati perlindungan sosial yang sama.

Perkara 26.

1)Setiap orang adalah berhak kepada pelajaran. Pelajaran hendaklah diberikan percuma, sekurang-kurangnya pada peringkat awal dan asasnya. Pelajaran peringkat awal hendaklah diwajibkan. Pelajaran teknikal serta profesional hendaklah disediakan untuk umum dan pelajaran tinggi hendaklah mempunyai akses yang samarata kepada semua orang atas dasar kebolehan.

Pelajaran hendaklah ditujukan kepada perkembangan sepenuhnya keperibadian manusia dan ke arah memperkukuhkan lagi rasa hormat bagi hak-hak dan kebebasan asasi manusia, lanya hendaklah memupuk persefahaman, kesabaran dan persahabatan di kalangan semua negara, bangsa atau kumpulan-kumpulan ugama, dan hendaklah memajukan segala kegiatan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu demi memelihara keamanan.

Ibu-bapa mempunyai hak terdahulu untuk memilih jenis pelajaran yang akan diberikan kepada anak-anak mereka.

Perkara 27.

Setiap orang berhak secara bebas mengambil bahagian dalam kegiatan kebudayaan masyarakatnya, menikmati kesenian dan sama-sama merasai kemajuan sains dan faedah-faedahnya.

Setiap orang adalah berhak kepada perlindungan kepentingan-kepentingan moral dan kebendaan hasil dari sebarang penghasilan sains, kesusasteraan atau kesenian yang mana ianya adalah penciptanya.

Perkara 28.

Setiap orang adalah berhak kepada suatu susunan sosial dan antarabangsa dalam mana hak-hak asasi dan kebebasan yang termaktub dalam Perisytiharan ini boleh dijadikan kenyataan sepenuhnya.

Perkara 29.

Setiap orang mempunyai kewajipan terhadap masyarakat hanya dalam mana perkembangan keperibadiannya secara bebas dan seluruhnya termungkin.

Dalam mengamalkan hak-hak dan kebebasannya, setiap orang tertakluk hanya kepada batasan-batasan seperti yang ditentukan oleh undang-undang semata-mata bagi tujuan menjamin pengiktirafan dan penghormatan yang sepatutnya terhadap hak-hak dan kebebasan orang lain dan untuk mendekati keperluan-keperluan sepatutnya bagi akhlak, ketenteraman awam dan kebajikan umum dalam suatu masyarakat yang demokratik.

Hak-hak dan kebebasan ini tidak boleh sama sekali diamalkan secara bertentangan dengan tujuan-tujuan dan prinsip-prinsip Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu.

Perkara 30.

Tiada apa-apa jua dalam Perisytiharan ini boleh ditafsirkan sebagi sedia tersirat memberikan kepada mana-mana negara, kumpulan atau perseorangen sebarang hak untuk melibatkan diri dalam apa-apa kegiatan atau melakukan apa-apa perbuatan dengan tujuan memusnahkan apa-apa hak dan kebebasan yang termaktub dalam Perisytiharan ini.

Sent from my iPad

The Escalade

The Escalade

Tomorrow Sunday will mark one of the major festivities in this new home of ours Geneva, the Escalade. This right from the history book celebration commemorates an attempt in 1602 by the Savoy army to scale up the Walls of Geneva. The story that went down in generations was that an old woman who lived in a house overlooking the city wall was busy late at night with a large cauldron of vegetable soup when she heard the soldiers clambering up. She courageously poured the boiling contents of her couldron on the heads of the invaders and were quickly repulsed by the local troops as soon as the shouts of pains of the scalded invaders were overheard.

so tomorrow just after 6 in the evening there will be a parade in 17th century costume and armour riding through the town reading a proclamation and singing the Escalade song, "Ainsi périssent les ennemis de la République! " (Thus perish the enemies of the Republic) at various points and culminating in a dance around a huge couldron of soup in front of the Saint Pierre Cathedral. This important celebration is a reminder on how the Genevois fought to defend their freedom from the invading Catholics army.

I hope I can catch up this event as it will be I am sure a fun experience especially for the kids. Bonne Nuit!

Sent from my iPad

IMG00146-20111203-1354.jpg

We are having a lunch outing with the kids at Istanbul a turkish fastfood right infront of Gare Cornavin, the central train station at the heart of geneva.

I'm still not used to looking at the price tags here without thinking of converting them into our local currency. A can of coke can buy me 5 cans back home never mind the kebab which on average costs 10 swiss franc each here which is around $15 each. That again is a price of 4 or 5 kebabs back home.

Eating at a restaurant is of course a lot more expensive. At the moment, it is a luxury we can't quite afford as we are moving into our residence here which is unfurnished. But thankfully with the endless hours spent house hunting from every corner of Geneva, we finally found one that is within reach. We settle for a house which is near to where I work but unfortunately very far from the kids' school. I would love to have a house near the kids' school but the school is located in an expensive neighbourhood and none of the houses that we saw there were within our reach. I will need all the money we have to buy the necessary essentials as all our stuff, furniture and what not are still on their way from laos. We were told because of the recent flooding in Thailand, our shipment could not be done and all the stuff were sitting at a warehouse until a few days ago.

IMG00140-20111201-2010.jpg

Swiss knives, chocolates, watches and treaty making...

Swiss knives, chocolates, watches and treaty making...

I have not written much in this Life journal of mine. Much of it that you see since we arrived in Geneva is just photos uploaded real time from my handphone. Keeping one open blog about this journey We call life and a private one about my work can be quite a daunting task at times if you lack the discipline.

We have been here in Switzerland for more than two weeks and we have not explored much of the country beyond Geneva. This is because I had started work as soon as we arrived and of course as I expected I got a work shock! The amount of work waiting for me in Geneva is overwhelming. Although office hour here ends at 5 pm, leaving the office at 6 in the evening is considered a luxury. The traffic here during the rush hour when office ends can be horrendous. As my office is near the airport by the main highway and very close to the french border, the traffic jam here can just be as worst as what you get in Bangkok or metro Manila. It is said that due to the very high cost of living in Geneva, around 80,000 people who work in Geneva commute daily from the french side.

There is no point for me to leave office when everyone else is trying to do the same thing. What I learnt in stress management, if you want to avoid the traffic stress, come to the office either earlier when everyone else is still asleep or later when everyone else is already in the office to beat the traffic (of course if you are a boss coming in late is not setting a very good example to your subordinates) and when office hour ends, you repeat the same routine, either leave the office earlier when everyone else is still in the office or later when everyone else has left. I usually come to the office early as my "thinking hour" is usually when no one is around. when you are in management, you will have no time to yourself when everyone else is already around. You will get endless interruptions. I also notice here, all appointments begin after 10 am.

There is also that endless receptions hosted by the hundreds of missions here. Geneva is the second seat of the UN, the other one is in New York. It is the seat of many specialized bodies of the UN such as The WHO, WMO, UNHCR, WIPO and the ITU (You can google on the longer names of these acronyms). Geneva also hosts many other international organizations either affiliated to the UN or not like the WTO and the ICRC. The seat of UN in Geneva is at Palais Des Nations. It is a huge complex that was built just after the first world war for the seat of the League of Nations the predecessor of the UN today. The palace itself hosts roughly 10,000 meetings every year (thats right with three zeros) ranging from disarmament, human rights and all the other real and complex issues facing the world we live in today. Whilst we see much of the news relating to the UN in New York because of the Security Council and the General Assembly (and of course who wont have heard of Ban Ki Moon the UN Secretary General), the work of the UN in Geneva is mostly that of the UN specialized bodies. Many treaties and conventions had actually been formulated here, the famous of which are the Geneva Conventions relating to the international humanitarian laws which at Law School we used to call them the laws of wars. Despite the workload, I am really enjoying my work here as I really could use what I had learnt at law school. This place is also not strange to me having attended various meetings hosted by the WIPO and WTO. I could'nt forget a time here where the car that drove me to a particular meeting was hit by another car driven by the Ambassador of one south American country as her driver was trying to jump the red light when we had a right of way in the opposite direction. Luckily when the car drove through, our car only hit the back of the Ambassador's car which spunned 360 degrees. Luckily no one had any serious injury though I had a slight concussion on my head. That accident left me with a long lasting impression on how orderly this country was and still is. We didnt see any exchange of heated arguments or fights which would probably have happened had the accident been in Asia. Both drivers calmly exchanged their insurance details and asked an owner of a camera shop in front of where the accident happened to take a couple of pictures which I presumed were for the insurance claims. Everything was settled in less than 10 minutes or so and everyone acted in a civil way. Compulsory insurance and efficient settlement of the compensation made all the difference.

Sent from my iPad

IMG00120-20111127-1428.jpg

A stroll along the lake. When all the shops close on sundays, taking a walk along lake Geneva is an enjoyable experience especially when the sun is out shining.

IMG00101-20111127-1045.jpg

Sunday morning is always reserved for reading time.

IMG00100-20111126-1537.jpg

Trying out the kinect for xbox 360

IMG00063-20111122-0659.jpg

In front of the boat marina Lake Geneva at 630 am

IMG00059-20111120-1722.jpg

The yellow boat crossing lake geneva

IMG00058-20111120-1155.jpg

IMG00057-20111120-1149.jpg

House visit for a pot luck lunch.

This is our first pot luck lunch at my staff's residence situated in a corner of a little village near the Geneva airport.
We have this get together as mrs is doing some cooking for the coming UN food bazaar. I am told Its an annual event organized by the spouses of the diplomats based in Geneva. We had similar experiences in our last posting where each mission would be required to put up a stall selling our own local delicacies and all the proceeds would be distributed to the local charities. I for one is very supportive that we make it a point to participate in this good cause. Not only we will be helping the charities, we will also be promoting our country through our food. No, there won't be ambuyat or balutak. We will have keropok udang and some nasi goreng kampung as well as mee goreng.

IMG00037-20111118-0755.jpg

I guess a lot of people are familiar with this UN Body

IMG00035-20111118-0752.jpg

Right in front of Palais des Nations, the seat of UN in Geneva

IMG00034-20111118-0750.jpg

Bus service in front of ITU

Piece of new art

Captured this. A piece of Maison de Art noveau

IMG00014-20111117-0711.jpg

Jogging in the wee hours

Waiting for the tram

The compulsory medical check up

Palais des Nations

Geneva est tres belle!

Simply impressed!!

Simply impressed!!

I caught a flight home from Bangkok to BSB on our national airline the Royal Brunei and I have to say I was Very Very impressed with the improved quality of the in flight service. I could hear an Australian couple who were seated behind me were also very impressed as well. the husband was also impressed with one of the male flight attendants on how clear his English was. Being a frequent user of our natioanl airline, I could actually feel a different ambience. the staff are more courteous and friendlier. well done RBA!

Sent from my iPad

Thanks to all my sis..luv u all too:-)

The mighty Mekong river

Just checked in Pakse south of Laos. what you see is the Mekong river from my hotel room. There has been a light pour since I arrived by plane 30 mins ago. The flight took 1 hour from Ventiane with Lao Air which uses the french ATR. I'm here to attend our usual bi monthly meeting which this time is held in the south of Laos, Pakse which is the capital of Champasack. Pakse is a booming city thanks to the fertile surrounding area like Paksong which is a well known coffee growing region of Laos. This is home to Dao Heung a well known coffee producer and manufacturing company of Laos. I'm here for 1 day before I head back to Ventiane tomorrow.

Weekly groceries

Lao airline

Boarding the plane to go home

Xengkoung tourist attractions

Fireplace

Winter can be as low as 0 celcius here. So a fireplace in every house is a must.

I learned from Yai, the owner of this cafe, his is the first and only cafe in Xengkhoung. The cafe has been running for more than a year now and it has free internet for the patrons. It is serving freshly brewed arabica from Pakxong a world known coffee producing area in the south of Laos. My verdict:  délicieux!

Nope, I don't get any free coffee for posting this entry. Just a hand of friendship...
Sent from my iPad

Kek's brothers

Say hello to Kek's spitting images...

Jars Cafe

Found this good cafe in the heart of Phonsavanh and as it turned out it belongs to the brother of my finance clerk. What a small world!

Picturesque Xengkoung

having breakfast on the balcony of the hotel overlooking a quaint little village down below with a mountain range in the backdrop is breathtaking. The view is simply very calming. This does remind me of Switzerland....

view from my room at 6 am

Today is my final day covering the north east of Laos. I will take a flight to Ventiane which is just going to take 30 mins. By road it would have taken me a grueling 10 hour trip.
I don't know if I will ever come back to this part of Laos but the whole trip had been very exhilarating and a truly memorable one.

Plain of jars

No visit to xengkhoung is complete without a visit to the Plain of Jars

cliff hanger

Return to Xengkhoung

We are returning to Ventiane via xengkhoung today. That will probably take us more or less 7 hour by road through the mountains and meandering road. We were bid farewell by the Governor who joined us for breakfast. I have been overwhelmed by his graciousness and warm treatment since the first day we arrived to his hometown. This visit has been a very memorable one and one that I won't forget. Last night we were feted with a grand dinner. There was a fashion show of the ethnic groups here with their traditional costume.

We are now on the road. I can't describe how frightening it is to drive through the meandering road that zig zags across the mountains. All I can see is beautiful mountain ranges but the road appears to be hanging on the hill sides and on both sides I can see are deep crevices and clifts 100s of metres high. I keep thinking if Inpone my driver made one wrong move, the 4 wheel car we are driving in would surely fall into one of those clifts. So the usual me keeps nagging him to drive slowly.

Reached Xengkoung at around 230 pm today starving that I could eat a horse. Found this indian muslim restaurant in Phonsavanh. We stopped for lunch before we head to the hotel. as I'm posting this realtime, I'm still waiting for my food to arrive. the weather here is very pleasant as its a few hundred metres above sea level. Will update this post later...

Farewell dinner

My visit to houphan province ended with a farewell dinner....

Overlooking Xam nue at night

Xam nue capital of houphan province

Xam nue boat race

Hotel with a view

Its past 7 am and I'm now having breakfast on a balcony overlooking a little village. I can see mountain ranges and the well known plain of jars from the distance. The latter is why tourists flock into this part of Laos. the huge granite jars that can be found scattered in the plain are mind boggling as there are numerous theories on how they came from and their original use. Ok got to go now. I have another 10 hour road trip upnorth before we reach houphan....

Xengkoung

I am currently in Xengkoung on the way to houphan. That is north east of laos near the vietnam border. The weather is pleasantly at 20 c but the wind can be chilly. I will update later

That Luang

The most famous land mark for Lao PDR the That Luang. That means stupa and LUANG means huge or big.

1 million $ emarald

The closest I will ever get to owning a million $ emarald is to just give it a try on wearing one at the top jeweller here. I just can't understand why anyone would spend that amount for a stone. Ok its rare but hey there are still millions of people starving out there. I do sound like the have not, don't I?

My sunday foot massage

For 5 usd an hour, Ventiane is a massage heaven bestowed upon the mere mortals like me! foot massage is a must for me and mrs especially after a round of golf. Walking 6 km on a golf course can be torturous on the feet and what can be more heavenly than a pampering massage on the tired feet...

Trip to hair salon