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Revision as of 03:23, 28 April 2018

Christopher Minko
Birth nameChristopher Fraud Minko
Born (1956-09-23) 23 September 1956 (age 67)
Myrtleford, Victoria, Australia
GenresDelta blues, folk,
Occupation(s)Musician, singer-songwriter, composer, NGO secretary general, aid worker
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar
Years active1980–present
LabelsMekong Sessions
Websitehttps://www.facebook.com/KromSong/

Christopher Minko (born 23 September 1956 in Myrtleford, Victoria, Australia) is an Australian composer, lyricist, guitarist, vocalist, aid worker, and founder of the Phnom Penh-based Delta blues group called Krom. Living in Cambodia since 1996, Minko is also the founder and Secretary General of the Cambodian National Volleyball League (Disabled) NGO, also known as CNVLD.

Between 2003 and 2009, Minko received several recognition awards as a result of what he describes as his 'arduous efforts and involvement in the field of humanitarian services – both personally and through the CNVLD' – including the International Fairplay Committee Diploma for Promotion in 2003;[1] and a gold medal presented by Prime Minister Hun Sen for Services to Persons with a Disability in Cambodia at a ceremony to celebrate United Nations International Disability Day – 2009.[2]

Early life in Australia

Born to a Ukrainian Jewish father[3] and a German concert pianist mother, Christopher Julian Minko grew up with his three brothers in Myrtleford, Victoria, Australia. He played trumpet in the Victorian Youth Orchestra in the early 1970s and also for the Australan cult band The Bachelors from Prague. Minko traveled throughout Asia and Europe during the 70's, residing also in Israel and Germany for many years before returning to Australia. Minko spent the early 80's as Artist in Residence via grants from the Victorian Ministry for the Arts and the Australia Council for the Arts, designing and implementing innovative community arts projects throughout Victoria along with residencies at the Australian Performing Arts Museum. From 1985-91 he worked in event management including directing the Australian Moomba procession 1987-89, Co-director of the Lygon Street multi cultural Arts Festival and the AFL (Australian Football League) Grand Final Week Program.

NGO career

1990 to 1996 – Thailand and Cambodia

In 1990, Minko moved to Thailand as part of a culture exchange program with the Office of the National Culture Commission of Thailand, working as an adviser to the Thai National Culture Commission organising cultural exchanges between the ASEAN nations and Australia.

In 1996 he moved to Cambodia through an AusAID initiative as a technical adviser to the Cambodian Disabled People's Organization and as a consultant to Veterans International.[4] In the 1997 clashes in Cambodia, former Khmer Rouge soldier and current Prime Minister Hun Sen directed a coup against Prince Norodom Ranariddh, and Minko stayed during this short-lived conflict working as an Ambulance driver / Medic, providing emergency relief services to those affected by the conflict.,[5]. Over 100 people were killed or extrajudicially executed in the conflict, many of whom were commanders or soldiers loyal to Prince Norodom Ranariddh, the then co-prime minister, and Funcinpec, the royalist political party.[6]. Undeterred Minko established the National Paralympic Committee of Cambodia in 1997 with Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen as Chairperson and organised the successful participation of the first ever Cambodian team to join in the Paralympic Games at Sydney 2000

CNVLD - The Cambodian National Volleyball League (Disabled)

Minko decided to start his own sports programs as a way of helping the disabled. He turned to Cambodia's popular sport of volleyball. In 1996, with the aid of a grant from AusAID, he established the Cambodian National Volleyball League (Disabled) organisation,[7] (CNVLD), which would be officially registered as a Local Cambodian Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) in 2002. It was later claimed by Minko as a worldwide model for sport and rehabilitation, through demarginalisation and reintegration of disabled people, recognising the unique ability and power of team sports to assist those disabled by landmines and war conflicts – outcasts of Cambodian society and international aid organisations. Note: World Bank cause-specific data on the population with disabilities showed that illness or disease was the principal cause of disability in both urban and rural areas [8]

In 2006 the CNVLD received a UN (United Nations) best practices award in recognition of its pioneering work within the disability sports sector: https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/un-gives-volleyball-ngo-thumbs

In 2007 / 2009 / 2011, the CNVLD, in conjunction with [World Organization Volleyball for Disabled] (WOVD), hosted three Standing Volleyball World Cups in Phnom Penh. The Cambodian National Team brought honour and pride to Cambodia by winning silver at the 2011 World Cup. It was the first time a Cambodian sports team had been placed in an international event. The disabled had crossed the barriers of prejudice, earning respect and becoming productive members of the society.[9][10][11]

In 2005, CNVLD established a National Wheelchair Racing Program that would reveal a talent, Van Vun, who has since become a national hero and has gone on to compete in top racing events such as ASEAN ParaGames in Indonesia and won medals. His goal was the 2012 Paralympics. His story received international coverage when the Cambodian National Paralympic Committee neglected to file proper paperwork and he was denied his dream of competing at the 2012 Paralypics in London.[12][13]

In 2011, the CNVLD also established a Deaf Women's Volleyball Team

Minko's criticism of international aid

Minko has been outspoken about his repugnance for the international aid world and its participants who he frequently has referred to in interviews as "band aid parasites." He has cited "the inefficiency and mismanagement" and even corruption regarding the "World Aid Organization dollars that have poured into Cambodia – with the lion’s share going into administration of aid agencies and to salaries for Westerners living in Cambodia with expensive lifestyles that include maids, expensive cars, housing, expensive educations for their children, etc. By the time the aid money has been channelled through NGOs, the percentage that is left is very small and only a minimal amount ever reaches the local level to support Cambodians in need."

CNVLD Women's Wheelchair Basketball Program

In 2011, Minko commenced planning for a women's wheelchair basketball program to aid impoverished women with disabilities in Cambodia – women who were victims of traffic accidents, polio, physical abuse and violence.

In 2012,the CNVLD in cooperation with the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) [14]and the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation (MoSVY) launched a pilot program at the Battambang Center for Physical Rehabilitation. The Women's Wheelchair Basketball Program was specifically designed to provide sporting and social economic opportunity to rural Cambodian women with disabilities. Women selected to participate receive a small salary of $40 per month (funded by the International Red Cross), educational opportunities, and high quality training sessions with professional coaches, and most of all, a chance at a new life.

In early 2013, an additional program was launched in Kampong Speu, Cambodia, and that August a competition between teams from Battambang and Kampong Speu was held, becoming the first-ever wheelchair basketball tournament in the country.[15][16][17][18]

The women's wheelchair program was successfully localized at the beginning of 2015 as the "Cambodian Wheelchair Basketball Federation" and integrated into the frameworks of the now very well functioning National Paralympic Committee of Cambodia with the Cambodian National Womens Wheelchair Basketball Team recently qualifying to participate in the 2018 ASIAN Paralympic Games

Film

Award-winning film director Sir Roland Joffé (The Killing Fields, The Mission) once expressed interest in doing a film about the Volleyball World Cup events that had taken place in Cambodia, referring to the World Cup events as a sporting triumph for Cambodia and the disabled athletes. As a follow-up to The Killing Fields – his potential film that would be a "living postscript" – this would be an uplifting movie about disabled athletes punching their way out of poverty. Joffé himself has a longstanding association with a Cambodian NGO, Cambodia Trust, involved in the manufacturing of prosthetic and orthotic devices for landmine survivors and polio victims. He also served as "Patron of Honour" at the 2010 Volleyball World Cup in Phnom Penh.[19]

Mekong Sessions

Minko, seeing a Cambodia that was war-torn and culturally depleted, and understanding the power of music, wanted to see major artists coming back to Cambodia again, hoping for a kind of resurrection of the glory days from the past, pre-Khmer Rouge, when Phnom Penh had been known as the "culture jewel of Southeast Asia." He founded Mekong Sessions, an event production/promotion company with the aim of promoting a concert atmosphere in Cambodia and bringing artists from around the world. His vision also included a teaming together of Thai and Khmer artists and bands with the hope of assuaging the animosity between the two countries.

Proposed Leonard Cohen concert in Phnom Penh

"In a very deep state of depression I wrote to the master of depression". Minko decided to write a heartfelt e-mail to Leonard Cohen about Cambodia and the situation of the disabled people in the same country, suggesting that a charity concert could be held in Phnom Penh. Minko's suggestion was accepted two weeks later by Cohen in an e-mail sent by his manager Robert Kory, confirming that Robert Hallet would be working with Minko on Cohen's Phnom Penh concert

With the possibilities of a Cohen comeback concert and suggesting that Phnom Penh's arts and music scenes were experiencing a boom, Minko's plan was to include gigs teaming up Thai and Khmer bands together with the hopes of assuaging the animosity between the two countries, but the concert would never happen due to the costs of sound and production and slow ticket sales

Krom

In 2010, Minko started his own music group which he named "Krom", meaning "The Group" in Khmer language. The band's motto is "elusive, exclusive and reclusive". The songs are built on a base of open guitar tunings and then adding another guitar line and vocals, with other instrumentation being added as meets the needs of a particular song. On 6 September 2010, Krom recorded a song written by Minko with the title of "I Walked the Line". It was released by Minko's own 'Mekong Sessions' label in VCD format, sold in stores in and around Phnom Penh, and featured on Cambodia television and radio. At that time Krom members numbered seven and Minko sang vocals along with a Khmer singer, and also played guitar. "I Walked the Line" was later re-recorded and renamed, appropriately, to "Thinkin' It Over", and was included in Krom's debut album Songs from the Noir.

By 2012, the group had undergone normal growing pains and personnel changes that resulted in its reformatting. The description on the official website became then: "Krom is Phnom Penh based – and its composer, songwriter, guitarist, vocalist, Christopher Minko, working with leading Khmer singer & songwriter Sophea Chamroeun and sound engineer Sarin Chhuon and guest musicians". The band is also made up of Sophea's sister, Sopheak Chamroeun, Cambodian bassist James “Mao” Sokleap, and Australian guitarist & English teacher Jimmy Baeck

On 13 June 2012, Krom released a full-length, 14-song, debut album, Krom: Songs from the Noir, available in digital and physical form.

The bilingual album includes songs in English and Khmer, and mixes the traditional Delta blues sound blended with overtones of traditional Khmer. Minko wrote the music and the English lyrics, plays the guitar and occasionally sings the songs. Chamroeun sings in Khmer and English and also wrote the Khmer lyrics. The album was dedicated to Minko's estranged wife, "Wassana Panmanee-Minko (Mam)", who died in Thailand in 2010 and was the inspiration for the song "Bangkok Tattoo". Minko also collaborated with author/novelist Christopher G. Moore singing Moore's words in the lyrics of the song "The Ying". A music video for the same song was produced using the artwork of Bangkok artist Chris Coles.[20]

Sarin Chhuon, the third member of Krom, is the sound engineer and producer. In December 2012, the triplet became a quartet with the introduction of Sopheak Chamroeun, Sophea's sister, who joined Krom as harmony singer.[21]

Soulful, meaningful, and engaged with social questions, Minko and Sophea Chamroeun's songs – through moody and poetry-like lyrics and minimalistic and introspective melodies – confront harsh themes such as [[sexual trafficking and its consequences, and other uncomfortable issues and scenes that are common in the streets of Bangkok and Phnom Penh. Minko crafts his mark in the genre by developing a 'new style of cross cultural music' that blends Delta blues with Khmer lyrics. Krom's musical inspiration comes from a long and varied list that includes Leonard Cohen, John Fahey, Gustav Mahler, Johnny Cash, Leo Kottke, Beethoven and Chet Baker.[22]

2013 - Neon Dark

In October 2013, a second Krom album entitled Krom - NEON DARK was released. The bilingual album contains 12 original songs written by Minko himself along with vocalist Sophea Chamroeun co-writing the Khmer lyrics. Two of the songs feature guest artist Master Kong Nay, the "Master of Mekong Delta Blues". Kong Nay sings and plays the chapei, supported by The Chamroeun Sisters (Sophea and Sopheak).[23]

Mekong Delta Blues album and "Lil Suzie" Song

The "Mekong Delta Blues' album received significant attention among expats in Southeast Asia and gained a niche following internationally. On 25 September 2012 it was featured by Britain's award winning DJ Mark Coles on his radio program The Garden Shed in "The Pick of the Best New Music Releases and Demos from Around the Planet." The album and the song 'Lil Suzie' were among the over 20,000 entries submitted for consideration in the 2017 Grammy selection process.

In July 2012, author Christopher G. Moore announced that Minko’s lyrics for his songs from the album Krom – Songs from the Noir would be included in a new book, Phnom Penh Noir, a collection of "noir" short stories by various authors, released in November 2012.

In August 2012, Krom was commissioned to record the soundtrack for an Australian-Khmer documentary "In Search of Camp 32, a Journey Back to Year Zero." Co-produced by Australian Gaye Miller, the film recounts the story of a Cambodian Killing Fields survivor Bunhom Chhorn (Hom) in his search to expose the truth behind one of the most notorious Khmer Rouge death camps in North Western province, where it is thought that an estimated 30,000 Cambodians perished during the regime of Pol Pot.[24]

On November 30, 2012, Krom gave his debut live performance on Cambodian Television Network's highest rated show Entertainment Tonight [25] which reaches approximately 1.2 million viewers. The broadcast included an interview with Krom vocalist Sophea Chamroeun, followed by Krom's performance of three songs from their album Krom – Songs from the Noir. Dancers from the Children of Bassac Dance Group joined the performance of the song "Country".[26]

Awards

    • 2007: Britannica Monthly Blog Celebration of Life through Sports Award [27]
  • 2010: Cambodian Prime Minister - Gold Medal for Humanitarian Services to Cambodia [28]

See also

References

  1. ^ "International Fair Play Committee". 27 September 2013.
  2. ^ ppp_webadmin (4 December 2009). "PM awards gold medal to CNVLD founder".
  3. ^ "Biography - George Minko - People Australia". peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au.
  4. ^ "Disability NGOs' Fund-Raising Tactics Questioned - The Cambodia Daily". 3 August 2007.
  5. ^ "Cambodia: July 1997: Shock and Aftermath". 27 July 2007.
  6. ^ Socheata, Hean. "Cambodian Opposition Marks 1997 Coup".
  7. ^ Smith, Bophea (10 April 2016). "The power of sports". D+C, development and cooperation. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  8. ^ http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:v9JN6bQ8vZUJ:siteresources.worldbank.org/DISABILITY/Resources/Regions/East-Asia-Pacific/JICA_Camboida.pdf+&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=hk
  9. ^ Staley, Roberta. (7 September 2006) Cambodian resurrection | Georgia Straight. Straight.com.
  10. ^ Landmine victims put Cambodia on map – Breaking News – Sport – Breaking News. The Age. (26 June 2007).
  11. ^ Sports Saves The World. Sports Illustrated, (26 September 2011).
  12. ^ Liz Gooch. "A Race Changes Lives in Cambodia". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  13. ^ Cambodian disappointment in Paralympic games | Video. Reuters. (9 February 2009).
  14. ^ https://www.icrc.org/en/document/cambodia-battambang-physical-rehabilitation
  15. ^ "Leftovers of War disabled no more, The Strait Times Asia Report". Asia Report. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  16. ^ "Gamechangers: the women who survived". Phnom Penh Post. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  17. ^ "Ready to roll". Stand Up Cambodia - CNVLD. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  18. ^ "Wheelchair coach trains Battambang team". Phnom Penh Post. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
  19. ^ Cambodia's amputee volleyball league: The playing fields. The Economist (8 March 2011).
  20. ^ "Krom launch video "The Ying" on YouTube". The Mekong Sessions. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  21. ^ "Krom announce new member: Sopheak Chamroeun". The Mekong Sessions. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
  22. ^ "Cambodia’s Most Reclusive Band" Archived 27 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Travelto-cambodia.info.
  23. ^ "A Lighter Shade Of Noir For Band, Ahead Of First Live Gig". Phnom Penh Post. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
  24. ^ "Camp 32". Camp 32. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  25. ^ https://www.ctninternational.com.kh/about-us/
  26. ^ "Krom debut live on CTN". The Mekong Sessions. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  27. ^ "The Celebration of Life Through Sports Award: Christopher Minko of Cambodia - Britannica Blog". blogs.britannica.com.
  28. ^ "Cambodian Prime Minister Presents Medal to CNVLD Secretary General : ..." 15 April 2013. Archived from the original on 15 April 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

External links

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