Dear Editor,
This letter is in reference to the unsigned opinion slipped into the "Letters"
segment of the October 27 edition of the Post.
The caption under the photo of the Youth Club pool stating that the 50 meter Youth
Club pool is a "pool open to the rich" is both false and runs contrary
to both the substance and intent of my letter which ran alongside the photo.
Such a caption next to a reader's letter submitted to you in good faith would surely
have had a deterrent effect on readers potentially interested in my letter's message.
Indeed, the title you chose for the letter, "Save the Youth Club" was itself
misleading and inappropriate. "The USA poised to usurp priceless Phnom Penh
sports site" would have been much more accurate.
We hear much about America's quality of life, but how much does the USA care about
our quality of life in Phnom Penh?
The US Ambassador indicates he has the culture to clearly conceive the negative impact
that the proposed US Embassy at Wat Phnom will have on Phnom Penh's urban planning
and future development if the Embassy proceeds with its plan to acquire the Youth
Club site.
There are three billion people in Asia, 1.5 billion under 25 years old, and half
a billion categorized as "middle-class" by the West. The Youth Club site
principally addresses the needs of the young and aspiring middle classes, not "the
rich".
Does the Phnom Penh Post wish to perpetuate the stereotype of "poor Cambodia"
or pretend that only the poor can have valid causes?
Are we to bear crosses of guilt because we spend US$50 a month for physical culture?
Finally, considering the nature of the subject, it might be pertinent this time to
retain the qualification appended to the signature of my original letter.
- Damien Morrison, Australian Institute of Sports, Center Management (AISCM),
Diploma holder
Phnom Penh
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