Saturday, July 5, 2014

# 16 Scott Neeson's wage per month - $10,000. A CCF teacher's wage per month - $120



This was posted on the Cambodia 440  (“all about Cambodia”) blog this morning but almost immediately removed by Peter Hogan – obsessively wishing to control who can say what on ‘his’ site. I posted it a second time and it was almost immediately removed. I have now been banned entirely from Cambodia 440. Peter clearly does not want me asking the kinds of questions I ask. I am not alone in having such questions, of course. Many others are asking the same questions but Peter Hogan sees it as his job to do all he can to protect Scott Neeson from the need to be transparent.


Dear Scott

The longer you continue to refuse to answer questions the more I and others wonder why this should be the case. The questions are, after all, ones that any responsible donor or sponsor would wish to have answers to – donors and sponsors, that is, who look beyond the ongoing marketing campaign you so cleverly use to sell your product.

Your product is first and foremost yourself, as the savior of impoverished children. Yes, you also help many children and some families but it is clear from the responses I am getting (both on my blog and privately) that there are plenty of former Cambodian Children’s Fund children and their parents and former Khmer CCF staff who are far from happy with the way they were treated by CCF.

It is not always true that where there is smoke there is fire but when there is a lot of smoke it is not a bad idea to call the fire brigade – just in case! The problem is, in Cambodia, that there is no fire brigade; no-one other than the media to check to see why there is so much smoke swirling around the Cambodian Children’s Fund; no-one to look behind the smoke and mirrors of CCF marketing and self-promotion and reveal what is actually going on.

I am sure you work hard for your $10,000  month wage, Scott. What do you pay your staff for their hard work? $70 a month? $80 a month? $90 a month?  Be transparent please. Do you pay your teachers $120 a month? Whilst paying yourself 83 times this wage per month?
Whilst a teacher must meet all living costs out of his/her $120 a month wage I gather (but please correct me if I am wrong) that you have full time personal staff, including drivers. How many personal staff?
I gather, also, that you forbid your staff from discussing how much they earn? Why? Especially given that your own wage is posted on the internet for all to see? In the interests of transparency, why not post the wages of all CCF employees?
And how many employees do you have to care for your 200(?) children?
My main question for you this week has to do with the contractual arrangements you enter into with the parents of the children that are taken into care by the Cambodian Children’s Fund:

“Would you be prepared to provide myself (and other journalists to whom I am copying this) with a copy of the contract that you ask (demand!) parents enter into with CCF when their children are taken into care within a CCF institution?”

A supplementary question:

“As of 5th July 2014, how many children does CCF have in its care for whom there is no paper work – with either the children’s parents or with the Ministry for Social Affairs?”

Unfortunately there is no-one within Cambodia prepared to ask such questions (no ‘fire-brigade’) and make public the answers, or lack of answers. Equally unfortunately there is no regulatory entity (in Cambodia or elsewhere) in a position to advocate on behalf of the children in your care, or the parents of the children; to protect their human and legal rights. In short, you are not held accountable by anyone within Cambodia or elsewhere for the way in which you run CCF.

You can, of course, prove me wrong in this assertion by answering all of my questions? I am sure you appreciate that the longer you refuse to answer questions the more questions will multiply. Eventually, hopefully, someone other than myself will ask them – someone in a position to demand answers.

cheers

James

43 comments:

  1. The world according to Peter Hogan! Sad. As for the photo of Mr Neeson cuddling a teenage girl! What was he thinking?

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    1. Creepy photo!

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    2. If this was a photo of Mr Ricketson hugging a teen girl you can bet your bottom dollar that James Mc Cabe and his Child Protection Unit would be monitoring his every move and ready to pounce.

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  2. Hogan is watching Neeson's back. A loyal foot soldier and drinking buddy. An associate member of the all-male NGO mafia that watch each other's backs. A nasty piece of work is Mr Hogan. A man with a big chip on his shoulder and more enemies in Phnom Penh than you could poke a stick at.

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  3. Neeson's salary is 83 times that of a CCF teacher? You've got to be fucking kidding!

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    1. Nope, 83 times. amazing, eh! And he does not have to spend a cent of his $10,000 a month income since all his living expenses are met by CCF - including the car he says on Australian Story he does not own.

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    2. Only $10,000 a month! Poor Scott!

      The sacrifices he has made, giving up his job as a salesman in Hollywood (selling movies) to become a salesman in Cambodia - selling sponsorships to gullible donors.

      Dunno how he manages to scrape by on his paltry wage!

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  4. You are right, Mr Ricketson. The longer Neeson refuses to ask legitimate questions the more we must all wonder what he is trying to hide. Neeson is not alone. There are plenty of NGOs whose books are closed and who are conning donors into believing that they are taking care of orphans who have parents. A pox on the lot of them. Why does the Cambodian government allow these vultures to exploit poor and vulnerable Cambodians. Stupid question to ask when the Cambodian government exploits poor and vulnerable Cambodians with no qualms at all

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  5. Mr. Ricketson that photo of neeson is disturbing. Without guessing what age she is, you have to ask yourself the question as to why a grown man would immerse themselves with so many young girls. Before readers criticize my comments, I have been to CCF and seen the way neeson holds, touches and gets close to the children. If you had any brain you would not be engaging in any contact with the children.

    Mr. Ricketson have contacted Australian story and told them that née sons story which they aired is made up of lies?

    All very suspect to me!

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    1. I will refrain from commenting on the photo for the time being but I too think it inappropriate that the ABC pay for an Australian Story profile directed by Scott's brother, Norman, with no-one in the ABC hierarchy asking a few basic questions about the factual accuracy of the piece. That the 'story' basically excludes the fact that all the kids working in the dump have mums and dads renders it dishonest and misleading. Yes, Scott does help some families, but I am meting an increasing number of mums and dads with kids in CCF care who are in receipt of no help whatsoever from CCF. More on this later.

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    2. Neeson looks to be on drugs . who is the girl

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  6. I myself have no issue with neeson or other NGO ceo's getting a good salary especially for CEOs that run an organisation with an annual turnover like CCF. No one is asking any founder of an NGO to live like a peasant as long as your accounts are transparent.

    But what I don't like is that picture above showing him in a vulnerable position with a young girl - it certainly looks ordinary.

    Being filmed in pictures with young girls and hiring criminals like that mccabe character certainly shows that neeson has very poor judgement.

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    1. Dear Anonymous

      Earning 83 times the salary of an employee can hardly be described as "living like a peasant". Does any employer, anywhere in the world, deserve to earn 83 times the wage of an employee?

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  8. My take on the photo of Scott and the teen girl:

    This is not a spontaneous photo taken on the spur of the moment. If it was, there would be no comment worthy of being made. Cambodians are a tactile people. Children will often take your hand, drape themselves over you. This is normal behavior here and it would be a mistake to read much at all into a photo in which an adult and a child were being physically intimate. However, that said, this photo is nonetheless problematic – for me at least.

    If a photo such as this, of myself cuddling a young teen girl, were to come into the possession of James Mc Cabe, I am sure it would set alarm bells ringing within the offices of CCF’s Child Protection Unit and kickstart an investigation! Given Scott’s position, why on earth would be want there to be a photographic record of this teen girl’s hugging on him?

    Scott clearly knew, at least a few seconds beforehand, that this photograph was about to be taken. Either the girl in the photo decided, of her own volition, to snuggle up to Scott or it was Scott who initiated this moment of physical intimacy. Either way, Scott could have told the photographer not to take it.

    If it was the teen girl who initiated the ‘cuddle’, was it a good idea for Scott to encourage her, as certainly seems to be the case?

    When Scott and James Mc Cabe (heading up CCF’s Child Protection Unit) talk with young women at CCF about protecting themselves from potential sexual abuse I would have thought that fairly top on the list of things NOT to do is to cuddle middle aged foreigners! Cuddling of this kind could lead a man to misconstrue an innocent expression of affection for an invitation to even greater intimacy that would place the girl in danger, surely!

    Given the power that accrues to Scott as a result of his position at the head of CCF, encouraging such physical intimacy on the part of teenage girls, by allowing such a photo to be taken, is sending a wrong message and encouraging teenage girls to think of as normal behavior that could get them into lots of trouble in a country in which there is no shortage of non-Cambodian men looking to take sexual advantage of girls such as the one in this photo.

    If it was Scott who initiated the physical intimacy with the teen girl, is this appropriate behavior given Scott’s position - in a position of extraordinary power in relation to the children in his care and their families? Neither the children themselves nor their parents have much choice but to accede to his wishes – whether these be clearly articulated or what the parents and children believe (second guess) Scott’s wishes to be.

    Is it a good idea for Scott to send a message to the teen girls within CCF that he welcomes cuddling and hugging from them? The message a photo such as this sends to children is: "If a man is helping you (feed, education etc) it is OK for you to express your thanks, your appreciation, with a hug like this one."

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  9. How old is the girl in the photo? How many employees does the Cambodian Children's Fund have? Are they all paid as badly as teachers? So many questions, so few answers!

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    1. I have heard 400 employees but not from a source that I would consider totally reliable.

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    3. Lots of these so called 'employees' are families in receipt of funds from CCF. The question that needs to be asked is whether these funds are provided to the families as a gift or as a loan? If it is a loan, what conditions are attached to the loan?

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  10. You're all barking up the wrong tree. The woman in the photo looks 18 or 19 to me which means she is old enough to make her own decisions about who she cuddles and who she doesnt. Leave Scott alone. He is a good man doing great things to help poor Cambodians.

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    1. Yeah, maybe she is 18 but the power relationship remains the same and it could be an abuse of power. It is impossible to be sure without knowing how old the girl/woman is and the context in which the photo was taken. If she is 18 and is Neeson's girlfriend,it is no-one business except for his and hers.

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  11. That girl is about 14. The shirt she is wearing looks like the shirts the children wear at CCF. That is not Neeson's girlfriend. Stop kidding yourselves and trying to clear over what is really a very disturbing picture.

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  12. I wonder if James Mc Cabe will be investigating this photo? Will he track down the girl and ask her any questions at all? Will the anti human trafficking unit that works hand-in-glove with CCF take a look at the photo and ask the obvious questions of the girl? There is no reason to think that Neeson's relationship with the girl is anything other than innocent but here's the point - who is going to ask any questions at all given how tight Neeson is with the police?

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  13. The question of James Mc Cabe's employment as the head of the Cambodian Children's Fund Child Protection Unit requires clear-headed thinking. Firstly, Mc Cabe has paid the price for his crime and is entitled to start a new life in Cambodia. Whether Neeson's decision to employ him in such a position was a wise one or not, from a public relations point of view, is another question. (I think not.)

    That Neeson is aware of the potential PR problem he could have is evidenced by his keeping Mc Cabe and his role as much out of public view as possible until such time as he can appear a hero - as has happened this past few days in the 'sting' operation that took place in Siem Reap. (Whether the man is guilty or not has yet to be determined.)

    The main problem, from my point of view, is that Mc Cabe employment in this position is yet more evidence that basically anyone with any background can get a job in Cambodia that places them in a position where they have enormous power over the lives of poor and powerless Cambodians. This is power that can be used for good and it is also power that can be used to exploit poor Cambodians - parents and children alike.

    Time and again we see evidence of the abuse of this power and yet there remain no mechanisms whereby the power of such people is checked - by anyone. For unscrupulous NGOs it is open season. You want to do whatever it is you want to do in Cambodia, join the club. In the highly unlikely event that anyone will hold you accountable you can buy your way out of trouble.

    In short, employing a disgraced Australian Federal Policeman in such a sensitive job does not set a good example. As someone else has observed, the bar has been set at a very low level and any former criminal looking to start a new life can do so in Cambodia, no questions asked.

    I am curious to know if CCF conducts any criminal checks on potential expat employees and refuses to give jobs to those with a criminal record? I know of other NGOs that conduct no checks at all (Citipointe church's 'SHE Rescue Home' for instance).

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  14. Interesting that Neeson surrounds himself with police - Mc Cabe and Lemon and the cop who he has bought $1 million worth of real estate with. He sure as hell has his back covered if the shit ever hits the fan like it did with Somaly Mam.

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    1. Not to mention the fact that his relationship with the anti-trafficking police pretty much guarantees that they will not be looking too closely at photos of Neeson and young girls. As for the recent sting/bust this seems to me to be designed to make it seem as though the CCF Child Protection Unit, with a crook running it, is doing a great job. Who arranged for the photo to be taken of the alleged perp (before he was even charged) that was published on CCF's Facebook page? Mmmmmm

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  15. It was a planned media gig. Itv Uk were already in cambodia and went with CCF on the raid. How else would an international media station know so quickly about what happened and be able to write a story about it. Neeson is doing everything he can to get the CPU as much good media out there as possible. Funny thing though, strange how the Australian Federal Police won't work with McCabe and the Cpu -I though McCabe and Lemon were outstanding Federal Police officers?

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    1. Was ITV there will video cameras? If so, if this was a sting operation in which the media were invited to come along for the ride, a whole host of questions arise - both ethical and legal? Should a TV station or newspaper publish photos of a man who has not even yet been charged with a crime? More importantly, can the guy get a fair trial? If this is a publicity stunt CCF has a vested interest in a 'guilty' outcome. For the guy to be found 'innocent' of any crime now would mean too much egg on too many faces. They need a 'guilty' result now regardless of the facts. If anyone has any more information re this matter, please share it.

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    2. Lucy Watson’s investigation into child exploitation and orphanage tourism will air on ITV News on Thursday and Friday. ITV knew well n advance that the arrest was going to be made. Terrific publicity for CCF.I wonder if Lucy was aware that James Mc Cabe has not been sent here by the Australian Federal Police but is a disgraced former AFP officer who has done jail time?

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  16. Looks like he did answer you questions.

    http://www.khmer440.com/chat_forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=38333&hilit=scott+neeson

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  17. I followed Neeson's story years ago before moving to Cambodia. I hope for his sake, and for the children he works with, that he is 'the real deal.'
    CCF's work should all be transparent, as should all NGO's (I used to be the manager of one in Phnom Penh). It is NOT difficult to be transparent and is a must in every part of your work. The number of children, families and staff (including photographs etc) should all be on the NGO registration with the ministry, and I would assume ALL info is on their annual reports that should be public. They must also have a Child Protection policy that is not only in existance, but being followed. UN orgs can look into that too. There are good organisations who can look into the legitimacy of the org if that is what you want to do rather than have so many people 'guessing' what is going on. Cambodia is a tough place, in terms of getting to the truth, everyone knows $5 can bribe your way out of just about anything. Lets hope his work is legit, and lets hope this doesnt blow out into something similar as Somaly Mom foundation... Scott - I think it is time to answer some questions. If you have nothing to hide, then just tell the truth.
    As for the photo, I wouldn't read in to that. I agree it was a stupid move on Scott's part to have it published, but it could also be very innocent. No need to spread rumours.

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    1. I agree wholeheartedly. Total transparency. Total accountability. And yes it should apply to ALL NGOs in the business of 'rescuing' children - from the sex trade, rescuing them because they are 'orphans' or because they come from materially impoverished families. I have met so many parents now who are very unhappy to have, essentially, been conned into giving up their children to an NGO and then finding it impossible to get them back. The contracts between NGOs and parents in these circumstances should be made public. More importantly, the parents need to be made aware, in language they understand, what their rights are. And if they feel that their rights are being abrogated by an NGO there needs to be some agency they can go to to seek redress. At present there is nowhere for them to go; no-one to advocate on their behalf. Even with someone to advocate on their behalf it is still very difficult (as I know from experience) to get children returned to their family of the NGO wants to hang onto them.

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  18. Well stated Emily. Hogan definitely hates sisha and hates Morrish. I know many people in Cambodia who even though they congregate in the same circles as Hogan, actually despise the man, and have told me that Hogan brags about the fact he is trying to destroy Morrish and sisha. There is only one reason he is doing this as he fears the fact that Morrish is connected to police and legally can investigate foreigners who engage in dubious sexual activity in Cambodia. As for Neeson and McCabe wanting Morrish out of the way, well it is common knowledge that there is no love loss between Morrish and McCabe. The sad part of that is I wish they would both spoke the peace pipe, as there is so much work to be done by both sisha and CPU. Sisha targets raped children which no-one else dares to touch and CPU are targeting abused children which is also very much needed.

    Emily I spoke to a person at sisha last week and they stated that even though they have cut some programs and have some funding issues at present, they do have a new project starting and funding has been acquired. They won't be going belly up or stooping their Cambodia operations - in fact they have been invited to open a new office in an African country.

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    1. I do hope that Peter Hogan is not successful in his campaign to shut down SISHA. I have never met Steve Morrish but by all accounts he is a straight shooter and serious about his work. As for the Cambodian Children's Fund Child Protection Unit, I hope that it is genuine but I have my doubts - caused mainly by the fact that it is run by James Mc Cabe. I know lots of others who have the same concern. Rumour has it (though I don't know if it is true) that Neeson kept Mc Cabe on the CCF payroll while he was in jail. If this is true lots of questions arise. Did Mc Cabe get the job because he is a mate of Neeson's? Or did he get it because he is the best man in Cambodia for the job? If you are reading this, Mr Neeson, and I am sure you are, please explain to us all why you chose Mc Cabe? And, while you are at it, please answer the other questions that Mr Ricktson has raised. I used to be a donor to CCF but stopped when you employed Mc Cabe. As a former sponsor, and on behalf of current sponsors and donors, you owe us all some answers - in the absence of which we cannot help but wonder what you are hiding! And if you are hiding something, anything, is it Mc Cabe's job to make sure it never sees the light of day?

      Someone up above mentioned total transparency and accountability on the pat of all NGOs. Why donut you set a good example and be totally transparent about everything that takes place within CCF?

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  19. Peter Hogan is a hypocrite. Here is how he describes Cambodia 440: "This is a free speech zone where you can discuss and debate everything Cambodia related whether you're a dyed in the wool leftist, a liberal or somewhere to right of Attila the Hun. This is also where you get to read the news the local media suppresses."

    What a croc! Hogan suppresses posts and comments that do not conform with his twisted and seemingly hateful view of the world. There is no free speech on Cambodia 440. There is only 'free speech' as mediated by Peter Hogan.

    I wish someone would start up a rival blog in which there was genuine free speech.

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  20. Hi Anonymous (July 11, 7.14pm) - you are correct above, but why then are there so many losers using Khmer440. The funny thing is that Hogan will turn on all of them if they don't conform with his way or block them if they say anything against him. And yet, they are happy to think that Hogan is their mate and they are some kind of tight group. On the flip side, I know there is a growing hatred of Hogan and of Khmer440. Hogan is trying to seek the blog and wouldn't it be great if everyone using it just stopped using it - Hogan would lose his revenue.

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  21. This blog post has received 650 visitors since yesterday so clearly there is some kind of demand for the sort of dialogue taking place here. I do which that someone who is permanently (or semi-permanently) based in Cambodia would set up a rival to Cambodia 440. There are lots of issues to be discussed in a clear-headed way - without the stupid abuse that passes for dialogue on Cambodia 440.

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  22. Judging by the response to this last post(more than 68 this past 24 hours) there is a need for a Cambodian forum where matters of interest can be discussed cooly, calmly, without the censorship that occurs on Cambodia 440 and without the bad tempered rancour that so many 440 bloggers bring to their comments. Such a blog would be free to set up (as was this one) and require no real administration other, perhaps, than a few people to monitor it in case some Cambodia 440 bloggers attempt to leave their nasty comments. All forms of criticism could and should be allowed but personal abuse of the kind that is found on 440 should be avoided at all costs. There are so many issues that demand intelligent dialogue and no shortage of people willing to engage in such dialogue - many of whom, I suspect, find the level of dialogue on Cambodia 440 shallow and tiresome. Anyhow. here's an idea for someone to explore - someone who lives here. Not a blow-in such as myself.

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  23. I have to laugh at this. Todays PP post showing the mighty CPU and McCabe at work solving child abuse cases. The article making out that this is new ground and the CPU is doing work that no-one else is doing. It smells of stale piss and wind to me. Neeson once again spinning the media wheel to try and justify the fact that a convicted criminal is running the CPU. Where is the mention that Morrish and SISHA have been doing this since 2007, have solved lots of rape crimes, assisted numerous abused kids and trained over 600 police. Neeson says that McCabe presented him the new idea of the CPU. Was that from prison Mr. Neeson and why would you think of such an idea when an Australia copper was already doing an awesome job? If I was a betting man, I would say that McCabe has just copied Morrish's model. So many people out there trying to make Morrish the bad guy however he hasn't been convicted of a crime and he hasn't done gaol time. I also have it from a reliable source that Eric Meldrum (quoted in the article), who worked for SISHA and was trained by Morrish, left SISHA before Morrish was re-instated as CEO because he heard he was going to be sacked. When Morrish got back to SISHA, he cleaned up all of the bad apples and sacked a few staff including another one of McCabes friends - Ron Dunne who was sacked from IJM and then given a job by Morrish. Dunne was sacked for leaking confidential SISHA information to McCabe. Dunne was supposed to be marrying Morrish's sister in law until she gave him the flick as well. Its also weird that the guy writing all of these articles about McCabe and the CPU and praising the great work they are doing is the same reporter that wrote the negative article about Morrish last year. Call me a conspiracy theorist, but you dont have to look deep into this saga to see that there is a common theme of lies, disloyalty and treachery occurring on the side of Neeson and the CCF crew. http://www.phnompenhpost.com/post-weekend/multi-agency-task-force-targets-child-rape

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    1. Rumour has it that the budget for the Cambodian Children's Fund Child Protection Unit is $1.5 million per annum. Can anyone confirm this or let us all know what the budget is? Looks like a sting operation carried out for the cameras to me so that Neeson and Mc Cabe can justify the $1.5 million (or whatever the figure is) they get each year.

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  24. Long before all this came to light l met an Aussie guy in Cambodia who said he volunteered at CCF for years and showed me a picture of some ex-cop working for Neeson who threatened and attacked him. he said they are up to no good and some really creepy stuff and willing to do anything to protect it. the picture was Mc Cabe and Neeson together with young girls .

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  25. Since Scott Neeson is so unwilling to answer questions. why not ask the big sponsors. are they doing their own checks on whats going on here ? l just hope these children are safe and not some horror story is about to unfold.
    Keep up the good work James and keep safe

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