It was on 31st December 2007, a couple of days after the Grand Concert BosbaPANH at Chaktomuk Hall to Launch SrorMay, the second CD album of BosbaPANH. Mrs Muoy You, a reader of the Cambodia Daily wrote a letter to the editor. Bosba's team was so moved that we are publishing here the full letter. Thank you Muoy You for believing in Bosba and one day, sure we will meet.
"FINDING A MISSING KHMER SPIRIT IN ONE LITTLE SINGER'S MESSAGE. Hardly a day goes by without some disheartening news to make one wonder where our country is heading. Sure, on the one hand, there seems to be a lot of development going on. Buildings spring up everywhere, more cars and more motorbikes jam the streets, more luxury resorts, sports and goods to keep the rich happy. But on the other hand, it seems nobody is happy. The rich don't think they are rich enough; they've got to have more more cars, more land, more mistresses. The powerful don't think they they are powerful enough; they've got to intimidate, insult or ridicule each other. And during that time, some of their children run havoc in the streets in Phnom Penh or on national roads. This story was not reported in the Cambodia Daily but by an old man, so maybe it is not completely true, but it tells the state of mind of the poor. It seems the son of a three star general, completely drunk drove his car, hit and killed two people, drove on and did some more damage before his car got stuck and he was stopped by the police. The son called his father to the rescue. Twenty-five Land Cruisers came rushing and the general father threatened to shoot the policeman if he didn't release his drunken son. The policeman pointed out the young man had killed two people. " I will pay "cried the general. This is not the first story of its kind I've heard which made my heart sink. Then the other evening I went to the Chaktomuk Conference Hall. And within two hours, hope returned to me. Her name means "Flower", she is just ten, and she looked and sounded like an angel. Bosbapanh was not born into what is commonly called a powerful family. Their power comes from their intellect, heart and mind. Her uncle is the reknowned filmmaker Rithy Panh, whose work has been an important contribution in preserving the memory of our troubled past. Raised by a Khmer father and a Laotian mother and educated at a French school, Bosba speaks four languages. At an age when other girls would be more interested in clothes and jewelry, she has been to Mount Everest. She wonderfully plays the guitar, has created a music company, launched one album after the other, and last Friday gave a grand concert. The concert was a happy mix of Khmer and international songs chosen by a surprisingly mature mind for a 10-year old girl. In an hour-and-a-half, Bosba sang of the beauty of Cambodia, love and peace, liberty and freedom and the struggle for it. She rocked the audience with a Khmer lullaby one hardly hears anymore nowadays; she honored the Khmer traditional music and the Khmer repertoire with a heart rending opening song and towards the end with another one she sang gracefully sitting on the floor in the Khmer way. Her sweet voice, her grace, her calm, the message of her songs would make any parent and any Khmer proud. In an hour-and-a-half, Bosba has done more for Cambodia and the Cambodian Culture than years of sterile talks. She wil have inspired parents and children alike. With simplicity she has delivered a message: this is the best of Cambodia and this is what Cambodia should be “ open to the world but proud of itself. Thank You Bosba. Muoy You, Phnom Penh"