Not everyone is smitten with Carla Bruni. A striking naked photograph of the model who became France's First Lady raised $91,000 (£46,000) for a children's hospital in Cambodia -- which promptly refused to accept the money because it disapproved of raising cash from female nudity. Although the hospital survives from hand to mouth, its Swiss director said that he did not want to upset patients and staff, even though it might be difficult for some in the West to understand Cambodian sensibilities. Beat Richner added that the Government in Phnom Penh might be offended if the hospital were to benefit from a perceived insult to the wife of the French President.
Not everyone is smitten with Carla Bruni.
A striking naked photograph of the model who became France's First Lady raised $91,000 (£46,000) for a children's hospital in Cambodia -- which promptly refused to accept the money because it disapproved of raising cash from female nudity.
Although the hospital survives from hand to mouth, its Swiss director said that he did not want to upset patients and staff, even though it might be difficult for some in the West to understand Cambodian sensibilities.
Beat Richner added that the Government in Phnom Penh might be offended if the hospital were to benefit from a perceived insult to the wife of the French President.
Dr. Beat Richner (born March 13, 1947) is a Swiss pediatrician, cellist (Beatocello), and founder of children's hospitals in Cambodia. Richner worked at the Kantha Bopha Children's Hospital in Phnom Penh in 1974 and 1975. When the Khmer Rouge overran Cambodia, he was forced to return to Switzerland. In 1991, Richner returned to Cambodia and saw the devastation that had taken place during his absence. He was asked to re-open the children's hospital by the King. He has opened four children's hospitals in Cambodia, Kantha Bopha I and II in Phnom Penh and Jayavarman VII in Siem Reap. Kantha Bopha IV was opened in Phnom Penh in December 2005. A 5th hospital is currently being constructed (also in Phnom Penh). Beatocello performs free concerts at the Jayavarman VII hospital in Siem Reap on Friday and Saturday nights. The evenings include songs, played on his cello, and talks on the health crisis in Cambodia. He asks the young tourists for blood, the older tourists for money, and the ones in between for both. Richner and his work in Cambodia have been the subject of five documentary films by Georges Gachot: Bach at the Pagoda (1997), And the Beat Goes On (1999), Depardieu goes for Beatocello (2002), and Money or Blood (2004). In 2006, the documentary "Dr Beat and The Passive Genocide of Children" by Australian film maker Janine Hosking was produced with the trailer viewable at http://www.drbeat.com.au.
Dr. Beat Richner (born March 13, 1947) is a Swiss pediatrician, cellist (Beatocello), and founder of children's hospitals in Cambodia.
Richner worked at the Kantha Bopha Children's Hospital in Phnom Penh in 1974 and 1975. When the Khmer Rouge overran Cambodia, he was forced to return to Switzerland.
In 1991, Richner returned to Cambodia and saw the devastation that had taken place during his absence. He was asked to re-open the children's hospital by the King.
He has opened four children's hospitals in Cambodia, Kantha Bopha I and II in Phnom Penh and Jayavarman VII in Siem Reap. Kantha Bopha IV was opened in Phnom Penh in December 2005. A 5th hospital is currently being constructed (also in Phnom Penh).
Beatocello performs free concerts at the Jayavarman VII hospital in Siem Reap on Friday and Saturday nights. The evenings include songs, played on his cello, and talks on the health crisis in Cambodia. He asks the young tourists for blood, the older tourists for money, and the ones in between for both.
Richner and his work in Cambodia have been the subject of five documentary films by Georges Gachot: Bach at the Pagoda (1997), And the Beat Goes On (1999), Depardieu goes for Beatocello (2002), and Money or Blood (2004). In 2006, the documentary "Dr Beat and The Passive Genocide of Children" by Australian film maker Janine Hosking was produced with the trailer viewable at http://www.drbeat.com.au.
