By Jason McBride and Pin Sisovann
THE CAMBODIA DAILY
Wat Koh High School student Lay Srei Mom and her family lost their home when they were evicted from land next to Phnom Penh's Preah Monivong Hospital in June. Dropped into a field in Kandal province's Ang Snuol district some 30 km from the city, the 19-year-old struggled to keep up with her schoolwork. Lacking electricity, she had to study by candlelight. Water leaked through the roof of her family's makeshift house, smudging the words in her textbooks.
But Lay Srei Mom considers herself lucky. A Phnom Penh resident who heard about the plight of the Monivong community offered to take her in while she studied for her final exams earlier this month.
Although Lay Srei Mom fell behind in her work after the eviction, she feels hopeful that she has passed.
"At the [relocation site], some days I didn't have time to study," she said in a recent interview. "When I come [back to Phnom Penh], I have electricity, I have everything."
Lay Srei Mom, who is still living in Phnom Penh while she continues her studies, is not alone. In the past four months, four major evictions and relocations have sent more than 2,500 families from various sites to areas on the outskirts of the city. Many live in tents or shacks without electricity or clean drinking water. Transport costs to and from the capital are high, making it difficult for children to attend school.
The NGO Friends International has found itself deluged with children from evictions. Before the first phase of the Tonle Bassac commune eviction in May, Friends was looking after 30 children from previous, smaller-scale evictions staying in its transitional home. That number spiked to 184 in the last three months, said Ly Sophat, director of Friends. In an interview Sunday she said that 120 children are still staying with the NGO while they attend classes there.
"It is well known that a move is a traumatic experience for a child," said Sebastien Marot the NGO's coordinator. "[Especially] a move like this, where it’s been done with a lot of stress—to say the least."
Marot added that basic services need to be in place at relocation sites before residents arrive.
"The government is saying that things are coming. The current message is wait and we will build a school, wait there will be a clinic and so on," he said. "Verbally speaking they are [making preparations], but in reality they are doing very little there."
Chea Se, undersecretary of state at the Ministry of Education, said he had never heard relocations being discussed at his ministry. "When the municipality moves people from Tonle Bassac to the other place[s], they never inform the Ministry of Education," he said.
Deputy Municipal Governor Mann Chhoeun said that at the Andoung village relocation site in Dangkao district which is home to thousands of people relocated from Tonle Bassac commune in recent months, a five-room school building has been constructed with assistance from a Japanese NGO. Eight primary school teachers have been assigned to the school, he said, adding that construction is under way on a second school building in the village. "We will solve the issue as required," he said.
Srey Sothea, adviser to the management of the 7 NG property development company, said the firm is planning to build accommodation for kindergarten children at a second relocation site in Dangkao district, where more than 300 families, also evicted from Tonle Bassac, are living.
Thy Ratha, a 13-year-old girl whose family was evicted from Tonle Bassac commune in recent months, is staying at Friends. She likes the comfort of the facility, but she is separated from her grandmother, who stays in Andoung village, some 20 km from the city center.
"After the eviction, I'm afraid of my grandmother staying alone," she said, adding that her circumstances are impacting on her academic performance. "I don't study well," she said.
(Additional reporting by Kim Chan)
But Lay Srei Mom considers herself lucky. A Phnom Penh resident who heard about the plight of the Monivong community offered to take her in while she studied for her final exams earlier this month.
Although Lay Srei Mom fell behind in her work after the eviction, she feels hopeful that she has passed.
"At the [relocation site], some days I didn't have time to study," she said in a recent interview. "When I come [back to Phnom Penh], I have electricity, I have everything."
Lay Srei Mom, who is still living in Phnom Penh while she continues her studies, is not alone. In the past four months, four major evictions and relocations have sent more than 2,500 families from various sites to areas on the outskirts of the city. Many live in tents or shacks without electricity or clean drinking water. Transport costs to and from the capital are high, making it difficult for children to attend school.
The NGO Friends International has found itself deluged with children from evictions. Before the first phase of the Tonle Bassac commune eviction in May, Friends was looking after 30 children from previous, smaller-scale evictions staying in its transitional home. That number spiked to 184 in the last three months, said Ly Sophat, director of Friends. In an interview Sunday she said that 120 children are still staying with the NGO while they attend classes there.
"It is well known that a move is a traumatic experience for a child," said Sebastien Marot the NGO's coordinator. "[Especially] a move like this, where it’s been done with a lot of stress—to say the least."
Marot added that basic services need to be in place at relocation sites before residents arrive.
"The government is saying that things are coming. The current message is wait and we will build a school, wait there will be a clinic and so on," he said. "Verbally speaking they are [making preparations], but in reality they are doing very little there."
Chea Se, undersecretary of state at the Ministry of Education, said he had never heard relocations being discussed at his ministry. "When the municipality moves people from Tonle Bassac to the other place[s], they never inform the Ministry of Education," he said.
Deputy Municipal Governor Mann Chhoeun said that at the Andoung village relocation site in Dangkao district which is home to thousands of people relocated from Tonle Bassac commune in recent months, a five-room school building has been constructed with assistance from a Japanese NGO. Eight primary school teachers have been assigned to the school, he said, adding that construction is under way on a second school building in the village. "We will solve the issue as required," he said.
Srey Sothea, adviser to the management of the 7 NG property development company, said the firm is planning to build accommodation for kindergarten children at a second relocation site in Dangkao district, where more than 300 families, also evicted from Tonle Bassac, are living.
Thy Ratha, a 13-year-old girl whose family was evicted from Tonle Bassac commune in recent months, is staying at Friends. She likes the comfort of the facility, but she is separated from her grandmother, who stays in Andoung village, some 20 km from the city center.
"After the eviction, I'm afraid of my grandmother staying alone," she said, adding that her circumstances are impacting on her academic performance. "I don't study well," she said.
(Additional reporting by Kim Chan)
1 comment:
ah brutal hun sen, don't you have a heart for khmer people.
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