Fire Destroys Hundreds of Slum Homes By Chiep Mony, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
11 April 2008
A seven-hour fire burned down several hundred homes on the outskirts of Phnom Penh early Monday, and residents say the fire department did little to stop it.
The fire started around 5 am Monday and continued burning until around noon, destroying an entire village of makeshift homes.
Residents said the fire department refused to put out the flames because the people couldn't pay them bribes.
"I asked the firemen to extinguish my house, but the firemen said they did not have water," Chhen Saray, said as she wept. "The firemen extinguished only the houses of the rich, not the poor."
The fire comes just days before the start of Khmer New Year, a traditional time of nationwide celebration. No casualties were reported, and the cause is under investigation.
A fire department official denied claims of negligence, saying his men were hard-pressed to stop the fire in an area with streets too narrow for his trucks.
"The firemen had difficulty extinguishing the fire, because the roads leading the slum were too small," said Sok Vannra, first deputy chief of the Phnom Penh fire department. "We were fighting the fire from 5:30 am, and we almost had no water to drink, but we are still criticized by the residents."
A second resident said her house was saved by firemen only after her uncle, who knew some other firemen, convinced them to put out the flames. Her uncle later paid five men $10, she said.
Phnom Penh Deputy Governor Mab Sarin said Friday the city had no plans to develop the area.
"The Phnom Penh municipality has instructed district governors and deputy governors to consider finding a proper place for victims to stay," he said.
The fire started around 5 am Monday and continued burning until around noon, destroying an entire village of makeshift homes.
Residents said the fire department refused to put out the flames because the people couldn't pay them bribes.
"I asked the firemen to extinguish my house, but the firemen said they did not have water," Chhen Saray, said as she wept. "The firemen extinguished only the houses of the rich, not the poor."
The fire comes just days before the start of Khmer New Year, a traditional time of nationwide celebration. No casualties were reported, and the cause is under investigation.
A fire department official denied claims of negligence, saying his men were hard-pressed to stop the fire in an area with streets too narrow for his trucks.
"The firemen had difficulty extinguishing the fire, because the roads leading the slum were too small," said Sok Vannra, first deputy chief of the Phnom Penh fire department. "We were fighting the fire from 5:30 am, and we almost had no water to drink, but we are still criticized by the residents."
A second resident said her house was saved by firemen only after her uncle, who knew some other firemen, convinced them to put out the flames. Her uncle later paid five men $10, she said.
Phnom Penh Deputy Governor Mab Sarin said Friday the city had no plans to develop the area.
"The Phnom Penh municipality has instructed district governors and deputy governors to consider finding a proper place for victims to stay," he said.
21 comments:
Please, help save Khmer People.
Stop Ah savage killer Xam Rainxy now!
what is this the tactic of reverse pyschology? Cracking my ass out laughing at this fool right now
Sam Raingsy has nothing to do with the fire. The fire department belongs to Hun Xen'government. Do you just want to cuss Sam Raingsy without any good reason because you hate him. Can you give me one obvious reason why you hate him so much? Why don't you appeal to your favorite Hun Xen to help save people. When you said:" please, save Khmer peole," did you appeal to ghost?
We do have a typical question that government under Hun Sen leadership work for the poor and desperate peoples or not? Many national budget has been inserted to tackle of emergent disaster, but why firemen neglected their duty or fire department cannot complete their job.
Fire department members have to be fired, if not so this government has to step down themselves as they are irresponsible to rescue the desperate peoples suffered by fire.
They look so pathetic!
Yeah, but Ah notorious killer Xam Rainxy's gangs burn us down to make us all suffer. That way, the government look bad for the election. They have been using this tactic relentlessly to try to win the election, and that is evil, and they must be stopped.
Do you have any solid proof when you accused Sam Raingsy of doing wrong in this case. I think that Sam Rangsy is not that vicious as to harm his own people. And don't you even misuderstand that I say this because I am one of Sam Raingsy advocates. I just want to be fair. Oh, and one more thing: I want to request that you should stand in front of a mirror and keep saying all your cussing words, and look at yourself in the mirror to see how good you look.
Yes, we got ton of proofs. I mean their finger prints was left behind all over the crime scenes.
Hey you Viet troller/pimp/parasite/plunderer @5:34 AM, @7:14 AM, and 7:36 AM,
You Viet troller/intruder admitted yourself here on KI-Media to being a Viet-born and national.
You Viet troller/intruder have been dumping tons of trashes here on KI-Media over God knows for how long.
You Viet troller/intruder pretend to be Cambodian/Khmer speaking up for Cambodian/Khmer and giving Cambodian/Khmer a bad name.
You Viet troller/intruder trash everybody here on KI-Media calling Cambodian/Khmer all sort of names to boast, to sabotage and to destroy Cambodian/Khmer for the benefit of you Viet intruder/plunderer....
Now, you Viet trash/troller/intruder/parasite call that a debate?
Does history and now a live example of you Viet trash/troller here on KI-Media tell Cambodian/Khmer anything about the Viet's trustworthiness?
Cambodian/Khmer and the whole world see and know the true colors of you Viet troller/intruder/invader/plunderer/parasite too well already.
In plain and simple English, now, and again what part of you "getting the fuck out of KI-Media" don't you understand huh you fucking Viet troller/intruder/pimp/plunderer?
Let's see you Viet pimp/parasite's tail between your legs and run on home out of KI-Media now!
Go home Viet, go home!
You will hurt the Viet and not hurting us Cambodian/Khmer by hanging around here on KI-Media and having made such comments.
Go home Viet, go home!
The world sees and knows you Viet true colors already!!!
11:02 AM
Ah Vicious Children Killer of ah prohock HunSen is on heroin and hallucinating again. Please hide all your children for their safety. Hurry! Hurry!
Did the corrupt city officials or developers hire someone to lit the fires? In the past, the areas near the Bouding slums were burnt to the grounds after the authority cannot evict the residents. At that time many people suspected that the corrupt officials who sold the lands to developers hired someone to lit the fires. They think that if they cannot evict the people by force, the easiest way to evict them is to burn their houses down and they will leave after that. Also, it's true that corrupt firemen will only try to extinguish fires from someone's houses who have they money to pay them. In the past, many houses were allowed to burn because the owners did not have the money to pay the firemen.
I feel so sorry for one of the chatters who might have the brain damage or he might have one side of the brains from birth, that's why he 's cussing in every of his comments. Let's help each other find a dog's or a monkey's brain to fill the other half of his brains, so could be able to cut down some cussing words. He's the 7:14. I am very grateful to everyone in advance.
i think these fire is just another tactic of hun sen cpp tried to sweep the people for lands. that's all! i don't want this to happen, but just keep your fingers across.
No way, Jose, that is not how CPP works, but Ah notorious children killer Xam Rainxy. He's method of winning the election is by destroying people life to make them suffer so that the government will look bad.
Wrong date...this happened on Friday..Why in the artical...they wrote on 5.30 am Monday...What the fuck worng???? tell the writer and reporter
11:58 I admire you deeply to the hell, dude, for acting as a very good dog barking to defend your cocky puppetic PM. You must be a good dog that never bites hand that feeds you, ha? Are you? Do you speak Xmer, just a little bit? Do you live in Boung Beu, where AngkoWatt is situated?
Hey dude, you don't need Phd to know Ah savage children killer Xam Rainxy's pattern and tactic, alright?
That is the more people suffer, the worse the government looks, and the more votes opposition can get for the election. That is is ideology.
well, once a while you talk like a decent person does. But most of the time you speak arrogantly, just like Hun Xen does. Were you arrogant like Hun Xen was. Are you both related in blood? No wander, ha? Do you live in Boung Beu, where AngkoWatt is situated since you illegally sneaked into my country? You've got to run back to Vietnam soon, dude, or you're be chait roy!
Wrong, you got everything upside-down. We did not sneak into your country. It is you who sneak into our country. The Chinese people have been here thousands of years before you came from India.
Big wrong, dude, Khmer-morn did not descend from Indians. You can easily tell that by the different look between the Khmer-morn and the Indian. If we khmer desced from Indians, at least some of us have similar looks of Indian. It was true that a little bit earlier and during the reign of Princess Liv Yee, there were some indian people and merchants came to settled in Nokor Kauk Tlork. And One of the Indian Merchant got married with Princess Liv Yee. As for Chinese they came into Cambodia in the 1800's, not thousands of years as you mistakenly claimed.
Bullshit, if what you said is true, then the oldest skeletons and bones found in the area would have belonged to the Khmer. But that was not the case. The oldest human remain in this region belong to Chinese descendant here.
Furthermore, you can't call every Phnong tribe in this area Khmer just to claim the land belong to you. Khmer is only one tribe, not every tribe on the planet. Otherwise the whole planet, include China belong to Khmer. No one is going to buy that stupid Hollywood fairy tale.
1. The fire was really an accident.
2. A lot of housing in and around phnom penh are very poors in terms of fire safety (electrical wire, rubbishes burning and lying down everywhere).
3. The streets are very small, that make the way for the rescue vehicles very difficult.
4. Once it burns, the city firefighters often cannot do anything, because of lack of support equipment. But in majority of case, fortunately, there is no or few victims.
5. The crowd and people are crazy and often consitutes a threat for the firefighters (damage the hoses, truck, etc.).
6. The government does not give a shit to fire safety and the fire services: lack of support and looking down on them; poor equipments, poor materials and very low salary for the fire fighters: between 15 to 25 usd/month. Most of them have a second job as motodoup to survive. As a results (it does not excuse that kind of corrruption), they are forced to ask financial participation from the properties owner...
CONCLUSION: as long as we have monkeys in the government, this situation, as other situation will never end. But Cambodia is a democracy with the vote of the people. If people choose the officials who make them suffer, this is their choice. We call it masochism...
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