In her makeshift home at the relocation site, Srey Na, 12, holds an English textbook for a class in the city she says she can no longer attend. (Photo by: TRACEY SHELTON)28 Jan 2009
SOS Children (UK)
Hundreds of poor children and their families are now homeless, after Cambodian police evicted them from their slum using teargas. Eight people were hurt in Saturday’s forced eviction of 80 families from an area of the capital, Phnom Penh.
At least two of the eight slum dwellers were seriously hurt in clashes with ‘clean-up crews’ hired to tear down the dwellings on government land they were told had been sold to private company. Witnesses said an old woman and a boy were hit by a bulldozer, while others were hurt in clashes with the workers armed with clubs and stones, reported news agency, Reuters. Police denied using excessive force to evict the group, who had fought their eviction for three years.
The vast majority of the decade-old Dey Krahorm community is now homeless. Squatters rejected the company, 7NG’s offer of $20,000 per family in compensation for the prime plot facing the Mekong River. They now face rebuilding their lives with nothing. The Phnom Penh municipality has provided less than 30 of the 152 families with shelter at a resettlement site 10 miles from the city. Earlier, most of the community rejected being resettled there because it was too far from Phnom Penh, where they work, mostly as street vendors.
At first, police would not allow journalists or human rights workers to observe the eviction, the BBC reported. Dey Krahorm was the heart of Cambodia's artistic community. Some families were not able to retrieve belongings before the demolition. Their instruments were left among the rubble.
Land grabs are a hot issue in Cambodia, where clothes factories and hotels have sprung up to expand the major textile and tourist industries. Last week, police opened fire on farmers protesting against a land grab south of Phnom Penh, wounding two of them, rights activists told Reuters. Those affected are almost exclusively people living in poverty. In 2008, at least 27 forced evictions affecting more than 20,000 people were reported in the media and by local organisations.
Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in the world. Destroyed by decades of war, civil strife, political instability and economic depletion, Cambodia's infrastructure is only slowly being rebuilt. More than half its population is under the age of 18. It is one of the countries in the region most affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
SOS Children has three Children’s Villages in Cambodia. First to open was one in the capital, Phnom Penh, where the slums were cleared. The village has 14 family houses and is home to 140 children.
Written by Hayley Jarvis for SOS Children
At least two of the eight slum dwellers were seriously hurt in clashes with ‘clean-up crews’ hired to tear down the dwellings on government land they were told had been sold to private company. Witnesses said an old woman and a boy were hit by a bulldozer, while others were hurt in clashes with the workers armed with clubs and stones, reported news agency, Reuters. Police denied using excessive force to evict the group, who had fought their eviction for three years.
The vast majority of the decade-old Dey Krahorm community is now homeless. Squatters rejected the company, 7NG’s offer of $20,000 per family in compensation for the prime plot facing the Mekong River. They now face rebuilding their lives with nothing. The Phnom Penh municipality has provided less than 30 of the 152 families with shelter at a resettlement site 10 miles from the city. Earlier, most of the community rejected being resettled there because it was too far from Phnom Penh, where they work, mostly as street vendors.
At first, police would not allow journalists or human rights workers to observe the eviction, the BBC reported. Dey Krahorm was the heart of Cambodia's artistic community. Some families were not able to retrieve belongings before the demolition. Their instruments were left among the rubble.
Land grabs are a hot issue in Cambodia, where clothes factories and hotels have sprung up to expand the major textile and tourist industries. Last week, police opened fire on farmers protesting against a land grab south of Phnom Penh, wounding two of them, rights activists told Reuters. Those affected are almost exclusively people living in poverty. In 2008, at least 27 forced evictions affecting more than 20,000 people were reported in the media and by local organisations.
Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in the world. Destroyed by decades of war, civil strife, political instability and economic depletion, Cambodia's infrastructure is only slowly being rebuilt. More than half its population is under the age of 18. It is one of the countries in the region most affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
SOS Children has three Children’s Villages in Cambodia. First to open was one in the capital, Phnom Penh, where the slums were cleared. The village has 14 family houses and is home to 140 children.
Written by Hayley Jarvis for SOS Children
10 comments:
What difference does it make, living in a slum or living in the wood?
because in the 'slum' they had electricity, water and a roof over their heads and they weren't 16km outside PP.
They should have accepted the $20,000 offer. But they were greedy and wanted $50,000. Some of them didn't have legal residence there and moved in after the land was bought to get $20,000. You can do a lot with $20,000. You can rent a place for around $30 a month and use the rest of the money to start a business and earn a living.
But too many Khmer people are lazy. I'm all for human rights, but people behaviors have to change too. Some areas in Phnom Penh are run down and dirty. Please just pile up garbage in front of their house rather than burn them. They'd rather drink and pick on each other lice.
I'm sorry, but the truth is the truth. You have a lot of Westerners running around talking shit about government while they go around and screw our women and children. These white people are the real enemies of the Khmer people. They just want to keep us down by keeping us fighting each other. It's time for the Khmer people to unite against the Western imperialists.
For 20,000 USD, you can definitely get out of the slum. But no, they want to follow Pouk Ah Scam Rainxy's "Get Rich Quick" scheme.
I wonder how much 7NG paid some of these commentator?!!!
Enough to treat your family to a good restaurant for Chinese New Year.
Are you jealous, 1:03?
potatoe head1:03 AM
3:43 AM , HUN SEN WILL RAPE YOUR WIFE THEN YOUR UNDERAGE DAUGHTER .. AND PAY YOU $20,000 ,YES IT CAN DO A LOT WITH THAT MONEY IN CAMBODIA .. WHEN YOU SEE HUN SEN SCREW UP YOUR WIFE AND YOU UNDERAGE DAUGHTER PUSSY .. I KNOW THIS KIND OF WORD ARE MEANINGLESS TO YOU, BUT PEOPLE LIKE YOU NEED IT , CUS , YOU LOVE TO SEE OTHER SUFFER , ONE DAY YOUR FAMILY WILL FACE THE SAME FATE , AND THE PEOPLE THAT SUFFER NOW WILL LAUGH AT YOU THE SAME YOU DID TO THEM NOW .. MARK MY WORD , YOUR FAMILY WILL SUFFER MORE TEN THESE PEOPLE YOU MAKING FUN AT NOW .
This evil should get his dysfunction eyeball replaced so that he can see things around him clearly especially the Cambodian children. He should consider children as his top priority and they’re the country’s foundation. There are many poor children are now homes after their houses have been destroyed.
What kind of a leader is this? There is no word to describe and fit his actions toward the children at Dey Krohorm.
correction: homes=homeless
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