The staggering story of Srey, spurned by the Cambodian capital

Phnom Penh (Cambodia). 24/01/2009: Tools used by hired workers to destroy Dey Krohom (Photo: John Vink/ Magnum)

11-05-2009
By Anne-Laure Porée
Ka-set

During the last eviction, Srey lost everything. She could not even save a pan. She feels humiliated, angry, desperate, sick and tired. So tired. She cannot sleep anymore. And she has lost hope. What can she reconstruct on these ashes? Tears are all she has left.

While, here and there in the capital of Cambodia, hundreds of families anxiously expect to be displaced by local authorities, we have met a woman whose history speaks volumes about the daily lives of poor people, who are undesirable in the city centre, subject to the tricks of officials and quarter (sangkat) chiefs, as well as the effects of the property boom. The story of Srey (an alias used to protect her and her family), who was evicted four times from the centre of Phnom Penh, is however not a typical one. She shares her cry of despair so that people like her be treated with dignity first. Scrutiny of the distressing itinerary of this family mother.

Evicted from land opposite Koh Pich island

Srey grew up in the province of Prey Veng in a family of farmers. She moved to Phnom Penh in 1988, where her husband who was in the military was assigned a post. They settled on a free plot of land near the Embassy of Russia, opposite the island of Koh Pich. There, Srey grew vegetables in her garden and earned enough to feed her family. But one day, while she accompanied her daughter to the hospital, the Thai company who had become the new owner of the land occupied by Srey and other families expelled the people living there in exchange for a compensation of 2,000 dollars.

Click to Read More...