Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Trip to Cambodia opens eyes of Chicago native

Dey Krahorm forced eviction (Photo: Sarah Grime)

September 7, 2009
Sara Lugardo
Los Angeles Examiner (California, USA)

Christine Robinson grew up in the Chicago area and attended the University of Iowa with a Bachelors’ in International Studies. Her recent visit to Cambodia opened her eyes to their economic situation.

While staying at a hotel in Phnom Penh Christine witnessed the forced evacuation of the slum, Dey Krahorm, by the Cambodian military. Trucks hauled out the few possessions people were allowed to take from their homes.

The evacuation of the slum was in collaboration with the Cambodian Peoples’ Party and a development company named 7NG. The 150 families living in the slum had been offered compensation by 7NG to relocate to Cham Chao before the evictions.

However, by relocating, the families would lose their income and so they refused. Once negotiations failed, the police and the Cambodian military forcefully evacuated the families.

Christine wrote on WIP that according to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Cambodia, “The eviction was carried out in the middle of the night, with bulldozers, tear gas, rubber bullets, batons, and workers equipped with sticks and axes contracted to demolish the houses… The residents were thrown onto the street to watch their homes being destroyed.”

Cambodia has a long history of battling with property rights and this situation is very common to its’ people. Check out Christine’s full story on Property Rights for the Urban Poor in Cambodia.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Democratic Kampuchea Pol Pot Khmer Rouge Regime had committed:

Tortures
Executions
Massacres
Atrocities
Crimes Against Humanity
Starvations
Overwork to Death
Slavery
Rapes
Human Abuses
Assault and Battery


Cambodian People's Party Hun Sen Khmer Rouge Regime had committed:

Assassinations
Assassinated Journalists
Assassinated Political Opponents
Assassinated Leader of the Free Trade Union
Attempted Assassinations on Chea Vichea and Sam Rainsy
Attempted Murders on Chea Vichea and Sam Rainsy
Executed members of FUNCINPEC Party
Murders members and activists of Sam Rainsy Party
Killings
Extrajudicial Execution
Grenade Attack
Terrorism
Drive by Shooting
Tortures
Intimidations
Death Threats
Threatening
Human Abductions
Human Rights Abuses
Human Trafficking
Drugs Trafficking
Under Age Child Sex
Corruptions
Bribery
Illegal Mass Evictions
Illegal Land Grabbing
Illegal Firearms
Illegal Logging
Illegal Deforestation
Illegally use of remote detonation on Sokha Helicopter, while Hok Lundy and others military official on board.
Illegally Sold State Properties
Illegally Remove Parliamentary Immunity of Parliament Members
Plunder National Resources
Acid Attacks
Turn Cambodia into a Lawless Country
Oppression
Injustice
Steal Votes
Bring Foreigners from Veitnam to vote in Cambodia for Cambodian People's Party.
Abuse the Court as a tools for CPP to send political opponents and journalists to jail.
Abuse of Power
Abuse the Laws
Abuse the National Election Committee
Abuse the National Assembly
Violate the Laws
Violate the Constitution
Violate the Paris Accords
Impunity

Under the Cambodian People's Party Hun Sen Khmer Rouge Regime, no criminals that has been committed crimes against journalists, political opponents, leader of the Free Trade Union, innocent men, women and children have ever been brought to justice. 

Anonymous said...

to be fair to cambodia, in any developing country, when you have a development, you will see displacement, especially in cambodia due the aftermath of the stupid KR. anyway, the question should be a fair compensation for the displaced, not to stop the development altogether. a country like cambodia is hunger for develop in order to be competitive in the region and the world, for that matter. so, let's be fair to cambodia and stop always politicize it! be smarter for a change, ok! it's easier to criticize than walk in someone else's shoes! think about it!

Anonymous said...

3:13 AM
people got evicted from their homes in the middle of the night by the government and you ask for fairness to the government ?
You are not blind are you ?

Anonymous said...

3:13 AM ! If you were one of those people who have been evicted , will you still have the same oppinion about the eviction that carry out by the local government ?
I guess not .
But , maybe some of those people got what they deserved by voting for the CPP.

Anonymous said...

The Dey Kraham Drama is very similar to the Global Financial Crisis. This is greed expressed by private vested interests.

Anonymous said...

1.20AM, can you please stop these scripts coming through because it really fill in the screen and it is kind of annoyed. I understand alot of unfair things going on but if you put it all the times, it becomes so sick, please let others quality critical ideas coming we can develop our country well. let the past be bye gone and let the new system begin!, OK?.

Anonymous said...

1.20AM, can you please stop these scripts coming through because it really fill in the screen and it is kind of annoyed. I understand a lot of unfair things going on but if you put it all the times, it becomes so sick, please let others quality critical ideas coming through, so we can develop our country well. In other words, let the past be bye gone and let the new system begin!, OK?.