12 September 2007By Sophorn
Radio Free AsiaTranslated from Khmer by SocheataTbong Phnom is a village located about 90-kilometer from the city of Kompong Cham, even though about 20 large wooden homes are lining up the village road, behind these houses are numerous small huts covered with miserable looking leaves belonging to the large majority of the villagers.
Villagers and the village authority indicated that a larger number of Tbong Phnom villagers have been poor for the past 10 years because they lost their farmlands.
Chen Sary a woman who lives in Tbong Phnom village showed us an empty rice basket, she said that in her house, there is no rice to eat, her husband is bedridden, sick, and she has no money to pay for his healthcare. Among her 7 children, some are working for other people, and some others try to catch fish in ponds to sell and get some money to buy rice to eat.
Chen Sary said that in the 80s, she owned some farmland for planting rice, but because of illnesses and poverty, she was forced to sell everything. “Some times, we have no rice to eat. We would eat rice porridge (rice soup) with salted beans that I buy sometime for my children to eat,” she said.
Thy, a man from Tbong Phnom village, Taing Kraing commune, told us in his small hut covered with leaves and a plastic sheet, that he used to own some farmland for planting rice, but after having 4 children, his life became much worst, and he sold all the lands about 10-year ago.
Thy added that, currently, he is working as a laborer almost anywhere to get some money to feed his family. “I am very poor, we have nothing to eat so we sold our farmlands because of our needs. We sold a little bit at a time, until there was nothing left.”
Yin, an old widow, showed us a pot with some rice porridge in there, while saying that she had to eat rice porridge with soy sauce today because one of her son is bedridden sick, and her other 2 sons went far away to work as construction laborers, they did not send money to her on time to buy rice to eat. She said that since her husband died, all her farmlands were all sold away. “Please help me, my 2-3 children they don’t have anything, I have no farmlands, I was given some, but my children were in needs, I was forced to sell them to buy food to eat.”
Several other villagers are telling the same story over and over again that they don’t have any farmlands, and the authority never helped them. Most of the women villagers are forced to go work as laborers harvesting rice from place to place in order to earn some money to buy food.
Yoeun, the Tbong Phnom village chief, said that his village counts 236 families, and he recognized that a number of his constituents have no farmlands because they were forced to sell the lands distributed to them (to buy food), and those who have lands still, they can only plant the rice crop once a year only. He added that about 50% of the villagers are very poor for the past 10 years, however, he does not have the ability to help his constituents.
Koy Norn, the Taing Kraing commune chief, said that there are 2,047 families living in the commune, but the extent of farmlands is only 1,010-hectare. He said that he knows about the poverty of his constituents, because they owed money and being unable to pay it back, they were forced to sell their farmlands. He said that he has no means to help his constituents to improve their lot.
Sam Rainsy, the MP from Kompong Cham province, criticized the government inability which forced the villagers to face this dire situation. He said that he will report the villagers’ situation to the government to resolve this issue. “I ask all the brothers and sisters who are victims, to vote and replace the unable leaders who cannot lead the country.”
Hun Neng, the governor of the province of Kompong Cham, said last 27 August, that the ministry of land management conducted a seminar in Kratie province to review those who actually lack lands, and the authorities at all levels will guide the people in the near future.
Hun Neng added that the province of Kompong Cham will provide land to needy people in Memot district. “I have a plan also to provide lands to people for farming, but our plan in Kompong Cham province will be applied to the Choam Kravien commune, Memot district, first. Furthermore, we cannot speed up this process the way we want it.”
In order to help fight the hunger faced by the villagers, Sa Vath, an official from the Peace Building Alliance foundation, said that his foundation will lend money to the villagers interest-free so they can buy poultries and animals to raise, however, he said that the villagers should at least save 100 riels ($0.03) or more a day each to help their communities also.
Sa Vath said: “Before they can borrow money, they must receive education from us. If they are truly poor, if they have no lands, sometimes, what they have is too little, in this case, they can contact our provincial alliance. The most important for us in helping them, is to look at what they need. Therefore, we have our technicians who can evaluate about what these villagers can do based on the geography of the locations. When they contact us, we can ask them if they like their place, what they did in the past, the cause of their poverty, what did they do? Sometimes, we can make them change their professions.”
Sa Vath added that all these poor villagers can contact his foundation located directly in Kompong Cham province. His foundation will provide help to reduce poverty and he will visit by himself the situation of these villagers.
