April 18: After being forced to leave his family in Cambodia in 1975, NBC video editor Peter Chhun has returned on a lifesaving mission. A Making a Difference report from NBC's George Lewis. (Nightly News)
Showing posts with label Helping hands. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Helping hands. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Cambodia: collecting donations to help the poor and needy is a No No
Makeshift living conditions in Andoung Thmei village (Photo: SMD)
SMD students conducting a survey on people evicted from Sambok Chap (Photo: SMD)
SMD students collecting donations in Phnom Penh (Photo: SMD)Students collection donations to help people evicted from Sambok Chap
02 July 2007
By Uk Sav Bory
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy
A group of students who went into Phnom Penh markets to collect donations to help poor people evicted from Sambok Chap, were prevented to do so by the market authorities.
Ken Sara, the vice-president of the Students’ Movement for Democracy (SMD), said that about 30 volunteer students coming from various high schools and universities went into Phnom Penh markets on Monday 02 July morning, to collect donations to help several hundreds of poor families evicted from Sambok Chap area who currently lack shelters, lost their jobs, lack foods, lack clean waters, lack electricity, and who need urgent help since they were evicted from Phnom Penh and sent to live in Andoung Thmei and Trapeang Krasaing villages, Dankao district.
Ken Sara said that prior to entering the markets, SMD sent letter asking for authorizations from the market authorities and the Phnom Penh municipal authority, nevertheless, in some markets, they were still prevented to get in. “They said that the entry to each market must receive the authorization from the district office first, then they will allow us to enter,” Ken Sara said of the local market authority prevention.
Freshman students from the Phnom Penh Royal University said that the students divide themselves into four groups, and went into four different Phnom Penh markets: Phsar Thmei, Olympic, O’Russei, and Kab Ko, to ask for donations to help poor needy people evicted from Sambok Chap area. The collection of donations were stopped by the Phsar Thmei an Olympic markets security officers. Nevertheless, some generous donors still hand in their donations.
A female student said: “We cannot get inside the market, but our group was able to collect 640,000 riels (~$160).”
A psychology-major student from the Phnom Penh Royal University said that a group of students went to study the living conditions of the people evicted from Sambok Chap, they noted that these people lack everything, and the government should provide help to them. But, to the contrary, the government ignored these people, left them to live on unsanitary waters, without proper shelters, that were the reasons why the students decided to collect donations from markets to help these needy people.
The same psychology-major student said: “I visited the area myself with 10 other students. We observed that they have a lot of difficulties, they lack everything, no food, no water, no electricity, and even their tents are all torn up, and their shelters are very small.”
A security official from Phsar Thmei said that these students did not have an authorization letter to collect donations in the market.
Dr Pung Chiv Kek, President of Licadho human rights organization, said that the prevention by the market authority is a violation of the students’ rights, as these students want to show their solidarity in helping the poor people of their country.
1,367 families were evicted from Phnom Penh Sambok Chap area, and they were sent to live in Andoung Thmei and Trapeang Krasaing villages in Dangkao district, on 06 June 2006. Besides these families, another 488 families of renters are currently living in makeshift tents and no lands were provided to them. In the Andoung Thmei village, more than 1,000 families are living in mud during this rainy season, and several children and adults died of disease they contracted in this new area.
For further information about SMD or to help SMD, please click here.
Ken Sara, the vice-president of the Students’ Movement for Democracy (SMD), said that about 30 volunteer students coming from various high schools and universities went into Phnom Penh markets on Monday 02 July morning, to collect donations to help several hundreds of poor families evicted from Sambok Chap area who currently lack shelters, lost their jobs, lack foods, lack clean waters, lack electricity, and who need urgent help since they were evicted from Phnom Penh and sent to live in Andoung Thmei and Trapeang Krasaing villages, Dankao district.
Ken Sara said that prior to entering the markets, SMD sent letter asking for authorizations from the market authorities and the Phnom Penh municipal authority, nevertheless, in some markets, they were still prevented to get in. “They said that the entry to each market must receive the authorization from the district office first, then they will allow us to enter,” Ken Sara said of the local market authority prevention.
Freshman students from the Phnom Penh Royal University said that the students divide themselves into four groups, and went into four different Phnom Penh markets: Phsar Thmei, Olympic, O’Russei, and Kab Ko, to ask for donations to help poor needy people evicted from Sambok Chap area. The collection of donations were stopped by the Phsar Thmei an Olympic markets security officers. Nevertheless, some generous donors still hand in their donations.
A female student said: “We cannot get inside the market, but our group was able to collect 640,000 riels (~$160).”
A psychology-major student from the Phnom Penh Royal University said that a group of students went to study the living conditions of the people evicted from Sambok Chap, they noted that these people lack everything, and the government should provide help to them. But, to the contrary, the government ignored these people, left them to live on unsanitary waters, without proper shelters, that were the reasons why the students decided to collect donations from markets to help these needy people.
The same psychology-major student said: “I visited the area myself with 10 other students. We observed that they have a lot of difficulties, they lack everything, no food, no water, no electricity, and even their tents are all torn up, and their shelters are very small.”
A security official from Phsar Thmei said that these students did not have an authorization letter to collect donations in the market.
Dr Pung Chiv Kek, President of Licadho human rights organization, said that the prevention by the market authority is a violation of the students’ rights, as these students want to show their solidarity in helping the poor people of their country.
1,367 families were evicted from Phnom Penh Sambok Chap area, and they were sent to live in Andoung Thmei and Trapeang Krasaing villages in Dangkao district, on 06 June 2006. Besides these families, another 488 families of renters are currently living in makeshift tents and no lands were provided to them. In the Andoung Thmei village, more than 1,000 families are living in mud during this rainy season, and several children and adults died of disease they contracted in this new area.
For further information about SMD or to help SMD, please click here.
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