ស្ថានភាពអ្នកប្រកបរបររើសសំរាម - Scavengers’ livelihood

2012-03-14
Radio Free Asia

អ្នករើសសំរាម ឬរបស់របរអេតចាយ នៅទីលានចាក់សំរាម នាភូមិបាគូ សង្កាត់ជើងឯក ខណ្ឌដង្កោ រាជធានីភ្នំពេញ ភាគច្រើនជាស្ត្រី និងកុមារ។

ពួកគេកំពុងប្រឈម នឹងបញ្ហាលំបាក ខាងជីវភាពរស់នៅ សុខភាព និងបញ្ហាជាច្រើនទៀត។ បញ្ហា ទាំងនេះ ពួកគាត់ បានអះអាង ថា បណ្ដាលមក ពីសមត្ថកិច្ច បានរឹតត្បិត សេរីភាព ក្នុងការ លក់ដូរ របស់របរ ដែលរើស បានពីគំនរ សំរាម នោះ។

សូមស្ដាប់សេចក្ដីរាយការណ៍របស់លោក សេក បណ្ឌិត ខាងក្រោម។ រូបថតថ្ងៃទី១១ ខែមីនា ឆ្នាំ២០១២ ដោយ សេក បណ្ឌិត។

The majority of trash scavengers at the refuse dump in Baku village, Cheung Ek commune, Dangkor district, Phnom Penh city, are women and children. They complain that they are facing difficulties in their livelihood, as well as facing health problems and other ailments. The scavengers claimed that their difficulties stemmed from the cops and the authorities which are restricting the sale of items they picked up from the trash dump.

Click here to download the audio program in MP3

Please listen to Sek Bandith’s report below. The pictures were taken on 11 March 2012 by Sek Bandith.

កុមារារើសសរសៃលួសស្ពាន់ដែលគេដុតយកចេញពីខ្សែភ្លើងចាស់ៗ។

A young girl picks up copper wire from electric wires that were burnt to recover the metal.

កុមារារើសស្ពាន់ដែលគេដុតយកចេញពីខ្សែភ្លើងចាស់ៗ។

Another child picks up copper wire from burnt electric wires.

កុមារីឈ្មោះ យឹង ខេន អាយុ ១២ឆ្នាំ កំពុងញែករបស់របរដែលរើសចេញពីគំនរសំរាម នៅភូមិបាគូ។

12-year-old Yoeung Khen is sorting through trash at Baku village.

យុវតី អាយុ ១៤ឆ្នាំ ឈ្មោះ ហេង សុខណាត ដែលត្រូវឡានដឹកសំរាមគាបដាច់ម្រាមដៃ ពេលកំពុងរើសអេតចាយ នៅទីលានចាក់សំរាម។

14-year-old Heng Soknath lost a finger when a refuse truck squeezed her while she was picking up trash.

ស្ត្រីអ្នករើសអេតចាយ នៅភូមិបាគូ ញែករបស់របរដែលរើសចេញពីគំនរសំរាម។

A scavenging woman in Baku is seen sorting her finding at Baku village.

បុរសវ័យចំណាស់ លីបាវរបស់របរអេតចាយចេញពីទីលានចាក់សំរាម នៅភូមិបាគូ។

An old man carries a load of scavenging items out of the trash dump in Baku village.

"រហូតដល់ឥឡូវ ចំណាស់នឹង មិនទាន់បានស្រណុកម៉ាអន្តិចហង!" - អ្នក​រើស​សំរាម​និយាយ​រឿង​ជីវិត​តស៊ូ - Life of a garbage scarvenger in Cambodia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gW89fN-wM8

A life on the margins

Workers at the Siem Reap dump form orderly queues while they wait for the next rubbish truck to arrive.Photo by: MICHAEL SLOAN

17-year-old Pruen Sokhim, one of the youngsters forced to scavenge at Siem Reap’s dump each day.Photo by: MICHAEL SLOAN

Friday, 24 June 2011
Michael Sloan and Thik Kaliyann
The Phnom Phnom Penh Post

PERHAPS it’s only in Cambodia that a rubbish dump can become a tourist attraction. Phnom Penh’s former Stung Meanchey dumpsite is a case in point, with HotelTravel.com saying: “If you ever wanted to remind your children how lucky they are, this is the place to bring them.”

But not so with Siem Reap’s garbage dump. Twenty kilometres out along National Road Six, there is a small village known only half jokingly by local NGOs as “Siem Reap’s dirty little secret”: a ramshackle slum built around the rim of a one-acre pit filled daily with garbage from the city.

More than 140 children and countless adults queue up alongside a column of garbage trucks each day, scraping a living by picking bottles and plastic out of the waste they deposit.

Cambodian Garbage Scavengers Face Deadly Health Risks

Steung Meanchey dump on outskirts of Phnom Penh

By Rory Byrne
Phnom Penh
30 October 2008

Click here to listen to Byrne report in English

In countries around the world, hundreds of thousands of poor people face daily hazards to earn meager livings by scavenging for recyclable goods. In Cambodia, hundreds of scavenger families find their lives changing - they will lose their homes and livelihoods when the government closes the dump where they work. Rory Byrne has this report from Phnom Penh.

Officially, it is the Steung Meanchey landfill site, but those who live here call it Smokey Mountain.

Steung Meanchey dump is a seven-hectare mountain of smoking garbage on the outskirts of the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh. Here some 2,000 workers, including about 600 children, sift through 700 tons of garbage a day.

In developing countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, garbage scavengers are among the poorest workers. In Cambodia, they typically earn about one dollar a day.

Ten-year-old Ya has been recycling bottles and cans at the dump for three years.

For children like Ya, going to school remains a distant dream

He says the situation here is terrible. He has to get up very early to work and finishes late in the evening. Ya says his life is very difficult. Collecting garbage brings him less than $1 a day which is not nearly enough to cover his expenses.

Most of the scavengers live in wooden shacks around the dump. There is no access to clean water or sanitation and epidemics are commonplace.

The risks here are high. Sharp-edged metals and broken glass leave nasty wounds. And garbage scavengers suffer high rates of serious diseases, such as hepatitis, tuberculosis and even AIDS. A number of scavengers have been killed or seriously injured when they were run over by garbage trucks.

Sok Kanhha has been working at dump for more than five years

She says it is very dangerous to work here - people can step on metal shards or nails for example or get hit and crushed by the dump trucks. She says she has injured herself with many things, like old needles.

Annette Jensen is the director of A New Day, a charity that provides free food, shelter and schooling to more than 100 children from Steung Meanchey dump.

"To see the children miserable, dirty, sad looking at the garbage dump and then have them arrive with their little plastic bag with all their belongings and move into the center. And to see their excitement about taking a shower. To see their excitement about getting their little bag of shampoo. And to see them clean, putting on their school uniform and going to school has just been amazing," says Jensen.

Annette Jensen, director of A New Day

But most of those working on Cambodia's landfills are not so lucky, and for children like Ya, going to school remains a distant dream,

Ya has he would go to school if he could stop working at the dump. He says he wants to go to school but cannot because his family is so poor.

Ya and his family now face a new challenge: the government plans to close Steung Meanchey and relocate the 535 families living there to land about 50 kilometers south of Phnom Penh.

The government will let them have tiny plots on which to build new homes. An official in charge of the project notes the location is near Udong Mountain, a tourist site, so that there are jobs available in the region. And he says, families are not being forced to move, but most are volunteering.

Still, no families have left so far. Many scavengers say they will be happy to leave the dump, but they are worried that they will not be able to make a living because the relocation camp is too far away from the city.

Gov’t officials not concerned about villagers scavenging plane debris to sell as scrap metal

Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

Following a report indicating that villagers are scavenging debris of the plane that crashed (in Kampot province) to sell to scrap metal dealers, government officials and an official from PMT Air claimed that they are not concerned about the villagers scavenging plane debris to sell. Khuoy Khun Huor, the deputy governor of the province of Kampot said that the villagers are carting off the plane metallic debris to sell as scrap metal, but he said that he is not concerned about this, as all the (investigation) work has already been completed. Khuoy Khun Huor told The Cambodia Daily that there is no need to investigate further on the plane carcass because it is no longer important. Eng Suosdey, the deputy secretary of state of the civil aviation department, also said that the plane carcass is no longer important, what his department needed was the plane’s black box only in order to find out the cause of the crash. Sar Sareth, president of PMT Air, the company that operates the crashed plane, said that he is happy to see the villagers carting off with the plane debris because it avoided his company from paying to clean up the site by itself. He said that the remainder of the plane is more valuable to the villagers than it is to his company.