06 March 2006
Or Phearith
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by KI-Media
The gap between the rich and the poor is so wide that some poor people had complained that they’d rather die than live like this.
On a trip along National Road No. 7, about 15 km before reaching Kampong Cham city, at the Treung crossroad, then following road no. 72 to the north for about 35 km, one reaches village no. 32 located slightly west of road 72. The villagers there complained [to us] about their suffering due to poverty.
A 50-year-old woman said that she only wanted to die because of the wide gap between the poor and the rich. There is so much difference that the rich can only be happier while the poor are more and more worried.
She added: “Life of the rich, they are happier, they spend $100 a day, whereas the poor, they can’t even see a dollar …”
The poverty the woman was talking about is based on the comparison of the livelihood of the people in her village who are in majority working as laborer clearing fields for others. The villagers earn their income as field clearing laborers or as other type of menial labors, and it does not provide enough to support the cost of goods they need.
The same woman continued: “Nowadays, the livelihood of the poor is very difficult. Price of goods is rising, the poor are very sad, and they are becoming very skinny now...”
Face with poverty, this woman is requesting that the price of goods be lowered so that people like her can survive also.
Inhabitants of village no. 32 told us that hardship started in the village following the cutting of the rubber trees and the transfer of the public land of the rubber plantation to a private company. They then lost their job at the plantation, and the new owner did not allow them to plant crops on the land left over from the cutting of the rubber trees. Instead, the new owner decided to lease the land to merchants who are able to pay $100 to $300 a hectare per year depending on the quality of the field. In this issue, the villagers are looking for help from the state to help them lease the land so that they can plant crops to survive.
One villager made the following request: “Please help lease the state land for us so that we can plant crops and we wouldn’t need to steal from others anymore…”
The commune chief of Ta Ong told us that the new owner did not provide fertile land to poor people who cannot afford to pay to plant crops.
Furthermore, no one can contact anybody in the company to find out why it does not provide land to the poor people so they can plant crops to survive from poverty.
Regarding this problem, Mao Monivann, the member of parliament from Kampong Cham, told the villagers to tally the total number of them who lack land. He will then take this tally to discuss with the provincial governor and the minister of agriculture to find a solution.
As for the [director] of the Chamkar Andong rubber company (the original owner), it made the following request to the new owner: “I think that the [new] company owner should be indulgent to the former rubber plantation workers. Now that they cut down all the rubber trees to plant new ones, the land should not be leased to the villagers, they should allow the people to plant crops for a while until the young rubber trees mature, then they can find another solution.”
The Ta Ong commune chief also recognized that some people do not have land to plant crops, but the difficulty also arises when they were offered to be moved to a new location with available field land, they declined the offer.
Mao Monivann told us: “There is a Korean [company] looking for about 30 to 40 families of laborers to plant potatoes in Veal Rinh [Kampot province], near Yeay Mao, when I told the villagers about this, they did not want to move.”
The point raised by Mao Monivann support the claim of the Ta Ong commune chief.
Mao Monivann added: “Laborers who have no work, they should go to work for this [Korean] company, and the government should push for more companies to invest in Cambodia so that all people have work.”
In village no. 32, because of poverty, in January, two women and one unborn child were beaten to death because they stole bananas from others due to hunger. Their remaining loved ones are in even dire situation now.
Chhon Lo, the husband of Nay Sopheng, one of the woman killed with her unborn child, expressed his thanks to MP Mao Monivann who collected donations from people in the US to provide him with 25 kilos of rice and $40, and he is also thanking Mr. and Mrs. Sao Yan, generous donors from Switzerland who sent $100 to the two victim families.
Chhon Lo said: “I am happy and I am thanking Mr. and Mrs. Sao Yan for provding donation to me.”
The Ta Ong commune chief informed that there are 2,000 families in his commune, and poverty is omnipresent in every village, except that the needs vary from village to village.
On a trip along National Road No. 7, about 15 km before reaching Kampong Cham city, at the Treung crossroad, then following road no. 72 to the north for about 35 km, one reaches village no. 32 located slightly west of road 72. The villagers there complained [to us] about their suffering due to poverty.
A 50-year-old woman said that she only wanted to die because of the wide gap between the poor and the rich. There is so much difference that the rich can only be happier while the poor are more and more worried.
She added: “Life of the rich, they are happier, they spend $100 a day, whereas the poor, they can’t even see a dollar …”
The poverty the woman was talking about is based on the comparison of the livelihood of the people in her village who are in majority working as laborer clearing fields for others. The villagers earn their income as field clearing laborers or as other type of menial labors, and it does not provide enough to support the cost of goods they need.
The same woman continued: “Nowadays, the livelihood of the poor is very difficult. Price of goods is rising, the poor are very sad, and they are becoming very skinny now...”
Face with poverty, this woman is requesting that the price of goods be lowered so that people like her can survive also.
Inhabitants of village no. 32 told us that hardship started in the village following the cutting of the rubber trees and the transfer of the public land of the rubber plantation to a private company. They then lost their job at the plantation, and the new owner did not allow them to plant crops on the land left over from the cutting of the rubber trees. Instead, the new owner decided to lease the land to merchants who are able to pay $100 to $300 a hectare per year depending on the quality of the field. In this issue, the villagers are looking for help from the state to help them lease the land so that they can plant crops to survive.
One villager made the following request: “Please help lease the state land for us so that we can plant crops and we wouldn’t need to steal from others anymore…”
The commune chief of Ta Ong told us that the new owner did not provide fertile land to poor people who cannot afford to pay to plant crops.
Furthermore, no one can contact anybody in the company to find out why it does not provide land to the poor people so they can plant crops to survive from poverty.
Regarding this problem, Mao Monivann, the member of parliament from Kampong Cham, told the villagers to tally the total number of them who lack land. He will then take this tally to discuss with the provincial governor and the minister of agriculture to find a solution.
As for the [director] of the Chamkar Andong rubber company (the original owner), it made the following request to the new owner: “I think that the [new] company owner should be indulgent to the former rubber plantation workers. Now that they cut down all the rubber trees to plant new ones, the land should not be leased to the villagers, they should allow the people to plant crops for a while until the young rubber trees mature, then they can find another solution.”
The Ta Ong commune chief also recognized that some people do not have land to plant crops, but the difficulty also arises when they were offered to be moved to a new location with available field land, they declined the offer.
Mao Monivann told us: “There is a Korean [company] looking for about 30 to 40 families of laborers to plant potatoes in Veal Rinh [Kampot province], near Yeay Mao, when I told the villagers about this, they did not want to move.”
The point raised by Mao Monivann support the claim of the Ta Ong commune chief.
Mao Monivann added: “Laborers who have no work, they should go to work for this [Korean] company, and the government should push for more companies to invest in Cambodia so that all people have work.”
In village no. 32, because of poverty, in January, two women and one unborn child were beaten to death because they stole bananas from others due to hunger. Their remaining loved ones are in even dire situation now.
Chhon Lo, the husband of Nay Sopheng, one of the woman killed with her unborn child, expressed his thanks to MP Mao Monivann who collected donations from people in the US to provide him with 25 kilos of rice and $40, and he is also thanking Mr. and Mrs. Sao Yan, generous donors from Switzerland who sent $100 to the two victim families.
Chhon Lo said: “I am happy and I am thanking Mr. and Mrs. Sao Yan for provding donation to me.”
The Ta Ong commune chief informed that there are 2,000 families in his commune, and poverty is omnipresent in every village, except that the needs vary from village to village.
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