Numbers Rising, Sanitation Poor at Relocation Site
"Our situation is like the life of a frog living in a small hole."
—Im Kimhuong,
Relocated Tonle Bassac
Villager
—Im Kimhuong,
Relocated Tonle Bassac
Villager
Kuch Naren and Jason McBride
THE CAMBODIA DAILY
In the large puddles of brown, murky rainwater used as latrines in Dangkao district's Andong village, children waded to cool themselves off from the afternoon heat Sunday.
Mao Piseth, a 13-year-old boy who was relocated to this crammed, three-hectare site from Tonle Bassac commune's Village 14 on Tuesday, said that he has also been drinking from the pond water.
"Although I itch all the time, I swim in the pond. I could not stop because the weather is really hot," he said. "I have suffered a lot from bad diarrhea and red spots on my skin, [but] my parents are not able to buy medicine for me."
Hundreds of families were relocated from Village 14 Tuesday morning to Andong, located about 20 km outside Phnom Penh, after several hundred police and military police officials armed with tear gas, batons and some assault rifles carried out City Hall's promise to evict the last remaining residents.
But families from elsewhere have been moving to the Kok Roka commune site in the days since, bringing the population up to more than 1,300 families, officials and villagers have said.
On Sunday, workers with bulldozers and trucks could be seen hastily dumping dirt in a small lake in a bid to try to create more land.
Villagers say there are only about 10 latrines at the site, which are little more than holes in the ground surrounded by tarpaulin. Nhean Sarin, a medical official with local rights group Licadho, said he treated 260 people at the site on Sunday. "I think in the future, [people] will get more sick," he said.
Several residents said they cannot afford to travel the 20 km to the capital to find work, adding that their children are no longer able to attend classes.
Nou Nara, an 11-year-old boy at the site, said his lather had worked as a construction worker while living at Village 14, but that he could not afford to travel to work by motorbike taxi from the new site.
Im Kimhuong, a 38-year-old woman living at the site, appealed for the municipality to provide food and water.
"The municipality dumped us here and they do not help us with any materials for shelter construction," she said. "Our situation is like the life of a frog living in a small hole."
Phnom Penh vice governor Pa Socheatvong declined comment Sunday but said he would discuss the situation today.
Long Yoeun, a 35-year-old female construction worker in Phnom Penh, said she was uncertain what had caused the population boom at the relocation site.
"I have no idea where those villagers came from," she said, adding that she had told her children to guard the small plot where the family has erected a tarpaulin shelter when she is away, for fear that other families will encroach on it.
Sour Kimsun, 44, said he has left his children with a relative until he is able to build a home at the site.
"I want Samdech [Prime Minister] Hun Sen and other top government leaders to see our bad situation here because we are not only poor but we are also jobless," he said. "My shelter cannot even compare with the bed of a dog belonging to rich and powerful government officials," he added.
Mao Piseth, a 13-year-old boy who was relocated to this crammed, three-hectare site from Tonle Bassac commune's Village 14 on Tuesday, said that he has also been drinking from the pond water.
"Although I itch all the time, I swim in the pond. I could not stop because the weather is really hot," he said. "I have suffered a lot from bad diarrhea and red spots on my skin, [but] my parents are not able to buy medicine for me."
Hundreds of families were relocated from Village 14 Tuesday morning to Andong, located about 20 km outside Phnom Penh, after several hundred police and military police officials armed with tear gas, batons and some assault rifles carried out City Hall's promise to evict the last remaining residents.
But families from elsewhere have been moving to the Kok Roka commune site in the days since, bringing the population up to more than 1,300 families, officials and villagers have said.
On Sunday, workers with bulldozers and trucks could be seen hastily dumping dirt in a small lake in a bid to try to create more land.
Villagers say there are only about 10 latrines at the site, which are little more than holes in the ground surrounded by tarpaulin. Nhean Sarin, a medical official with local rights group Licadho, said he treated 260 people at the site on Sunday. "I think in the future, [people] will get more sick," he said.
Several residents said they cannot afford to travel the 20 km to the capital to find work, adding that their children are no longer able to attend classes.
Nou Nara, an 11-year-old boy at the site, said his lather had worked as a construction worker while living at Village 14, but that he could not afford to travel to work by motorbike taxi from the new site.
Im Kimhuong, a 38-year-old woman living at the site, appealed for the municipality to provide food and water.
"The municipality dumped us here and they do not help us with any materials for shelter construction," she said. "Our situation is like the life of a frog living in a small hole."
Phnom Penh vice governor Pa Socheatvong declined comment Sunday but said he would discuss the situation today.
Long Yoeun, a 35-year-old female construction worker in Phnom Penh, said she was uncertain what had caused the population boom at the relocation site.
"I have no idea where those villagers came from," she said, adding that she had told her children to guard the small plot where the family has erected a tarpaulin shelter when she is away, for fear that other families will encroach on it.
Sour Kimsun, 44, said he has left his children with a relative until he is able to build a home at the site.
"I want Samdech [Prime Minister] Hun Sen and other top government leaders to see our bad situation here because we are not only poor but we are also jobless," he said. "My shelter cannot even compare with the bed of a dog belonging to rich and powerful government officials," he added.
No comments:
Post a Comment