The Borei Keila community which was evicted in January 2012 (see HERE) and which lives in apalling conditions underneath the buildings they were promised an appartment in staged its first march towards the Municipality to air their complaints. They were met by rather inefficient police cordons on the way and, once they started blocking the sacro sanct circulation in front of the Municipality were pushed on the side by an important riot police force.
This is a follow-up post on the ‘Quest for Land‘ story which is available as an iApp on iTunes and which reports on land issues in Cambodia since the year 2000 with texts by Robert Carmichael and over 700 photographs.
The area around the new statue honouring the late King Norodom Sihanouk was finally accessible to the general public so that it could pay respect on the first anniversary of the king’s death.
The rain and the barriers being closed again at 5:30PM left quite a few in the cold.
The events of last year, as well as photographs of King Norodom Sihanouk upon his return to Phnom Penh after the Paris Peace Accords were signed in 1991, can be found in the ebook ‘Royal Silence‘, available for 3,99$US on the iBookstore HERE.
‘Royal Silence‘ is part of the ‘4Rivers’ collection of ebooks (‘Same Same‘, ‘Royal Silence‘ and ‘30 Years for a Trial‘)
Posted Wednesday Oct 16, 2013, in
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The pivotal figure in Cambodia’s turbulent past, King Norodom Sihanouk, died one year ago.
Last year tens of thousands of people paid tribute to him by greeting the return of his remains, by praying in front of the Royal Palace, by attending the cremation ceremony.
So far this year only the members of the governent were allowed to pay tribute in a sealed off area.
The events of last year, as well as photographs of King Norodom Sihanouk upon his return to Phnom Penh after the Paris Peace Accords were signed in 1991, can be found in the ebook ‘Royal Silence‘, available for 3,99$US on the iBookstore HERE.
‘Royal Silence‘ is part of the ‘4Rivers’ collection of ebooks (‘Same Same‘, ‘Royal Silence‘ and ‘30 Years for a Trial‘)
Posted Tuesday Oct 15, 2013, in
From the Archive |
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Sihanouk boulevard was sealed off from the general public, but not really to the odd tourist, for the commemoration of King Norodom Sihanouk’s death one year ago by the members of the new government.
Posted Tuesday Oct 15, 2013, in
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Members of the Boeung Kak lake community showed up at the Ministry of Interior to support the official complaint they lodged at the Municipal Court regarding the injuries some of their members sustained during a peacefull vigil they held in the night of September 22nd which was viciously disrupted by masked thugs.
More on Boeung Kak lake HERE and HERE
This is a follow-up post on the ‘Quest for Land‘ story which is available as an iApp on iTunes and which reports on land issues in Cambodia since the year 2000 with texts by Robert Carmichael and over 700 photographs.
Called upon by Rong Chhun, President of the Cambodian Independent Teacher’s Association, about 300 teachers showed up at Freedom Park on the occasion of International World Teacher’s Day. They ask for better wages and an end of corruption which riddles the profession. 6-year old children experience their first corruption at school when they have to pay a few hundred riel each day to their teacher in order to attend the classes that will allow them to pass a grade. The tariff for a student who passed the baccalauréat and wants to learn to become a high-school teacher is a whopping 3,000$US.
The initial plan of the protesters to march to the Ministry of Education to deliver a petition was put aside as a great number of riot police blocked the exit roads from the place.
An undercover policeman with a fake press pass and a suspicious bulge in his belt resembling a handgun was confronted by CNRP MP Mu Sochua. When he tried to escape and was caught by an angry mob, part of which protected him from another part which started to beat him up, fellow policemen came to his rescue and carried him away. The gun was later handed over to a prosecutor.
Have a nice Sunday. Tomorrow the teachers will teach again for a pitifully low salary…
HERE is a story I did about education issues in Cambodia…
Posted Sunday Oct 13, 2013, in
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The buddhist monks leading the protest march to celebrate World Habitat Day by communities which were evicted or are under threat of being evicted, were fluid and fast like a furious river passing the police dams. And fearless too. Things do have changed since a couple of months: there is less fear from the authorities.
This is a follow-up post on the ‘Quest for Land‘ story which is available as an iApp on iTunes and which reports on land issues in Cambodia since the year 2000 with texts by Robert Carmichael and over 700 photographs.
Hopefully it is by now common knowledge that Cambodian communities which were evicted are dragged into a spiral of pauperisation. These communities were already living on the edge. An eviction disrupts the precarious balance which kept them functioning more or less normally and the dim prospect they had of improving their situation is shattered.
Leang Vanna, 23 years old was living in one of those evicted communities. Violently evicted from the Borei Keila neighbourhood in January 2012 (see HERE), having run out of resources, she left her 3-year old daughter behind with relatives and went to Thailand, looking for a better paid job. She was killed in a traffic accident.
This is a follow-up post on the ‘Quest for Land‘ story which is available as an iApp on iTunes and which reports on land issues in Cambodia since the year 2000 with texts by Robert Carmichael and over 700 photographs.
