Phnom Penh (Cambodia). 04/10 2008: Borei Keila families with HIV/AIDS, who were to receive social housing, had lived under an eviction threat for two years  
©John Vink/ Magnum

Despite repeated condemnations from civil society and international community, the list of victims of forced evictions in Cambodia has kept growing. In July, several removal operations took place in Phnom Penh. After the residents of Dey Krohom in central Phnom Penh, whose houses were smashed to dust in January, their neighbours in Group 78, located in the Tonle Bassac area, were forced to leave their homes on July 17th. Similarly, several dozen families in Borei Keila, the majority of which carry HIV/AIDS and require healthcare, were relocated in successive rounds to the outskirts of the Cambodian capital in unsatisfying conditions, according to local NGOs. Again, protests multiplied, whether from the World Bank, donor countries, international media or online networks, while authorities continue to turn a deaf ear.

Kep (Cambodia). 02/01/2009: Under the sand, oil… Among the main topics discussed during Hun Sen’s visit to France: the oil resources off the coast of Cambodia  
©John Vink/ Magnum (file picture)

Khmer Rouge Tribunal, oil, Cambodia-Thailand conflict, adoptions, human rights… There was a wealth of issues for discussion between French high officials and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, welcomed in Paris for five days, from July 10th to 14th 2009. Yet, the visit went nearly unnoticed, as very little information filtered from both sides about what was actually discussed in those French-Cambodian meetings, the last of which took place in the wake of the military parade of July 14th and the garden-party of the Elysee between Hun Sen and French president Nicolas Sarkozy. While the organisation Human Rights Watch denounced, on the very day of the French national day, the increasing pressure against any criticism of the Cambodian government, French and Cambodian diplomats appeared to prefer to go for “total” discretion… [updated version 23-07-2009 - new link to a text and pictures on the website of the French Embassy in Cambodia]

Phnom Penh (Cambodia). 27/05/2009: A few dozen human rights activists and Burmese demonstrators demanded the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, in front of the Embassy of Myanmar
©John Vink/ Magnum

Economic crisis, pandemic threat, climate change… A long list of issues was scheduled for discussion between the representatives of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European Union (EU), during the 17th inter-ministerial meeting of the two regional organisations. But in the end, the summit, organised on Wednesday 27th and Thursday 28th May in Phnom Penh, was mostly taken by the new trial brought by the Burmese junta against Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader under house arrest for the last six years. A short time before, Thailand, as rotating chair of the ASEAN, had issued a statement calling for the immediate release of the opponent, and been followed by the organisation’s representatives. The stance is a break from one of the founding principles of the association, that of non-intervention. For their part, the EU representatives recalled that the release of the leader of the pro-democratic movement represented for Myanmar (Burma) the first step in the process of national reconciliation and integration within ASEAN.

Geneva (Switzerland), May 7th 2009. Ros Han, Chan Vichet, Sia Phearum and Seng Sokheng in font of Palais Wilson, Wilson quay, headquarters of the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights
© Laurent Le Gouanvic

From the top of the stairs of the Wilson Palace in Geneva, headquarters of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (UNHCHR) and formerly the late League of Nations, Ros Han, Chan Vichet, Sia Phearum and Seng Sokheang look at the unobstructed view of lake Léman and the Mont-Blanc quay, a street where luxury boutiques, banks and posh hotels run side by side. At the heart of the Swiss city, in a setting which strongly differs from Kratie, Oddar Meanchey and Phnom Penh, these four Cambodians came to make a call for help and file the demands of those evicted from their land or from those who are under threat of eviction to the international community. Before attending the Cambodian Government reporting to the Committee of economic, social and cultural rights of the UNHCHR, which is holding its 42nd meeting on May 11th and 12th, those heralds of Cambodian civil society held a series of meetings, hoping to put an end to evictions and land grabbing in their country. 

 Phnom Penh (Cambodia). 24/01/2009: Tools used by hired workers to destroy Dey Krohom
©John Vink/ Magnum

While, here and there in the capital of Cambodia, hundreds of families anxiously expect to be displaced by local authorities, we have met a woman whose history speaks volumes about the daily lives of poor people, who are undesirable in the city centre, subject to the tricks of officials and quarter (sangkat) chiefs, as well as the effects of the property boom. The story of Srey (an alias used to protect her and her family), who was evicted four times from the centre of Phnom Penh, is however not a typical one. She shares her cry of despair so that people like her be treated with dignity first. Scrutiny of the distressing itinerary of this family mother.