Phnom Penh poor uprooted as lakes filled in for malls, flats
- Kung-fu Hillbilly
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Phnom Penh poor uprooted as lakes filled in for malls, flats
By Rina Chandran
July 15, 2019
In Phnom Penh, a city of about 1.5 million people, thousands of families have been evicted for development projects,..
"But shortly after authorities approved filling in parts of the lake with sand and mud 10 years ago to build malls and apartments, they could not fish or farm anymore.Now, with just a few swampy areas left, Lay Sremeth and her neighbors fear losing their homes as they do not have titles. "
"A giant commercial complex under construction already dwarfs the modest wood and tin homes of the community of more than 60 families, and flooding has increased during the rainy season, damaging their homes, Lay Sremeth said. "
"But as the country expands quickly, space is at a premium. In the last 15 years, about half the country’s wetlands have disappeared, according to WWT. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the capital Phnom Penh, where 15 of 25 lakes have been filled in, and others partly filled or earmarked for reclamation, according to land rights organization Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT). "
"The country’s low urbanization is partly due to the massive forced relocation of people to rural areas under the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s, according to historians. "
“Even those who apply are often denied, and even those with a title are not always safe from eviction,” she added.About 13 communities are affected as the 2,600-hectare (10 square miles) Boeung Tompoun is filled in, according to STT. "
"Khut Chandara and about 380 other families were promised titles for their homes by Prime Minister HE during his election campaign last year. "
Full https://www.reuters.com/article/us-camb ... SKCN1UA05A
July 15, 2019
In Phnom Penh, a city of about 1.5 million people, thousands of families have been evicted for development projects,..
"But shortly after authorities approved filling in parts of the lake with sand and mud 10 years ago to build malls and apartments, they could not fish or farm anymore.Now, with just a few swampy areas left, Lay Sremeth and her neighbors fear losing their homes as they do not have titles. "
"A giant commercial complex under construction already dwarfs the modest wood and tin homes of the community of more than 60 families, and flooding has increased during the rainy season, damaging their homes, Lay Sremeth said. "
"But as the country expands quickly, space is at a premium. In the last 15 years, about half the country’s wetlands have disappeared, according to WWT. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the capital Phnom Penh, where 15 of 25 lakes have been filled in, and others partly filled or earmarked for reclamation, according to land rights organization Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT). "
"The country’s low urbanization is partly due to the massive forced relocation of people to rural areas under the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s, according to historians. "
“Even those who apply are often denied, and even those with a title are not always safe from eviction,” she added.About 13 communities are affected as the 2,600-hectare (10 square miles) Boeung Tompoun is filled in, according to STT. "
"Khut Chandara and about 380 other families were promised titles for their homes by Prime Minister HE during his election campaign last year. "
Full https://www.reuters.com/article/us-camb ... SKCN1UA05A
Re: Phnom Penh poor uprooted as lakes filled in for malls, flats
Squatters come along and occupy land. Then want to be given titles the same as those who bought their land.
I am not saying there is an easy solution.
I am not saying there is an easy solution.
## I thought I knew all the answers, but they changed all the questions. ##
- frank lee bent
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Re: Phnom Penh poor uprooted as lakes filled in for malls, flats
There were no titles after Khmer Rouge.
- John Bingham
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Re: Phnom Penh poor uprooted as lakes filled in for malls, flats
I know the area very well. St 271 was actually shored up and turned into a major dike in the early 70s, as a defense against the Khmer Rouge. Beyond that was bandit country and even desperate refugees didn't want to live there. Coincidentally Lon Nol had a house along 271, what is now the Phnom Penh Sports Club. A lot of houses were built around the edges of Boeung Tumpun in the 80s/90s, but most was impenetrable swamp and lake until about ten years ago when they started filling in large parts of it to build the new roads and subsequent developments/ boreys etc. Many of the houses on 271 did get titles and since then it has become a major route with huge buildings popping up everywhere so it's expensive land. The folks who built deeper into the swamp were not so lucky and few have been allowed to stay.
Khmer Soviet Friendship Hospital on 271, picture from early 60s.
Khmer Soviet Friendship Hospital on 271, picture from early 60s.
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Re: Phnom Penh poor uprooted as lakes filled in for malls, flats
John Bingham wrote:I know the area very well. St 271 was actually shored up and turned into a major dike in the early 70s, as a defense against the Khmer Rouge. Beyond that was bandit country.....
Old-timey expats love spouting this kind of shit.
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Re: Phnom Penh poor uprooted as lakes filled in for malls, flats
Many less knowledgeable love reading it.andy_morris wrote: ↑Mon Jul 15, 2019 10:33 pmJohn Bingham wrote:I know the area very well. St 271 was actually shored up and turned into a major dike in the early 70s, as a defense against the Khmer Rouge. Beyond that was bandit country.....
Old-timey expats love spouting this kind of shit.
- John Bingham
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Re: Phnom Penh poor uprooted as lakes filled in for malls, flats
I only found that out recently in a book by Vann Molyvann, so I'm not sure what your issue is.andy_morris wrote: ↑Mon Jul 15, 2019 10:33 pmJohn Bingham wrote:I know the area very well. St 271 was actually shored up and turned into a major dike in the early 70s, as a defense against the Khmer Rouge. Beyond that was bandit country.....
Old-timey expats love spouting this kind of shit.
Silence, exile, and cunning.
- Clutch Cargo
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Re: Phnom Penh poor uprooted as lakes filled in for malls, flats
Continue with these sort of insensitive insults and you get a holiday.andy_morris wrote: ↑Mon Jul 15, 2019 10:33 pmJohn Bingham wrote:I know the area very well. St 271 was actually shored up and turned into a major dike in the early 70s, as a defense against the Khmer Rouge. Beyond that was bandit country.....
Old-timey expats love spouting this kind of shit.
- John Bingham
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Re: Phnom Penh poor uprooted as lakes filled in for malls, flats
This was from some correspondence with a local chap from the Olympic Market area a few years ago:
From: HereUntil 1973 while the battle raged around Phnom Penh's perimeters, I used to climb up at night to the flat roof of our apartment block to watch US planes drop their bombs. In the distance you could see sudden flashes of huge explosions against the night sky, and the soil churned up. Seconds later anything loose would rattle like in an earthquake, and you could feel the air displaced by the explosions literally blowing on your face. One morning on a day in August 1973 when the US Congress stopped all aerial support for their Khmer allies, I watched a Phantom F4 doing a few dive bombing passes somewhere beyond the undulating roof of the Russian hospital. At quieter times the odd AC47 gunship could be heard circling and spraying death down below with red tracing bullets. One night in late 1971 a huge explosion rocked Borei Keila to the north of our Psah, followed by hundreds of other explosions that lasted for a few days. Earlier some military genius had the bright idea of turning Borei Keila into a munitions depot not that far from the council of ministers, the US attaché’s office, the army headquarters, and the finance ministry. The whole place was so badly guarded anyway that once someone was able to fire a 107mm rocket point blank at the council of ministers from one of those remorques that you pedal from the back and which is used to transport blocks of ice from the market.
Silence, exile, and cunning.
- John Bingham
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Re: Phnom Penh poor uprooted as lakes filled in for malls, flats
Here's a picture of the Chak Angkre Leur area (considered part of Boeung Tumpun) in 2003 and this year. It's a vast wetland and only a relatively small part has been reclaimed/ developed so far.
Silence, exile, and cunning.
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