Title: “Land evictions in Cambodia”

Land evictions in Cambodia

November marks another month of forced land evictions in Cambodia. On Nov. 2, an entire village of 130 families was demolished near Phnom Penh, and on Nov. 15, another 300 families were evicted in Northern Cambodia.

I recently spent several months in Cambodia working for a nongovernmental organization in a community development project, where I saw first-hand evidence of the problem. I will never forget the Cambodian woman who stood before me, clutching her baby and holding on to another child. Tears poured down her face as she described her eviction by the police and relocation some 20 kilometers outside Phnom Penh. Her new “home,” is an unsettled site that offers nothing more than a makeshift shelter, lacks running water, latrines, electricity and access to a clinic or school.

Forced evictions have become a common occurrence as valuable land is sold for development. Land rights are a tricky thing in Cambodia. The 1993 and 2001 laws outlining legal land ownership are often overlooked or ignored.

While evictions are occurring in many areas, the number of families affected is small, and thus the problem is not drawing much attention.

As the legal fight goes on, the problem of displaced Cambodians must be addressed. It is essential to aid these people as we would aid people in any other humanitarian crises. Forced land evictions are human right concerns that sadly are an increasing reality in Cambodia as well as many other parts of the world.

Kelly Schunk, New York