My name Ousa.

People here difficult.

We want organization help.

Need small clinic.

No toilet here.

Help people.

I had only given Ousa my notebook to write down his name, but these are the words he left me with. I met him at Oudong last week, at a site where more than 200 people were shipped after being forcibly evicted from their homes in Borei Keila on January 3rd. Left with nowhere to live, they were swept far out of sight to an open dusty field more than 40 km from Cambodia’s capital and from their lives.

Ousa walked around the site with me, past families living under tarps, past children waiting under the hot sun to pump water, past women so old and fragile-looking it made me wonder what I’d do if it were my own grandmother lying on a wooden board in the dirt.

When I arrived at the camp, the former Borei Keila residents had already been living there for 5 days – ever since their homes were bulldozed to make way for commercial development.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. In 2003, a construction company called Phanimex entered into a land sharing agreement for Borei Keila. Phanimex would receive part of the land for its project, and use the rest to build 10 apartment buildings to house the residents it would displace. At the time, it was seen as an ideal model for onsite upgrading, but in 2010, the company halted construction after 8 buildings. At least 300 families were left living onsite, meaning they were still in the way of Phanimex’s ongoing development project. The solution? Demolish and displace.

It’s the same story throughout Phnom Penh and throughout the country – homes, rivers, lakes and livelihoods being lost to concrete and progress.

Above and beyond the eyesore of the development driven destruction (and reconstruction – uninspired highrise monstrosities are devastating the Phnom Penh skyline), it is the way in which the government, police and company officials are handling the situation that is shocking. Back in September I spoke with Suong Sophoan after he was beaten unconscious by police for trying to stop a demolition at Boeung Kak Lake. He filed a complaint with the Phnom Penh court, but the act went unpunished.

In the case of the demolition in Borei Keila on January 3, more than 100 security officials used tear gas and rubber bullets to finish the job. Amnesty International reported more than 64 people injured, and at least 8 arrested and detained. On January 11th, when former residents gathered to protest the act, 24 women and 6 children were arrested and shipped to Prey Speu Social Affairs Center in Phnom Penh. NGOs are not allowed inside.

In the face of such violent retribution, it is understandable that so many of the affected are unwilling to speak out about what is happening here.

After visiting the displacement site at Oudong, I spoke with Sia Phearum. He is the Director of the Housing Rights Task Force, a network of Cambodian and international NGOs working on the issue of forced evictions in Cambodia. When I arrived at his office, displaced members of the Borei Keila community were huddled on the floor of a room where they were receiving legal advice on how to file a complaint to the local court. But how effective is a complaint if made to officials complicit in the abuse of law?

“All the Cambodian people, civil society organizations, and international community know that the Cambodian courts are useless, but we have to try,” Phearum said. “Otherwise they just let it go … we want to improve justice, to improve the court system here.”

Phearum’s plan is to exhaust all the local mechanisms, in hopes that the complaint can one day reach the International Criminal Court. “We know it’s very far and difficult,” he said, “but this is a criminal act.”

I asked Phearum why there seemed to be so little assistance for the displaced residents at the camp at Oudong – why they had no toilets, no mosquito nets, no help. Where were all the NGOs? Phearum said that providing assistance to the evicted was analogous to providing assistance to the evictors.

“The government says, don’t worry, when you move to the relocation site, there are many NGOs waiting to help you, to give you rice, to give you shelter. They use this strategy to evict people. So we discussed and decided, not now.”

Instead, the assistance is being focused toward those who are struggling to demand justice. On top of filing legal complaints locally, the former residents have submitted petitions to the US, French, and British embassies in hope of gaining international support.

“The international community … they need to pressure, to give an urgent call for a meeting to solve this problem,” Phearum said.

Until then, forcibly evicted residents like Ousa remain in limbo, with little help from the government or company who put them there or even the NGOs who want to get them out.

My photos from the displacement site are below.

In 2010, I traveled to South Sudan to help local journalists produce independent media in a country where civil war is expected and where speech is far from free.

Almost everyone tried to talk me out of it. They told me it was too dangerous, that I would never get over what I would see there, and that I didn’t have to go there to know what it was like.

What I found was something different.

I’ll never forget the feeling as the plane descended onto South Sudan’s capital, Juba. Scribbling in my notebook, I wanted desperately to capture the moment, the miles of untouched green landscape abruptly broken by a dusty city of thatched and metal rooftops. Instead, my notes were little more than a slew of nervous profanities demanding to know what the hell I’d gotten myself into. The only coherent phrase came from earlier that morning, “If everyone is too scared to find out, how will we ever know?”

How much of what we see in the news about African and Middle Eastern countries only depicts conflict, poverty or disease, topped off with a dusty photo of angry protesters or armed rebels on the move? Just how much is overshadowed by coverage of corruption and gun-toting warriors?

The photographs in this exhibition are snapshots from a journey through some of the most remote communities in South Sudan, taken throughout the year leading up to its independence. They were taken during a long walk to the market on Leer’s cracked earth. They were taken during a dance party in Kurmuk, or while biking under a Nuba Mountain sunset. They were taken on a trip through Malualkon market, where a woman selling okra delighted in her photograph, then asked how I would use it to help her.

I hope these photographs will add some depth to the image that comes to our minds when we think of a country entangled in conflict. If stories of struggle instill us only with fear, then we cripple our understanding of rich, diverse cultures and people. Though captured at a moment of relative peace, many of the communities shown in these photos have since fallen back into conflict. I hope that these photographs show another part of the story – the faces, landscapes, music and colors that survive beneath war.

Ang Nua still farms to make a living, despite losing his leg in a landmine accident. © Heather Stilwell 2011.

INTRO: During nearly 3 decades of armed conflict, the Khmer Rouge, as well as the Vietnamese and Cambodian Armed Forces, laid an estimated 4 to 6 million landmines throughout Cambodia.

The country is now at peace but the casualties continue.

In 2010 alone, landmines in Cambodia injured a reported 215 civilians. 71 were killed.

The mines are concentrated in the rural and mainly poor Northwest of the country, and are a violent barrier to farming.

Heather Stilwell reports from Chisang Village in Battambang Province.

It should have been like any other day.

Ang Nua left his home one morning in Chisang Village, Battambang Province, and he walked into the forest.

But Nua stepped on a landmine. It exploded, and destroyed his leg from the knee down.

Villagers carried him from the forest as blood poured from his body.

He survived, but today he lives as an amputee.

“Now that I’ve lost my leg, life is very different. It is so hard to go places and there is so much I can’t do. Before I could support my family, but now I must rely on my wife.”

Nua’s story is not uncommon.

In Chisang Village of less than 300 families, 14 people are amputees because of landmine accidents.

The group Mines Advisory Group or MAG has been demining this area since 1997. They have removed more than 1000 anti-personnel mines and unexploded ordnances in the area.

Horn Ruom is the Village Chief.

“Before the clearance began, the people living in Chisang village were unhappy. They could not do so many things because the village was so contaminated. After MAG came to clear the mines, the people feel free and happier, but they are still concerned because mine clearance is not finished yet.”

Overlooking a field behind the village pagoda, a red sign reads, “Danger! Mines!” This area has not been cleared, but villagers continue to harvest their crops here, despite the risk.

They are desperate to make a living.

MAG Country Director, Alistair Moir, says that demining is crucial to community development.

“When it comes to landmine clearance it really is the first step in the rest of the lives of the community who are then going to move on to the land.”

Once a piece of land is cleared, it can be used safely for agriculture and much-needed community projects like microfinance or water and sanitation.

When the team finds a mine, they dig the explosives out on their hands and knees, so it can be defused or safely destroyed.

For Cambodian deminer, Koyn Visal, this work is especially difficult, because Koyn is also an amputee.

He lost his leg as a soldier in the Cambodian Armed Forces in 1994. He wears a specially designed metal-free prosthetic so it won’t interfere with mine detection.

Despite difficulties, Koyn says the work is worth it.

“I was so angry about the landmines. I don’t want to see other people have accidents like me. I want to work until Cambodia is fully cleared.”

MAG’s Alistair Moir says that the job is far from finished.

“The difficulty we face in Cambodia is that some of these landmines were laid over 20 years ago, so there is a vast amount of vegetation on the land because, literally, nature has had 20 years to take root. Before we can even go in and clear one land mine we have to do a massive amount of scrub cutting, which is a very technical, slow, time consuming and ultimately costly exercise.”

More than 20 million dollars has already been spent on demining Camodia.

But according to a survey that’s being carried out jointly by MAG there is still 700 square kilometers of mine-contaminated land in Cambodia.

The figure is expected to rise as the survey continues next year.

But landmines are not just a Cambodian problem.

The Antipersonnel Mine Ban Treaty, also known as the Ottawa Treaty, is an international
agreement that aims to eliminate the use of landmines worldwide.

Cambodia ratified in 2009, but the United States, Russia, and China have not signed the Treaty.

And mines produced in each of these three countries are still being unearthed in Cambodia.

Originally aired on Asia Calling, December 24, 2011

Volunteer tourism may do more harm than good for Cambodian children. © Heather Stilwell 2011.

INTRO: “Children in orphanages are not tourist Attractions”.

That’s the slogan of a new campaign in Cambodia aiming to put an end to what has become known as “orphanage tourism”.

The campaign run by a local child rights group argues that despite good intentions, tourist visits to orphanages do more harm than good and support an industry that is ineffective and damaging to children’s development.

Heather Stilwell reports from Phnom Penh.

It is early morning along Phnom Penh’s riverside.

A young boy roams from café to café, a case of books strapped on his shoulder to sell to expats and tourists.

He tells them that he needs the money to pay for school.

Executive Director of the child rights group Friends-International, Sebastien Marot, says that tourists must think before buying goods from street-children.

“You have 5,6,7,8,9,10 year olds that will never get an education just because they get money on the street. So, the tourists, Cambodians, Thais, others are maintaining these people where they are.”

Friends-International recently launched a campaign to show that even good-intentioned charity can have negative consequences for the children of Cambodia.

The campaign targets the growing trend of “orphanage tourism.”

For some travelers a visit to the orphanage has become a must-do activity along with a visit to the National Museum or the famous temples of Angkor Wat.

In Phnom Penh, visiting an orphanage can be simple.

Some have an open-door policy and welcome visitors, no questions asked.

A typical tourist visit is quick, just enough time to see the children, take a few pictures, maybe make a donation, and leave.

The international child rights group Friends-International is against this practice in Cambodia.

Its campaign poster shows an image of children trapped in museum cases, while tourists gawk and take their photographs.

The slogan reads: “Children Are Not Tourist Attractions.”

“The ultimate question we need to ask ourselves is, could we do this in our own country? Would we allow tourists to enter a school, an orphanage in any Western country? No, it’s impossible. So why do we feel it’s allowed in a country like Cambodia? Or others because it happens elsewhere.”

While many tourists simply want to help, Sebastien says they rarely understand the system they are supporting.

A 2009 report by the British charity Save the Children argues that orphanages are not the best option for abandoned children.

The report challenges the belief that all children in orphanages have no parents and says governments and donors must shift their focus to family and community-based alternatives.

The Cambodian government has published basic standards of care for child centres, but Sebastien says that many still operate below that level.

“The orphanages usually do not have a strong child protection policy in place, meaning that just anyone can walk through the doors without being checked and start playing with the kids. So there’s no control of who is suddenly interacting with the children. Are they good people? Most of the time yes, but not all the time.”

The group Star Kampuchea, puts travelers in minimum 2-week volunteer placements, mostly at orphanages or schools.

While volunteers do not need professional qualifications to be accepted, the group runs a 2-day orientation program and claims it does a background check.

Raksmey Koy manages the volunteers.

He says, when properly run, the volunteer tourism experience can benefit both tourists and Cambodians.

“We say in our program it’s an intercultural exchange program, which means volunteers aren’t only coming to help, but to learn. The local people also have something that volunteers can learn from them, so both sides can benefit from each other.”

Still, Raksmey admits it’s hard on children who often grow attached to their foreign visitors.

He says children must be educated about the program so they know what to expect.

Kayla Robertson is a 23-year-old traveler who was placed at an orphanage for 3-weeks.

She says she grappled with the issues surrounding ‘volunteer tourism,’ but ultimately decided the benefits outweighed the risk.

“It’s a positive thing if it’s done in the right way. The organizations involved benefit both from the small amount of money they receive, but also from the manpower. They just need help and sometimes they lack the resources. They quite often don’t have anything and they need the help.”

But concerns remain. Despite going through a reputable organization, Kayla says the acceptance criteria were lax and she was not required to complete a background or police check.

“Most of us are qualified in someway to do this. However, should someone maybe not be quite as genuine and honest in their persons, it would be very easy to slip under the radar. I think there should be more done to make sure volunteers are who they say they are, just to make it safer.”

Child rights activist Sebastien Marot agrees.

“This campaign that we have for tourism and volunteers is exactly that. It is saying you need to check you need to control you need to have standards in place to make sure those children are safe.”

Originally aired on Asia Calling, November 5, 2011

Doung Khea lives under a tarp after being evicted from his Boeung Kak Lake home. Photo by Heather Stilwell.

INTRO: After intense pressure from the World Bank, the Cambodian government granted a small plot of land to a thousand families facing eviction from a lake in the center of the capital.

The residents have been fighting a long battle with a government-linked development company that wants the land to build luxury housing.

Already more than 3,000 families have lost their homes and another 100 were excluded from the lastest deal.

Demolition of their homes continues and violence against activists is escalating.

Heather Stilwell reports from Phnom Penh.

On Sept 16, demolition men arrived in tractors to destroy eight of the homes excluded from the Boeung Kak Lake land deal.

Lake activist Suong Sophoan stood between them.

“I was born in Boeung Kak, so I must protect my place and these people. I stood in front of the tractors to stop them and to solve this problem with peaceful non-violence. At the same time, I tell them that if you want to destroy these houses, you must destroy me first.”

Police kicked him and beat him with guns. They left him on the ground, unconscious and bloody. Then they destroyed the homes.

Doung Khea lived at the lake for 12 years before the demolition.

He now lives under a blue tarp that reads, “Where is my house?”

Since being evicted, he has reported hearing gunshots at the lake in the evening. He says he and other activists live in fear.

“I am more afraid from day to day. We are worried about the safety in our living places and we always think ‘how can we live with this situation?’ I always see the people who work for Shukaku Inc. driving with guns around the Boeung Kak Lake in order to make villagers or protestors feels scared to stop the activities. Mostly, I feel worried about dying by their gun.”

More than 3000 families have been evicted since 2007, when company Shukaku Inc. received a 99-year lease for commercial development of the area.

Shukaku Inc. is run by Cambodian People’s Party Senator Lao Meny Khin.

Director of the Human Rights Task Force, Mr. Sia Phearum, says widespread government corruption allows the development project to continue.

“We can see that in this country it’s called rule of law, but just on paper. In reality, we found that it seems to be the rule of man, corruption in the courts, injustice, and human rights violations. It is the government who always violates the people’s rights.”

Earlier this month, the eight evicted families filed a complaint with the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, seeking around 20 thousand US dollars in compensation from the company, the deputy governor of Daun Penh district and two police officials.

The authorities responded by charging five residents with “insulting” and “intimidating” the officials.

Under the Cambodian Penal Code, conviction would mean a sentence of at least two years.

Phearum says this is typical of the way the Cambodian court system exerts control.

“The court is never effective for the poor or for the less powerful. They just stand with the powerful and the rich. And sometimes they just keep the complaint quiet. You can see that the rich and the powerful, it’s easy to ask for the court to do whatever they want. The poor, the less powerful cannot.”

Still, residents and activists refuse to back down.

Even after his beating, Sopoan says he will never stop fighting for the lake residents.

“Sometimes, they try to force me to stop my activities helping villagers, but I say I won’t stop unless you stop harming people and you start respecting the law. But if you still do the same thing, I will sacrifice my life to protect the villagers who live in Boeung Kak.”

Originally aired on Asia Calling, October 14, 2011

Chisang Village in Cambodia’s Battambang Province was an intermittent battlefield for war from 1970 until 1996. Landmines laid during that time by the Khmer Rouge, Vietnamese and Cambodian Armed Forces are still found scattered throughout the village today. Fourteen community members are amputees.

Mines Advisory Group (MAG) leads a team of demining specialists who aim to clear Chisang Village of explosives and return the land so it can benefit the community.

Below are photos from a day in Chisang.

]]> http://heatherstilwell.com/wp/2011/10/30/amidst-the-flood/feed/ 0 http://heatherstilwell.com/wp/2011/10/04/road-to-udong/ http://heatherstilwell.com/wp/2011/10/04/road-to-udong/#comments Wed, 05 Oct 2011 00:57:11 +0000 Heather Stilwell http://heatherstilwell.com/wp/?p=348 A few photos taken on a motorbike drive out of the city toward Udong, the ancient capital of Cambodia before it became Phnom Penh.