Social media is incredibly scary to repressive governments because it is just about impossible to control. Many authoritarian governments even look to incredibly censored North Korea and Eritrea as role models, instead of cautionary tales. Although the US government has announced sanctions against countries that try to block Internet access, international disapproval is unlikely to sway these […]
Tag: human rights
Human Rights Go From Bad to Worse in Cambodia: UN Dispatch
Borei Keila evictee Art Samnang spoke to me yesterday after her second arrest. Land Grabs in Cambodia Human rights in Cambodia have gone from bad to worse in January, prompting Human Rights Watch to issue a damning report on the Southeast Asian nation’s rights slide. The Cambodian government has been especially rough on protesters demonstrating […]
Borei Keila in the GlobalPost
My first GlobalPost front page story – and it’s on Borei Keila. I hope this helps the evictees get some of the attention they deserve.
Phnom Penh Municipality Claims Evictees Aren’t Being “Detained” at “Social Affairs Center”
The Phnom Penh Municipality issued another poor explanation for its detention of 30 women and children at the Prey Speu Social Detention Center Friday. I’m here once again to break it down for you. Claiming to have “investigated” the 22 families detained at the center, the City found….. “14 families illegally bought the house on […]
Borei Keila Evictees Shunted Aside to Inhumane Refugee Camp
I visited the Borei Keila relocation sites yesterday, and was truly disturbed by what I saw. The term “relocation site” evokes neutral images, perhaps more akin to FEMA trailers or temporary housing, somewhere not-like-home but at least adequate for basic human needs. The Borei Keila evictees relocation site at Phnom Bath is not adequate for […]
Borei Keila: Phan Imex Chief Calls Evictees “Greedy Cheaters”
What was left of Borei Keila as of last Friday. According to Phnom Penh’s English-language papers, 100 Borei Keila families have been denied land at the Ponhea Leu relocation site, after they made the 45-km trek outside the city to the desolate “housing” area. Why were these families denied? According to Phan Imex development company […]
Phnom Penh Municipality Defends Beating Up Own Citizens, Could Hire Better Copy-Writer
The Phnom Penh Municipality put up a post Sunday defending last Tuesday’s violent evictions of residents of the Borei Keila slum neighborhood – evictions where 30 villagers and 34 officers were injured in the ensuing fray. The Municipality claims that “many homes were provided to majority of them, and the small remaining has not accepted those homes […]
Apartment Complex Tear-Downs at Borei Keila Land Grab Site in Phnom Penh
My friend Alex, who lives very close to Borei Keila, texted me around 5:00 PM today. He told me construction workers had torn down one of the old and emptied apartment buildings at the Borei Keila land-grab site, and that they were in the process of tearing down another. Police presence was heavy and aggressive […]
Hey Newt Gingrich, Come Visit Cambodia to See How Awesome Child Labor Can Be
Newt’s War on Poor Children – NY Times Newt Gingrich, American Republican candidate and professional blowhard, has recently decided that poor children’s primary problem isn’t economic inequality and a lack of access to quality education: it’s laziness. After calling out US child labor laws as “truly stupid” and suggesting that schools employ poor kids as […]
Cambodia Passes Drug Law Allowing For Up To Two Years of Forced Drug “Rehab” – UN Dispatch
Cambodia has a serious problem with drug addiction and trafficking, and last Friday, the Cambodian National Assembly passed a big new drug law with a 79-1 majority mandating stricter punishments for both users and traffickers. Although tougher possession penalties and longer sentences for the possession of drugs such as methamphetamine, morphine, and cocaine are part […]