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 […]
Tag: phnom penh
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 […]
UN Dispatch Latest: Why Victims of Borei Keila Land Grabs are Protesting at US Embassy
Violent clashes and protests over a land-grabbing disputed have taken place in the heart of the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh this week, after a development company began to bulldoze the slum homes of 300 poor families. The destruction has prompted a wave of evictee protests at Western embassies, as victims hope to draw world […]
Protesters Sit-In Outside US Embassy for 2nd Day Over Borei Keila Land Grab
Remains of Borei Keila. Police have been posted at all entrances to keep out both journalists and NGO workers. Cambodian protesters sat-in outside the US Embassy for a 2nd day today, in a last-ditch attempt to draw international attention to their sudden and whole-sale eviction from their home in the Borei Keila slum. Mostly poor […]
Borei Keila Evictees Protest Egregious Land Grab Outside US Embassy
Edited to add: My excellent Cambodian source says protesters were arrested late tonight (the 4th) after returning to the remains of Borei Keila. No word yet on how many were arrested. Waiting until protesters were out of range of the US Embassy and after most press activity had knocked off for the night seems to […]
Indian Delight: Best Damn Indian Food in Cambodia
Indian Delight 115e0, Sisowath Quay 023 724 885 Phnom Penh I’m an Indian food snob. I lived in Bangalore for six months back in 2008 and went back in 2010: I’m no fan of the uber-heavy, cream-rich Muhgali food that’s favored outside the Subcontinent. However, I was very happy to discover India Delight on Sisowath […]
Christmas in Cambodia: Vintage 2010
Christmas in Cambodia 2010 I did a photo-essay on Christmas in Cambodia last year and had a rather fabulous time doing it. The melancholy-expat blues have whomped over over the head this year and my heart wasn’t quite as in it in 2011, but hoping to get a few decent shots tonight and tomorrow to […]
Rahu Phnom Penh: I Forgot I Kinda Like Hipster Sushi
Rahu Sisowath Quay 10 Sisowath Quay Tel: 023 215 179 Hipster sushi makes up roughly 80% of the diets of Northern Californians, and I’m pleased to announce that Phnom Penh now has an entry into the field. Restaurant chain Metro has opened a sushi outpost next to Harem Shisha Bar and the Riverhouse Lounge, with […]