Statement

Independent report raises questions about railways compensation

Jul. 4, 2011, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Local urban NGO Sahmakum Teang Tnaut has released a new report entitled Rehabilitation of Cambodia’s Railways: Comparison of Field Data. The report, which is a final draft pending possible expansion of its scope, compares independently gathered household data from four communities located along the tracks in Phnom Penh to data gathered by the Inter-Ministerial Resettlement Committee (IRC) in charge of the resettlement of households along the railways. Read More

Displacement figures for Phnom Penh 2011

Press statement
This 6 page publication is an update of the 2009 STT Facts & Figures providing data on the displacement of families in the Phnom Penh area. It is important to note that this means displacement either through planned relocation, forced eviction or somewhere in between. Displacement does not necessarily have a negative connotation and it is for the reader to make their own judgement.

STT is an Urban NGO and its vision is a society in which all urban inhabitants enjoy adequate housing within a sustainably developing city. www.teangtnaut.org

Contact:
For more information please contact Ee Sarom, Representative of STT on 012 836533 sarom@teangtnaut.org

Life Along the Rails

An exhibition by photographer Conor Wall
in collaboration with Sahmakum Teang Tnaut
Opening night: Sep. 16, 2010, 6pm
Venue: Gasolina, 57 Street 57

As part of the Our City architecture and urban design festival in September, local urban NGO Sahmakum Teang Tnaut together with photographer Conor Wall showcase a disappearing lifestyle from along the Kingdom’s railways.

Over the past few years, Conor has travelled along the disused tracks of Cambodia, documenting people’s lives. What emerges is a slow pace of life, where the railway plays a central role. Kids play, women dry rice and chilli, people meet and socialise, and as good as everyone access their homes from along tracks.

With the already ongoing rehabilitation of the railways, all that is set to change. The lives of people living next to the rails will be transformed, with some residents relocated from the area. Those who remain will face a new reality of faster, more regular trains, where the tracks can no longer be used as public space. Conor’s photographic narrative thus creates a memory of what used to be. Read More

Boeung Kok Residents Denied Freedom of Assembly

Housing Rights Task Force strongly condemns the disruption of a peaceful meeting by some 500
residents from Boeung Kok Lake in Phnom Penh, which led to a public demonstration at
Independence Monument and the closure of Sihanouk Boulevard as efforts to find an alternative
meeting venue were thwarted by authorities.


As the threat of eviction increases, community members from all villages surrounding Boeung Kok
lake met at the National Institute for Education on Monday Aug. 23.

Their aim was to discuss their demand not to be forcibly evicted, as well as demands for adequate
housing according to internationally accepted standards and onsite development. In addition,
community members hoped to discuss the ongoing flooding in their area, as well as future plans.

The peaceful meeting, the first of its kind in terms of size in several months, however never took
place.

At 8.45am it was disrupted, as police arrived at the venue, pressuring the proprietor of the institute
to ask everybody to leave the meeting hall.

As relayed by Chamkarmon hospital officials, consequent arrangements to move the meeting to the
Red Cross premises at the hospital were thwarted by a phone call from Phnom Penh Governor Kep
Chuktema, ordering the closure of the grounds to the residents. Read More