UNITED NATIONS NATIONS UNIES 21 st Century CAMBODIA: PROTECTING THEIR PROPERTIES (11 05)

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UNITED NATIONS NATIONS UNIES 21 st Century Producer: Bree Fitzgerald Script version: FINAL Duration: 11 :05 CAMBODIA: PROTECTING THEIR PROPERTIES (11 05) Cambodia : Protecting their Properties (TRT

1 UNITED NATIONS NATIONS UNIES 21 st Century Producer: Bree Fitzgerald Script version: FINAL Duration: 11 :05 CAMBODIA: PROTECTING THEIR PROPERTIES (11 05) Cambodia : Protecting their Properties (TRT 11'05") It's a story of courage; it's a story of pain. In Cambodia, as in many places around the world, development threatens homes. Over 120,000 people in Phnom Penh have been evicted from their homes since But women are fighting back. Our story from the streets of Cambodia's capital VIDEO SOPAL BREAKING ICE OUTSIDE HER HOME, OR RIDING ON BIKE, BLEAK SHOTS OF HER COMMUNITY AUDIO SOPAL (In Khmer) Living here is like living without my soul. If you re sick, hospital is far away, school is far away and even if you need to buy something important, it s also far away. It isn t the same as living in the city. (21 ) FIGHTING ON THE STREETS DEMONSTRATIONS ON THE STREETS Roth Sopal has lived here on the outskirts of Phnom Penh Cambodia for six years but she didn t choose this house, or this community. Before moving here she had lived her entire life in the city center in a 1

2 community that used to be known as Dey Kraholm. Then, on the morning of January 24 th, 2009, this happened. (21 ) SOPAL (IN Khmer) Nobody told us they were coming. They came with electrical batons and other weapons. They used fire extinguishers to create smoke everywhere which made us choke and cry so we left the house without bringing anything except our children (23 ) HOUSES BEING DEMOLISHED Local land developers and the police stormed into Dey Kraholm violently forcing 400 families from their homes. (6 ) Within hours bulldozers had demolished all trace of their lives here. (4 ) Roth Sopal, although she legally owned the property where she lived, is one of the many who lost everything that day. (7 ) 2

3 SOPAL ON CAMERA HOUSES BEING DESTROYED SOPAL (IN KHMER) After we got the kids out, we came back to get our things but the house was already gone. Everything in the house and the house itself was completely destroyed. (10 ) POLICE ON THE STREETS EXTERIOR OF 7NG BUILDING WIDE SHOT OF THE CITY The police were operating on behalf of a Cambodian construction and development company called 7NG which saw the opportunities for this land in the middle of the growing Cambodian capital city. For 3 years, 7NG had negotiated with Roth Sopal and the families of Dey Kraholm. Their offer was to purchase the land at well below the market value for such prime land or to trade their property for a row house outside of the city. (28 ) MORE HOUSES BEING DESTROYED The majority ended up taking the deal but for the 400 families like Roth Sopal who declined, the evictions came with almost no warning the noncompliant were trampled and beaten and their homes were flattened. (12 ) LONG KIMHEANG (In Khmer) When I saw people s houses destroyed, it made me feel like the 3

4 KIMHEANG IN HER OFFICE world was destroyed. No Justice at all, no respect of the law at all, no human rights at all (11 ) Long Kimheang is the Senior Communications Officer for an organization called the Housing Rights Task Force. HRTF monitors and helps organize support for communities like Roth Sopal s that have lost their homes or who face forced eviction. (15 ) KIMHEANG (IN ENG) I have learned from my family. My parents worked hard to build a house for us to live in. Then I see the people that already have a home but their homes were destroyed what do they feel!? It s very very painful, beyond the words to say. (19 ) SOPAL AT DAMNAK TREYYEUNG BOY ON STREET CRYING PEOPLE PACKING UP TRACTORS WITH HOME GOODS Roth Sopal and the other evicted families were transported out to the village of Damnak Treyeung, 20 kms from the city removed from their livelihoods, their families and the community they knew. (13 ) SOPAL 4

5 There was nothing here. We tried to use the water from a well and it came out like mud. We had to find snails and other things around here to eat. We had lost our jobs by moving here, so we had nothing (14 ) STREET GENERAL VIEWS CONSTRUCTION WORKERS Under Cambodian law, citizens have the right to own land and are protected from unlawful eviction. Any development can only be down with the consent of land-owners. However, nearly half a million people nationwide have been involved in land conflicts since 2000.(18 ) MARKET SHOTS Although both Sopal and her mother owned their homes at Dey Kraholm - both houses and contents were lost when they refused 7NGs deal. (9 ) COLLEEN ON CAMERA COLLEEN (In English) Too often slums and poor people are looked at as problems that need to be solved and sometimes just pushed aside in the name of better development (11 ) COLLEEN IN COFFEE SHOP Colleen McGinn, an independent social 5

6 MARKET SCENES WOMEN CLEANING VEGETABLES researcher, says, women are particularly impacted by such evictions. As well as being chief care-givers, nearly 80% of Cambodian women also work. Being relocated takes them from their source of income, as was the case for Sopal (17 ) SOPAL ON CAMERA SOPAL (In Khmer) Everyone was doing well when we were living in the city. After the forced eviction, everything completely changed. (12 ) SET UP SREY Srey Sothea, Chairman of 7NG denies that the community was treated unfairly. (5 ) 7NG OFFICES SREY ON CAMERA SREY SOTHEA (In Khmer) According to the law, we need to create order in the city. We didn t force them or just dump them without taking care of them. We took care of their food and water and prepared their house so it was waiting for them. (14 ) GVS 7NG OFFICES But there should be impact assessments, independent evaluations and full compensation for home- 6

7 owners, says Colleen McGinn. (7 ) COLLEEN (In English) When those processes do not happen or do not happen fairly, those are termed forced evictions, which is recognized by the UN as a human rights violation. (8 ) B-ROLL DEVELOPMENT, CONSTRUCTION, CRANES ON THE SKYLINE TRAFFIC, SWANKY SHOPS SUBURBS UNDER CONSTRUCTION Urban development in Phnom Penh is on the fast track. In 2012 alone the construction sector grew by 72%. Ten years ago, Phnom Penh didn t have a single working traffic light but today luxury malls are well lit for shoppers and new homes for the wealthy expand the city limits as far as the eye can see. (23 ) B-ROLL POOR NEIGHBOURHOODS, CHILDREN AND MOTHERS, SLUMS The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights estimates that over 120,000 people in Phnom Penh have been evicted since (9 ) Requests to the Ministry of Land for an interview were not responded to. (3 ) KIMHEANG ON THE PHONE AT ANDONG COMMUNITY KIMHEANG (In English) Hello? Yes, it s Kimheang ((1 ) 7

8 (ROLL PHOTOS OF KH AND FAMILY IN SITE 2 REFUGEE CAMP) Kimheang knows what it s like to live without a home. Her life began in a Thai refugee camp along the Cambodian border where her parents had fled to escape the brutality of the Khmer Rouge regime. (10 ) FAMILY PHOTOS AND YOUNG KIMHEANG KIMHEANG (n English) My family is a big family, we can call it a poor family among many many thousands of families in Cambodia that are poor. (8 ) CUT TO B-ROLL OF KIMHEANG WALKING AROUND ANDONG, TALKING TO RESIDENTS And now she is part of a growing number of young activists at the forefront of the movement against forced eviction. (13 ) KIMHEANG TALKING A WOMAN ON THE WALKING PATH KIMHEANG (IN ENG) SOUND UP Auntie, how many years have you lived here now? Since 2006 (6 ) CUT IN VO WHILE CONVERSATION CONTINUES CARLA SILBERT (In English) We are seeing that it is women who are coming out very very strongly as advocates for their land and property rights and more and more frequently 8

9 we are seeing that it is young women who are really organizing and mobilizing their communities to be able to protest. (12 ) CARLA AT UNWOMEN OFFICE Carla Silbert is the Women, Peace and Security Officer at UNWOMEN in Cambodia. UN Women offer support to community leaders like Kimheang so they can better resist violations. (11 ) TO CAMERA SEE KIMHEANG AT SOS MEET CARLA (In English) Other work that we are doing is working very closely with NGOs and with young activists to really be able to improve their understanding of their rights so that they can then empower their communities. (13 ) KIMHEANG AT HER COMPUTER POSTING ON FACEBOOK KIMHEANG (In English)) I m one of the people sharing information with the media about the people s activity to the world posting information on the activity of people to YouTube, Facebook - and I use my video as evidence. (17 ) PROTESTS ON THE STREET Legal demonstation is one way in which Cambodians are expressing their many 9

10 concerns. In October 2014 several groups marched to deliver a petition to the gov t demanding, among other things, better implementation of the rule of law. Overwhelmingly the protesters at these events are women.(19 ) KIMHEANG IN INTERVIEW B-ROLL KIMHEANG AND WOMEN MARCHING, W/ MAN WHO S BEEN BEATEN KIMHEANG (In English) Cambodia now we have a hundred thousand young women working together! using their power! using their voice! I can orient them on what they want to say to the media, what to say to the government. (13 ) And it seems the authorities are listening. The Royal Government of Cambodia committed to issuing at least 20% of land titles individually to women by 2015 a goal that was already met in (13 ) CARLA (In English) and I think that that is really going to give women a much stronger position in terms of being able to advocate for their rights in relation to the land that they hold (8 ) 10

11 It s government initiatives like this that could have really helped Sopal. (4 ) SOPAL (In Khmer) Even now that there is a market with more people here, I will never be happy living here. I loved where I lived before - that will never change. (10 ) but for many others there is more hope. ((2 ) KIMHEANG ARRIVING AT LADIES OF THE LAKE, GREETING EVERYONE WARMLY 5425, 5426 KIMHEANG 5500 SOUND UP Hi, hi ladies, how are you all? Are you well? (2 ) KIMHEANG WITH LADIES OF THE LAKE EATING NOODLES LAUGHING AND TALKING Kimheang has arrived at yet another community meeting. These women represent 3500 displaced Phnom Penh families. They too were forced from their homes and scattered to the outskirts of the city but come back here to what is left of their former community to continue to develop strategies for their compensation. (19 ) KIM ON CAMERA KIMHEANG (In English) more and more women they know 11

12 their rights now and more than this, women are exercising their rights. (8 ) VARIOUS SHOTS OF WOMEN Meetings like this one happen every day all over the city and it is because of these meetings that change is being effected. Cambodian women are learning from experience and are better prepared for facing future potential conflict. Better community organization allows people to advocate for their rights and it is women who are driving the progress to be able to better protect their families, their property and their homes. (26 ) 12

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