Urban evictees fear a second relocation

via CAAI

Wednesday, 08 September 2010 15:03 Khouth Sophakchakrya

FORMER residents of Phnom Penh’s Sambok Chab community say they fear losing their homes again after local authorities prevented them from repairing wooden structures at a relocation site in Dangkor district.

Yang Sorphon, whose family was among the more than 1,000 families evicted from Sambok Chab in June 2006 and relocated to Andoung village, said that Kok Roka commune authorities yesterday prevented families at the site from fixing their wooden homes.

“The commune authorities warned they would bulldoze our aged wooden cottage and relocate us to another area if we try to rebuild it,” she said.

Last month, villagers complained that authorities had also ordered families at the site to abandon temporary wooden homes and purchase 4-by-5-metre brick homes costing US$1,000 each.

“We are concerned of being homeless and relocated again because we can’t earn the money to pay them,” said Pich Sophea, another resident.

Phy Nop, Kok Roka commune chief, said yesterday that villagers had been given until October 7 to destroy their shacks so that living standards could be raised at the site.