A Cambodian Spring

I loved our community and the people of Boeung Kak more than I love my own family.

We looked out for each other, and shared our happiness and hardships together.

I think our community was good.

Here we were at Democracy Park.

We protested with Vanny for a week at Democracy Park.

Here we went to Vanny's place in Om Leng.

Sometimes I want to ask my friends to go back there.

Here I was with Vanny.

I don't regret what I have done.

If we have unity, compassion and trust, then we will be strong, and no one will break us.

But if we don't trust each other then how can we work together?

It will all come to an end. We won't succeed.

We are asking the Phnom Penh authorities,

please do something immediately to help the people whose homes are being flooded!

You know the law and yet you still break it!

Shukaku Inc, you are so cruel!

We want to ask what they think and what their solution for this will be.

And we would like the journalists to closely follow our situation.

OK, let's start the meeting.

Everyone will speak for five minutes.

I am Toul Srey Pov, a representative of the Boeung Kak Community.

Before the development, whether our homes were big or small, on the water or near the water...

we were living in the Boeung Kak area...

We have faced...

Go back over that bit.

- Don't be scared, just speak slowly. - Yes, yes.

Before the development of Boeung Kak, all of us who lived on the lake

had access to all kinds of public services.

On the fourth of April 2006,

our community was notified by the authorities

that our land would be measured to provide us with

land title certificates.

But then we didn't get our land title certificates. Instead we were notified

that the government would lease our land to the Shukaku Inc company.

The company has started to fill the lake with sand,

flooding our streets, and causing three people to die from electrocution.

That's all from me.

Thank you. You seem to be nervous.

I am nervous because I've never done this before.

My family is not very rich, we have three children to look after.

I have to look after my old mother and father as well.

The compensation the company is offering for our home is unacceptable.

Their offer is very small,

if I accept it and leave Boeung Kak, I won't be able to find a new place to live.

You can play by the water today, so have fun.

Enjoy throwing your stones now, soon you won't be able to.

When this is developed, you won't be able to throw stones here.

Don't you see them pumping sand?

There is the sand! They're pumping sand!

I think this company is here not to develop, but simply just to rob our land.

Mum, when the lake is filled up can I walk on it?

No, you won't be able to!

We're going to be evicted from here soon, silly girl!

- Do you want to lose your home? - No, I don't.

You don't have any more bruising?

Grandmother is this where they hit you?

- Has the bleeding stopped? - It's stopped now.

Can I look please?

It was bleeding when they hit me.

Beating an older person is an evil thing to do.

- Does it hurt? - It hurts!

The authorities tell the police to attack us.

If the authorities didn't approve, the company wouldn't be able to do this.

But what about the people who work for those authorities?

That is what really empowers these corrupt officials,

and the rich people who always break the law.

They can only do this because they have workers who will follow their orders.

This is a fake democracy.

A fake democracy and...

our voices are being silenced.

Our mouths are sealed with tape and stitched together with thread.

After you take our picture, you have to print it.

Keep it for our community.

- Can you bend your leg? - I can't.

There's more blood coming!

That's enough. Stop filming, Venerable.

It's okay, I'm filming from here.

I'm not getting in the way.

The UN will want to see this video as well.

My dog is barking?

A Romdule?

He misses me!

Romdule! Romdule! Romdule!

Come and eat!

Is this year worse than previous years?

Worse!

If the people are poor then the monks will be poor, too.

We depend on the people.

If they don't have enough food then neither will we.

I became a monk in 1993.

At that time, our country was in a civil war.

My father was unhappy because all of his children were fighting.

So he sent me to stay with the monks in this pagoda.

That's enough, let's go!

That way.

They said that a monk shouldn't care about the villagers' problems,

that I should stay in the pagoda,

and not be so nosy.

But I disagree.

The villagers' problems are also mine,

because the monks are dependent on the Buddhist population.

We try to farm, but our land has been taken away.

Your land was taken and your rice was taken, so you've been made poor,

and the poor inevitably stay poor forever.

We have farmed here for generations, but now we have nothing to do. We're finished.

I will try to find aid from international countries,

but I don't know if they will consider giving to us or not.

As the community representative, I will try to help our community.

On Sunday, the 22nd of March 2009,

our farmers were shot.

They sent some farmers to jail, and some were hospitalised.

I was the first person to arrive at the hospital.

While I was there, I shot some video on my phone.

I needed irrefutable evidence that they really had been shot.

Using both photographs and videos from the shooting,

and from the hospital, I edited together a documentary.

Then I copied over a hundred DVD's to hand out to our community,

so they could see these injustices.

Unless we stand up and try to scare them, our homes will be completely buried!

Hey! Stop what you're doing!

How much more do you want to destroy us?

See! He's the one who pulled down the coconut trees There... there he is.

Is your boss an animal or a human? What is he?

You can pump but you can't tear down my coconut trees or my house!

Just do your pumping but don't tear down our trees!

Did your mother grow them? Your parents didn't grow them!

Go get the gun!

Go get the gun! Go get the gun to kill him!

Kill him!

Fuck you! I'll fucking kill you!

You'll fucking die! Get down now!

Get down now!

Get down right now!

Our homes have been flooded up to the roofs! What are we supposed to do?

There's been no negotiation and yet they behave like this!

If your home was flooded, what would you do?

Development will always have some impact. If you are being affected, go to the company

to negotiate and understand their policy.

What can they say to Ta Chorn's wife?

He was a policeman in the Doun Penh district office,

and he was electrocuted in his home. What are they going to negotiate with him?

Every year, the government receives millions of dollars in aid.

But I have no idea where the money goes.

The poor remain poor, the hungry remain hungry.

And people are being made homeless all because of the aid.

All I have is this shelter.

I've been living here, in peace, for six or seven years,

and now they want to drive us out.

We used to struggle for the rent. We had a miserable life.

We had to save a lot of money to be able to afford this house.

When my first child was born,

I didn't even have 100 Riel (15 pence).

My neighbour gave me the money to get to the hospital.

We were really poor.

I don't want to go back

to a life like that.

It was only me and my husband when we had that miserable life,

but now with our children we can't let that happen again.

I couldn't stand to see my children miserable like we were.

We are the witnesses who

have to give testimony to the court.

We must tell the truth.

What happened was a chaotic event,

between the authorities and the farmers harvesting their rice.

And our party has been accused of causing serious injury -

using knives to attack the police and fighting with the police.

So who saw what happened during the incident?

I would like to ask you -

and this is just an example -

what was Khim Savoeun doing on the 22nd, when the incident occurred?

Khim Savoeun was harvesting rice.

He was harvesting rice. So did he commit any crime?

Did he hit or attack the police?

- No, he didn't. - No, he didn't.

- Did you see what happened with your own eyes? - Yes, I did.

- Can you swear by it? - Yes, I can.

You cannot laugh while you are answering questions in court.

Show by your serious face that you are honest people.

If we look careless, or don't take this seriously, then they will not trust us.

They won't believe us.

They won't trust anything we say.

I will take a break and we can talk again later.

Now all the villagers are walking together

along the road for about seven kilometres,

on our way to the court.

Because the police have tried to block our way,

preventing us from leaving the village.

Even still, we are going to try.

- What? What do you want? - Where are you going?

I am going to visit my relatives.

- Where? - My relatives.

I am going to the court, to the court!

- To listen to the trial. - Stop!

- What? - Stop, stop, wait there!

- What do you want? - Why are you taking pictures?

Ehhh!

- Why are you taking photos? - I have a right to if I want!

But I don't want you to take my photo!

- But why are you trying to stop me? - No, I just came to ask why.

They stopped us from driving, but we are happy to walk.