Villagers cut off by concession

May Titthara
The Phnom Penh Post

Access to Preak Smach village is monitored by the military. At a checkpoint on the road through Kiri Sakor district, armed officers interrogate those attempting to enter the area. After an hour of often hostile questioning last Friday, an investigator from rights group Adhoc was refused access.

Residents of a nearby village, however, pointed to a trail through the forest that was wide enough for a motorbike. It led to the coast and a boat to the village on Koh Sdech where families who say they have been living on the island since 1983 are facing eviction to make way for a tourism development that will cost, according to Chinese media reports, US$3.6 billion.

The tranquil scenery, expansive beaches and calm sea belied the anxiety that pervaded the village, as well as a rising defiance.

“If this had happened in the past, I would join the Khmer Rouge to protect my land,” said Sim Navy, adding that she was furious with the government for granting the land she lives on to a Chinese company.

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