A woman stands by the ruins of a home in Kraya commune that was torched by an unknown assailant on Monday night (above), just hours after the owner had fled with his family into the cassava fields (left). (Photo by: Heng Chivoan)By May Titthara
The Phnom Penh Post
Families hide in pagodas and fields for fear of arrest by local authorities.
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They showed us what they meant by turning up with soldiers and police.
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OFF a bumpy road through the forest, 90 kilometres from Kampong Thom town, the houses of Kraya commune are locked and empty. With the spectre of eviction looming, a quiet has fallen.
Villagers are preparing for the worst. Personal belongings have been hastily stuffed into sacks and hidden in nearby cassava farms, where they will be easy to retrieve in a hurry.
At night, a group of women stays up talking inside the local pagoda. They’ve fled their homes to seek sanctuary, afraid the authorities will burn their houses while they’re still inside.
“We are afraid they will burn our house down like we burned their excavators, so we are staying here together at the pagoda. We worry about our security all the time. We are very afraid when we hear any sound of a motor coming along the road at night,” said Neang Sinath, 42.
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