In Cambodia, this village shows even the wealthy are vulnerable to land grabbing
The river view behind the house was broad and serene, a wide expanse of the Mekong flowing just past the newly occupied villa.
A pretty sight, and prime real estate too. So when the sand pumping crews showed up just after the housewarming party late last summer, manning their hoses alongside roaring diesel engines to pour a seemingly endless slurry beginning at about dawn each day, the homeowner was reasonably upset. They’d gone through the trouble of making a home on the riverbank only to find the riverbank being made almost up to the home itself.
“Every morning, you can just hear them fucking up your land,” the homeowner said, asking to go unnamed.
ANDREW HAFFNER
