Boeung Kak men battle on homefront

When the Supreme Court hears land-rights activist Yorm Bopha’s final appeal this morning, familiar cries for justice will come from Boeung Kak women on the streets outside.

Much has been written about the housewives of Boeung Kak who have risen up against the government and developers to protest mass land evictions – dissent that has led to beatings and imprisonment. …

“When the community began protesting five years ago, the women understood the context of Cambodia,” Housing Rights Task Force secretariat director Sia Phearum said yesterday. “People at that time were traumatised and too scared to protest, because people who did were often killed or arrested.”

The Boeung Kak community believed putting women on the front line at protests was a way to reduce such violence while still getting their message across, Phearum said. Such a move, they thought, would also allow men to keep working to pay the bills. …

The streets of Boeung Kak’s Village 22 were almost bereft of women on Wednesday afternoon. Tep Vanny, the community’s most prominent activist, was in a meeting in the city.

“Our lives have become stressful,” said Ou Kongchea, Vanny’s husband, who was working at home. “These protests have had a huge effect on my life.”

Like other husbands in Boeung Kak, Kongchea has stood in the shadows, lending support as his wife has rapidly become a public figure. …

The release of Bopha, Kongchea said, and the issuing of land titles to dozens of remaining families, would be key steps towards things calming down. …

But the women, who have branched out to support other human-rights causes in recent years, may have other ideas. …

 Shane Worrell and Khouth Sophak Chakrya
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/boeung-kak-men-battle-homefront