Some Return After Eviction From Coastal Resort Development
Thousands of people have been evicted from their homes to make way for a Chinese development in Koh Kong province. But some of the families have returned to their land, leaving a relocation site they say was insufficient for their needs. For families like those of Chum Siran, life has become more difficult since their removal from the development site, to this relocation site in the mountains of Koh Kong. Before the relocation, her family raised cashews, while her husband fished. But they were moved along with 1,100 other families, forced to relocate to new villages in the mountain to make way for the massive development, undertaken by the Chinese Union Development Group, to build a resort and casino on some 36,000 hectares of land along the pristine coast. … A few dozen villagers have remained at Chamlong Kor, resisting continued calls for relocation to make way for the Union Development project, a $3.8 billion development with a 99-year lease on a vast swath of land within the previously protected Botumsakor National Park. The project will include hotels, a casino, a golf course and a seaport, according to the building plans. …
