Lao, Cambodian families pay for summit luxuries
As Asian and European leaders gather for high level meetings this month in Cambodia and Laos, the luxury living quarters and extensive security arrangements made for their arrivals have come at considerable human and environmental expense. Government authorities went on a building spree ahead of this week’s 9th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit being held in the Lao capital, a process that entailed forced evictions of local communities to pave the way for the meeting’s modern facilities. While leaders pay lip service to various problems facing the globe, among them food security, most of them are likely unaware that the buildings in which they are being hosted and housed have rendered many capital dwellers homeless and without livelihoods. …
