New home not where the heart is for Xayaburi locals
… For the past several days, Boonma and seven other Houay Souy villagers have travelled back to their homes near the Xayaburi Dam building site on the Lao side of the Mekong River. Since the beginning of the year they have been relocated to a new village, Ban Na Tor Mai, 40km from their traditional homes. … Boonma and Ta’s household was among 100 others relocated from their village of Houay Souy to make way for construction work, the first batch of 458 households along the river from Xayaburi to Luang Prabang in northern Laos to be moved. They have been relocated despite the dam project not receiving the unanimous approval of the other Mekong River Commission (MRC) member countries, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.
