Cambodian families living with HIV and AIDS forcibly evicted- ACT NOW!

Around 32 families living with HIV and AIDS were forcibly evicted from their homes in Borei Keila on 18 June 2009. The evictions from the Borei Keila community came after several months of strong protests by the families, who complained that they would be without basic services, have no means of income and lose access to medical treatment at the new location. Officials say they evicted the families because they had illegally settled on state land where the government now wants to build new offices for the Ministry of Tourism.
The housing at the new site at Tuol Sambo, 20 kilometers from Phnom Penh, is made from distinct green metal sheets, and local residents call it the “AIDS Village.”

Naly Pilorge, director of the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights, said in a statement: “It is tragic that the government has chosen to create a permanent AIDS colony where people will face great stigma and discrimination”. Amnesty International said the families would lose their livelihoods because most have been working as scavengers or porters in the city.
Kathleen O'Keefe , a consultant who has been observing the situation in Borei Keila since 2006, was quoted in the Cambodian newspaper Phnom Penh Post as followed: "These 32 families are to be banished to a remote location, which is already known by local people as the ‘AIDS village'.... Moreover, they will face squalid and unhealthy conditions at the Tuol Sambo relocation site, and, because of its distance from Phnom Penh, they will be far away from their jobs and vital medical services in the city.” She added: "It's not surprising that some of these people wonder whether the government is sending them to Tuol Sambo so that they will die more quickly.”

Shooting movies in another country means also to quarrel with the people, the traditions, the political and social situation of the country.
Therefore we hope that all blog readers support the appeal of Amnesty International. Do not look away- ACT NOW!

Please send appeals to arrive quickly as possible in English, French, Khmer or German until 23rd JULY 2009.
• expressing concern that 32 families living with HIV and AIDS at Borei Keila, Phnom Penh, are at imminent risk of forced eviction to a resettlement site, with no clean water, sanitation, electricity or health services;
• calling on the authorities to protect the 32 families from forced eviction, and to clarify reports that some of the families are considered eligible for flats in the new buildings which are being constructed as part of the 2003 land-share agreement;
• calling on the authorities to guarantee adequate alternative housing with security of tenure for those determined to be ineligible, including access to health services for continuation of anti-retroviral treatment and treatment for HIV and AIDS related illnesses or opportunistic infections;
• calling on the authorities to ensure that the families are not discriminated against because of their health status, either in the assessment process for eligibility for housing at Borei Keila, or provision of alternative adequate housing.

Adress:
Governor
Kep Chuktema, Governor, Phnom Penh Municipality, #69 Blvd. Preah Monivong, Phnom Penh, KAMBODSCHA (correct title: Dear Governor)
Fax: 00 855 23 426 101
E-Mail: phnompenh@phnompenh.gov.kh

Health Minister Mom Bunheng
Minister of Health, Ministry of Health
No 151-153 Kampuchea Krom Blvd.
Phnom Penh, KAMBODSCHA
(correct title: Dear Minister)
Fax: 00 855 23 426841
E-Mail: webmaster@moh.gov.kh

Copy to:
President of the Cambodian Red Cross
Lok Chumteav Bun Rany Hun Sen
President, Cambodian Red Cross
17, Street Cambodian Red Cross (street 180)
Phnom Penh, KAMBODSCHA
(correct title: Dear Lok Chumteav)
E-Mail: info@redcross.org.kh

Embassy of Cambodia in Germany
S.E. Herrn Widhya Chem
Benjamin-Vogelsdorff-Straße 2, 13187 Berlin
Fax: 030-4863 7972
E-Mail: REC-Berlin@t-online.de