May Titthara
Photo by: Photo Supplied
Villagers camp out in Prey Lang forest, in Kampong Thom province, yesterday. The villagers have been patrolling the forest to monitor illegal logging activities.
Kampong Thom province
Deep in Prey Lang forest, a group of villagers advocating on behalf of the embattled woodland area are paying with their health.
About 50 of a group of 230 villagers who have spent their days patrolling the woods for illegal loggers and their nights sleeping under the trees have fallen ill, NGO officials told the Post yesterday.
Villagers representing three of the four provinces that Prey Lang overlaps decided to walk from their homes to meet at the town of O’Chrok, with villagers from Stung Treng and Preah Vihear beginning their trek on November 2 and villagers from Kampong Thom following on November 4. A previously planned meeting point, Damnak Mean, was discarded in favour of O’Chrok after villagers were confronted by about 30 police officers on Monday.
No comments:
Post a Comment