On June 2, the Phnom Penh government issued a decision to force people to remove all floating houses, fish rafts, and boathouses on the Mekong River for the protection of the environment, ecosystems, biodiversity, and health. If people do not conform, they would face legal action.
The floating houses Phnom Penh
Meanwhile, many Vietnamese Cambodian people have been living there for generations.
On June 4, Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Vu Quang Minh led a delegation to visit the community to know more about the situation.
At the meeting with the delegation, Sym Chi, head of Khmer-Vietnam Association, said that around 1,000 Vietnamese Cambodian households are living in floating houses in the affected areas.
Although the local government has been planning the relocation for years, this is the first time the people were informed officially about this. The relocation had to be carried out within one week, which was more difficult during the pandemic.
Pham Van Quan, 61, said that his family had been living there for four generations with all the legal papers as required. They are very worried about where they can move to now.
To Van Trong, also from the area, said that his family and most of the people in the area had lived in floating houses in Prek Pnov district's river, Phnom Penh, since 1980.
The people expected that local authorities would have a more appropriate relocation plan for them to look for a new accommodation place and job.
According to Trong, they can’t know where to go as they can’t live on Tonle Sap and on the mainland too. Meanwhile, they have only one week to relocate. If they have to move so quickly, they can’t sell their fish which needs to be raised for a few months.
Ambassador Minh showed his sympathy with the people’s difficulties and encouraged them to keep calm and conform to Cambodian law. The Vietnam Embassy to Cambodia will also mobilise resources to help people overcome the challenging period.
