The Handbook of Contemporary Cambodia by Brickell Katherine; Springer Simon;

Author:Brickell, Katherine; Springer, Simon;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Group

Conceptualizing forced relocations in Cambodia

The complexity of community relocation was first described in detail by anthropologists in the 1960s–70s, including Colson (1960) and Scudder (1962) and later by sociologists and others, including Hansen and Oliver-Smith (1982), Oberai (1988), and Cernea (1997) throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Inherent dynamics of relocation include diminished employment opportunities in new sites, second-generation impacts on children, and social tensions between settlers and indigenous or host communities. Other dynamics include the frequent abandonment of new settlement areas by relocated communities, land tenure and management difficulties, and the phenomenon of “settler dependency” on formal assistance from the government or NGOs once communities have been relocated (Oberai 1988; Scudder 1993).

Notwithstanding efforts to introduce safeguards to protect communities by international financial institutions (IFIs) such as the World Bank, the literature suggests that even when significant compensation is provided and a resettlement plan in place, resettlement often results in further impoverishment for communities, or at least for vulnerable members (Scudder 2012). Researchers involved in the preparation of the World Commission on Dams report in 2000 stated that “impoverishment and disempowerment have been the rule rather than the exception with respect to resettled people around the world” (Bartolme et al. 2000, 7). Scudder’s assessment of numerous resettlement schemes concluded that there is no statistical evidence that outcomes for the majority have improved over time (2012, 52). A number of other researchers have also argued that the majority of those displaced remain impoverished for at least seven to ten years (Cernea and McDowell 2000; Bennett and McDowell 2012).

Since the relative political stability of the 1990s, the Cambodian government has promoted foreign and private investment (Slocomb 2010). A plethora of different development norms and standards have emerged, which shape how community relocations are carried out. The conditions attached to relocation, such as the quality of resettlement packages, compensation, transparency, and the availability of complaints mechanisms, are often dependent on the particular alignment of donors, private investors, or local actors involved in a given project (Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee 2009). IFIs and private investors may have very different standards and processes for relocation. In circumstances where the World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) are involved, formal grievance mechanisms are in place for affected people to seek redress for harm resulting from poorly implemented projects (Bissell and Nanwani 2009). Local grievance mechanisms are otherwise weak. Additionally, bilateral finance from countries such as China does not currently come with stringent requirements related to resettlement and relocation, and compensation issues are generally handled according to the policies of the Cambodian government, without imposition of external standards (Grimsditch 2012).

The degree to which people are forced to move has been a focus of the forced migration and resettlement literature for many decades (Hansen and Oliver-Smith 1982; Hugo 2008, 16). There is no simple dichotomy between voluntary and involuntary relocation, rather the “involuntary” or “forced” aspect of community relocations is best understood on a gradual continuum, depending on the specific factors driving displacement. Major relocation events in Cambodia,

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.