PRESS RELEASE
July 28, 2009
Cambodia: ‘AIDS Colony’ Violates Rights
HIV/AIDS and Social Justice Groups call on Government to Halt Evictions of HIV Affected
Families
(Phnom Penh, July 28, 2009) – The Cambodian government should urgently address
dangerous conditions in a de facto AIDS colony it has created and immediately stop
sending HIV-affected families there, more than 100 international HIV/AIDS and social
justice organizations and experts said in a joint letter delivered on July 27, 2009 to
Cambodia’s prime minister and health minister. In June 2009, the Cambodian government forcibly relocated 20 HIV-affected families
living in Borei Keila, a housing development in Phnom Penh, to substandard housing at
Tuol Sambo, a remote site 25 kilometers from the city. Another 20 families were moved
there on July 23. The families were resettled into crude, green metal sheds that are baking
hot in the daytime and lack running water and adequate sanitation. Just meters away,
higher-quality brick housing is being built, with the assistance of a nonprofit group, for
other homeless families slated for resettlement at Tuol Sambo. Even before the HIVaffected
families were resettled at the site, local people referred to the green sheds as “the
AIDS village.”
“By bundling people living with HIV together into second-rate housing, far from medical
facilities, support services, and jobs, the government has created a de facto AIDS
colony,” said Shiba Phurailatpam of the Asia-Pacific Network of People Living with
HIV/AIDS. “It’s hard to understand how a government that has received international
recognition for its HIV-prevention efforts could so callously ignore the basic rights of
people living with HIV.”
Dozens of organizations and individuals based in the Asia-Pacific region signed the
letter, joined by groups and individuals from many nations, ranging from Canada and the
United States to India and Tanzania. The letter stresses that conditions at Tuol Sambo do not meet minimum international
standards for even temporary emergency housing. The shelters are flanked by open
sewers, with only one public well for all of the relocated families. They are crowded into
the poorly ventilated metal sheds, where the afternoon heat is so intense they often cannot
remain in their rooms, and they fear their antiretroviral (ARV) medication will
deteriorate.
“The housing conditions in Tuol Sambo pose serious health risks for families living
there,” said Rebecca Schleifer, health and human rights advocate at Human Rights
Watch. “People living with HIV have compromised immune systems and are especially
vulnerable. For them, these substandard conditions can mean a death sentence or a ticket
to a hospital.”
The organizations also expressed deep concern about discrimination against HIV-affected
families in the screening and allocation process for on-site replacement housing being
built at Borei Keila. After two years of denying eligibility to HIV-affected families for
this housing, the authorities have now said that at least 11 HIV-affected families
previously slated to be sent to Tuol Sambo are in fact eligible. Those families remain at
Borei Keila, but are still waiting for the housing they have been promised.
Increasing property values in Cambodia’s capital city have left thousands of urban poor
people vulnerable to forced evictions to make way for commercial development. The
development of the Borei Keila site was approved in 2003 with the understanding that the
developer would build new housing on site for those displaced by the project. With few
exceptions, however, the HIV-affected families thus far displaced have not even been
screened for eligibility for this housing.
When living at Borei Keila, these people worked as day laborers, motorcycle taxi drivers,
cleaners, and seamstresses. Now, most have no prospects of work at or near Tuol Sambo.
Their economic situation is worsened by the fact that a return trip to Phnom Penh to go to
work or to visit hospitals costs the equivalent of about US$5 – for families who earn only
$1.50 to $3 a day.“The Cambodian government needs to establish a fair and open process for all to receive
the housing and services they need,” said Kevin Moody of The Global Network of People
living with HIV (GNP+).
“People living with HIV – like all others – need adequate living conditions that do not threaten their health and a way to earn a livelihood, so that they can
provide for themselves and their families. Grouping families affected by HIV in this way
exposes them to further stigma and discrimination; steps must be taken to end this
discrimination now.”
The groups called on the Cambodian government to:
• Cease moving HIV-affected families to the Tuol Sambo site;
• Improve conditions at Tuol Sambo to meet minimum standards for adequate
shelter, sanitation, and clean water;
• Ensure full access to quality medical services, including antiretroviral treatment,
treatment of opportunistic infections, primary health care and home-based care;
• Work with relevant agencies and consult with the families already at Tuol Sambo
to address immediate and long-term concerns regarding housing, health, safety,
and employment, and reintegration into society in a manner that protects their
rights and livelihoods; and
• Employ a transparent and fair screening process to determine eligibility for onsite
housing at Borei Keila, and allow eligible families to move in immediately
(including the 11 HIV-affected families already approved). For those found
ineligible, authorities should provide other adequate housing.
“Living with HIV with dignity means more than just ARVs,” said Aditi Sharma of the
International Treatment Preparedness Coalition. “It means these families should have a
healthy environment with adequate nutrition, proper sanitation and a continuum of care
that addresses the social, psychological, legal, and economic consequences of living with
HIV.”
To read the joint letter from the groups to the prime minister and health minister of
Cambodia, please visit:
• http://www.hrw.org/node/84641 (English)
• http://www.hrw.org/node/84642 (Khmer)
For multimedia from Borei Keila and Tuol Sambo, please visit the following:
• Slideshow showing life for HIV-affected families in Borei Keila and Tuol Sambo,
at:
http://www.hrw.org/en/features/cambodia-aids-colony-violates-rights
• Video by Licadho, “Living with HIV/AIDS in the Green Shed,” showing Borei
Keila’s residents resisting relocation, at:
http://hub.witness.org/en/upload/people-living-hivaids-await-eviction
For more information or to purchase the photographs, please contact:
• Photographs by Nicolas Axelrod:
nick@nicolasaxelrod.com
• Photographs/video by LICADHO: +855-12-804-755 or colms@hrw.org