Archive & Photographic documentary: The Cham fishermen of Chroy Changvar

In Phnom Penh, the Chroy Changvar peninsula, where the Tonlé Sap meets the Mekong, is an area of the capital whose landscape has been radically transformed in just a few years, now featuring paved roads, shopping centres, residential complexes and hotels.

In fact, fishing communities have lived on the peninsula since 1979. However, since 2012, they have been relocated several times due to construction work and real estate projects. Today, after establishing their routines and setting up a makeshift mosque in their new ‘home,’ they fear being displaced once again due to further development on the peninsula.

Cham Kid

These communities live off small-scale fishing and earn an average of 10 to 15 dollars per day per family. They live in relatively precarious conditions, with cramped boats, rudimentary huts and banks that are often too muddy.

As for hygiene and waste management issues, there is most likely room for specialised NGOs to lend a hand.

Community members claim to have been relocated three times, returning twice to their long-time homes before being permanently moved in 2012 to the banks of Chroy Changvar, ‘perhaps waiting for us to reach an agreement with the authorities for a permanent settlement,’ says one of them as he gathers his nets.

To view the entire photo album, click here...