And waht about us?

Asia • Cambodia

As blood is thicker than water … we cannot stop worrying about our part of Kampot, that is, the city on the eastern side of the river where we live.

Gregory McCann relentlessly writes:

„…but the east side of the river, where the old French villas are found, is in trouble too: China has designs on this languid town as well. Again, thousands (perhaps the reality is hundreds) of businessmen are combing every inch of real estate available. I was told a story (which I cannot confirm), that the Chinese offered a very popular Western-run restaurant and guest house $15,000 for the property and that they would need to vacate within three months. Apparently the Chinese were accompanied by Khmer officials who claimed they could easily find violations on the property and have it closed down in short order, so it was best to accept the paltry sum and clear out. And that is exactly what is happening.

Further downriver, closer to the Gulf, Chinese companies are already destroying mangrove forests and causing other ecological problems. New resorts are going up, and many are questioning just how beneficial all this Chinese investment will be for Cambodia. The Chinese have already essentially taken over Sihanoukville province, turning the entire Cambodian coast of that area into a new Macau for gambling and a Hainan* of golf courses and huge hotels (not to mention a secretive deep-water port in what used to be Botum Sakor National Park where rumor has it nuclear submarines are lurking). It looks like something similar will be happening to lovely Kampot in the not too distant future.”

Can we stop this? This is a rhetorical question, but it is impossible to not ask it ...

*Hainan is the smallest and southernmost province of China, consisting of various islands in the Suth China Sea. Famous for its golf courses.

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