When Thai Shells Blasted Homes and Hopes

Описание: When Thai Shells Blasted Homes and Hopes

ODDAR MEANCHEY - Son Srei, still visibly distressed from the days of crying with swollen eyes, holds her small granddaughter and gazes hopelessly at her house, which was destroyed by bombardment during the Cambodia-Thailand border fighting, which began on December 7.

As a typical rural Khmer-style house, with wood at the top and concrete at the bottom, the destruction pokes a long-lasting hole in her heart, a decades-long effort turned upside down in a matter of minutes.

Reportedly ripped open on December 10, around 3 to 4 days after renewed fighting began, Son Srei’s family fled to safety, leaving behind her belongings and pets.

Some of her dogs and cats were found dead, decomposed under the rubble, punctured by flying debris. A few manage to survive, thin and weak, and feel excited when Son Srei finally arrives.

Once a warm shelter for a large young family, Son Srei, a farmer and construction worker, worries that her current income will not be enough to restore the damage.

Shells pierced through the roof and into the room down below, causing shrapnel marks all over the concrete walls. Corrugated covers twisted with burning marks and holes. A few impact craters can still be seen with pieces of shells remaining.

Son Srei’s neighbourhood was no less affected. Sections of roads were ripped open, gas stations destroyed, and shops burnt.

Shrapnel pieces camouflage within the rubble, a reminder of how devastating​ border fighting can escalate, fueled by those living comfortably far away from the raining infernos.

For some, their houses have sustained minor damage that can be fixed much more easily. For Son Srei, the damage leaves her without words.

Located about 10 kilometers south of the O’Smach border checkpoint, Son Srei’s community was among the most affected areas during the 3-week border fighting.

Not all have decided to return, fearing unexploded ordnance and renewed border fighting.

A ceasefire agreement was finally signed again on December 27, leaving behind around 640,000 Cambodian civilians displaced, and 31 Cambodian civilians dead, not to mention the countless destruction toward civil infrastructures, private properties, domestic cultural heritage, the UNESCO site of Preah Vihear temple, diplomacy, and people-to-people trust.

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