I get Low.
Wow it’s been long. Made a new blog but for some reason I “do not have permission to do that” when I post. Anyone know wtd ?
I had this long text summarizing a shit ton of things that happened and that are happening prepared but for some reason I can’t find it. So, instead, I’ll just do a quick visual brief on that, mostly RBMA Culture Clash.
Also, big updates coming to skoczkowski.com . Cambodia, Spain, and a band from Boston|| SOOON
back online.
I finally have internet at home. Will update this week. In the meantime you can check DPmusic for tunes.
Everything’s moving everything’s changing
Not having time to sit down, I’m heading out to Barcelona today. Days are swooshing by and my 1TB is already half full. Some in between shots from Cambodia for now, looks like it’ll be another month till I can process all of these images not to mention video. If you’re interested in weird music/ just weird stuff then you can follow my Spanish adventures with my buddy Dan on DPmusic.
A Day In The Life Of Mu Sochua
A day in the life of human rights activist Mu Sochua, Cambodia. To find out more please visit: musochua.org // sochua.wordpress.com
Dailies
Back in Singapore now. Super behind with everything; photos, videos, some sound field recordings. Wish I could back to Cambodia where the heat doesn’t bother me anymore and the daily routines aren’t daily at all. Would like to thank everyone in Kampuchea, beginning with folks that saved me from dying in a hotel bedroom from food poisoning, experiencing sketch nights in Phnom Penh and travelling with all around the place by car, bus , boat, dirt bike- anything you can imagine pretty much. For the next couple of weeks I’ll be in Europe where I’ll try to keep up with posting.
Some phone dailies for now: being hospitalized, anti-deforestation protests, lots of driving across the country, best food, holding a chunk of gold, Preah Vehear military zone, Thai border etc etc etc..
Sesame Fields Forever.
For the past week I’ve slept in different beds everyday, in different places and been missioning across Cambodia like crazy. After recovering from my food poisoning episode I travelled up north with Mu Sochua. Land grabbing was the case this time as many farmers in the province had been victims of unjust and illegal actions taken by “authorities”.
Six AM breakfast in Phnom Penh followed by a 4 hour drive up North to Battambang lands us in Koh Kroloh district of the province. The more off-road our journey gets the closer we get to the village, where landless people are having their sesame crops destroyed by what is being recalled as “the others”.
The land we stand on used to be a forest occupied by the Khmer Rouge, before integrating with the Royal Government Forces in 1997, and is now being seized by army chiefs. Despite the fact that the land is state owned, meaning that it is available for social concessions- for landless people, high ranking officials as well as private parties secretly want to keep this land as private. The issue has been brought up by landless farmers who have came from neighbouring districts in hope of harvesting state land as a mean for their livelihoods. The government on the provincial level has refused to come in and take control of the situation, leaving actions taken on this land highly questionable and evidently harmful for the landless farmers who have been residing the area for a number of years now.
After meeting with the farmers and investigating the damaged fields, Sochua, her team and the victims were brought to the local police station to personally discuss land issues with the authorities.
