Despair mounts in Cambodia in the middle of the COVID blockade Coronavirus pandemic News

Phnom Penh, Cambodia – Iv Sovann is locked up with his family in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh since April 5 when the government imposed drastic measures to suddenly escalate coronavirus cases.

The 36-year-old six-year-old family has no income.

Her husband, a teacher, lost her job when she closed the job a year ago.

Sovann has continued to support the family by working as an assistant accountant for a local transportation company.

“We are not rich. We live hand in hand. If we were to be as rich as others, it would be good to be in quarantine for a year, ”he said.

Desperate to look for food, this week Stueng was in a group of people who took matters into their own hands in the Phnom Penh district of Meanchey.

“We saw some people get food like rice noodles and canned fish, and we didn’t get anything. So we went out to ask for food, ”he said.

The protests secured a 25 kg (55 kilos) bag of rice from Iv Sovann to the local authority, but others were unlucky.

“There are still a lot more families,” he said. “I don’t know why some get a donation and why some don’t.”

‘They make the news’

Cambodia is suffering the most severe outbreak of COVID-19 since the pandemic began last year and has imposed strict blockades, backed by punitive fines and prison sentences, in a bid to stop the spread of the virus in Phnom Penh and other areas.

The country has reported more than 13,000 cases and more than 90 deaths in less than three months.

Authorities have designated neighborhoods with high rates of coronavirus cases as “red zones”.

Within these neighborhoods (approximately 300,000 people live there), citizens cannot leave their homes except for medical emergencies.

The government has pledged to supply food to these areas, and has prevented aid groups from entering the red zone to provide assistance, but it appears that efforts have gone awry and left thousands disappointed.

Vorn Pao, president of the Association for the Independent Democracy of the Informal Economy (IDEA), says he receives hundreds of messages from his members every day asking for help. It is estimated that about 5,000 of the organization’s 14,000 members in the country do not have enough to eat, especially those with “red zones”.

“[We] they lack food, ”he told Al Jazeera.

“We are calling on the government to help [food] without discrimination “.

On Friday, Amnesty International called on the government to warn civil society to provide food aid to people with food shortages as Cambodia is experiencing a crisis as a result of government policies to respond to rising infections, all linked to B.1.1.7. variant.

Far from global headlines, a humanitarian crisis is also emerging in Cambodia.

COVID-19 “in the red zone,” 100,000 people cannot leave their homes or get food.

We have verified the testimonies: it is becoming critical.https://t.co/R1Hhcy5gE7

– Elliott Fox (@ejlfox) April 30, 2021

“The Cambodian government’s strong condemnation of this COVID-19 blockade is causing much suffering and human rights violations across the country,” Yamini Mishra, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific regional director, said in a statement.

“Right now, the people of the ‘red zones’ and others in Cambodia are starving because of essentially unreasonable policies.”

Government spokesman Phay Siphan responded angrily to criticism of Amnesty.

The amnesty “does not know Cambodia,” he said, and told those who told Al Jazeera that they did not “lie” about the food.

“We help them; we look at what areas they are in and what situations they are in, ”he said.

“We checked [them]. They just invent something new. That’s not true. “

When asked more, it doubled.

“They’re lying,” he said. “Tell me who doesn’t have food. Enter an email [addresses] among those who have no food. I’ll get the food to send right away. “

Local and international organizations have called on the government to help those in need of access to the red zone.

“The government needs to provide urgent access to NGOs and UN agencies equipped to provide critical medical services, food and other essential social services in these areas,” said Naly Pilorge, director of Licadho, Cambodia’s leading human rights organization.

A policeman is on guard at a bridge in Phnom Penh. The capital is located among areas of Cambodia, amid a sudden rise in coronavirus cases [File: Mak Remissa/EPA]

The amnesty was echoed in the appeal.

“Everyone who is locked up should be given the right to access adequate food, water, health care and other key issues,” Mishra said in the statement.

Cut off the food supply

The blockade measures have caused the most serious inconvenience to people who have worked in construction, garment factories, land and informal work, forcing all markets in Phnom Penh to close where most ordinary people buy food.

Ou Vira, president of the Future Forum, a working group on public policy issues, said the government could alleviate the shortcomings by making existing supply chains COVID-19 safe, rather than closed.

“I think [government] they should allow the opening of existing markets, but make sure they are not too close to each other, ”he said.

By doing so, the government will help not only people who need food, but also farmers who are struggling to find a market for their products.

“Closing the market is a very dangerous measure,” Ou Vira said. “Even if you have money, you can’t buy food.”

Sok Eysan, a spokesman for the Cambodian People’s Party in the government, has dismissed criticism because the government has mismanaged the closure, saying the supply is insufficient.

“So far, we have heard of people dying of hunger or lack of food from the government, the Red Cross and generous people who are actively helping people everywhere, especially those in the red zone,” he said.

Cambodia strengthens vaccination program for 18-year-olds in the country’s ‘red zones’ [Mak Remissa/EPA]

Among the new wave of cases, the country has stepped up its vaccination program and prioritized people living in the red zone. More than 1.3 million people in 15 million countries have received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine.

‘Zero tolerance’

But it has also relied on more punitive measures to reduce the spread of the virus.

In March, the government passed a new COVID-19 law that imposes a $ 5,000 fine and a prison sentence of up to 20 years for those who break the rules. Cambodia has an average monthly income of about $ 550.

The United Nations has called on the government to review the law, saying it is “disproportionate”.

According to Licadho, authorities have arrested 258 people under the COVID-19 law. Of these, 83 have been indicted, jailed and taken to jail. Last month a provincial court sentenced four people to one year in prison for dancing and drinking.

“The public health crisis is not the time to send more people to prisons overcrowded in Cambodia,” Naly Pylgg said.

“The COVID-19 law should be repealed, and those arrested by the law and sentenced to prison terms by the law should be released immediately.

“Authorities should focus on organizing safe vaccinations for at-risk populations, providing a social safety net for those most in need and ensuring access to food, medicine and other necessities for nearly 300,000 people in the red zone of the capital.”

At the latest outbreak of coronavirus disease in Phnom Penh, people are waiting to test strict blockade measures within a red zone. [File: Cindy Liu/Reuters]

Sok Eysan, however, remains unmoved.

He said the government will take a zero-tolerance approach to people who violate the COVID-19 law as it tries to reduce the spread of the virus.

“Those who violate the principle of this [COVID] the law of any article must assume that it is before the law, ”he said.