Nicolas Axelrod

Looking out from the pagoda towards the construction site of the new temple. Flood levels are high in Dam Racha on Oct. 20th 2011, 50 families were forced to abandoned their homes and take refuge in the pagoda. © Nicolas Axelrod 2011

Dam Racha Village in July 2012, water levels are back to normal. Looking out from the pagoda towards the construction site of the new temple. © Nicolas Axelrod 2012

Samern (left) in Dam Racha, measures a plot of their land which she will lose to a private micro-finance company after being unable to repay her debts. © Nicolas Axelrod 2012

The pagoda, the only dry land in Boeung Keik village, Prey Veng is surrounded by flood waters in Oct. 2011. © Nicolas Axelrod 2011

As the flood levels went down, villagers were able to move their cows back to their pastures. A farmer dries his rice harvest in front of the Boeung Keik pagoda in May 2012. © Nicolas Axelrod 2012

Cows were moved to high ground around a school and a pagoda in Boeunk keik. Prey Veng Oct. 2011 © Nicolas Axelrod 2011/UNICEF

Cows in a pasture near Boeunk Keik village in May 2012. During the floods the cows were moved to the only dry land in the village around the Boeunk Keik pagoda. © Nicolas Axelrod 2012

Cows on an elevated plate form of earth and reeds in Dam Racha village, Oct. 2011. © Nicolas Axelrod 2011

A house partly destroyed by the floods in Dam Racha village in June 2012. © Nicolas Axelrod 2012

In 2011 Cambodia saw its worst floods in 10 years. More than 247 people died (Prey Veng province saw the highest death toll with 52 dead) and 1.64 million people were affected through out the country by the flooding. Seven months later people are still struggling to recover.

In October 2011, UNICEF commissioned me to document the affects of the flooding in Prey Veng province, it made me aware of the vast devastation and hardship endured in the region. Later that month I returned to the area independently to continue documenting the situation. In May and June 2012 revisiting two different villages in Prey Veng I met up with some of the families affected by the 2011 floods. The families who we visited had lost their homes or harvest during the floods and were forced to take out loans from banks and private microfinance institutions to be able to get back on their feet. Borrowing money against their land, some are still hopeful that they can repay their debt, while others like Samern can only watch while the microfinance institution comes to claim her land.  Samern, who lives in Dam Racha, lost her harvest last year because the rains and floods came early. Forced to harvest before the crop came to seed she was left with nothing. The floods and storms destroyed her home. She is now living with her neighbours. Hopeful that this year the family could plant again Samern got a loan in order to purchase gasoline, fertilizers and pesticides. Due to the high cost of planting a new crop and the low revenue generated from the sale of the rice, Samern was forced to default on her loan and in early June lost part of her land. Dam Racha did not receive any aid from donors, organizations or the government institutions.

In other parts of Prey Veng, aid was donated through the Cambodian Red Cross. Affected villagers received 20 kg of rice, a water filter, 2 kg of fermented fish, instant noodles and 10 dollars per family; it was just not enough to recover. Boang and Sroarm two women who had lost their houses both took out loans to rebuild their homes. Slowly repaying their debt Boang has to rent out her land this year to other farmers so she can repay the bank. Sroarm hopes her little grocery store will earn enough in order not to lose the land on which her house has been (re)built.

In both areas of Prey Veng, villagers already in debt and worried about their future, are expecting that this year will see more flooding, as experts predict that due to climate change flooding will be more frequent and severe in coming years.