Preserved forever in a sombre black-and-white portrait, it is a face familiar to the front pages of many Cambodian newspapers. Chea Vichea, the young union leader gunned down in 2004 by what many suspect to be an agent of the government (a decade on, his killer remains at large), is unmistakable. In a nod to International Human Rights Day on December 10, Where Is My Justice? is a poignant photographic call for the government of Cambodia to put an end to impunity, a problem that has long plagued this country. This new photo exhibition, by the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights, charts the experiences of local victims of impunity, each denied justice for the crimes committed against them. Journalists, evictees, political protesters, unionists, and LGBT people: while their personal circumstances may vary, the threats to their rights to truth, justice and remedy are all too common. After the opening, at 8pm, a screening of Even A Bird Needs A Nest documents forced evictions in Cambodia. French co-directors Christine Chansou and Vincent Trintignant-Corneau, on hand at the screening to answer questions, recorded stunning testimonies everywhere from down in the mud to the uppermost echelons. They kept a close track on the Boeung Kak struggle, while also letting Hun Sen and the opposition have their say.
WHO: Cambodian Centre for Human Rights
WHAT: Where Is My Justice? exhibition opening & Even A Bird Needs A Nest documentary screening
WHERE: Meta House, #37 Sothearos Blvd.
WHEN: From 6pm December 9
WHY: Justice shouldn’t be for the few