One of Mother Nature Cambodia's most successful strategies has been to use social media, chiefly our own Facebook page 'Mother Nature Cambodia', to highlight and expose the corruption, human rights abuses and environmental destruction that usually comes hand in hand with so-called development projects by the authoritarian government of Hun Sen. The main reasons we started producing our own stuff back in 2013 were simple: most mainstream media outlets did not dare report on the issues we were working on, and the few independent outlets that existed - most of whom have been since shuttered by the regime, sadly - did not have the resources to visit the remote areas where we usually work. So we decided to create an opportunity out of this seemingly insurmountable obstacle: to produce our own stuff. Our videos, a mixture of thorough investigation and short and easy-to-digest messages presented by our brave activists as well as citizens from all walks of life, have been viewed over 20 million times, and shared more than a million times, and that's just since 2015. This is a most remarkable achievement for several reasons: a) as anyone with experience in producing videos knows, it is not easy to produce stuff that is attractive to the general public; b) the risks associated to filming and speaking on videos in Cambodia can be high, with arbitrary arrests and even jail time not at all unusual (as some of our activists can sadly vouch for); A lot of our videos are regularly picked up by the media, politicians, NGOs, etc, and have in many cases forced the Phnom Penh regime to publicly respond (not an easy feat in Cambodia by any means), for instance by backtracking on key decisions, or by putting an end to certain destructive practices. Not just that, but we are proud to say that many young people have told us that they find the videos inspirational, and that they too want to get involved in social justice and environmental protection.
For videos from other years, see: 2016&2017 /2018 /2019 & 2020 / 2021 & 2022 / 2023&2024
To get a better idea of the high impact of our videos, mentioning number of Likes, Shares, Comments, etc, watch them on our Facebook page (link next to each video's description). Also do note that as many FB pages pick up and 're-post' our videos on their own pages, the true scale of our videos is much higher than what is depicted in our page.
🌱🌱 They dreamed of protecting Cambodia’s remaining natural resources, making them safer, and preserving the beauty of this golden land for future generations. But in pursuit of that dream, they have faced repeated imprisonment and injustice. This is not the end, brothers and sisters. Their fight is not over. It is now up to us to carry it forward. #FreeOurFriends #notforgotten
This is a garbage incinerator located in Kirirom National Park. Not just one, not two, but many! Has the Ministry of Environment run out of options, resorting to using protected areas like this as garbage dumps?
🚨 Environmental activism is not a crime.Why are we being punished for doing what is right? Join us in calling for the immediate and unconditional release of the environmental activists. ✊🏼#FreeOurFriends
What game is the Ministry of Mines and Energy playing with us? Sand is a vital resource among many natural resources that supports ecosystems, protects coastlines, and provides numerous other benefits. History has clearly shown that the government lacks the capacity to protect this resource, focusing instead on relentless extraction and exportation, which drains national wealth for the sake of money and power. We will absolutely not agree if there is another export of sand to foreign countries. #handsoffourcambodiansand
Democracy is a country where laws are born from the will of the people, not from the mouths of those in power.
Apart from making excuses and pretending not to know in order to avoid responsibility, what will the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Health do to address and help the people escape this toxic issue? We recently collected pictures of the smog that enveloped Phnom Penh. How can we trust the government if the relevant institutions do not seem to care about our health?
Why should we engage in helping our community? Please listen to the explanation provided by the youth, Ly Chandaravuth, as follows. #Iamlychandaravuth
Fantastic provincial administration! Once again, they choose to turn a blind eye and remain silent, as usual. This will not resolve the issues, nor will it address their responsibility for transforming a protected area into a landfill. Meanwhile, they have been treating the wildlife corridor as a dumping ground, continuously expanding this trash site over the past three years. What an egregiously intentional act! This mismanagement of waste is bound to harm both human and animal health and further devastate our already shrinking biodiversity. Therefore, we must ask: How exactly will the Koh Kong Provincial Administration be held accountable for the consequences of their ill-conceived decision to establish this dump?
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