The locals call nickname it ‘Smokey Mountain’ and it was the hardest place I visited in Cambodia. Steung Meanchey in Khemer, its Phnom Penh’s main rubbish dumps and is basically a mountain of slow smoldering garbage. I witnessed hundreds of people swooping on trucks as they came in scavenging for recyclable products. The smell and the stench were unbelievable, but the guilt I felt for being there with my camera was unbearable. I didn’t want to be seen as taking advantage of people in a dire situation, but in usual Khmer style they continued to smile and go about there means of survival in a peaceful and humble manner. |
