Resettled For Chinese Dam Work, Lao Villagers Fear New Homes Will Be Washed Away
Lao villagers displaced by two Chinese-backed dam projects and now living in resettlement communities in uphill areas of two provinces say they fear their new homes will fall off nearby cliffs due to landslides caused by annual monsoonal rains.
Some of the more than 100 families from five villages in Khoua district, Phongsaly province, who moved to the Nam Ou 4 Dam resettlement village five months ago report that the land around their homes has already begun shifting.
“Now, land is sliding down closer and closer to our homes,” said a middle-aged man who moved from Tang Kok village to the Nam Ou 4 Dam village in March. “It’s not even one meter [3.3 feet] from our houses.”
“When it rains, parts of our land will collapse,” he said. “The land is made of soft and porous soil which is not good and not stable for [house] foundations.”
