Life under the prosperous Hun Sen regime as recounted by a pro-Hun Sen newspaper

Grandma Long Hang begging for help

Nearby villagers came to tell the hardship story and the lady's loneliness.

Blind lonely old lady

Friday, November 14, 2008

Kampot – A blind old grandmother lives alone in a miserable-looking hut built next to the side of the road, this is the lonely life of this woman in this desolated home. This is life’s fate for this lonely lady who has nothing left but wait for the day she will die. The old woman survives by begging so she can get some money to buy rice and continue her livelihood. Nevertheless, her total blindness and her loneliness create even more hardship for her.The 70-year-old woman by the name Long Hang lives in Kan Trung village, Tany commune, Angkor Chey district, Kampot province. She became completely blind about three years ago.While she still had her eyesight, she used to live with her nephew-in-law, but when she lost her sight, this nephew kicked her out of his house and she became very desperate. Nearby villagers then decided to build her a small hut covered with plastic tarp and coconut leaves, as well as a few wooden planks along the side of the road. They also left a small water jar for her use. It is very pitiful to see her living in such dire situation, can you imagine your own mother living under such hardship condition? Currently, she survives by sitting on the street side walk begging people for money along National Road 31, near Kan Trung village, about 80-meter from the Tany commune office. Some of the travelers who saw her hardship would stop by and give her some alms, while others would just ignore her completely. Currently, she is attacked by bouts of diarrhea because she does not have enough to eat, and she is now very ill, miserably lying on the wooden floor of her hut from morning till night.Grandma Long Hang seems genuinely happy when she met the Koh Santepheap reporter. She hopes that the newspaper would publish her story and that generous people would provide her with some help. She is begging all Samaritans to please have mercy on her and provide her with some help.