Unreported World

Unreported World reveals how 30 years on from the fall of the Khmer Rouge, and at the same time as Pol Pot's accomplices are being put on trial for war crimes, Cambodia's people are once again being brutally driven from their land. This time, however, it is capitalism, not communism, that is displacing them - as growing numbers of tourists fuel a property boom that is having devastating results.

Reporter Jenny Kleeman and Producer Andy Wells report from Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh, where land is now worth three times as much as two years ago. They're investigating allegations that the Cambodian authorities are behind a policy of violent evictions of the country's poor from their homes.

Their journey begins in the slum district of Dey Krahorm, which is home to 120 families and right next to central Phnom Penh's plush new hotels, embassies and new National Assembly. Vichet Chan, the community's leader, tells Kleeman that the government is forcing them to leave so the land can be sold to a property developer, even though they are legally entitled to be there. Other residents claim to have been arrested and brutally beaten for resisting the developers.

Kleeman and Wells move on Sianoukville on Cambodia's coast. Its white sand beaches are an increasing draw for foreign tourists, but the people of Kom Penh Chit fishing village tell Kleeman they are barred from the adjoining beach because it's been sold off to developers. The team discovers a group of people living in shacks along a roadside who claim that they used to own farms close to the beach until they were evicted by the police and army two years ago.

The team moves on to Andong, a 'resettlement village' where the government has relocated people it has evicted from the capital. In a chilling echo of the suffering of those evicted from Phnom Penh by the Khmer Rouge, they find the residents living under tarpaulin in appalling conditions. A doctor tells Kleeman that diseases including typhoid, dengue fever, pneumonia, tuberculosis and dysentery are endemic, and many children have died. There are just 12 toilets for nearly 2,000 families, but residents have to pay to use them and most can't afford to do so. Instead they defecate in plastic bags, which litter the site.

Kleeman and Wells are tipped off that the people of Dey Krahorm are going to be evicted that night. They rush back to Phnom Penh and find Vichet Chan, who is terrified that the authorities are planning to take everyone's house at dawn. He says he has been forced to go into hiding in a nearby hotel for the sake of his family.

A stand-off between the villagers and a line of military police begins. Suddenly, the armed police and an army of construction workers advance on the villagers, firing rubber bullets and bulldozing all the homes in their path. The team films as local residents try to grab hold of whatever possessions they can.

Eventually, the team is ejected from Dey Krahorm by the military police. They find Vichet in his hotel room, distraught and inconsolable. He has witnessed the violence from his window and has no idea what has happened to his family, who are still inside the site.

Three hours later, the site where Dey Krahorm once stood is now flattened. The Deputy Governor of Phnom Penh gives a press conference on the rubble, saying the residents were making unreasonable demands and they will all be safe and happy in their new resettlement village. Two metres away from him, a villager kneels on the ground, sobbing.

The team ends their journey at the resettlement village on Borei Santhipeap, where the Dey Krahorm residents have been relocated. Their homes have not been completed and residents are left without sanitation, running water or shelter.

Kleeman speaks to a woman she saw defending her home during the eviction. The woman says she has already survived the Khmer Rouge regime, but after this eviction she feels her life is over.

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Clips from Episode 2

• Dawn Eviction

• All Clips (1)