Omar Havana

Photographer

omarhavana.com

The Angkor Hell

Follow Hire

Location: Paris, France

Nationality: Spanish

Biography: Omar Havana, 1975 Granada, Spain. Spanish Freelance Photojournalist. Based in Paris, France. Previously based in Asia. ( Nepal 2014-2015 and Cambodia 2008 - 2014 ; 2015-2017) Omar has worked as a professional photojournalist since 2005, and since... read on

Photography image - Loading 001_Rubbish_Cambodia.jpg

1 of 29 © 2020 Omar Havana

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA - FEBRUARY 11: Tons of waste are piled in the Anlong Pi landfill on February 11, 2013 on the outskirts of Siem Reap, Cambodia. Photo: © Omar Havana

Photography image - Loading 002_Rubbish_Cambodia.jpg

2 of 29 © 2020 Omar Havana

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA - MARCH 26: One young resident of the Anlong Pi rubbish dumps walks in the middle of tons of waste while holding her favorite and only toy, a teddy bear that she found while digging in the rubbish on March 26, 2013 near Siem Reap, Cambodia. Photo: © Omar Havana

Photography image - Loading 003_Rubbish_Cambodia.jpg

3 of 29 © 2020 Omar Havana

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA - MARCH 10: A young girl reads a book that she found in the tons of waste in the Anlong Pi landfill on March 10, 2013 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Despite help provided by local organizations to the inhabitants of Anlong Pi, education levels are very low, with only a few of the workers knowing how to read and write. Photo: © Omar Havana

Photography image - Loading 004_Rubbish_Cambodia.jpg

4 of 29 © 2020 Omar Havana

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA - JUNE 11: A young scavenger collects recyclable material at the Anlong Pi landfill on June 11, 2014 near Siem Reap, Cambodia. Photo: © Omar Havana / Getty Images

Photography image - Loading 005_Rubbish_Cambodia.jpg

5 of 29 © 2020 Omar Havana

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA - DECEMBER 13: A woman piles leftovers found in between the rubbish together to be used as food for the animals on December 13, 2010 near Siem Reap, Cambodia. Sometimes, due to a lack of money, the inhabitants of the landfill boil the leftovers and use them for their own meals. Between the tons of waste that arrives every day in Anlong Pi from the tourist destination of Siem Reap, fruits which can be peeled – such as bananas – are preferred because it is safer to eat. Photo: © Omar Havana

Photography image - Loading 006_Rubbish_Cambodia.jpg

6 of 29 © 2020 Omar Havana

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA - NOVEMBER 19: A woman fills a bucket of water in a pool of water inside the garbage dump on November 19, 2010 near Siem Reap, Cambodia. The lack of water in the Anlong Pi garbage dumps before the construction of water wells forced residents to collect filtered water from the lake where garbage accumulates to be consumed by the inhabitants of the dump. Photo: © Omar Havana

Photography image - Loading 007_Rubbish_Cambodia.jpg

7 of 29 © 2020 Omar Havana

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA - JUNE 11: A young scavenger poses over tons of rubbish where he searches every day for recyclable material that he sells to make a living in the Anlong Pi landfill on June 11, 2014 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Photo: © Omar Havana / Getty Images

Photography image - Loading 008_Rubbish_Cambodia.jpg

8 of 29 © 2020 Omar Havana

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA - JUNE 11: Two young scavenger boys search for recyclable material between tons of trash in the Anlong Pi landfill on June 11, 2014 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Dozens of children work every day in the Anlong Pi landfill, which is situated only a few kilometers away from the world-famous Angkor temples, visited by more than 3 million tourists every year. Despite the Cambodian government's commitments and legal responsibilities to end child labor - enshrined in its ratification of relevant international covenants, domestic laws and the implementation of several national policies aimed at ending child labor - it remains a significant concern in Cambodia, where almost a third of the population lives on less than a dollar per day. Child labor is a consequence of this poverty, often resulting from a family's inability to support itself. According to a recent report from the International Labour Organisation (ILO), an estimated 19.1% of the close to 4 million children in Cambodia between the ages of 5 and 17 engage in economic activities. An estimated 56.9% of those children are child laborers, with a third of them being involved in hazardous activities mostly in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors. Photo: © Omar Havana / Getty Images

Photography image - Loading 009_Rubbish_Cambodia.jpg

9 of 29 © 2020 Omar Havana

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA - JANUARY 06: One of the men that work in the Anlong Pi dumps takes a nap during the hottest hour of the day at his home in the Anlong Pi landfill on January 06, 2011 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Photo: © Omar Havana

Photography image - Loading 010_Rubbish_Cambodia.jpg

10 of 29 © 2020 Omar Havana

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA - FEBRUARY 13: One of the youngest inhabitants of the Anlong Pi dump searches for recyclable material in the middle of tons of waste in the Anlong Pi landfill on February 13, 2011. Dozens of children work in the Anlong Pi dump. With the accumulation of rubbish over the last three years, the low weight of children allows them to search in the middle of the landfill where tons of waste is piled over water. Photo: © Omar Havana

Photography image - Loading 011_Rubbish_Cambodia.jpg

11 of 29 © 2020 Omar Havana

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA - MARCH 26: A group of workers of the Anlong Pi dump work in circles collecting recyclable material from a pile of waste in the Anlong Pi landfill on March 26, 2013 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. During their search, they form closed circles, where using their pickaxes, they dig through the piles of waste left moments before by the local trash collection company, Gaea. The most valuable items are collected in the first few minutes, a dangerous process as people use picks in close proximity to each other. Photo: © Omar Havana

Photography image - Loading 012_Rubbish_Cambodia.jpg

12 of 29 © 2020 Omar Havana

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA - MARCH 26: A group of women take a break to drink during their long working day collecting rubbish at the Anlong Pi landfill on March 26, 2013 near Siem Reap, Cambodia. Pauses and breaks are rare for the workers of the Angkor dump. Photo: © Omar Havana

Photography image - Loading 013_Rubbish_Cambodia.jpg

13 of 29 © 2020 Omar Havana

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA - MARCH 26: A young worker of the Anlong Pi dump digs through a pile of waste searching for recyclable material in the Anlong Pi landfill on March 26, 2013 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Photo: © Omar Havana

Photography image - Loading 014_Rubbish_Cambodia.jpg

14 of 29 © 2020 Omar Havana

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA - OCTOBER 03: A group of women and children wait near one of the rubbish trucks that will deposit the waste from Siem Reap on October 03, 2014 near Siem Reap, Cambodia. After the truck arrives, the inhabitants of the Anlong Pi dump grab their pickaxes and line up along the sides of the truck waiting for the rubbish to be dumped on the ground to start their search for recyclable material such as plastic, metal or copper. Photo: © Omar Havana

Photography image - Loading 015_Rubbish_Cambodia.jpg

15 of 29 © 2020 Omar Havana

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA - MARCH 26: Scavengers pick through the rubbish brought to Siem Reap's rubbish dumps by the local collection agency on March 26, 2013 near Siem Reap, Cambodia. Photo: © Omar Havana

Photography image - Loading 016_Rubbish_Cambodia.jpg

16 of 29 © 2020 Omar Havana

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA - JUNE 09: Young boys play throwing sandals in the garbage dump of Anlong Pi on June 09, 2012 near Siem Reap, Cambodia. Photo: © Omar Havana

Photography image - Loading 017_Rubbish_Cambodia.jpg

17 of 29 © 2020 Omar Havana

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA - APRIL 17: Two of the residents of the Anlong Pi rubbish dumps prepare their dinner on April 17, 2013 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Meat is rare in their daily meals; often, small kids hunt mice using slingshots, and for special occasions, the residents of the landfill buy dogs from the nearest villages for prices under ten dollars. Dog meat is really appreciated in some areas of Southeast Asia and in the Anlong Pi dump, dog meat is used to celebrate special occasions, such as this one in 2013. Photo: © Omar Havana

Photography image - Loading 018_Rubbish_Cambodia.jpg

18 of 29 © 2020 Omar Havana

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA - JUNE 11: A young scavenger boy grabs plastic between tons of trash in the Anlong Pi on June 11, 2014 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Dozens of children work every day in the Anlong Pi landfill, which is situated only few kilometres aways from the world famous Angkor temples, visited by more than 3 million tourists every year. Despite the Cambodian government's commitments and legal responsibilities to end child labor - enshrined in its ratification of relevant international covenants, domestic laws and the implementation of several national policies aimed at ending child labor - it remains a significant concern in Cambodia, where almost a third of the population lives on less than a dollar per day. Child labor is a consequence of this poverty, often resulting from a family's inability to support itself. According to a recent report from the International Labour Organisation (ILO), an estimated 19.1% of the close to 4 million children in Cambodia between the ages of 5 and 17 engage in economic activities. An estimated 56.9% of those children are child labourers, with a third of them being involved in hazardous activities mostly in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors. Photo: © Omar Havana / Getty Images

Photography image - Loading 019_Rubbish_Cambodia.jpg

19 of 29 © 2020 Omar Havana

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA - MARCH 10, 2013: A group of young scavengers searches for recyclable material in the middle of tons of burning waste on March 10, 2013 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. With the accumulation of rubbish over the last years, the low weight of children allows them to search in the middle of the landfill where tons of waste are piled over water. Photo: © Omar Havana

Photography image - Loading 020_Rubbish_Cambodia.jpg

20 of 29 © 2020 Omar Havana

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA - MARCH 10: Residents search for recyclable material in the middle of tons of burnt waste in the Anlong Pi landfill on March 10, 2013 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The considerable deterioration of the quality of the air is just one of several new factors that have gradually made life in this place unsuitable for any human being. Just a few dozen kilometres away from the world-famous Angkor temples, around three hundred people have lived for the last three years fighting the daily realities of extreme poverty. Yet, in the garbage dump of Anlong Pi, words acquire new meaning: it is here where, two years ago, a child defined happiness simply as seeing the sun shine every day. Photo: © Omar Havana

Photography image - Loading 021_Rubbish_Cambodia.jpg

21 of 29 © 2020 Omar Havana

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA - MARCH 10: Two residents from the Anlong Pi rubbish dump search for recyclable material in the middle of tons of burnt waste on March 10, 2013 near Siem Reap, Cambodia. The considerable deterioration of the quality of the air is just one of several new factors that have gradually made life in this place unsuitable for any human being. Photo: © Omar Havana

Photography image - Loading 022_Rubbish_Cambodia.jpg

22 of 29 © 2020 Omar Havana

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA - JUNE 11: A group of young scavengers, holding the sacs in which they deposit the recyclable material they have found in the tons of trash, run to their shelter after a storm breaks over the burning pile of trash in the Anlong Pi landfill on June 11, 2014 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Photo: © Omar Havana / Getty Images

Photography image - Loading 023_Rubbish_Cambodia.jpg

23 of 29 © 2020 Omar Havana

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA - MARCH 10: A young boy takes a rest during a long day of digging through tons of rubbish searching for recyclable materials in the Anlong Pi landfill on March 10, 2013 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Photo: © Omar Havana

Photography image - Loading 024_Rubbish_Cambodia.jpg

24 of 29 © 2020 Omar Havana

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA - MARCH 10: A group of young scavengers digs through a pile of burnt waste searching for recyclable material in the Anlong Pi landfill on March 10, 2013 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Photo: © Omar Havana

Photography image - Loading 025_Rubbish_Cambodia.jpg

25 of 29 © 2020 Omar Havana

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA - MARCH 10: A scavenger of the "Anlong Pi dump" searches for recyclable material in the middle of clouds of toxic smoke on March 10, 2013 near Siem Reap, Cambodia. Photo: © Omar Havana

Photography image - Loading 026_Rubbish_Cambodia.jpg

26 of 29 © 2020 Omar Havana

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA - DECEMBER 13: A group of scavengers dig through a pile of waste searching for recyclable material in the Anlong Pi landfill on December 13, 2010 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Photo: © Omar Havana

Photography image - Loading 027_Rubbish_Cambodia.jpg

27 of 29 © 2020 Omar Havana

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA - MARCH 10: A young scavenger of the "Anlong Pi dump" searches for recyclable material in the middle of clouds of toxic smoke on March 10, 2013 near Siem Reap, Cambodia. Photo: © Omar Havana

Photography image - Loading 028_Rubbish_Cambodia.jpg

28 of 29 © 2020 Omar Havana

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA - MARCH 10: A young scavenger of the "Anlong Pi dump" searches for recyclable material in the middle of clouds of toxic smoke on March 10, 2013 near Siem Reap, Cambodia. Photo: © Omar Havana

Photography image - Loading 029_Rubbish_Cambodia.jpg

29 of 29 © 2020 Omar Havana

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA - MARCH 10: Two of the residents of the Anlong Pi rubbish dump keep working at night time with the help of a head torch on March 10, 2013 near Siem Reap, Cambodia. Residents suffer from the biggest health problems due to the landfill, as they continually breathe air composed of methane gas. Photo: © Omar Havana

Public Story

The Angkor Hell

Credits: omar havana

Date of Work: 01/01/10 - 01/01/15

Updated: 01/21/20

Location: Siem Reap

Archived as: Angkor, Anlong Pi, Asia, Cambodia, child labour, Children, Climate Change, Community, Documentary, Editorial, Environment, Essays, Europe Photographer, Exploitation, Food, France Photographer, Health, Human Rights, Illness, landfill, Media, Paris Photographer, Photojournalism, Poverty, Rubbish Dump, Siem Reap, South East Asia, Toxic, Waste, Water, Workers Rights

Just a few dozen kilometers away from the world-famous Angkor temples, about 300 people have lived for the last three years in a rapidly expanding rubbish dump - fighting the daily realities of extreme poverty.

Since 2010, the situation in the Anlong Pi dump has worsened. An exponential increase in trash discarded in Siem Reap doubled the capacity of the landfill, resulting in harmful chemical and biological reactions between organic and inorganic compounds. These toxic by-products are washed away by rainwater, contaminating soil and groundwater, or emitted into the atmosphere after being burned in the form of gases polluting the air.

Over the past two years, workers at Along Pi have begun setting ablaze large areas of waste in order to make space for new rubbish. The combination of these factors has made the air increasingly dangerous for the health of the Anlong Pi residents, who breathe in toxic fumes on a daily basis. The deterioration of air quality is just one of several factors that have gradually made life in Anlong Pi unsuitable for any human being. In recent months, visits by tourists to the dump have increased considerably, turning extreme poverty into a tourist attraction without considering the psychological impact of these visits for the inhabitants of Anlong Pi.

Photography: © Omar Havana. All Rights Reserved

Story published in Al Jazeera English and The Diplomat

Part of this story was done on assignment for Getty Images

129

By Omar Havana —

Bonjour, Paris

By Omar Havana — "The meaning of the other and love have disappeared from this society. Without money, people do not exist." - Jean, a 33-year-old..

Feb 11, 2020

Trapped: the Dark Side of Cambodia's Beer Gardens

By Omar Havana — Throughout Cambodia, thousands of women, most of them under the age of 25, work in beer gardens, karaoke bars and private parties promoting beer..

Feb 3, 2020

When the Earth Shook Nepal

By Omar Havana — A 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal on April 25th, 2015, shaking the already-impoverished nation to its core, killing over 8,000 people,..

Jan 28, 2020

A woman's Cry: The detention of Tep Vanny

By Omar Havana — Tep Vanny is Cambodia’s most famous activist and the leader of the women of Boeung Kak Lake, who stormed the country after their forced..

Jan 24, 2020

Devotees of the Ink

By Omar Havana — Once a year, thousands of people from all over Thailand travel to the Wat Bang Phra temple, located about 70 kilometers outside of Bangkok in..

Jan 24, 2020

Inside a Cambodian Slaughterhouse

By Omar Havana — In a country where the demand for meat is ever-increasing and where pork is generally favored, Cambodia’s swine slaughterhouses are an..

Jan 24, 2020

The Way

By Omar Havana — More than 100,000 refugees and migrants have arrived in Greece since the beginning of 2016. They cross the Mediterranean, risking their lives to..

Jan 23, 2020

The Khmer Fighters

By Omar Havana — Pradal Serey or Kun Khmer -free fighting- is an unarmed martial art from Cambodia. Compared to other forms of Southeast Asian kickboxing, Kun Khmer..

Jan 23, 2020

My Country Is My Family

By Omar Havana — Surrounded by stunning forest, Beldangi is an example of how a refugee camp should be. Only one banner and a barrier at the main entrance indicate..

Jan 22, 2020

Evicting Dreams: The Last Days of the White Building

By Omar Havana — On June 6th, the faces of the residents of the White Building showed the sadness of what were their last days home. During those days, people..

Jan 22, 2020

The Bucolic Life of a Cambodian Grandmother Accused of Mass Killings

By Omar Havana — In this dusty mountain hamlet on the Thai border, she is known as Grandma Chaem. The tiny 74-year-old lives peacefully in a snug, stilted house..

Jan 22, 2020

La Vie En Jaune

By Omar Havana — Hundreds of thousands of “Gilet Jaunes” (meaning “Yellow Vest” in French) have taken to the streets of France every weekend..

Jan 21, 2020

Join us
for more access