'All newcomers now': Narrating social and material aspects of post-war resettlement in northwest Cambodia. (22nd December 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Arensen, Lisa
• Is Part Of: Journal of Southeast Asian studies. Volume 47:Number 1(2016:Feb.)
• Page Start: 24
• Page End: 41
• Publication Date: 2015-12-22
• Subjects: Asia, Southeastern -- History -- Periodicals; Asia, Southeastern -- Economic conditions -- Periodicals; 950
• DOI: 10.1017/S0022463415000454
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0022-4634

Abstract

Abstract : This article examines one Cambodian village's efforts to resettle a war-altered landscape and reconstruct a sense of belonging in the aftermath of war. The resettlement of Reaksmei Songha village entailed physically settling over the sediments and traces of a fractured and violent past, as settlers cleared a landscape of foliage and the explosive remnants of war. Settlers living side by side had often fought on different sides of the war, yet divisive former allegiances were rarely discussed. Instead, a post-war sense of communal belonging was constructed through references to accounts of the resettlement period, focusing upon common elements of struggle and hardship.