Saddled with debt from failed harvests, tens of thousands of farmers are turning to brick factories, where owners pay off their bills in exchange for labor. But for the farmers who shape and bake the clay bricks, Cambodia’s newfound urban prosperity has passed them by. And the link between climate change and debt bondage is stark, explains Naly Pilorge, head of Cambodian rights NGO Licadho. Owners of multiple brick factories declined to speak with AFP. “If we can repay the debt, we leave,” said Phan Heng, 33, while taking a break.

Source: Egypt Independent January 02, 2019 03:45 UTC