STEFF GRUBER
Railway Community

Over 300 families live in Phnom Penh's “Kilometer 6” commune, which is located alongside railway tracks. The families live in self-built shacks, usually consisting of a single room.
Because of the lack of space, the residents spread out over the train tracks during the day, which are still in use. Every time they hear the train horns, they quickly gather up their cooking utensils, chairs, sunshades and children to clear the track. . Just seconds after the freight trains have passed, the railway track once again becomes the center of life.
Like many landless poor Phnom Penh families, the Railway Community faces eviction, as the authorities are planning to build a concrete road along the railway line. Ownership of the land has been disputed ever since.

Steff Gruber’s documentation of the lives of the Railway Community is part of an ongoing long-term project on the landless poor communities in Cambodia.

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