run ta ek commune
Soun Chanraksmey, who took out a $15,000 microfinance loan before being evicted from Angkor Archaeological Park, pictured in Run Ta Ek on January 18, 2023. (Fiona Kelliher/VOD)

‘Everyone Has Loans’: MFIs Used Angkor Land as Collateral for Years

As thousands of families evicted from Angkor Wat move to a desolate relocation site, they are leaving behind plots of land they have used as collateral for microfinance loans — putting them in the tenuous position of having to repay loans without income or access to the land itself.