VIENTIANE : While Thai and Lao authorities are looking forward to seeing their countries connected by rail, a group of people in Laos whose land was taken over to make way for the rail line have been calling on their government to speed up compensation payments.
The 12 affected villagers live in Ban Dong Posy, which the rail line passes through to Thanaleng, the terminal station in Laos.
In the past two years they have often travelled into Vientiane to demand compensation from Lao authorities, but their pleas have been ignored.
''They told us that we will be compensated for the forced expropriation of our land. But so far we have not received any money from them.We don't know exactly how long we have to wait,'' said Pangkham Khamthorn, 48, who had to give up her three-rai plot of land for the project.
Mrs Pangkham said she and many of the other villagers now didn't even have any land to grow sticky rice and vegetables.
''Now we have to buy sticky rice from a nearby market to cook at home, but it's still hard for us to accept this because we owned the land that we lived on for three generations. Those who have never faced this situation may find it hard to understand our feelings,'' she added.
Thanaleng is a small border town, about 20 kilometres from Vientiane, where the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge is located opposite Nong Khai province.
Work on the railway line started on Oct 25, 2006, and is due to be finished on April 24. The Lao government expects to open the train service for public use by the middle of next month.
A Lao couple, Somxai and Pangkham Khamthorn, show two title deeds for their land at Ban Dong Posy, which was expropriated to build the rail line.
Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej visited the train station to see how much progress had been made on March 30 while taking part in the Greater Mekong Subregion summit in Vientiane. The Thai government gave financial assistance to the project, which was initiated by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
The cost of the rail line is 197 million baht, and 70% of the cost was given as a soft loan and the rest as a grant by the Thai government.
''We don't object to the development as we know that it will help our country prosper in the near future. We are glad to see trains in our country. But at the same time we do regret losing our land,'' said Mrs Pangkham's husband Somxai, 49.
Weary of the slow compensation process, the villagers have vowed to fight for justice until the Lao government pays attention to their plight.
''We are not afraid of the government because we have done nothing wrong. If it says that we are wrong, we are ready to be arrested at any time,'' said Lom Leksingto, 51, who lost her four-rai plot of land in the government's forced expropriation programme.
Mrs Lom said that instead of paying compensation to the affected villagers, the Lao government had given them low-quality, broken sticky rice that they could not eat over the past two years.
''We sold it and bought better quality rice,'' she added.
Khamphet Sisamouth, the deputy project manager for the Lao Railway Authority, said his government is ready to pay compensation, but he added that it will take time.
Suk Tanon, 83, said his health has deteriorated over the past two years since he had been forced to give up his five-rai of land.
''Growing sticky rice is my way of getting exercise, but I have stopped doing it for two years. I saw a doctor and he told me that I had heart disease,'' Mr Suk said.
