Anonymous wrote:

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LAOS: Grandmother Khamsone, “The spirits don’t want to be here”

NAKAI PLATEAU, 6 November 2009 (IRIN) - Over 6,000 people have been
resettled to make way for a controversial dam in central Laos: The Nam
Theun 2 Dam, the country's single largest infrastructure project, will
produce electricity for Thailand, and domestically.

Resettlement consultations with villagers in the densely forested
Nakai Plateau, where the dam is located, took over 10 years. The Aheu,
a minority ethnic group, were reluctant to move because of their
spiritual connection to the land but started to do so from April 2008.
By the end of 2008 they had been resettled in a number of different
villages around the reservoir. One village accommodates 14 extended
families in wooden stilt houses with electricity and clean water,
which they did not have previously.

Among the last to move was Grandmother Khamsone, 85, the matriarch of
the Aheu in Nakai.

"When the water rose high in the reservoir, I was scared because water
was everywhere. I had seen a dam on TV which broke and the water came
out. Also there were warning signs everywhere telling us to be aware
of water rising suddenly, so I was worried the water would suddenly
rise higher. That's why I moved here.

"My old house had bamboo on the floors and walls, and the roof was
made of leaves. I still miss the old house, but I couldn't do anything
because of the flood. It's more comfortable here than the old house.
We are happy, but the only thing is the spirits, who don't want to be
here.

"The spirits are from the forest. Four shamans spoke to the spirits
and asked them to come here, but they don't like this area. They
aren't used to staying here. I really want to ask the spirits why they
don't want to come here, but I can't see them or talk to them. If I
could see them, I would urge them to come here with me. If I could
make the spirits happy, I could stay here longer.

"I need to go back to the old house to see the spirits. I should raise
them once a year to keep them happy. If I don't, they might come and
kill me. I have to take a boat [to the old house], but I'm scared of
getting into a boat in the water and drowning. I had an accident - I
fell down the stairs going to collect a rice donation from the NTPC
[Nam Theun Power Company]. Now I can't move my hands and legs very
well.

"It's good to have electricity, but if you don't give me money, I
can't pay the bill, so please get rid of it. I will light a fire
instead. I used all my money to buy a TV and a CD player for my
children and I don't have any more. I don't want to trouble my
children to pay the electricity bill, because if they earn money, they
want to spend it on something else."

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probably the villager has to hold a big Baci for requesting the spirit and kill some animals.