Tindakan mantan perdana menteri Kamboja, Hun Sen, yang membredel media independen Voice of Democracy (VOD) menjelang pemilu 2023 mencerminkan senjakala media yang telah dimulai sejak 2017. Intimidasi dan kekerasan terhadap jurnalis independen mengikis kebebasan pers dan demokrasi Kamboja.

Penulis Muyhong Chan Fotografer Choulay Mech Seniman kolase E.M. Penerjemah Gisela Swaragita

Phnom Penh, Kamboja — Khan Leakhena merindukan rekan-rekannya di ruang redaksi Voice of Democracy (VOD). Tadinya, ia bekerja di media itu sebagai reporter dan sering tampil dalam unggahan Facebook Live VOD untuk laporan breaking news.

“Saya ingat masa-masa bekerja sebagai tim, tanpa diskriminasi. Kami saling mengasihi seperti saudara kandung, saling membantu [...]. Tidak peduli seberapa letihnya kami, lingkungan kerja selalu menyenangkan. Kami selalu tersenyum, bergurau,” kenang Leakhena.

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Chan Muyhong is a freelance journalist based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. She covers business, environment, human rights and labour.

Choulay Mech lives and works in Phnom Penh. She is an artist, documentary filmmaker, and freelance journalist. Her passion for the job, particularly on environmental and animal rights issues, and she has a sensitivity toward human-interest storytelling. You can visit her website at https://ccva.art/artists/mech-choulay/

E.M. is a mixed media artist, heavily focusing on analogue collage with a sprinkle of political awareness. They are based in a small town somewhere in Malaysia.