Da Chhean was spared from Prime Minister Hun Sen’s crackdown as he represents a small party – now he is Cambodia’s last commune chief not affiliated with the ruling party.
When he faced Khmer Rouge guerillas in Cambodia’s army more than 30 years ago Yem Ravy enjoyed regular meals and regular pay unlike today as a tuk-tuk driver.
Son Chhay has been a fixture in Cambodian politics since 1993. A member of the now-dissolved opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), he opted to remain when other party leaders fled the country.
Chao Lao, a local leader, is still fighting for reform on the same issues that moved him to join the Khmer Rouge more than four decades ago — social injustice, corruption, land rights and illegal Vietnamese immigration.
A rural herder and farmer finds comfort in his cattle as Cambodia’s rapid pace of change passes him by.
Sok Eysan, a CPP spokesman, considers himself a “foot soldier” for the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, waging battle against critics and foes at the behest of higher-ranking commanders.
Lounh Bunthoeun works on construction far from home, paying back money he borrowed at a rate he has yet to figure out.