Filmmaker Kalyanee Mam's documentary Lost World addresses the dredging and importation of over 80 million tons of Cambodian sand to Singapore. The film follows Vy Phalla, a resident of Koh Sralau, Cambodia. Koh Sralau is a community dependent on the sand and the mangrove trees, which are both being destroyed by these dredging projects to provide Singapore with a larger land mass.
Lost World truly changed my perspective on Singapore and the connection between identity and land. Notably, Phalla stated, “The law gives us all sorts of freedom. Here we only have the right to sit and observe the destruction.” I was frustrated by how Koh Sralau's residents could do nothing to stop the dredging. The actions of the Cambodian and Singaporean governments are so unjustified, and I knew nothing about it before this event. I am frustrated with the Cambodian government's lack of protection for the people living in the South West region, and how protesters have been jailed for standing up against these wrongdoings.
When I visited Singapore, I was amazed by how beautiful the nature and architecture were, but this film convinced me otherwise because, as Phalla states in the movie, “imagine how beautiful it would be if it were real.” The juxtaposition of Singapore’s high-tech and frankly unnecessary fake land with the shortage of land in Cambodia’s SW province, as a result of Singapore’s actions, was truly shocking.
It was so powerful to hear how connected the residents of Koh Sralau were to their land; Phalla states that without the land they are like “a people without an identity - like refugees without a home.” Mam illustrated this same connection during the Q&A session when she said that it was as though someone had stabbed a knife through Phalla’s heart, “taken her flesh, and put it in Singapore.”
Something I took away was Mam’s comparison between the monetary value of things and their true meaning. Much like the millions of rubies and sapphires that once glazed Cambodia, the sand and the mangroves also had true uses and meanings. I enjoyed hearing about how Mam’s parents would gather the gems and bury them under their home for protection; however, it was so saddening to hear that there are no longer enough sapphires or rubies to protect them because mining companies have sold them for their monetary value. Nevertheless, Mam underscored how monetary value would never exceed the true meanings and values of the sapphires and the sand. In Singapore, Singaporeans treat the sand like common dirt - obliviously disregarding where it came from.
Mam’s point on how the environment, the trees, the land, and the moon protect us truly changed my perspective on environmental movements. Because the environment protects us, it is not our job to protect the environment; instead, we should “respect the environment.” This statement made me realize that, in order to stop the exploitation of the environment’s resources, everyone must acknowledge that we are protected by the environment. In truth, projects like dredging, deforestation, and mining directly damage people. This event served as a reminder to listen to one another’s stories and to respect our planet.
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