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MahakanFortEvictions

07 APRIL 2016 - BANGKOK, THAILAND: A boy watches videos on his smart phone near the khlong (canal) that runs behind the squatters' community at Mahakan Fort. Mahakan Fort was built in 1783 during the reign of Siamese King Rama I. It was one of 14 fortresses designed to protect Bangkok from foreign invaders, and only of two remaining, the others have been torn down. A community developed in the fort when people started building houses and moving into it during the reign of King Rama V (1868-1910). The land was expropriated by Bangkok city government in 1992, but the people living in the fort refused to move. In 2004 courts ruled against the residents and said the city could take the land. The final eviction notices were posted last week and the residents given until April 30 to move out. After that their homes, some of which are nearly 200 years old, will be destroyed. PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ

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MakahanFortEvictions047.jpg
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© 2016 Jack Kurtz
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4608x3456 / 10.5MB
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Life Behind the Walls in Pom Mahakan, Thailand (All)
07 APRIL 2016 - BANGKOK, THAILAND: A boy watches videos on his smart phone near the khlong (canal) that runs behind the squatters' community at Mahakan Fort. Mahakan Fort was built in 1783 during the reign of Siamese King Rama I. It was one of 14 fortresses designed to protect Bangkok from foreign invaders, and only of two remaining, the others have been torn down. A community developed in the fort when people started building houses and moving into it during the reign of King Rama V (1868-1910). The land was expropriated by Bangkok city government in 1992, but the people living in the fort refused to move. In 2004 courts ruled against the residents and said the city could take the land. The final eviction notices were posted last week and the residents given until April 30 to move out. After that their homes, some of which are nearly 200 years old, will be destroyed. PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
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