20 February 2020
December 12, 2019By Pete Cobus
Muay Littlepig (left) (click here) had notably posted videos about the failure to adequately address the widespread damage in the southern province of Attapeu resulting from the collapse of a dam in July 2018
A 30-year-old Laotian blogger (click here) has been imprisoned for five years for questioning the adequacy of the government's response to deadly flooding in the country's south this fall.
In September, Tropical Storm Podul and Tropical Depression Kajiki dumped an estimated 40 centimeters of rain across Laos' six southern provinces, killing at least 19 people and displacing an estimated 100,000, according to the United Nations and ASEAN humanitarian and disaster relief agencies.
The Vientiane Times put the death toll at 28, and international media reported that flooding also damaged hospitals and schools, and destroyed hundreds of roads and nearly 100 bridges.
Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said video blogger Houayheuang Xayabouly, known online as Muay Littlepig, posted a video to Facebook on September 12 drawing attention to what she described as a negligent government response to the disaster in her native Champasak and neighboring Salavan provinces.
As of Thursday, the video had been viewed more than 172,000 times....
"Mauy, the conscience of Laotian Society" (click here)By Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal and Adam Bemma
The imprisonment of Houayheuang "Muay" Xayabouly, (click here) a young female Lao environmentalist turned internet activist who simply asked for help for flood victims, should be a matter of deep concern to the international community.
On Sept 5, 2018, Muay used her 17-minute-long Facebook Live broadcast to counter the official narrative of the government -- and state-run media -- on the 2018 dam collapse in southern Laos.
After speaking up for the flood victims, she found herself arrested and was sent to jail last year.
Her Facebook Live video was viewed 150,000 times and shared 2,244 times....
