MR SOA Sarath is one of the more than 20 people who make their home in the compounds of the currently disused Poipet Railway Station by the Cambodian border. He will soon have to move out as the country rehabilitates its railway network.

But the 49-year-old former soldier is firm about staying put in Poipet town. 'I like to live here, near the Thai border, because I can escape to Thailand if there are any political problems here.'

The Phnom Penh native escaped to this border town about 30 years ago to avoid persecution by the Khmer Rouge regime, which killed, tortured or banished to the countryside hundreds of thousands of Cambodians in its bid to create an agrarian utopia.

He does not work now because of high blood pressure. However, he owns the only toilet and shower in the compound and earns 50 baht to 60 baht (S$2.10 to S$2.50) a day charging the rest of the residents for its use.

He says hopefully: 'If the government is going to relocate me, I do not want money. I want land for constructing a new house, and my medical bills to be paid.'