Starting in the early 2000s, illegal  mass deforestation began on Souy territory [1]. The situation worsened in June 2009 when Chinese-owned sugarcane company Hong Lai Huat Group Limited (HLH), which had close ties to the Cambodian president, was granted rights to 10,000 hectares of land belonging to the Kaoduntey, Putra, and Tanil villages within the Phnom Aural Wildlife Santuary [2, 3]. In reaction to the land-grabbing, 75-year-old grandmother Putla gathered the women from all the Souy villages to blockade the roads, preventing the company cars from entering. However, HLH called upon police to chase away, beat, and arrest the villagers. Women had volunteered to stand at the frontlines of the blockades thinking they would be less likely to be beaten, however, they were still harmed and threatened. The women also gathered in front of the local district chief’s house to protest the arrests at great risk to themselves. As Putla explained, “I received many threats, but I didn’t care about it. I only care about my land. If I care about my life with my land, the life itself is meaningless without the land [1].

Tensions escalated when HLH  surprised the Souy early one morning with their trolleys. Putla immediately threw herself in front of the trolleys to block them, with one stopping mere meters from her body. All the villagers came to support her, holding hands in the rain and marching to block the machinery from clearing the land [2]. The villagers continued to resist the tree felling attempts and contacted the ILO Office in Phnom Penh as well as various NGOs for support in pursuing litigation against HLH. They also performed peaceful ceremonies asking for spiritual blessings against harm to their lands, networked with other indigenous groups, and persistently attempted to engage with authorities despite many police threats, accusations of terrorism, and rebuffs [3]. The village then successfully negotiated their land rights back from the company on April 12, 2010 after reporting their case to the Minister of Environment [1, 2]. The Minister mediated between the Souy and HLH, which mutually agreed to respecting community forest boundaries that HLH would avoid thereafter. 

However, since then, HLH, with the support of local authorities, continue to lobby community leaders to sell their land rights [2]. As of 2020, much of their native land has been seized by the government and leased to Chinese developers. Subsequently, many Souy, including children, were forced to leave to the cities to work in factories, as the situation worsened owing to COVID-19. Elders staying behind in the villages such as woman leader and 73-year-old grandmother Tom Chhea continue to advocate for their rights as well as regularly perform spiritual ceremonies asking for protection [4].