San Mala has been a human rights and environmental activist in Cambodia for a decade. In August 2015, San Mala and two other colleagues were arrested and detained for 10 months and 14 days while they and the local community campaigned against sand dredging along estuaries in Koh Kong province. After his release in July 2016, San Mala continued his mission and activism without fear or hesitation. His unjust imprisonment was documented and published in a book entitled “Behind the Black Curtain” in 2022.

 

In the mission for human rights and the environment, Mr. San Mala has made significant contributions to important achievements, such as saving the Areng Valley from the construction of a hydropower dam, stopping illegal sand dredging in Koh Kong province, and engaging in numerous other small-scale activities.