Saturday, December 29, 2007

While Hun Sen boasts about economic progress, Cambodian workers are leaving in drove to find work in Thailand and in neighboring countries

Grief-stricken Cambodian workers deported back from Thailand

Saturday, December 29, 2007
Rasmei Kampuchea newspaper
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

Cambodian-Thai border police based in Poipet area, Banteay Meanchey province indicated that, recently, Cambodian workers who crossed the borders to work in Thailand were arrested and send back, they are filled with grief and hurt. These workers were arrested, had to endure hardship in the hands of the Thai cops and were prevented from working by the Thai police force, and they are now facing the deportation back to Cambodia.

Cambodian police indicated that Cambodian workers, who left their country, were deported by the Thai police who loaded them up into trucks and dumped them at the Poipet border gate, they are illegal workers who struggled hard to elude the Thai border guards during their border crossing, in order to find work in Thailand.

The Cambodian police quoted these Cambodian workers, saying: “Because they went to work there (in Thailand) without proper paperwork, they went because they were very poor in their villages in Cambodia, and they didn’t have work or jobs here.”

At the end of the fourth week of December 2007, two full truckloads of convicts were dumped at the Poipet international border gate. These turn out to be Cambodian workers who went to work in Thailand illegally.

In an interview with a foreign news media, Cambodian immigration police at the Poipet international border gate indicated that, almost daily, and at least 3-4 times a week, Cambodian workers were dumped there in group of 50-100 persons. For the 26 December 2007 deportation, the number of workers deported is not known yet. Furthermore, the total yearly number of illegal Cambodian workers who were deported back has not been tallied up yet.

Cambodian immigration police said that, each year, a large number of Cambodian workers leave to work in Thailand. Some of them have the legal paperwork as they are sent over by private companies and they have the authorization from both the Cambodian and Thai governments to go work in Thailand, but a number of others are going to work there without legal paperwork, and they are following friends or they pay middlemen to take them in to Thailand through border corridors.

The workers who were deported back from Thailand said that some of them came from Thmar Puok district, Banteay Meanchey province, some came from Kampong Speu province, as well as a number of other provinces, and the majority of them were dumped at the borderline several times already. Nevertheless, they kept on returning back to Thailand to find work in order to earn a living and have money to buy food and goods for a decent living, whereas in their villages in Cambodia, they do not have work, and they cannot find work, when they work in the rice fields, they face drought and they do not even own land to plant crops at all.

Thailand is a neighboring country with Cambodia, and it is a country where Cambodian workers go to work, legally and illegally. Besides the job market in Thailand, Cambodia also sent out Cambodian workers through private companies to work in other countries, such as Malaysia, Korea, etc… because Cambodia does not have sufficient jobs for all the workers in the country.

In the past, the government work hard to attract foreign investors to invest in Cambodia, especially in the garment industry, tourism, and construction. However, the ministry of industry reported that only 300,000 jobs were created.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is time to distribute the wealth like in the 80th. Sen and his entourages had enough money that part of it shall be returned to the Cambodians intern of salvation.
Before 1993, most of these groups had little to none. The money stolen from the international aides to the society shall be spent on creating housings, jobs, welfares and healthcare for peoples.
It is the time set example for younger generations to see and to follow. It does not mean the groups shall return all money but part of it only. Let’s show the world that the government cares about their own peoples.
Happy New Year

Anonymous said...

I NEED HELP FROM ANYONE LIVE BY AH hUN sEN. HELP ME DIAGNOSISING HIM, I WAS THINKING OF FRAGILE X SYNDROME FOR HIM. HE MET ONE CRITERIA: FACIAL ABNORMALITIES (EVIL YOUNS FACE) AND NOT SURE IF HIS TESTES ARE ENLARGE. AND SO IF ANYONE WITH ENOUGH GUT, PLEASE SNEAKS IN & CHECK HIS TESTICLES TO SEE IF IT IS ENLARGED.

IF HE IS, HE MET THE CRITERIA, FRAGILE X SYNDROME OR MENTALLY RETARDED.

Anonymous said...

I personally hold the rich capitalist oppressors for land grabbing in Cambodia. I also hold the bulldozer (Hun Sen) for not maintaining law and order of the incessancy of land concessions throughout Cambodia, which led to thousands of poor people homeless.


Khmer forever! Yuon out of Cambodia!

Anonymous said...

When ah HunSen come with a bag of rice and salt, go ahead and vote for him in 2008. You will again soon experiences his empty promises.

People of Cambodia, please take a minute to use your God given brain! Who do you want to vote for?

Anonymous said...

All Cambodian people need is a mircle after the election 2008!

Please no more Hun Sen mircle!

Anonymous said...

All Cambodian people need is a miracle after the election 2008!

Please no more Hun Sen miracle!

Anonymous said...

Heads-up for a culture of impunity: The bulldozer (Hun Sen) and his followers.

Senator Barack Obama is on the hunt for the bulldozer for the comment he made on the Youtube video footage.

Yes, the dictatorial regime is walking a strategic tightope.


Khmer forever! Yuon out of Cambodia!

Anonymous said...

Ah Kwak does not see what happens since he has totally lost his eye sight and his sense of hearing. So don't get upset with him. He cannot hear the cries of the poor and the pleas of the victims of his administration. How sad! This man cannot see what happening in Cambodia or he just ignores the facts.

Chheam Khmer