By CHEANG SOKHA
The Phnom Penh Post
THE 56 Khmer Krom refugees deported by Thai immigration police Friday have begun the long process of finding their feet in Cambodia, but rights groups say the state has so far provided no support to the group.
Chea Sokun, secretary of the Independent Democracy of Informal Economic Association, an NGO that sheltered the deportees after their arrival at the Poipet border crossing, said they left the office Monday evening.
Some were bound for the Banteay Meanchey capital Sisophon, where there is already a small community of Khmer Krom exiles, while others stayed in Poipet.
"They seem to be safe now because no authorities came to interfere with them," Chea Sokun said.
But other rights groups said the authorities had done little to help the deportees find shelter or work, adding that they were still relying on the charity of NGOs and Khmer Krom exiles.
"We did not know about their future and we have not yet arranged any living for them," said Soum Chankea, a provincial coordinator for the rights group Adhoc.
Chao Veasna, the assistant to Yont Tharo, a Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker in Banteay Meanchey province, said 29 of the exiles had found shelter at Tuol Prasat, about 2 kilometres from Poipet, but that one monk in the group still lacks a place to stay.
"I don't know how long they will stay here... I asked them and they told me that they want to live in a third country ... when they fled from Vietnam," he said.
He added that another deportee was still missing following reports from Monday that he had been arrested in Battambang province.
Banteay Meanchey police commissioner Hun Hean said the government had no plans to give the deportees shelter, adding that they should return to their old homes, even though the deportees claim they are from southern Vietnam.
"We have no means to help them," he said. "Cambodia is very large - they can live wherever they want."
Chea Sokun, secretary of the Independent Democracy of Informal Economic Association, an NGO that sheltered the deportees after their arrival at the Poipet border crossing, said they left the office Monday evening.
Some were bound for the Banteay Meanchey capital Sisophon, where there is already a small community of Khmer Krom exiles, while others stayed in Poipet.
"They seem to be safe now because no authorities came to interfere with them," Chea Sokun said.
But other rights groups said the authorities had done little to help the deportees find shelter or work, adding that they were still relying on the charity of NGOs and Khmer Krom exiles.
"We did not know about their future and we have not yet arranged any living for them," said Soum Chankea, a provincial coordinator for the rights group Adhoc.
Chao Veasna, the assistant to Yont Tharo, a Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker in Banteay Meanchey province, said 29 of the exiles had found shelter at Tuol Prasat, about 2 kilometres from Poipet, but that one monk in the group still lacks a place to stay.
"I don't know how long they will stay here... I asked them and they told me that they want to live in a third country ... when they fled from Vietnam," he said.
He added that another deportee was still missing following reports from Monday that he had been arrested in Battambang province.
Banteay Meanchey police commissioner Hun Hean said the government had no plans to give the deportees shelter, adding that they should return to their old homes, even though the deportees claim they are from southern Vietnam.
"We have no means to help them," he said. "Cambodia is very large - they can live wherever they want."
4 comments:
FUCKING HUN HEAN! HUN KAP, HUN CHOR, HUN LEUK, HUN PALON, ALL THE FUCKING HUN...........HUN KILLER, HUN THEFT, AND ALL THE "HUN"
hey, be smart, stop fighting for a failing cause! cambodia is different now than when one saw it say 10 years ago! i think most smart people moved on and changed for the better already. well, until you're stupid and dumby, then it's another story altogether, really! god bless cambodia.
10:41 AM . of course cambodia is different from what it was 10 years ago. 10 years ago there were less evictions and less land grabbings.
in the last few years , thousands of people got kicked out of their own houses by the powerful and the rich . you didn't see much of those 10 years ago
I have no idea what the hell 10:41 AM is talking about . I don't know if he needs to improve his English or speech .
Post a Comment