Khmer Krom deportees prepare food in a rental home Sunday, the last day they were to receive help with rent and food from local rights group Licadho. (Photo by: Pha Lina)Monday, 01 March 2010
David Boyle and Khouth Sophak Chakrya
The Phnom Penh Post
THE prospects of 22 Khmer Krom deportees denied identity documents by Phnom Penh police last month became a little bleaker on Sunday after local rights group Licadho stopped paying for their housing and food.
“We have cut off the food and rental payments, but we will continue to support them with health services and coordinate with authorities to provide legal documents that they need to live in Cambodia,” said Am Sam Ath, a technical superviser for Licadho. “But we need them to find jobs to pay for their food and rent during this period, because we cannot support them forever.”
In January, Licadho agreed to pay for the deportees’ accommodation and food for two months while they attempted to secure identity documents, after being deported from Thailand on December 5.
Thach Soong, the group’s unofficial spokesman, said Sunday that he expected the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) to come to their aid.
“We do not know where we can live now that Licadho have cut off [payment for] food and rent for us, and the Phnom Penh authorities still haven’t made the identity cards and other legal documents,” he said.
However, Kitty McKinsey, UNHCR’s Asia spokeswoman, said that although the agency is sympathetic to the plight of the Khmer Krom, the deportees simply don’t fall under its jurisdiction.
“We don’t really have a role to play with the Khmer Krom because to a significant degree they have been recognised as Cambodian nationals, and we’re a refugee organisation,” she said. “We deal with refugees who have fled the country.”
The Cambodian government has previously said it recognises the Khmer Krom deportees as legitimate Cambodian citizens, but has also insisted it is unable to issue identity documents until they have a fixed address.
The Khmer Krom have repeatedly said over the past two months that they are too poor to rent property and are unable to secure property without identity documents.
When contacted on Sunday, Min Sothet, director of statistics and identification for the Phnom Penh Municipal Police, reaffirmed that the government could not issue identity cards without a fixed address.
“We have cut off the food and rental payments, but we will continue to support them with health services and coordinate with authorities to provide legal documents that they need to live in Cambodia,” said Am Sam Ath, a technical superviser for Licadho. “But we need them to find jobs to pay for their food and rent during this period, because we cannot support them forever.”
In January, Licadho agreed to pay for the deportees’ accommodation and food for two months while they attempted to secure identity documents, after being deported from Thailand on December 5.
Thach Soong, the group’s unofficial spokesman, said Sunday that he expected the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) to come to their aid.
“We do not know where we can live now that Licadho have cut off [payment for] food and rent for us, and the Phnom Penh authorities still haven’t made the identity cards and other legal documents,” he said.
However, Kitty McKinsey, UNHCR’s Asia spokeswoman, said that although the agency is sympathetic to the plight of the Khmer Krom, the deportees simply don’t fall under its jurisdiction.
“We don’t really have a role to play with the Khmer Krom because to a significant degree they have been recognised as Cambodian nationals, and we’re a refugee organisation,” she said. “We deal with refugees who have fled the country.”
The Cambodian government has previously said it recognises the Khmer Krom deportees as legitimate Cambodian citizens, but has also insisted it is unable to issue identity documents until they have a fixed address.
The Khmer Krom have repeatedly said over the past two months that they are too poor to rent property and are unable to secure property without identity documents.
When contacted on Sunday, Min Sothet, director of statistics and identification for the Phnom Penh Municipal Police, reaffirmed that the government could not issue identity cards without a fixed address.
17 comments:
If they are Khmer nationals, then the Vietnamese is violation of illegal occupation of Khmer land.
too bad it's not going that way 11:33PM!
go back to school boy!
Ah Hun Khvack helps Youns and Thais not Khmers
Ah! Kwack help no one but himself!
Do ma ah Kwack!
113am, Vietnam is in violation of illegal occupation. If the Sam Rainsy case ever get a chance to go to the international court, this notion of border demarcation will be brought forward. We will then ask the Khmer Kroms, which country do you think they'll say they would rather belong to?
I think they would say neither! No thanks to Mr. Hun Xen's corruption and servitudes to Hanoi! Being free to join Hun Xen's government is just as tragic as being under Vietnam.
I would rather be free from both these clutches.
Like everybody else, this people have to look for work!!!
The ID Cards are NOT needed to find work. If they work and get money they will have ID Cards later.
Again, people are begging from Western Foreigners for money. It sound good but on the other site this people will not go out and find work as long as somebody pay for food and housing.
It is the same with my cat!
If she get food from me every day, she will not go out and catch a mouse.
The laws in Cambodia is the laws of jungle. It rules by monkeys.
4:13
It is not as easy as you say! These people have nothing when they fled, from their home in Kampuchea Krom. They have exhausted all their funds, they traveled to Bangkok and back, and come on, are jobs that easy to find in Cambodia. If that was the case, then we wouldn't have all these migrant workers who travel to work in Thailand under harsh conditions or people scavenging in the Banteay Meanchey Dump site!
They need all the support and help that they can get! They have just left the ponds where the crocodiles have savagely preyed upon them and now they are hiding in the grass, the venomous snakes are hiding everywhere, ready to attack them!
KI needs to set up a fund, so people who would like to help them can do so! We all need help sometime in our life!
KHMER DICTIONARY
-HELP KHMER KROM GET INDEPENDENT FROM AAH YUON THE DOG EATER.
The Khmer Krom is considered a Stateless people. They are victimized on their own ancestral land and discriminated against by their very own Khmer people in Cambodia. Which is ruled and control by the YOUN Hanoi.
Please all Khmer must help them for the survival of our Khmer identity 20, 30, 100 years from now. Please help!
i think they are looking into a legality of all of this, not whether they are khmer krom or whatever. if they are refugees, they have to have proper paper works, etc. let the UN deal with it, and don't be blaming cambodian gov't, etc... it's a matter of them getting proper paper work in order to live in cambodia, really! this is what it's all about here, not their race or whatever! just because they use khmer as their nationality, doesn't mean they are automatically granted citizenship,e etc... they have to have proper paper work, you know! that's all!
Thais extend migrants’ deadline
Life is very short if our leaders don't promote unity, love and justice, we will have nothing left and outsiders will then take advantage of our downfall. Not everyone is kind and gentle to us, they hope to see us fight with one another rather then settling in peace. So we must be smarter by now, cooperation and team work is way to success. We must avoid personal conflict at all cost. No need the UN or any other form of minister to solve the problem for us. We can do it ourselves because others would only want what is worst for us. It is part of the human existent, it is all about compete and compare. Whereas, smart nation would promote unity and freedom for all. We must create a common law to protect everyone equally as everyone is equally important and if khmer don't love khmer, no one in the world will. Aust
The Vietcong government is in the way of AH HUN SEN Vietcong slave government to help these Khmer Krom people! Tell me why is it so hard for Khmer to recognize another Khmer?
Khmer Krom, Khmer Kandal, Khmer Leu...where would the Khmer people go if the Siem and the Youn were to commit genocide against the Khmer people? If Cambodia don't welcome the Khmer people? Where?
Yes...It is AH HUN SEN Vietcong slave policy that is to kill the Khmer people to save all the Vietcong slaves!
They are a human being, they need to eat. Hun Sen always said that, he not allow anyone dead because of no hanger. All those Khmer Krom, please go to beg Dr. Hun Sen.
"" think they are looking into a legality of all of this, not whether they are khmer krom or whatever. if they are refugees, they have to have proper paper works, etc. let the UN deal with it, and don't be blaming cambodian gov't, etc... it's a matter of them getting proper paper work in order to live in cambodia, really! this is what it's all about here, not their race or whatever! just because they use khmer as their nationality, doesn't mean they are automatically granted citizenship,e etc... they have to have proper paper work, you know! that's all!
6:42 AM ""
6:43AM DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE CAMBODIA CONSTITUTION! GO ASK THE STUPID KING WHAT HIS DOGY FATHER SAID A BOUT THE KHMER KROM AND WHAT THOSE MOTHERFUCKERS PUT IN THE CURRENT CONSTITUTION!
WHY YOU MOTHERFUCKERS SO STUPID!!!
Post a Comment