Exodus does little to curb desire for work in Thailand
Cambodian migrants plan to return when situation calms
Cambodian migrant workers in Aranyaprathet wait for an immigration
police truck to take them across the border (photo by Abby Seiff)
Squatting on the concrete floor of Thailand's Aranyaprathet immigration police station yesterday, Chea Chieng mulled her options.
A day earlier, she had “surrendered” to soldiers in Hua Hin province, saying she had no papers and was prepared to be deported back to Cambodia amid mounting fears of a junta-led crackdown on illegal migrants.
“Some other workers who had passports warned me that even though I speak Thai, they would crack down,” said Chieng, who was employed at a restaurant in Hua Hin, a popular tourist destination for both Thais and foreigners. “We had no choice, so we surrendered to the soldiers.”
After turning herself in, Chieng waited for hours before being loaded onto a truck with some 60 other arrested and “surrendered” workers at about 2am. The trip to Sa Keao on the battered, caged truck took nearly seven hours, and it would be another hour before a similar caged immigration police truck brought her across the border. But none of it – not the junta, nor the uncomfortable journeys, nor the chaotic scene – has diminished her resolve to return.
“Yes, I want to go back,” she said emphatically. “When we return to our homelands, we have no job to do.”
More than 160,000 undocumented Cambodian workers have poured over the border back to their home country in less than two weeks. The Thai junta has repeatedly insisted it has no policy in place to eject illegal migrants and has since begun imploring them to stay, but at least a fraction of those coming through have been arrested in coordinated military raids. The bulk, however, have indeed come of their own accord – often called home by fearful relatives as fears of military brutality spread.
Like Chieng, in spite of the rumors driving them home, many view their return as only temporary.
“Right now, since the Thai government bans it, I can't stay. But if they allow it or reduce the forces, I'll go back,” said Chhak Roeun, a construction worker who had been employed in Chonburi.
Roeun spoke on Monday, shortly after crossing the border into Poipet with her five-year-old daughter. Her two eldest children and husband were expected to arrive a week later and Roeun said she has no idea what any of them would do for income while they are back in Cambodia. “I have no rice field, I have no farm, so I need to go to Thailand to work.”
Cambodian migrant workers pour off a truck in Poipet on Monday during the exodus from Thailand (photo by Abby Seiff)
The Cambodian government estimates that 300,000 to 400,000 illegal Cambodian workers are employed in Thailand where relatively high wages have made potentially risky work a worthwhile gamble. In contrast to the low pay and insufficient work in Cambodia, the salaries they can earn in Thailand often support entire families back home. Hundreds of millions of dollars are sent back to Cambodia in remittances each year, and the money remains the main source of income for many families.
Sien Ou arrived in Cambodia with his wife and baby daughter on Monday afternoon after spending nine hours in a police truck crammed with dozens of other people. The experience, they said, had done little to deter either from returning.
“We’ve come here, let Thailand get organized and calm down and then we will go back – but legally,” he said.
“He has a passport but no stamp,” explained Ou's wife Chhi Nal, as she fed the baby orange juice a relief worker had handed to them. “I have neither.”
Promises of return may come as relief to both the Thai and Cambodian governments, whose economies are highly dependent on maintaining the status quo. In recent days, the Cambodian government has gone into overdrive; setting up vocational training centers and taking note of the phone numbers of returnees who might be interested in the job market. But creating employment opportunities is a lengthy process, one unlikely to be solved by emergency measures.
Thailand, meanwhile, will doubtless face growing internal pressure from businesses should the exodus continue. The junta, too, has spent the past few days trying to clean up the mess – issuing an order yesterday saying it has “no policy to accelerate arrests and crackdowns of foreign workers” and working with the Cambodian embassy to staunch the exodus.
But at least some appear to have lost their appetite for Thailand.
Phan Lieng, 19, worked as a waitress for just two months before being arrested by Thai soldiers in Hua Hin. Though the job paid far better than farm work, 250 baht (US$7.70) a day, Lieng said she had soured on Thailand.
“Before, I wanted to come again. But when I was arrested, I stopped wanting that.”
UCA News| June 18, 2014
Squatting on the concrete floor of Thailand's Aranyaprathet immigration police station yesterday, Chea Chieng mulled her options.
A day earlier, she had “surrendered” to soldiers in Hua Hin province, saying she had no papers and was prepared to be deported back to Cambodia amid mounting fears of a junta-led crackdown on illegal migrants.
“Some other workers who had passports warned me that even though I speak Thai, they would crack down,” said Chieng, who was employed at a restaurant in Hua Hin, a popular tourist destination for both Thais and foreigners. “We had no choice, so we surrendered to the soldiers.”
After turning herself in, Chieng waited for hours before being loaded onto a truck with some 60 other arrested and “surrendered” workers at about 2am. The trip to Sa Keao on the battered, caged truck took nearly seven hours, and it would be another hour before a similar caged immigration police truck brought her across the border. But none of it – not the junta, nor the uncomfortable journeys, nor the chaotic scene – has diminished her resolve to return.
“Yes, I want to go back,” she said emphatically. “When we return to our homelands, we have no job to do.”
More than 160,000 undocumented Cambodian workers have poured over the border back to their home country in less than two weeks. The Thai junta has repeatedly insisted it has no policy in place to eject illegal migrants and has since begun imploring them to stay, but at least a fraction of those coming through have been arrested in coordinated military raids. The bulk, however, have indeed come of their own accord – often called home by fearful relatives as fears of military brutality spread.
Like Chieng, in spite of the rumors driving them home, many view their return as only temporary.
“Right now, since the Thai government bans it, I can't stay. But if they allow it or reduce the forces, I'll go back,” said Chhak Roeun, a construction worker who had been employed in Chonburi.
Roeun spoke on Monday, shortly after crossing the border into Poipet with her five-year-old daughter. Her two eldest children and husband were expected to arrive a week later and Roeun said she has no idea what any of them would do for income while they are back in Cambodia. “I have no rice field, I have no farm, so I need to go to Thailand to work.”
Cambodian migrant workers pour off a truck in Poipet on Monday during the exodus from Thailand (photo by Abby Seiff)
The Cambodian government estimates that 300,000 to 400,000 illegal Cambodian workers are employed in Thailand where relatively high wages have made potentially risky work a worthwhile gamble. In contrast to the low pay and insufficient work in Cambodia, the salaries they can earn in Thailand often support entire families back home. Hundreds of millions of dollars are sent back to Cambodia in remittances each year, and the money remains the main source of income for many families.
Sien Ou arrived in Cambodia with his wife and baby daughter on Monday afternoon after spending nine hours in a police truck crammed with dozens of other people. The experience, they said, had done little to deter either from returning.
“We’ve come here, let Thailand get organized and calm down and then we will go back – but legally,” he said.
“He has a passport but no stamp,” explained Ou's wife Chhi Nal, as she fed the baby orange juice a relief worker had handed to them. “I have neither.”
Promises of return may come as relief to both the Thai and Cambodian governments, whose economies are highly dependent on maintaining the status quo. In recent days, the Cambodian government has gone into overdrive; setting up vocational training centers and taking note of the phone numbers of returnees who might be interested in the job market. But creating employment opportunities is a lengthy process, one unlikely to be solved by emergency measures.
Thailand, meanwhile, will doubtless face growing internal pressure from businesses should the exodus continue. The junta, too, has spent the past few days trying to clean up the mess – issuing an order yesterday saying it has “no policy to accelerate arrests and crackdowns of foreign workers” and working with the Cambodian embassy to staunch the exodus.
But at least some appear to have lost their appetite for Thailand.
Phan Lieng, 19, worked as a waitress for just two months before being arrested by Thai soldiers in Hua Hin. Though the job paid far better than farm work, 250 baht (US$7.70) a day, Lieng said she had soured on Thailand.
“Before, I wanted to come again. But when I was arrested, I stopped wanting that.”
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