[Vietnamization: illegal immigration analogy] Cambodians Repatriated From Vietnam

Cambodians Repatriated From Vietnam

 Khmer Times | 26 September 2016

Twenty-six Cambodian nationals who entered Vietnam illegally to beg and sell lottery tickets were arrested and sent to a social rescue center in Ho Chi Minh City last week, with a senior Foreign Ministry official saying on Friday that the group will be repatriated tomorrow.

“The Cambodian consulate in Ho Chi Minh City informed us that 26 Cambodians [11 males and 15 females], including seven elderly people and 19 children, who entered Vietnam to beg and sell illegal lottery tickets were detained, rounded up and offered food at the Ho Chi Minh Social Rescue Center,” ministry spokesman Chum Sounry said on Friday, adding that 24 of them are from Svay Rieng province, one is from Kandal province and the other is from Kampong Speu province.

Mr. Sounry said the Cambodian consulate in Ho Chi Minh City was working with the Vietnamese social affairs department to bring all 26 people back to Cambodia on Tuesday through the Bavet International Checkpoint.

This year, Vietnamese authorities have arrested and deported 168 Cambodian migrant workers living in the country without proper documents.
 

Rights groups often cite a lack of domestic employment and a dwindling number of markets for agricultural products as the main reasons Cambodians look for jobs outside of the country.