Kiripost

 

 

Cambodia is grappling with a deepening social and economic emergency as migrant workers who fled Thailand earlier this year return to find no jobs, no support and debts they can no longer afford to repay. Rights groups say the government has abandoned the very people it urged to come home when border tensions escalated.

 

From late July, officials warned Cambodian workers in Thailand of rising discrimination and possible violence, encouraging them to return before conditions worsened. More than 900,000 people crossed back into Cambodia. What they found, however, was not the promised safety net but hunger, unemployment and relentless pressure from microfinance lenders.

 

Human Rights Watch, which interviewed dozens of returnees in Banteay Meanchey province, says the crisis merely exposed long‑standing failures. Cambodia already had the highest microcredit debt per capita in the world, pushing many families to migrate in the first place. With incomes gone, repayments have become impossible.

 

The stories are stark. A 17‑year‑old who left school to help her mother repay a loan said she endured daily abuse from Thai employers once the border conflict erupted. Others described being refused service in markets, threatened by police or targeted by groups of Thai men.

 

Back home, the situation is equally grim. Jobs are scarce, and those that exist often require skills migrants do not have. A woman who spent ten years in Bangkok’s construction sector said her family now survives on two meals a day while trying to meet monthly repayments of more than US$100. Missing a payment could cost them the land they used as collateral.

 

Despite government promises of 70,000 jobs and economic support packages, little has materialised. Most vacancies are in Phnom Penh, far from border provinces, and too costly for returnees to reach. Even the government’s claim of 190,000 available jobs would still leave more than 700,000 workers without work.

 

Debt dominates every conversation. Returned migrants describe credit officers visiting their homes, pressuring them to pay. Some say they fear lenders more than the police. With healthcare costs among the highest out‑of‑pocket rates in the region, families are cutting food, skipping treatment and sinking deeper into crisis.

 

Rights groups are urging the government to act: restructure loans, curb abusive collection practices and invest in healthcare and education to ease the pressures driving families into debt.

 

“The situation is dire,” said Bryony Lau of Human Rights Watch. “People are burning through their savings just to eat. The government needs to act — fast.”

 

 

-2025-11-26

Thailand caused this misery. 

no worries
hun sen will take care of them

1 hour ago, zzzzz said:

no worries
hun sen will take care of them

 Funny you should mention that:-

(reference Khmer Times)

 

The Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training (MLVT) will organise job, social security, and vocational training fairs in three major provinces—Battambang, Siem Reap, and Banteay Meanchey—to provide employment opportunities for citizens, particularly workers returning from Thailand.

 

Tens of thousands of jobs are available to the public, according to Minister of Labour and Vocational Training Heng Sour. These positions are specifically for Cambodian workers who have just returned from Thailand, and four large companies are now hiring more than 7,000 people.

 

The Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training has launched the second phase of a nationwide campaign aimed at offering more than 250,000 job opportunities to Cambodian migrant workers who have recently returned from Thailand.

 

Joint teams from the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training (MLVT) and the National Employment Agency (NEA) are offering a detailed briefing on local job opportunities across various provinces to citizens returning from Thailand.

 

Returning migrant workers are expressing relief and gratitude as the Cambodian government pledges to boost local job opportunities—giving them hope for stable incomes without having to leave their families behind.

 

No further comment from me.

Horrible situation, caused by a completely unnecessary conflict.