Cambodia News Gazette

Some of the roughly quarter million Cambodian migrant laborers who flooded home from Thailand over the past 18 months when the coronavirus pandemic killed their jobs are desperate enough for work that they are risking arrest and COVID-19 infection to sneak back across the Thai border to do menial labor, workers and NGOs say.

Unable to find work to support themselves in Cambodia, which has been under a serious of lockdowns to fight rising infections, they are making risky illegal border crossings and working as scavengers and scrap collectors in Thailand.

“I crossed the border illegally,” migrant worker Pen Vin told RFA’s Khmer Service in Bangkok. She and three others spent an entire day trekking through a forest to get to Thailand and was once arrested in Cambodia for trying to sneak across the border and sent home, before heading to the border again.

“I didn’t have money to buy food, so I decided to return. I don’t have any rice fields. I have nothing to do,” said Pen Vin, who has joined legions of trash pickers who sift through rubbish and collect plastic and other items that can be sold.

Yat Nem, an unemployed migrant from Cambodia’s Pursat province who lives 20 km (12 miles) outside of Bangkok in a town called Chachoengsao, told RFA that she is unemployed and scavenging to make a living. She said that four of her fellow jobless migrant workers have just recovered from the coronavirus.

The 41-year-old woman, who earns about U.S. $50 every two weeks selling what she finds, said she does not want to return home during the health crisis and will continue to scour trash, collect plastic, fish, or clean houses in hopes of landing a job in Thailand so she can save money before returning to Cambodia.

Other migrant workers said they took many risks to reenter Thailand without official documents — paying traffickers to help them cross the border.

Another laborer, Y Pring, who is still in Cambodia, said he wants to go back to Thailand because he hasn’t been able to find a job months after returning home.The 32-year-old said he would prefer having a decent job in Cambodia to going to another country for work, but local jobs do not pay enough to support his family and pay off debt.

“I want to return [to Thailand],” he said. “I don’t have a job in Cambodia. I want to work there for two more years so I can save to start a business.”

Made jobless by COVID

More than 2 million Cambodians — about half of them undocumented — are thought to be working in Thailand, where per capita GDP is U.S. $7,300, about five times that of Cambodia. They work mostly in the agriculture, fisheries, and construction sectors, where they are vulnerable to human slavery and labor abuse.

Made jobless by economic shutdowns to combat coronavirus, nearly 240,000 returned from Thailand from March 2020 through Sept. 8, according to the International Organization for Migration in Cambodia.

As of mid-August, about 1,000 Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand had contracted the virus as case numbers climbed in the region because of the highly contagious Delta variant.

On Wednesday, Cambodia recorded nearly 106,000 confirmed coronavirus cases since the pandemic began, including 637 new ones, and 2,154 total related fatalities, including 14 new deaths, according to the Health Ministry.

The situation has been more serious in neighboring Thailand, a nation of 70 million people, with more than 1.5 million total confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 11,252 new ones, and nearly 15,800 deaths, recorded on Wednesday, according to the Ministry of Public Health.

Sun Seiha, president of the Cambodian Migrant Workers Foundation, said many laborers in the country have called other migrant workers still in Thailand, trying to land jobs through their contacts so that they can return.

He urged the Cambodian government to create more local jobs rather placing restrictions on border crossings between the country and Thailand.

“The government should speed up its vaccination program and open up its borders,” he told RFA. “The government also need to prepare legal documents for workers to avoid being cheated by traffickers and breaching [Thai] immigration law.”

RFA has not been able to determine how many Cambodian migrants have made a U-turn back to Thailand after repatriating during the pandemic. Cambodian Ministry of Labor spokesman Heng Sour could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen recently ordered Economy and Finance Minister Aun Pornmoniroth to invest U.S. $5 million to help local workers and migrant workers get agriculture and fish-farming jobs.

Most workers would rather find better-paying local jobs than work in Thailand, said Dy Thehoya, senior program officer at the Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights.

While some have found work farming and raising livestock in Cambodia, their incomes are not enough for them to eke out a living and make debt payments, forcing many to return to Thailand, he said.

“The government should invest in vocational training so that after the COVID-19 pandemic, the migrant workers can find jobs locally,” he said.

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The Royal Government of Cambodia has been committed to the world peace, according to Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen’s message to mark the International Day of Peace (Sept. 21).
“On behalf of the Royal Government of Cambodia, I would like to join the international community in celebrating this glorious International Day of Peace to raise global awareness of the unique values of peace and demonstrate Cambodia’s unwavering will in continuing to build and maintain peace and stability,” he said in the message.
The bitter experiences and lessons that Cambodia has learned for more than two decades of the civil war and genocide have made us all understand the fundamental values of peace and stability, he added.
“For almost 23 years, since Dec. 29, 1998, the end of civil war by my ‘win-win policy’ has brought full peace and complete national unity for the first time in the history of Cambodia that we should be proud of, in line with the slogan ‘When there is peace, there is development’,” he underlined.
With peace and stability, although Cambodia is being affected by the COVID-19 crisis, Cambodia’s economic growth rate for 2021 is expected to recover to around 2.5 percent after declining -1.9 percent in 2020, he said.
Each year the International Day of Peace is celebrated around the world on Sept. 21. The UN General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire.

Source: Agency Kampuchea Press

It is with great excitement that the Ministry of Environment’s and WWF’s wildlife research team confirmed on Sept. 9, 2021 they discovered eight hatchlings of the critically endangered Siamese crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis) following their regular field survey in the Srepok wilderness during the nesting and hatching seasons, according to a joint press release issued this morning.
The survey is part of a Siamese crocodile research programme under the Ministry of Environment-led CAMPAS project funded by GEF-5/UNEP, and with the additional funding from WWF-Belgium. It was under challenging weather conditions and with high-level of patience, that the discovery was made at one of the search sites where Siamese crocodile dung and footprints had been collected during the dry season this year. The reptile hatchlings currently remain safe in their wild habitat under strict protection by the rangers of the Srepok Wildlife Sanctuary of Mondulkiri province.
“During this hatching season, the research team carries out regular field monitoring, and for this particular trip we spent 4 nights scouting the crocodile habitat locations, from 7:00pm until past midnight around 2:00am to observe the animal,” said Mr. Sothea Bun, one of the research team members. “Then, the exciting moment came when one of our team first spotted the eye-shine of crocodile hatchlings,” Sothea put a big smile on his face as he continued.
The discovery constitutes the first photographic evidence of a Siamese crocodile breeding population after more than a decade of research efforts in the Srepok Wildlife Sanctuary, a protected area situated within the Eastern Plains Landscape under the management of the Ministry of Environment and WWF’s support.
“It is such a rewarding news for the conservation cooperation between the Ministry of Environment of the Royal Government, WWF, NGO partners, especially all members of the ministry’s and WWF’s research team, whose efforts are finally paid off with this first formal confirmation of the Srepok’s breeding population,” said H.E. Say Samal, Minister of Environment, adding that the discovery highlights the importance of the Srepok wilderness area as a global hotspot of high potential for reversing biodiversity loss and for the restoration of globally significant wildlife.
“This exciting news also demonstrates the importance of the Kingdom of Cambodia for the conservation of this extremely rare crocodile and other important species. Cambodia is home to unique natural resources, representing a true source of national pride for all Cambodians. Thanks to full peace in Cambodia, we, the Royal Government and development partners from all sectors, have the space for focus and exploring possible solutions in natural resources management and conservation with the hope to restore the country’s biodiversity and ecosystems to their former potential,” he continued.
According to Ms. Milou Groenenberg, WWF’s Biodiversity Research & Monitoring Manager, this development is considered a breakthrough in the study of the species in Srepok as former reports of breeding consisted of unconfirmed reports from many years ago and never before was photographic evidence of hatchlings collected. “We were previously not certain if the resident population still contained breeding pairs to date, nor if any nests existed and if clutches successfully hatched,” she said.
“The Srepok discovery indeed raises hope for Siamese crocodile conservation and survival in the wild, and is a significant finding for the species in Cambodia and globally,” she added.
The freshwater Siamese crocodile was once widespread across Southeast Asia, but disappeared from much of its range by the early 1990s. Cambodia is a global stronghold for the species, with an estimates 200-400 individuals remaining in the wild. The total global population does not exceed 1,000 mature individuals.
The key threats the Siamese crocodile faces are habitat loss and degradation, poaching fueled by the illegal wildlife trade and formerly to supply crocodile farms, hybridisation with other crocodile species, hydropower dams, and destructive illegal fishing methods.
The survival and protection of the young crocodile hatchlings and their habitat are secured thanks to the strict law enforcement efforts in the landscape, as well as the community engagement and livelihoods support in surrounding villages, both conducted as part of a strategic and long-term partnership between the Ministry of Environment and WWF.
“I congratulate the research and law enforcement rangers on the ground for this extraordinary discovery. This result would not be possible without their strong and ongoing commitment,” said Mr. Seng Teak, WWF Country Director.
Conservation efforts must be strengthened with the need for appropriate and innovative solutions to protected area management and wildlife protection, while calling for better ways of managing, using and sharing natural resources.
“The discovery proves that Rewilding the Eastern Plains Landscape is possible when we work together to enable all necessary conditions: habitat protection, naturally-supplied food and water favourable for the Siamese crocodile and other animal species that roam the wilderness landscape,” he added.
The Ministry of Environment and WWF will continue to monitor the Srepok population and protect the habitat from encroachment and illegal activities through regular boat and foot patrols inside and outside of the protected area.
“I would like to urge all stakeholders involved to take more collective and urgent actions needed to protect the Siamese crocodile from extinction and ensure its number can recover for future survival,” H.E. Say Samal said. “The Ministry of Environment stands ready to work with all international non-governmental organisations, community groups and other partners to protect and preserve Cambodia’s natural forests and wildlife heritage for the long-term social and economic benefits of current and future generations.”

Source: Agency Kampuchea Press