No jobs back home: Cambodians reluctant to leave Thailand

Cambodians working in Surin province have continued to head back home in Cambodia for the second day today, after they were told by Thai officials to leave Thailand until the border situation returns to normal.

About 100 gathered in front of the Thai immigration office at the Chong Chom permanent checkpoint in Karb Choeng district this morning, to have their travel documents processed by Thai immigration officials.

The Thai officials coordinated with their Cambodian counterparts to get the border gates opened, to allow the Cambodians through.

One Cambodian, Sompong Khorchana, told a Thai PBS reporter this morning that he sent his Cambodian wife home, because her parents were concerned of her safety, but he said that he does not want to return to Cambodia yet, because there are no job opportunities there.

About 600 Cambodians left Thailand through the Chong Chom checkpoint on Wednesday, about half of whom were undocumented workers.

Meanwhile, Thai security forces intercepted a group of 32 Thais, including 20 men, 11 women and a child, as they slipped through a natural border pass into Aranyaprathet district of Sa Kaeo province on Wednesday night.

None of them had passports or ID cards. They claimed that they work at casinos or Thai restaurants in Poipet and that their official documents had been confiscated by their employers.

Among them were five natives of Phatthalung province, who claimed that they sneaked across the border with the help of a guide, who charged each of them 4,000 baht to work at a Thai restaurant in Poipet.

They claimed that they were paid 1,000 baht a day, but the payment was cut after Thailand closed all its border checkpoints with Cambodia.

They decided to leave Cambodia on Tuesday, after Thailand opened the checkpoints for three hours, but their employer refused to let them go, so they sought help from a Cambodian guide, who charged them 4,000 baht each to get them into Aranyaprathet.