Cambodians in Surin told to go home for now

Hundreds of Cambodians and their vehicles are heading back to Cambodia today, via the Chong Chom permanent border checkpoint in Surin province, after being asked, by Thai security officials, to return home until the border situation returns to normal.

A security officer explained, however, that the Cambodians are not being forced out of Thailand, but those living or working in Kap Choeng district have just been asked to leave temporarily, as part of the Thai military’s step-by-step measures.

He also said that the army will assess the situation before deciding whether Cambodians in the other districts of the province would be asked to leave.

According to the employment service office, there are 2,053 foreign employees working legally in Surin province, including 1,364 Cambodians, 245 Lao citizens, one Vietnamese and the rest are Chinese, British, Filipino and Cameroon nationals.

A tent was set up on the Cambodian side of the border, by Cambodian labour officials, offering jobs to the returnees.

Many Cambodian vendors and traders say that they prefer to do business in Thailand though.

A border market near the checkpoint, which used to be busy, was eerily quiet today, as most of the shops owned by Cambodian traders were deserted. Only a few Thai-owned shops remained in business, but with few customers.

On Monday night, the Thai army ordered the closure of all the permanent and temporary checkpoints along the Thai-Cambodian border, as part of the escalated effort to deal with the call centres and hybrid scams in Cambodia.

No tourists are allowed to travel to Cambodia overland, but ailing Cambodians seeking medical treatment in Thailand are allowed to enter and Cambodian students can exit to attend classes in Cambodia.