Cambodian migrant workers who have been stranded at home said they are aching for the chance to travel abroad again because the earnings they make here are too small to cover their costs of living.
Separating migrant families can affect the health and education of children left behind, but they can suffer even if they migrate with their parents. While the plight of migrant workers has received some attention, their family members also struggle, writes Future Forum’s Thong Sariputta.
Chhay Loeum, a Cambodian migrant, was rounded up by police from Thailand’s Labor Ministry along with seven other workers making an appeal over unpaid wages. Rights advocates say the incident illustrates the Thai government’s broken promises and indifference to one of the most vulnerable groups in Thai society.
At least 373 migrants have been detained in under two weeks during 12 raids on Cambodians crossing into Thailand, a sign of demand for work and confusion over Covid-19 border rules, a labor group said.
Cambodian workers are increasingly looking to illegally cross back into Thailand for work, a labor rights group said on Thursday, after a report showed more
Covid-19 is not the only pressing public health issue for migrant workers and their families. The pandemic is raising the risks of other, indirect health impacts that can have lasting effects even after the outbreak ends, writes Future Forum fellow Thong Sariputta.
September has seen a turnaround in some migrant workers’ fortunes, but they said they still weren’t vaccinated and feared infection, and their earnings had merely returned to barely getting by.
Some migrant workers, returning from Thailand to escape a Covid-19 surge and joblessness there, say they are finding the transition back to their hometowns challenging due to quarantine, debt and difficulty finding opportunities.
Cambodian returnees from Thailand have surged since the reopening of borders on Friday, local officials said, with migrants trucked in from checkpoints to expanded quarantine centers.
Hundreds of migrant workers poured back into the country on Friday as its borders to Covid-19-hit Thailand reopened, and the flow is expected to continue in the coming days as many Cambodians face difficulties in the neighboring country.
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