As Cambodian workers flee Thailand’s coronavirus surge, exodus overwhelms border facilities

Since Thailand attempted to contain the spread of Covid-19 by closing its borders in March 2020, more than 215,000 Cambodian workers have returned, one activist said

Thailand’s recent spike has created a ‘dark situation’ at the Cambodian border, where quarantine centres are packed, increasing the risk of the coronavirus being transmitted

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People wait to get vaccinated against Covid-19 at a hospital in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Photo: AFP

Published: 9:15am, 4 Aug 2021Updated: 5:54pm, 4 Aug 2021

Vann Thoeurn, his wife and their teenage son had been surviving on a construction site in Thailand for months despite having no work or salary.

They had been working for six years on different developments in Bangkok but when work slowed after the outbreak of Covid-19, they made the decision to leave, spending their savings on bus tickets back to Cambodia, aiming to return to their family in Kampong Cham province.

Thoeurn, 41, recalls his wife experiencing breathing problems days before their journey. She tested positive for coronavirus but they kept the results secret, boarding a bus from Bangkok on July 25 and crossing into Cambodia the same day.

“We decided not to let anyone know that we have a positive [test] for Covid as we were afraid that they won’t let us ride in the bus if they knew about it,” said Thoeurn, who has been staying in a quarantine centre in Cambodia’s Pailin province for about a week.

“In Thailand, [they] are out of control [and unable] to provide the treatment, and we’re not the priority for them, because they need to treat their citizens first.”

Cambodian authorities last week responded to such cases of infection among citizens returning from Thailand by closing the border and imposing restrictions in adjoining provinces. As a result, Cambodian migrant workers now face either indefinite joblessness in Thailand or dangerous, unsanitary quarantine conditions upon their return.

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After crossing into Pailin, Thoeurn and his family were tested and placed in a room with about 20 people. He was uncertain about how he will earn a living in Cambodia but was nonetheless grateful he was able to afford the bus tickets for the trip.