Viral rumour prompts Cambodian migrant workers to rush home

A rumour is spreading like wild fire among Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand, claiming that they must return to Cambodia by this Sunday, as ordered by Cambodian strongman Hun Sen, or their land will be confiscated and they may lose their Cambodian citizenship.

The rumour, which is yet to be verified, has triggered a rush for home among many Cambodian workers over the past few days.

The Facebook page of a Thai netizen, named ‘Than Pao’, quoted a Thai employer, who claimed that a Cambodian domestic worker, who has been working with her for more than 10 years, recently approached her to say goodbye.

She said that she had to return home by this Sunday because the village headman in Cambodia had been calling her every day, reminding her to do so or risk her land being confiscated.

The Thai employer said the worker has been suffering from a skin condition and needs medication. So, she bought sufficient medicine for one year, not knowing whether she would return to Thailand in the future.

The Thai immigration border checkpoints at Ban Laem in Chanthaburi, Klong Luk in Sa Kaeo and Hat Lek in Trat have reported a sudden surge in Cambodians heading home since Monday.

An immigration source noted that the number of Cambodians returning home had dropped significantly after the ceasefire agreement was reached on July 28th, but has increased substantially in the past few days.

At the Klong Luk border checkpoint, about 500 Cambodians, including several families, were seen leaving Thailand, along with their personal belongings.

Some of them said they simply wanted to return home, but didn’t mention any consequences they might face if they don’t.

Cambodia’s Information Ministry revealed today that the influx of Cambodian nationals leaving Thailand for Cambodia has continued, bringing the number of returnees to over 550,000 in the past 10 days,

More than 100,000 Cambodian workers returned from Thailand through the Daung International Border in Battambang province—opposite Thailand’s Chanthaburi province—in a single day today.

The ministry quoted Battambang governor Sok Lou as saying that more than 100,000 people had also crossed through the same border gate the day before, according to Cambodianess news online.