What is it like for the Chinese migrant workers who come to Cambodia ? Interviews with three Chinese construction workers in Phnom Penh.
January 11, 2019
A tale of loneliness and longing
Sheila Yuanjiahuan / Khmer Times
Often demonised by the ‘host’ country for taking away jobs of locals, Sheila Yuanjiahuan looks behind the story of ordinary Chinese workers at construction sites in Cambodia. It can be a heartbreaking portrayal of the life they left behind in their homeland to seek opportunities abroad.

It was a Friday night. The skyline was filled with stars adorning Diamond Island (Koh Pich), Phnom Penh.

There was a party in full swing. Guests donned their gowns and high heels, and sauntered into the wedding ballroom. Delighted with the traditional Khmer music, people were smiling and dancing, and they seemed unperturbed by the pounding, banging and screeching from the Morgan Tower construction site directly in front of the building where guests were enjoying the wedding party.

At the neighbouring Morgan Tower construction site, you will be greeted with thick dust in the air when you open the small blue gate. The pungent dust will hit the back of your throat and might make you grasp for breath. This is where Zhao Gan lives and works.

Zhao Gan was leaning on a motorcycle, looking at his smartphone and grinned occasionally when I met him.
“I have two sons. I left them behind since they were children. Now, If I don’t call them, they’d never call me and say I miss you, dad,” he keyed in while looking at the smartphone, checking the Wechat Moments of the two boys.

It’s 2019 – the seventh year since Zhao Gan first set foot in Cambodia.

Originally from Huai Bei, a city in northern Anhui Province, China, Zhao first worked in construction sites in Sihanoukville Province for four years, and moved to Phnom Penh in 2016.

“Before I was not used to the lifestyle in Cambodia. There was a huge language barrier,” he said. “But after six years, it’s getting better.”

In 2013, as soon as Chinese President Xi Jinping brought up One Belt One Road Initiative to help Chinese companies export excess capacity and expand overseas markets, a massive amount of Chinese investors came to the once war-torn land – Cambodia – looking for opportunities.

According to a recent government report, China has become the top-ranking foreign investor in the construction and property sectors in Cambodia. With the influx of large amounts of Chinese investment, Cambodia has become one of the most popular destinations for Chinese workers seeking a higher income through employment abroad.

Diamond Island was the place that used to be full of slums and farmland. However, that has changed. It’s now the epitome of the construction boom in Phnom Penh City. Most of the properties on Diamond Island are Chinese investments and for that reason Chinese workers are employed to work on the construction sites.

No one knows the exact number of Chinese workers there are on these construction sites as most of them come to Cambodia and work without official work permits – so there are no Labour Department records. They are usually from rural areas on the Chinese mainland.

With the hope of realising their dreams of supporting their families, they choose to work overseas. This, of course, takes a toll on them in the form of acute homesickness and loneliness. Zhao is one of them.

“In the past six years, my wife and kids never visited me in Cambodia,” he said sadly. “And I usually can go back home only once a year. I really miss them.”
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50567862/a ... d-longing/