Username Taken wrote: ↑Fri Jul 30, 2021 5:18 am Wouldn't that be a violation of their Human Rights?

Why can't the Cambodian side make a makeshift 'refugee' camp to hold them for two weeks? They could refer to it as 'border quarantine station' or something like that. Much better than leaving them in no-mans land.

Quite simply, because leaders here DGAF about them.

Relatives of Dead Cambodian Migrant Worker Call on Embassy For Help With Return of His Remains
Hok Suon, who worked in a chicken processing plant, died after contracting the COVID-19 virus.
2021-08-18

The relatives of one of two Cambodian migrant workers who died this week in Thailand from COVID-19 have called on the Cambodian Embassy in Bangkok for help with having the ashes of their loved one sent home, as more laborers contract the respiratory virus amid a surge in infection rates.

Many migrant workers in Thailand have become infected with the COVID-19 virus, with case numbers climbing in Southeast Asia because of the highly contagious Delta variant. About 1,000 Cambodian migrant workers in the country have now contracted the virus, with some being treated in hospitals or quarantined at the factories where they work.
https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambod ... 73658.html

26 mins ago - BREAKING NEWS
115 Cambodian families in Thailand in distressed condition receive aid from the Cambodian Embassy

On the morning of September 13, Ouk Sophoan, Ambassador of Cambodia to the Kingdom of Thailand, assigned Thuch Dalin, General Counselor and Kem Chamroeun, Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission to bring rice, fish, vegetables, fish and meat to hand over to the representatives of 6 groups of Cambodian workers at Polytechnic 1 Road, Sangkat Phaya Thai, Khan Phaya Thai, Bangkok to be distributed to a total of 113 families of workers.

The embassy confirmed that all of them were in dire straits, some had lost their jobs, some had been infected with Covid-19, and a large part of them had been unable to go to work.

Last Sunday, the embassy team also brought rice, fish, vegetables, fish, meat to be distributed to 99 families of Cambodian workers on Polytechnic Road 1, Sangkat Phaya Thai, Khan Phaya Thai, Bangkok. All of these people were in a very difficult situation, some of them are infected with Covid-19 and most of them are addicts.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50934549/1 ... n-embassy/

Long read.

Rethinking Social Protection Programs: Cambodian Migrant Workers Deserve Better
The Diplomat September 16, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown the life of labor migrants in Southeast Asia into chaos. Pandemic-related restrictions, business closures, government lockdowns, and mandatory quarantines have all impacted the livelihoods of migrant workers.

One statistic in particular makes this interruption abundantly clear. As the outbreak continues on, many labor-exporting countries have experienced a sudden drop in remittances sent by migrant workers. Cambodia is no exception.

In its report on the subject, the National Bank of Cambodia revealed that the remittances sent by Cambodian migrant workers in 2020 came to just $1.2 billion, a drop of 17 percent compared to 2019, when remittances totaled about $1.5 billion.

The disruptions caused by the pandemic have revealed many structural challenges. When it comes to labor migration, COVID-19 has shed light on how drastic and unprecedented measures taken by states to fight the virus have potentially imposed additional challenges for migrant populations.

And while many countries have adopted social programs that aim to secure their citizens’ health and economic well-being within their borders, vulnerable, mobile groups like migrant workers have not been included in these designated policies.

A 2020 United Nations Report assessing the social and health impacts of COVID-19 on Cambodian migrant workers who had returned from Thailand illustrates the gaps in the provision of social assistance and services to this specific group. It shows that of the 1,054 participants in the study, only 25 percent of these returned migrants had IDPoor cards, which enabled them to receive emergency cash support from the Cambodian government during the pandemic. Meanwhile, over 49 percent had problems in accessing healthcare services back home due to financial constraints or long distances from service providers.

Access to social protection is an emerging issue, especially for those employed in overlooked sectors, including the informal economy. Exclusion from such benefits increases vulnerability to economic shocks, particularly during challenging times like these.

Existing social benefits for migrant populations are uneven, uncertain, and vague, particularly in destination countries, and particularly for low-skilled workers. High-skilled workers may have less difficulty accessing social benefits because they have access to better education, are usually more familiar with the culture of their host country, and generally receive greater acceptance from local people.

Low-skilled workers, on the other hand, are often subject to prejudicial treatment and have unequal access to social benefits based on factors like migration status, employment status, or residence status. Lack of documentation, in particular, prevents many migrants from receiving assistance overseas because of the added fear of getting arrested or deported. Migrant workers also suffer from discrimination and xenophobia, something that has been especially true during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Governments often intentionally restrict migrant workers from accessing social benefits in an attempt to discourage immigration flows and maintain social cohesion within their own countries.​

Moreover, destination countries have been known to adopt overarching social protection policies that only cover specific sectors, mainly distinguishing between formal and informal sectors. Migrant workers in informal sectors do not receive the same entitlements as those who work in the formal sectors and undocumented workers are disqualified altogether from receiving such benefits due to their irregular status.

In Thailand, we can find an example of a system that discriminates between formal and informal workers. Migrant workers who migrate to Thailand through a memorandum of understanding with their home governments are considered formal workers. This type of group mainly works in the textile and manufacturing industries on a two-year contract basis. According to the Thai Social Security Act 1990, formal workers are covered under social security schemes because employers must contribute to this scheme.

In contrast, for low-skilled workers in informal sectors, their employer does not pay into the system. Since the majority of Cambodian migrant laborers work in informal parts of the economy, ranging from the construction sector and agriculture to fishing and domestic work, it is likely that they are among those who are not covered by existing social policies.

It’s possible that Thailand’s social protection scheme, which prevents this large population of low-skilled workers from gaining access to assistance, has worsened their well-being, as well as increasing their risk of exposure to COVID-19. During the second and third wave of the coronavirus in Thailand, a high number of positive cases were found within migrant worker communities.

Late last year, Thailand was hit hard by a COVID-19 outbreak linked to a seafood market in southern Thailand that employed many migrant workers from Myanmar. It was also reported that anti-migrant sentiment became prominent on social media platforms in the wake of the outbreak. Local people accused migrant workers of “importing” COVID-19, potentially decreasing the likelihood that these workers would present themselves to authorities if they had been exposed, or worse yet, were experiencing symptoms. As a result, it made the outbreak that much harder to bring under control.

Thailand is currently experiencing its worst COVID-19 outbreak yet, and once again the situation bears directly on the lives and livelihoods of migrant workers. A cluster of locally transmitted Delta variant cases were found among workers in a construction site in Bangkok, prompting the Thai government to close down construction sites and seal off migrant camps for a month.

As a result, thousands of low-skilled Cambodian migrant workers, especially construction workers, are in a position where they are trapped by the pandemic, with no access to social benefits. Many of these migrants obviously have no option but to make the risky return home to Cambodia, putting themselves and others at risk of COVID-19 in the process.
https://tribunecontentagency.com/articl ... ve-better/

October 13, 2021
Cambodian consulate in Thailand facilitates return of more stranded Cambodian workers
Cambodia received the latest batch of stranded workers from neighbouring Thailand, after they faced difficulties from the pandemic situation in Thailand.

The Cambodian Consulate in Sa Kaeo Province, Thailand facilitated the repatriation of 8 Cambodian workers after requests were sent to the consulate. The workers travelled to the consulate from various province of the country to the consulate on October 12.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Koy Kuong confirmed that the reason they wanted to be repatriated was due to unemployment. Many Cambodians in Thailand have been hard-hit by the pandemic, with many of them losing their jobs.

As many Cambodians in Thailand are construction workers the, the closure of numerous construction sites in the country have caused many workers to lost their jobs. Plantation workers have also reported the lost of jobs from the pandemic.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50950775/c ... n-workers/

COVID-19 Repatriations Have Made Cambodian Migrant Workers More Vulnerable
Emergencies like the coronavirus pandemic should not be used as an excuse to discard worker protections.
By The Diplomat -
January 8, 2022

The COVID-19 outbreak has severely affected thousands of Cambodian labor migrants working in various host countries, particularly in Thailand and Malaysia. These countries have responded to the pandemic with lockdowns and other restrictive measures, leaving migrant workers in uncertain situations, having to make the choice of whether to return home or to remain stranded in a foreign country with little support.

While sending countries like Cambodia have, throughout the pandemic, faced the challenge of assisting and repatriating these marginalized workers, ensuring that returned migrants have received full payments and benefits according to the laws of destination countries is a different problem entirely.

Looking back, one thing is certain: hasty repatriations complicated the efforts of Cambodian migrant workers seeking redress for labor disputes and violations of their rights. The pandemic must serve as a learning moment for countries that send and receive migrant workers alike. We need to take a more nuanced and well planned approach to repatriation, beyond using it as a form of emergency assistance. We also must be sure that the full scope of migrants’ rights are not forgotten along the way.

In full: https://thediplomat.com/2022/01/covid-1 ... ulnerable/

Migrant workers returning as Thai jobs disappear
Kim Sarom | Publication date 16 February 2022 | 21:49 ICT

A total of 175 Cambodian migrant workers, including children, returned from Thailand through the O’Anlok border checkpoint in Ta Sen commune of Battambang province’s Kamrieng district on February 16. Almost one-third of them were required to quarantine as they were unvaccinated against Covid-19, or had received only one dose.

Colonel Mong Sy, commander of the 819th Border Guard Battalion in Kamrieng district, said his forces had received 77 men, 69 women and 29 children. His men had sent 48 of them – 23 men, 18 women, and seven children – to the quarantine centre in Sampov Loun district.

“Based on what I understand from my officers’ conversations with them, they are returning after many years in Thailand because they no longer have work there. Medical teams and my officers educated them about the government’s guidelines for preventing Covid-19 before allowing those who were vaccinated to return home,” he said.

Ros Chivy, deputy provincial police chief in charge of anti-human trafficking and juvenile protection, said on February 16 that she did not have the exact number of workers returning from Thailand, but estimated that since January this year, the number of returnees would be close to a thousand.
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ ... -disappear