In the Cambodian frontier city of Poipet, many families who depended on cross-border trade with Thailand to earn a living are facing destitution as land crossings remain closed and Covid-19 shuts down much of the global economy
The situation here has completely changed. The city used to thrive on Thai and Chinese business, but now it is so quiet. There are no jobs and we can’t afford to feed our families,” she said.

Srey Neat is not alone in her struggles. Although exact figures are hard to come by, Lay Voleak, Programme Coordinator at Friends International, estimates that 70% of Cambodians living in the city of more than 140,000 people are currently in debt. Increasingly, NGOs working in the area are seeing residents sell everything they own to survive as the main pillars of the city’s economy – gambling, tourism and textile production – have ground to a halt with the global shutdown.

LICADHO’s research, which surveyed garment workers who had lost work due to factory closures or suspensions between March and May this year, found that two-thirds of the workers were suffering economic hardship as they struggled to repay microfinance loans. According to the report, common coping mechanisms to make loan repayments included eating less food, digging themselves into greater debt with additional loans, and migrating in search of work.

As the economy underpinning their community is wracked by economic forces beyond their control, so too have the physical structures that form it. October saw Cambodian communities nationwide hit by some of the worst flooding for decades, displacing thousands in Banteay Meanchey province and 700 households in Poipet City alone, worsening the crisis for many households already drowning in debt.

Bin Sophon, Women and Children’s Monitor for Cambodian human rights organisation Adhoc, estimates that approximately 10,000 people have lost their jobs in the city’s casinos, which also shut up shop in March.

“Those that worked in the casinos, almost 10,000 have no jobs now. Only some security guards are left working at the casinos. The city of Poipet has become very quiet,” she said.

“Only one casino paid their staff 50% for three months when they closed, no other casino workers received compensation,” he said. “There is no intervention from the government at all except for the IDed poor. Those who work in informal sectors are not able to access IDs.”

In Poipet, Nakrong estimates that 60-70% of people have now lost their jobs. With little to no education and skills, options are limited and he recognises the futility of the situation for most workers.

“I don’t see signs of recovery yet. It looks like people have no skills, so what can they do? They don’t have land to grow rice even,” he said. “Some go back to their homeland or change their jobs from construction to morning glory harvesting. Maybe not even to earn money, but just to eat.”

atst wrote: ↑Mon Nov 30, 2020 2:34 pm And once again big business eg casinos fail to pay thier staff basic wages while reapping in millions

xandreu wrote: ↑Mon Nov 30, 2020 7:14 pm It's very easy for those of us lucky enough to be here receiving an income of some kind, whether it's through being employed, our pension pots or other means, to walk around, see our friends, do our shopping, and assume that things are as normal as they ever were.

It's safe to say that most of us are shielded from the very real hardships that many Khmers are going through at the moment.

xandreu wrote: ↑Mon Nov 30, 2020 7:14 pm It's very easy for those of us lucky enough to be here receiving an income of some kind, whether it's through being employed, our pension pots or other means, to walk around, see our friends, do our shopping, and assume that things are as normal as they ever were.

It's safe to say that most of us are shielded from the very real hardships that many Khmers are going through at the moment.

John Bingham wrote: ↑Mon Nov 30, 2020 9:23 pm

AndyKK wrote: ↑Mon Nov 30, 2020 8:29 pm How many foreigners here also claim to see the real poor, or do they see the normality of street beggar's on riverside, the same group I look upon later being picked up by black SUV at the end of their evening shift.

The glue sniffers and ragamuffins I see around don't look like they've ever been in anything more fancy than a bus.