Everyday Toils of an Old Couple of Cambodian Cassava Cutters

[CEOCambodiaNews]

Sampov Loun district near the Thai border: Sweat dripping down their faces in the scorching heat of the day, an old couple are struggling to carry baskets of cassava. Apparently exhausted, the wife sat down on the floor, pulled the headband, wiped the sweat off her face, and exclaimed, "Now the children have gone, and grandfather and I are still alone under the roof of an old rented house. The monthly rent of 60,000 riel is now owed for three months, but there is no money to pay it. We cut cassava for a living every day, but not enough to deal with the costs of daily life.


How much can they earn a day from cutting potatoes? They looked at each other and said, "Grandpa and I do not seem to have the strength to work because we have disease. You can cut between 30 and 40 potatoes a day, and each one costs 700 riel, but you have to work hard to get up in the morning. The sun shines almost all day and we can not do it fast because my grandfather and I are not as strong as children.



This is what grandfather Mr. Ket Meng described to Koh Santepheap at the potato cutting field at noon on February 28 in Sampov Loun district. "My wife and I used to go to work in Thailand for a few years, but then the Thai boss no longer needed me and my wife," he said. "I'm too old to work. That's why my wife and I decided to return to Cambodia and rent a dilapidated house to stay until today."



Sitting on two knees facing each other, the grandmother with the most sad face, Mr. Ket Meng briefly told the journey of his life:
"Today I am also sick, but my wife and I have to work hard to cut potatoes to earn a little money to buy medicine and buy food daily. More than 10 years after my family and I left our homeland to live on the Thai-Cambodian border, my wife and I have nothing left. Today, my wife and I work hard to make a living by cutting potatoes for a living. And there is no hope of returning home."
- Kohsantepheap