Life in a displacement camp in northwestern Cambodia is a monotonous cycle of chores and anxiety for 11-year-old Sokna. Instead of attending her fifth-grade classes she spends her mornings fetching water and sweeping dust away from the blue tarpaulin tent that her family now calls home. Sokna is a face of the human cost resulting from the recent border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia. While a ceasefire is technically in place the atmosphere remains thick with tension and the fear of renewed violence continues to keep thousands from returning to their original homes.
Data from Cambodia’s Ministry of Interior paints a grim picture of the situation. As of this month more than 34,440 people are living in displacement camps across the country. Perhaps most concerning is that 11,355 of these displaced individuals are children whose education has been abruptly halted. Sokna’s mother Puth Reen shared with Al Jazeera that after working in Thailand for many years the family fled across the border when the fighting broke out. Now they are trapped in a state of limbo where returning home feels too dangerous and staying in the camp feels unsustainable.
The physical conditions within these camps are precarious. Most families are surviving on aid donations and living in temporary structures provided by the government or religious organizations. While some fortunate families are being transitioned into wooden stilted houses the majority still reside under plastic sheets in Buddhist pagodas. These internally displaced persons (IDPs) are unable to return to their lands because many border areas are currently occupied by opposing Thai forces or are being used as high-alert military zones by Cambodian troops.
Political rhetoric continues to fuel the instability. The Cambodian Prime Minister recently claimed that Thailand is occupying territory deep within Cambodian borders even after the ceasefire was signed. This territorial dispute has historical roots but the recent escalation has caused a massive humanitarian ripple effect. The heavy military presence on both sides of the border serves as a constant reminder to the displaced families that the peace they are experiencing is fragile and could collapse at any moment.
For children like Sokna the loss of schooling is the most significant blow. Educators and human rights workers warn that a prolonged absence from the classroom will have long-term developmental impacts on an entire generation of border residents. While the international community often focuses on global energy crises or high-tech cybercrimes the quiet suffering of these displaced families in Preah Vihear and Siem Reap provinces remains a critical issue. Without a definitive and peaceful resolution to the border demarcation the lives of tens of thousands will remain disrupted by the shadows of a conflict that refuses to fade.
