“We Are Suffering but Haven’t Lost Hope,” Say Prey Chan Villagers Facing Thai Eviction

Prey Chan villagers walk past the barbed wire installed by the Thai army, which partly divides the village, controlled by Cambodian and Thai authorities in Banteay Meanchey province. KT/Khem Sovannara

Banteay Meanchey Province —Hul Malis, 52, and her five family members were given just 20 minutes to pack their clothes before being forced to leave their home when Thai soldiers attempted to seize territory along the border villages.

“We were suddenly forced to leave home. Since then, we have become homeless,” she said.

Now, Malis shelters in a makeshift tent near the barbed wire fence on the Cambodian side, waiting for a resolution and hoping to one day return home.

“We won’t give up hope. We will struggle until the end — we have nowhere else to go,” she said, adding, “We have to stand firm for our nation and for the next generation. We’re not resisting by choice — we simply have no place to live. They are like thieves and robbers.”

She called on the international community to pay close attention and intervene to end what she described as Thai aggression.

Malis and five other families were forced to abandon their homes on August 13, just 16 days after a ceasefire agreement was brokered by then US President Donald Trump, with the participation of China and coordination from Malaysia on July 28.

She said she never imagined that her quiet village — far from the former battlegrounds in Preah Vihear and Oddar Meanchey provinces — would become a new frontline.

Thai army has escalated tensions from the northern to the western border of Banteay Meanchey province, installing barbed wire, tyres, and black nets around Chouk Chey and Prey Chan villages. Villagers describe this as a renewed attempt to claim Cambodian territory in violation of the ceasefire and existing bilateral mechanisms.

Before these incidents, Prey Chan village, which borders Nong Ya Kaew in Thailand’s Sa Kaeo province, was a peaceful community where people from both sides shared close relations — many even referring to each other as “friends”. But that friendship, villagers say, has now turned into hostility.

“We never wanted to see this situation,” said one villager. “But we have no choice — we must protect our homes and our land from being taken by others.”

Anger and resentment over what they call Thai aggression have united the villagers, who have confronted Thai soldiers several times since August. The most recent clash in September left at least 30 Cambodians injured, including monks and soldiers.

Thailand’s Sa Kaeo Provincial Administration has ordered residents of Prey Chan village to demolish or vacate the homes they have lived in for decades by October 3 — later extended to October 7 — or face prosecution under Thai immigration and forestry laws. Similarly, residents of Chouk Chey village have been ordered to leave by October 10, under threat of arrest and prosecution for non-compliance.

In response, Cambodian authorities have lodged a strong protest against Thailand’s attempts to apply its domestic laws to Cambodian nationals living in Chouk Chey and Prey Chan, which fall under Cambodian sovereignty.

According to Banteay Meanchey provincial governor Oum Reatrey, Prey Chan village consists of 208 homes, six of which have already been fenced off by Thai forces with barbed wire. Many others remain under imminent threat of mass eviction.

Despite the hardship, Malis and her neighbours say they have not lost hope.

Pointing to his house across the barbed wire fence, Hak Poeu, 58, a former solider who lost his left leg to a landmine during the civil war, expressed his sorrow and pain after his home was seized by foreign soldiers.

Poeu, who now lives in a small temporary tent provided with assistance from local authorities since August, said life has become unbearable, especially during the rainy season.

“I’m asking the Thai side to stop their incursion into Cambodian territory,” he said.

Prey Chan, one of several border villages heavily affected by landmines after decades of war, has become a new flashpoint. Poeu, already a victim of the past conflict, now finds himself victimised again by what he calls Thailand’s fresh territorial claims.

He appealed to the United Nations and ASEAN to intervene to end the aggression and suffering.

“I ask for nothing more than to return to a normal life. Living indefinitely in a tent is not easy, especially for our young children,” he said.

Nearby, Deng Hing, 52, and his wife, Lon Chhuch, 43, live just a few metres from the barbed wire installed by Thai forces in August. They expressed anger over what they called repeated violations by Thai authorities.

“We are deeply hurt — there’s nothing that can compare to this pain. What they did feels as if someone has ripped into our very being,” Hing said.

He was among those injured during a confrontation last month when Thai police and military personnel attempted to install additional fencing near a sugarcane plantation within the village.

“They used tear gas and rubber bullets against the villagers,” he said. “Sometimes, I think about sacrificing my life to resist the aggressors.”

-Khmer Times-