Returned Migrant Workers in Cambodia: Hunger, Debt, and the Struggle for Reintegration

When high numbers of Cambodian migrant labourers come home at the same time, be it because economies slow, labour laws get tougher in other countries, or crisis, whole communities are left in the position of starvation, enormous debts and job shortages. Most of the returnees revert back with a smaller saving than they were supposed to have or even none at all, as loan repayments and family obligations reach on. In the absence of effective social welfare and reintegration efforts families slip into even greater poverty, children drop out to take up jobs and new migrations are no longer a choice or decision. Understand essential migrant worker rights and employer obligations through our Migrant Workers Rights page.

Why Returned Migrant Workers Are So Vulnerable

The Cambodian migrants take a lot of loans at high interest rates to finance the cost of recruitment, travel and documentation usually at the microfinance institutions or the informal lenders. They can end up with huge debts but without income in case their employment overseas is terminated. At home, there is little opportunity to pay the food bills, health costs, or loan instalments as the rural labour markets present jobs, mostly low-paid, seasonal jobs in the fields of agriculture, building construction, or informal services. This has led to food insecurity of many of the returned workers, disposal of assets including land or livestock or securing new loans, which further traps them into a state of indebtedness.

Gaps in Social Welfare and Protection

The social protection framework in Cambodia is still in its infancy and in most cases, fails to access returned migrants in time and in an efficient manner. Cash transfers, health insurance, or food assistance can be either restricted, short-term or inaccessible particularly when a person lacks official records of employment. The returnees often have no information regarding the services available, how to enroll, or how to sort out wage and benefits issues denied to them overseas. There is little likelihood that without the help of the legal system and intercountry cooperation, the unpaid wages or compensation can be recovered, and households will have to take in the entire financial blow.

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Reintegration Challenges Beyond Money

Income is not the only factor of reintegration. When they come back with debt rather than savings, migrant workers who have been returned may suffer stress, shame, or a feeling of failure. Those children and spouses who have adjusted to long durations of separation may experience tension in family when the role and expectations of the family members change abruptly. The skills acquired in a foreign country are not utilized since there are not many employment opportunities in the country that can take advantage of the skills. This emotional stress coupled with social stigma and peer lack of opportunity render reintegration by and large very challenging. Cambodians are facing a crisis at home when it comes to financial matters as the country is unable to ensure employment

What Needs to Change for Fair Reintegration

A more fair system to returned migrants would be the integration of short term relief and long term opportunity. The main measures are: easy access to emergency help (food, cash, and medical care), any options to get rid of debts or restructure crisis-affected households, as well as, more stringent regulations of recruitment expenses and lending patterns. Returnees can be served as skills recognition, training and small business support programs through reintegration programs and help them recognize their experience abroad as an asset and not a dead end. Lastly, more co-ordination between the origin and destination countries, whether it is in the form of wage recovery, the portability of social security, or safer migration pathways, can be used to ensure that future migration can reduce poverty rather than increase it.