Echoes of Wars: the bereaved, soldier's wife and broken lives on Cambodia's border towns
發佈日期: 2026-05-10 19:36
TVB News
The border conflict between Cambodia and Thailand last year has left over 500,000 people displaced.
TVB News heard the stories of those who are stranded in refugee camps there.
In the Oddar Meanchey province near the Thai-Cambodian border, its Buddhist temple has become a makeshift home for the displaced.
A sanctuary turned shelter, it houses roughly 700 people.
The vast majority -- women and young children.
Forced to flee their homes to escape the crossfire, they now live in a permanent state of limbo.
While the conditions are rudimentary, it is, for now, the only roof over their heads.
Reim, a farmer by trade, now survives entirely on humanitarian aid.
There is enough food here, but every day is filled with sorrow.
My husband is a soldier on the frontlines.
For Sareun, the conflict didn't just take her home -- it took her family.
Both of her sons and her daughter-in-law perished in the violence.
She is now the sole provider for six grandchildren, aged 3 to 14.
I am so afraid of falling ill.
If my health fails, who will look after them?
And if the fighting starts again... what will we do?
Cambodia has often been described as a "cursed nation."
Since the 1970s, it saw U.S. carpet bombing, a brutal civil war, a Vietnamese invasion and the horrors of the Khmer Rouge's killing fields.
While the younger generation did not live through those historic atrocities, this woman and her five grandchildren fled to a camp in Siem Reap last year.
While they are physically safe, the psychological wounds are deep and raw.
The Cambodian Red Cross reports that a massive wave of depression is sweeping through the population.
With no clear resolution in sight, the refugees face a mounting list of crises -- but the world's empathy is running dry.
At the beginning, there was significant international attention.
But now, with the crisis in Iran and other parts (of the world), the attention has gone to the other parts.
But whatever the issue, all we want is peace.
Our TVB team says as the rainy season approaches, residents fear floods, poor sanitation and stagnant water will bring swarms of disease-carrying mosquitoes.
For those living in the mud, the hope isn't just for survival -- it's for an exit.
