Hun Sen Pursues Death Trap Economy
“These
barbarian acts [shooting Cambodian citizens at the border] flagrantly violated
not only agreements between the two governments, but the most elementary laws
of any civilized country and the international law on human rights.”
Letter
from Cambodia’s Foreign Ministry to Thai Government, 14 February 2015, The
Cambodia Daily
“The
failure of the [Thai] State to take legal action on those responsible for those
[extra-judicial] killings as tantamount to the State’s encouragement of such
extra-judicial killing.”
Letter
from CNRP parliamentarians to Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, 9 February
2015, CNRP
«អ្នកនៅស្រុកយើងមានអី មានតែថា នៅរកស៊ីនៅភ្នំពេញ ធ្វើជាអ្នកកាត់ដេរ ធ្វើការនៅរោងចក្រអ៊ីហ្នឹង ហើយឯណោះរកបានជាងនៅភ្នំពេញ គឺនៅថៃ ហ្នឹង។ វាថា នៅមួយឆ្នាំរកស៊ីមិនសល់លុយផងនៅភ្នំពេញ រកស៊ីនៅភ្នំពេញនោះ។ ថ្លៃទឹក ថ្លៃផ្ទះ ថ្លៃភ្លើង លិចកើតរកស៊ីគ្មានសល់។ នៅឯណោះ(ថៃ) គេចំណាយបន្តិចតែសល់គ្រាន់បើបន្តិច។ បាទ ខ្ញុំចង់ឲ្យតែកូនចៅមកផ្ទះ ទោះរកបានឬមិនបាន មានឬក្រអីនៅស្រុកយើងហ្នឹងហើយ នៅស្រុកនោះបែកពីកូនបែកពីចៅ។ ខ្ញុំមិនចង់ឲ្យទៅដែរ តែវាថាទៅ»។
លោក ឆេន ឆឺយ អ្នកស្រុកស៊ីធរកណ្ដាល ខេត្តព្រៃវែង ១៩ ខែតុលា ឆ្នាំ២០១៤ វិទ្យុអាស៊ីសេរី
“Until now, I cannot walk
and work. I am still in the house with an injury… and the company has not paid
any compensation or hospital fees for me.”
Cambodian
labourer Ms Kong Dalin at a South Korea’s tomato plantation, 30 December 2014,
The Phnom Penh Post
“Figures sourced separately by the Guardian
from Nepalese authorities suggest the total [death] during that period could be
as high as 188. In 2013, the figure from January to mid-November was 168… A
series of stories in the Guardian have shown that migrant workers from Nepal,
India, Sri Lanka and elsewhere were dying in their hundreds.
While some were listed as having been killed in workplace accidents, many more
were said to have died from sudden, unexplained cardiac arrest.”
“The premier [Hun Sen]
stressed that Cambodian workers in South Korea would not only receive money but
also increase their experience and technological skills they can use back
home.”
Kao Kim Hourn, a minister attached to Premier Hun Sen, 16
December 2014, The Phnom Penh Post
Those are tough
words from Cambodia to Thailand, though this is not the first time they fly
across the border. Will they work this time? Unlikely.
The likelihood is that
Cambodian villagers will keep on crossing the border, assuming the border marks
are clear, for petty activities to support their daily livelihood; and Thai soldiers
will continue to use them as their target practice. Why? Because the first
group has to, and the second mob can.
However, all are
attributable to Hun Sen’s economy and labour policy that largely regard
Cambodian lives with such contempt, hence encouraging aliens to do likewise.
First, Hun Sen treats Khmer
people no better than the Thais do. He strips away dignity from the poor. He
collects vagrants from Phnom Penh city streets and takes them away in caged
vans. Thais do the same thing by putting hundreds of thousand Khmer migrant
workers in Thailand in caged trucks, and dumped them at the border.
The Thais know those tough
words, which are really for domestic consumption, will vanish in thin air. As
Hun Sen is prepared to shoot dead unarmed Khmer demonstrators in Phnom Penh
streets, there is no reason for the Thais not to shoot Khmers at the border. They
know Hun Sen is not so sensitive to how Cambodian migrant workers are mistreated.
It is a respectability issue that Hun Sen would need to address before the
Thais stop shooting, and other maltreatments of the Khmer migrant workers cease.
Second, the Thais must know
Hun Sen owes them some gratitude for providing jobs to some one million
Cambodians, though they are not the kind of jobs over which Thai citizens would
fight. But still gratitude is gratitude. Indeed, the gratitude cannot be as
much as the one Hun Sen proudly declares he owes to the Eastern alien who
provides the power base of his government. Still, the employment of a million
workers is not something to scoff at for any economy, let alone a tiny one like
the Cambodian, which amounts to about 11% of the whole workforce.
Third, this migrant
workers scheme relieves Hun Sen from responsibility of creating local
employment. Either the impressive GDP growth of about 8% p.a. in the last
decade is inadequate, or the growth has concentrated in the wrong place. Effectively,
Hun Sen gives Cambodian workers unsavoury options: unemployment, underemployment,
underpaid employment, or unsafe employment abroad. A million of them take the
last one for better pay that comes with risks of being abused.
The scheme must be working
so well for Hun Sen and his personal interest groups that he is now to begin
negotiations to export Cambodian labourers to another death trap at the Qatar 2022
World Cup construction site. It is estimated that at least 4,000 migrant
workers there will kick the bucket before a ball is kicked due to inhumane work
conditions.
Still, best of all, Hun
Sen believes his exported slave labourers will bring home technological know-hows,
unless they drop dead half-way.
Ung Bun Ang
20ii15
Parthian Shot
Hun
Send finds it easier for him to export one million workers than one million
tons of rice. Why is it so? Because he can make the workers hungry, and he
can’t the rice.
“Our
milled rice exports to Europe are a lot now. But the 1 million [ton] target
could be difficult in 2015. The processing problem is one thing, but the market
problem is another thing.”
Premier Hun Sen, 18 February 2015, The Cambodia Daily
Editors Note
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