Homeless Children Back From Vietnam

Khmer Times
Tin Sokhavuth

Repatriated homeless children who will be given shelter at the Cambodian Center for the Protection of Children’s Rights in Svay Rieng City. Supplied

Twenty-nine homeless Cambodians, including 20 children, will be rappatriated from Ho Chi Minh City today.

Apart from the children, the group consists of nine adults – three men and six women. Of the 20 children, 10 are boys and 10 are girls, according to Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Chum Sunry.

They will enter the Kingdom through the Bavet border checkpoint before traveling to the department of social affairs in Svay Rieng City, Mr. Sunry added.

Nineteen of those to be repatriated are from Svay Rieng’s Chantria district, while nine are from Kampong Roh district. One is from Tbong Khmom province.

All 20 were allegedly in Vietnam begging for money and selling lottery tickets before being arrested by Vietnamese authorities and sent to Ho Chi Min City’s Social Salvation Center, where they were fed and treated kindly, Mr. Sunry said.

“As of July, the Cambodian consular in Ho Chi Minh City has repatriated a total of 138 Cambodian homeless and illegal lottery salespeople who were arrested by Vietnamese authorities. Most of them were children who followed their mother or their elders and were living along the border with Vietnam,” he added.

Nget Thy, the Executive Director of the Cambodian Center for the Protection of Children’s Rights (CCPCR) in Svay Rieng City, said it was his NGO, in close cooperation with the provincial social affairs department, that is charged with sheltering and reintegrating repatriated children from Vietnam.

“It was us who are in charge of providing shelter and food for those kids, when they were sent back from Vietnam. We have also organized many programs to help them to live normal lives in order to be able to reintegrate themselves in their family, community or other relevant institutions after a recovery period in the shelter,” Mr. Thy said.

Mr. Thy added that if a child did not want to return to her family, CCPCR could give other options. CCPCR assists those interested in finding jobs and accommodation in Svay Rieng or Phnom Penh, for instance.

CCPCR also provides funding for entrepreneurial children, granting them $125 to found businesses after reintegrating into society.

According to CCPCR, however, many children repatriated from Vietnam feel unsafe and ashamed, and need support and assistance with self-sufficiency and self-esteem.

“Many children have been through a traumatic experience and CCPCR feels it is very important that we provide counseling to our beneficiaries to reduce feelings of shame, isolation and fear,” CCPCR’s website says.

Last year, the number of homeless children assisted by provincial departments of social affairs was 2,437, of whom 715 were girls, according to a Ministry of Social Affairs report.

Of the homeless children assisted in 2015, the majority were residents of Phnom Penh, with 964 from the capital. The second largest number came from Banteay Meanchey, with 242 from the province. An additional 200 homeless children were from Prey Veng, while 131 were from Svay Rieng, the report said.

Social Affairs Minister Vong Soth previously said that with assistance from NGOs and development partners, his ministry was able to gather a fund of $19 million last year for the support of Cambodia’s most vulnerable citizens.