1.3 million is the number of Cambodian migrant workers going overseas through official channels, accounting for about 8% of the country's population. Of these, nearly 1.22 million people were destined for Thailand. Thailand is undoubtedly the first choice for Cambodians to work abroad.
But the reporter interviewed four locals in a row, and none of their relatives, friends, colleagues or even fellow villagers went to Thailand to work. This huge group is hidden behind the figure of 1.22 million. Who are they?
Reporter: Xie Shanlong
Dislike of Thailand:
"No culture, low education to go"?
The circle of four locals who grew up in Cambodia, each covering at least more than 100 closely related Cambodians, but when asked if anyone around them went to Thailand to work, they invariably gave a "no" answer.
Makara is a Cambodian Chinese who is currently in charge of business with a Chinese company in Phnom Penh. He was not at all surprised by the results of the reporter's interview: "Most of them are uneducated and have low education to work in Thailand. ”
All four respondents had higher education, all developed in Phnom Penh, and all had salaries and benefits well above the Cambodian average. Their social circle does not intersect with the 1.22 million Cambodians who have gone to Thailand to work.
Makara said: "Most of these people are from the rural areas of the economically backward provinces.
According to the World Bank, Cambodia had a total population of 16.95 million at the end of 21 years, of which 12.77 million were rural. Although the level of education in Cambodia has improved significantly in recent years, a large number of adolescents still drop out of school for economic reasons and family education, especially in rural areas, which is very common.
As a "young" country with an average age of only 26.2 years old, behind the demographic dividend, there is a hidden problem that a large number of working-age workers cannot be well absorbed by the domestic labor market, especially most of the people in this group can only compete in the low-end market because of their low education.
(Figure from the network)
At the same time, Cambodia's industrial development is slow, although foreign investment has been increasing in recent years, but most of them are concentrated in Phnom Penh, Westport and other places, not only in terms of quantity can not absorb Cambodian labor, the serious imbalance in regional development has also exacerbated this embarrassment.
But more critically, a large number of rural Cambodians not only cannot find jobs and earn money, but their cost of living is not low. As a country that relies heavily on imports for both industry and agriculture, Cambodia's price level is higher than that of its people.
This has also become the reason why they "have to" leave Cambodia to develop. But why Thailand?
A neighbor who is "getting old"
Chinese: Cambodia has no comparability?
In "Which Side is Better To Go Compared to Cambodia?" Below the post, the vast majority of Chinese think it would be better to go to Thailand. Some people even said, "You look up to the big village too much!" The two countries are simply not comparable. ”
Chen Ying, who has lived in Cambodia for 10 years, also said that if she was given another chance, she would choose to go to Thailand to develop: Three of my friends are doing business in Thailand, and they say that the investment environment there is more "clean" and at least personal safety can be guaranteed.
For the "Makara" in "Phnom Penh", Thailand is unattractive. The four Cambodians interviewed made it clear that they were reluctant to go to Thailand.
In Cambodia, highly educated local talent and highly skilled workers have always been "more in demand than supply", so they can easily find suitable jobs. Going to Thailand means leaving home, away from relatives, friends and familiar environments, and means working hard from scratch, but more effort does not mean greater gains.
Going to Cambodia is not the best solution for their work and life.
Therefore, the 1.22 million Cambodian workers in Thailand do not mean that Thailand has a huge attraction for Cambodians, but simply because Thailand is a huge market that is close at hand and can absorb Cambodia's low-end labor for a long time.
Thailand has a large demand for overseas workers.
In 2005, with the decline in the birth rate and the improvement of the health care system, Thailand began to enter an aging society. Since 2013, the number of Thai births has begun to decline, and has fallen by nearly a third so far. The number of births in Thailand in 2021 was 544,000, the lowest in 60 years and lower than the 563,000 deaths that year.
Just this year, Thailand's National Council for Economic and Social Development (NESDC) predicted that next year Thailand will officially enter a "fully aging society", that is, 20% of the population over the age of 60; In 2033, it will enter a "super aging society" in which the population over 60 years old accounts for more than 28% of the total population.
(Figure from the network)
Thailand's huge market demand makes it a destination for a large number of Cambodian locals to work overseas, especially if the cost of living in Thailand is much lower than that of Cambodia.
Behind the choice between going to Thailand and not going to Thailand are two distinct circles, which are the manifestation of the extreme imbalance between urban and rural development in Cambodia.
In the first half of this year alone, more than 170,000 Cambodian laborers were repatriated by the Thai side through Budi Mian Zhi Province. Most of them chose to return to Cambodia during the epidemic, but their lives were difficult and they could only leave their hometowns again to embark on the road to Thailand.
In the short term, Cambodia will still be unable to absorb this part of the labor force, and thailand's demand for overseas workers will further increase. This is also the reason why Cambodia and Thailand have continuously strengthened the management and protection of cross-border migrant workers in recent years.
But this is not a long-term solution, only by improving the overall cultural and educational level of the people, can Cambodia's huge farmers jump out of the competition of the low-end labor market, is the cure. At the same time, Cambodia needs to attract more foreign investment and build more factories to accelerate Cambodia's industrial development while enabling people to "make money" at their doorstep.
Only in this way can the 1.22 million Cambodian workers in Thailand have more choices like the "Macara" in Phnom Penh, without having to leave their hometowns.
(This content is the original work of the "Cambodia Single Network APP" client, please contact customer service Xiao Qian for authorization, reproduced without permission, it will be regarded as plagiarism infringement)
【Further reading】
Why stay in Cambodia? 6 Chinese gave the answer
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