The Takeaway
- Many Bangladeshis still stuck in border areas
- Most are construction workers
- Workers report bosses fleeing without clearing dues and handing back passports
- 20,000 Bangladeshis live in Cambodia
"The bombing started at 9am. My boss called me and asked me to save my life first. Just when I was packing, a bomb fell in front of my room and exploded, with shrapnel hitting my leg," a Bangladeshi worker in Cambodia, recounted to Dhaka Stream from a crowded room.
He is among a number of Bangladeshis nursing injuries at a temporary shelter centre in Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh.
The shelter for such displaced workers has been set up by a group called the Bangladeshi Community in Cambodia (BD Society).
Speaking to Dhaka Stream, the organisation's president Motaher Hossain said while many Bangladeshi workers had taken shelter in the centre, a large number remained stuck in border areas.
He said most of the Bangladeshis were construction workers, many who had fled from work places without their wages.
When the conflict broke out, most of the project managers at different construction sites left too, leaving no scope for the workers to collect their dues.
"On Thursday, they collected my ID card saying I'd be paid. But then our boss ran off after hearing gunfire. We stayed there like that until Sunday. Then when the explosives started dropping in front of us, even the tin roof above us began to shake," he said, adding running away empty-handed was the only option.
"We were working in the very place where the shelling happened on the Thailand-Cambodia border. We saw that local Cambodians returned to their homes, but we had no way to leave. Our bosses, after hearing the gunshots, all ran away," the construction worker recalled.
He also said it was almost impossible to get any transport while they were fleeing.
But we are still worried about those stuck in the border areas. Their bosses have fled and many workers don't have their passports with them
"Many couldn't even get out of their project sites. They're still stuck. No vehicles are available. Everything has shut down. Where fares were $10 or $12, now they're asking $50, $100, even $150. And still, few vehicles can be found."
He said he could only escape due to some connections he had made, who arranged a bus for him.
"It picked us up in the morning. It took the whole day to arrive. We reached Phnom Penh by night."
The Bangladeshis staying at the shelter in Phnom Penh said they are doing well.
Motaher said the Bangladeshis had begun calling the organisation starting Friday and began coming in.
"But we are still worried about those stuck in the border areas. Their bosses have fled and many workers don't have their passports with them. There's also a transport problem," he said.
Motaher estimated that around 20,000 Bangladeshis in Cambodia. Some 200 have sought refuge in the shelter so far.
According to Thailand's National Security Council (NSC), Cambodia's military deployed drones for surveillance of Thai troops near the border just after 07:30 local time (00:30 GMT) on Thursday.
Not long after, Cambodian forces equipped with rocket-propelled grenades assembled near the frontier. Thai soldiers attempted to communicate by shouting in an effort to de-escalate, but those efforts failed, the NSC spokesperson stated. Cambodian troops then reportedly opened fire around 08:20, prompting Thai forces to respond.
Thailand has accused Cambodia of using heavy weaponry, such as BM-21 rocket launchers and artillery, which allegedly struck homes and public infrastructure on the Thai side, including a hospital and a fuel station.
On the other hand, Cambodian authorities assert that Thai forces triggered the clash around 06:30 by violating an earlier agreement. They claim Thai troops moved toward a Khmer-Hindu temple near the border and placed barbed wire around its base.
Tensions between Thailand and Cambodia date back more than a century, when the borders of the two nations were drawn after the French occupation of Cambodia.
Hostility sparked in 2008, when Cambodia tried to register an 11th Century temple located in the disputed area as a Unesco World Heritage Site - a move that was met with heated protest from Thailand.
Over the years there have been sporadic clashes that have seen soldiers and civilians killed on both sides.
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