PHNOM PENH, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 50,000 Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand were sent home through the Poipet International Border Checkpoint in 2016, the Khmer Times reported on Wednesday, citing a National Police report.
The report said that last year, 49,987 Cambodians, including 16,261 women and 4,264 children, were brought back to Cambodia in 1,159 vans through the Poipet border gate because of their illegal status.
Banteay Meanchey Provincial Governor Suon Bava said there was nothing wrong with migrating to work in a foreign country as long as it was done through official channels.
"Migration for work is a normal thing. It is part of the rights and freedom ensured by the government, but what is important is the legality of the migration," he was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
He said officials were trying to reduce illegal migration through restrictions at all border gates in Banteay Meanchey Province as instructed by Interior Minister Sar Kheng.
Soum Chankea, a provincial coordinator for rights group Adhoc, said that unemployment and the low market price for agricultural products inside the country encouraged more migration to Thailand.
"Because there is no market for their produce and there are no jobs for them inside the country, that's why we can see many Cambodians migrating to work in Thailand," he was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
