Hunsenomics and Its Discontents - Hun Sen's Cambodia - page 143

a small village in Kampong Cham where a two-year-old boy by the name of Kong Keng
was reputed to possess magical healing powers. Hundreds of pilgrims camped out, burn-
ing incense and making small offerings, hoping for an “audience” with the celestial tod-
dler. “We came from Koh Kong province after we saw the Magic Boy on TV,” one pil-
grim told the Cambodia Daily . “It took days.” 38
Back in Trapaing Prolit, Cheun and his wife sat in front of their nice brick home, speak-
ing in hopeful tones about an NGO-run hospital in Battambang that offered medical treat-
ment free of charge. There were also rumors going around about American doctors of-
fering checkups far away to the east along the Mekong—hundreds of kilometers distant.
“When people hear about this sort of thing,” Cheun said, “they come from every corner
of the country.”
To escape the stagnating rural economy, increasing numbers of Cambodians have left
their villages in search of work. Thousands of young men have been lured by illegal labor
brokers into Thailand, where many are put to work on fishing boats in squalid conditions.
Young women often seek work as maids in Malaysia and other countries, but the poor
regulation of the sector, which is similarly rife with bogus “agents” and brokers, has res-
ulted in frequent cases of abuse by foreign employers. Despite the risks, seeking informal
work overseas has become increasingly common. In 2011 the International Organization
for Migration reported that Cambodia was the sixth greatest point of origin for trafficked
people worldwide. 39 The following year more than 123,600 illegal migrant workers were
repatriated to Cambodia, according to government figures. Most worked in Thailand, but
some returned from as far afield as Japan, South Africa, and Fiji. 40
Many more have migrated internally, drawn toward the booming industries in Phnom
Penh and Siem Reap. Opportunities for the rural poor in urban centers consist mainly
of low-skilled or casual jobs. Men can find work as laborers, tuk-tuk drivers, or security
guards. Women, overwhelmingly, have gone to the garment factories. Like thousands of
others, Yem Sreyvy came to the city seven years ago from her village in Prey Veng and
got a job as a seamstress. Eventually her six sisters followed her, as well as a brother, who
landed a job as a mechanic. “My neighbors were mostly farmers, and some made kramas
[cotton scarves],” the 31-year old said, sitting cross-legged on the floor of her small room
on the outskirts of the city. “Many farmers didn't have much land for crops or planting
rice. It couldn't support their living.”
Sreyvy works at the Conpress Holding Garment Factory north of Phnom Penh, where
she takes home $68 per month working six 11-hour days per week. Most of her remaining
time, including Sunday, her day off, is spent here, in a concrete, furniture-less room—a
tiny space she shares with three other women. In the corner are a television, two small gas
cookers, and a small mirror. A fan of ripening bananas hangs from a nail. The building