PhnomPenhPost-Jan 4, 2026
At a crowded displacement site inside a Buddhist pagoda in Banteay Meanchey province, 73-year-old Kim Sophat waits for what she says matters more than aid or donations: peace that will allow her family to return home. Sophat, a vendor at a local school in Techo village, O Beichoan commune, O Chrov district, fled her home following Thai military attacks that erupted along the Cambodia–Thailand border in early December 2025. Nearly a month later, she remains at Wat Samithi Moni Saphon, also known as Wat Svay Thmey, in Serei Saophoan town, too afraid to go back. “I don’t want war,” Sophat said, her voice steady but tired. “Please, Samdech, help bring peace so I can return to my home. Life as a refugee is very hard.” She arrived at the camp with her widowed daughter and two young grandchildren after clashes intensified on December 8. Like many others displaced by the fighting, Sophat says the ceasefire has not eased fears on the ground. “We still don’t dare to return,” she said on 3 January. Before the fighting, Sophat earned a modest living selling snacks and small goods at a local school. The income was small but stable, enough to feed her family day by day. Displacement ended that routine overnight. Though monks and volunteers at the pagoda provide rice, water and shelter, Sophat says displacement has stripped her family of dignity and choice. Read more at: https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/plea-for-peace-as-thousands-remain-displaced-by-border-encroachment
