In Cambodia's 'Waiting Village', displaced families await return nine months after ceasefire
Residents of the Rong Cham resettlement site in Cambodia still cannot return home nine months after a ceasefire ended border fighting with Thailand.
Nine months after a ceasefire halted fighting along the Cambodia-Thailand border, thousands of displaced families remain stranded in a resettlement site in Banteay Meanchey province, unable to return to homes now sitting behind Thai military positions.
Rong Cham, a 400-hectare site holding more than 3,000 houses, has been nicknamed "the Waiting Village" by the families living there. Cambodian authorities say more than 20,000 people are still unable to go home, a figure cited by Tom Andrews, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Cambodia, who said Thai military positions now sit inside territory Phnom Penh regards as its own.
Thailand has denied illegally occupying Cambodian land, saying it is abiding by a bilateral ceasefire agreement. Border crossings between the two countries remain closed.
Among those waiting is Cheng Bora, a tattoo artist known as Sam, who once ran a busy shop at Boeung Trakuon, a trade crossing point on the Thai border. He now works from a small house at Rong Cham, where customers are few. To make ends meet, he has taken on plumbing, electrical work and minor construction jobs for other villagers.
Standing with his family at a metal barricade about 20 kilometres from the resettlement site, Sam looked toward the fortified line marking the edge of accessible territory. "This place used to be very busy, many people doing business around here and it was very easy to make money before the fighting started," he said.
The clashes erupted in July 2025 over a long-contested stretch of the shared border, which runs more than 800 kilometres, and flared again in December before the ceasefire took hold. They marked one of the most serious escalations between the neighbours in years.
Asked about the displaced villagers, Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs pointed to an August 1 statement saying it was up to the Cambodian government to care for any of its citizens affected by the fighting.
Sam's household has been divided by the crisis. His nine-year-old daughter has returned to live with him, while his adult son remains in Thailand with other relatives. "It's about when I can get back to my old house and whether there would be a third (bout of) fighting," he said. "These are the two issues I worry about the most."