Ree, a 43-year-old man living with a disability, never wanted to leave his village.
Today, he, his wife Ka, and their children are back home in Mong Reussey District, Battambang Province. They are safe. But the journey that brought them here is one they never imagined.
“I just want to live and work safely in my village,” Ree says. “I don’t want to leave my home again.”
Like many families facing economic pressure, Ree and Ka were searching for a way to support their children. When a broker from their own village offered them work in Thailand with the promise of good pay, it felt like an opportunity they could not refuse.
Instead, it became a trap.
They were transported across the border illegally and taken to a construction site, where the reality quickly changed.
“We didn’t know it was a trap until it was too late,” Ka recalls. “We worked long hours, sometimes even at night, without proper food, safety, or pay.”
Ree’s health began to deteriorate under the strain. Already living with a disability, the harsh conditions made daily work even more dangerous.
But leaving was not an option.
They were under constant watch, burdened with debt to the broker, and afraid of what would happen if they tried to escape.
Ka still remembers the fear.
“We hid in forests, on rooftops, and even in toilets to avoid police raids,” she says. “I became physically weak and emotionally broken. It felt like we would never return home.”
The couple endured months of exploitation, isolation, and uncertainty. The person they had trusted, someone from their own community, had disappeared after collecting money from their employer.
“We were betrayed,” Ka says quietly. “He was our friend.”
Eventually, Thai authorities discovered the illegal work site.
Ree and Ka were rescued and returned to Cambodia.
But returning home was only the beginning.
They came back with no income, no savings, and the weight of trauma from what they had endured.
With support from local authorities and organisations including Hagar Cambodia, Ree and Ka began the long process of recovery.
They received support to stabilise their situation, access services, and begin rebuilding their lives in their own community.
Today, they are no longer trapped. They are home.
Ree’s hope is simple. To live safely. To work with dignity.
To stay with his family.
After everything they have endured, that is enough.
“I don’t want to leave my home again.”
