The Risk of Movement: Migration in Cambodia

The purpose of this report is to expose that the men and women CLEC has worked to rescue throughout 2013 have all migrated under similar motivations, with similar but varying disastrous results. From January to December 2013, CLEC worked on more than 100 ongoing and new cases of labor trafficking and consulted with an estimated 300 families who have been involved with the process of both legal and illegal migration. From these cases, CLEC was able to compile a body of statistical and qualitative evidence that is presented here in an effort to understand the underlying complexities behind Cambodian labor migration. Our findings overwhelmingly supported the well-known ‘push’ theory, which argues that Cambodian migrants have chosen to migrate due to inadequate domestic wages and desolate employment opportunities at home. Furthermore, our findings show that many migrants choose this route even after learning of the risks – a telling fact that confirms how desperate the average Cambodian laborer is today.