Ngoc Yoeung, 78, has lived in Cambodia his entire life. But yesterday, he and dozens of other ethnic Vietnamese residents reported to immigration police at the Borey Roungroeng Market on Chroy Changvar, where they were stripped of their only forms of legal documentation.
The campaign to cancel “irregular” documents from some 70,000 people – the vast majority of whom are ethnic Vietnamese – began in Kampong Chhnang province last month. Most interviewed there by The Post had no other documents, had lived in Cambodia for generations and had fled briefly during Khmer Rouge rule.
The same was true again yesterday in Chroy Changvar. “Our ancestors and parents were born here,” Yoeung explained, although he was unsure for how many generations.
“We are concerned about the confiscation of documents, but we have no choice. We have to follow them – this is their country and is not our country.”
According to Yoeung, his commune chief and other authorities know that they were born in Cambodia but nonetheless didn’t help them because they are Vietnamese.
“We have legitimate documents and land titles and a home, but if they force us to move, we will follow. We cannot fight with them,” he said.
