People on the move : migration in Cambodia

Abstract

This thesis analyses migration in Cambodia on the background the country s current situation, its history and culture. Specifically the thesis discusses why and in what way individuals reach the decision to migrate, their experiences in doing so, and their coping strategies after arriving at their destinations. Fieldwork was conducted in areas of the country considered as important as source and destination of migration. In a historical perspective, the relation to the Vietnamese minority and immigration to Cambodia is discussed on the background of the long history of conflict between the two nations. Ethnic Khmer migration, however, dates back to the Khmer Rouge regime and its forcible evacuation of the cities, and to the more than twenty years of war before and after that. Culture defines values and a framework for acceptable choices and behaviour. In the context of migration, it concerns the decision to migrate, as well as coping strategies. Many Khmer feel that their culture has been lost because of the destruction and losses of lives and the forced migration. The thesis discusses the background for this and argues that Khmer culture has changed over time like all cultures. Based on the country s current situation, the relations between push and pull factors and between sending and receiving provinces are analysed. The thesis also discusses the central role of social networks, above all in relation to the young, female workers in the garment industry. The importance of combining micro- and macroperspectives in a study of migration is emphasised, and the thesis discusses the fruitfulness of the distinctions between different categories of migration, specifically between voluntary and forced migration.