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In pictures: Thailand-Cambodia conflict - migrant workers face uncertain futures

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Whether Cambodians in Thailand stay or leave, all roads are challenging

The military conflict that broke out along the Thai-Cambodian border in July has killed and injured many people, including civilians. Though a ceasefire followed the initial violence, scattered clashes have continued to break out, and three months on, troops from both sides remain deployed along the frontier.

For Cambodian migrant workers, the unrest has turned their lives upside down. Labor officials in Thailand say roughly half a million Cambodians had been employed in the country before tensions began. But as the conflict continues, many have had to make a hard choice: To stay in Thailand or return home? Fearing border closures and discrimination, about 300,000 decided to go back to Cambodia. Regardless of the choice, uncertainty looms for all these migrant workers.

SUB TITLE: Cambodian workers who chose to stay in Thailand

Ban Sengchuo, 37, and his wife Pok Chanla, also 37, work at a housing construction site in Bangkok. They specialize in attaching delicate glass decorations to walls.

"We've earned a good reputation for our manual dexterity. We take responsibility and pride in our work," Ban said. The couple has been working in Thailand for 10 years and chose to remain in the country even after the conflict broke out.

Pok recalled a moment when a Thai passerby suddenly confronted her, asking if she was Cambodian. The encounter left her shaken, and the couple briefly considered returning home.

"But the conflict made us realize how important education is," one of them said.

"We want to go back and live with my family soon, but we'll keep working here in Thailand to pay for my children's schooling," Ban said.

The World Bank says Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand earn roughly 2.2 times what they would make back home. The pay gap may be narrowing, but jobs in Cambodia remain scarce. Some parents, forced by circumstances, leave their children with grandparents and see them only once a year.

SUB TITLE: Cambodian workers who decided to leave Thailand

In the industrial area on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, 37-year-old Nat Chheut and his 35-year-old wife Lin Chok left Thailand just five days after clashes began. They had lived there for five years. But they heard people at work whisper such things as, "Cambodians should go home."

"We became too afraid to go outside, and staying in Thailand was no longer an option," Lin said. In their rush to return home, they left everything behind -- including their refrigerator and washing machine.

Unable to find work in their hometown, the couple moved to Phnom Penh, leaving their son with relatives. Lin found a job at a shoe factory, but Nat remains unemployed. "The peaceful life we built in Thailand was taken away, and we can't see what lies ahead. Going back doesn't feel safe, so we have no choice but to work here," Nat said.

Conditions for migrant workers in Thailand are also changing. To make up for labor shortages in construction and agriculture caused by the decline in Cambodian workers, Thailand's Labor Ministry has granted work permits to Myanmar refugees in the refugee camps in Thailand, and several hundred have already started working since the beginning of this month.

Cambodia and Thailand are set to sign a peace agreement, though the timing for reopening the border remains unclear. "We've decided to live quietly and keep a low profile," Ban, who chose to stay in Thailand, said with his eyes downcast.

An apartment in the suburbs of Phnom Penh that is home to Cambodian returnees from Thailand is pictured on Sept. 30. The returnees, who lack jobs or even basic household necessities, now have to start new lives.

A house in Thailand's Buriram province that was devastated by shelling from Cambodia, pictured on July 30.

Thai security forces on duty near the border with Cambodia in Sa Kaeo province on Aug. 17.

Landmine explosions and clashes among residents continue, keeping officials on alert, in the area the border in Sa Kaeo province.

Cambodian security forces gather along a disputed border area, pictured from Thailand's Sa Kaeo province on Aug. 17.

Ban Sengchuo and Pok Chanla at a condominium construction site in Bangkok on Sept. 26. The Cambodian couple decided to stay in the Thai capital even after the conflict broke out.

Ban works on glass tiles on a wall at a condominium construction site in Bangkok. He has specialized in this work since he came to Thailand 10 years ago.

Pok's work tools.

Ban and Pok speak to their son in Cambodia on the phone every day after work.

One of the documents Nat Chheut and Lin Chok brought back when returning from Thailand - a certificate issued by the Thai Ministry of Labor in Phnom Penh.

Nat, left, and Lin stand in their apartment in the suburbs of Phnom Penh, where they moved just three days earlier.

Nat and Lin's apartment still lacks basic household items.

"I don't want to go back to Thailand," Nat says. "The conflict has taken away my job and the freedom to move between countries."