BANTEAY MEANCHEY: Nearly 10,000 Cambodian workers living in Thailand attempted to return home for the Khmer New Year over the Thai border on Monday, leading thousands to get stuck waiting in Thai territory due to an overload of immigration re-entry permits that needed to be processed.

Cambodian authorities had coordinated two locations for the re-entry permits to be processed on Monday, located in the Aranyaprathet district of Thailand’s Sa Kaeo province.

The Mayor of Poipet, Keat Hul, confirmed that many Cambodians were stuck on the border while attempting to pass through the Ban Klong Luk Border and Poipet International Gate, because Thai border authorities were unequipped to handle the sheer mass of people flocking back home for the Khmer New Year.

Upon being notified of the Cambodian citizens stranded on the border, Mayor Keat Hul said Poipet’s municipal authorities and immigration police, in cooperation with the Cambodian Consulate General in Thailand’s Sa Kaeo province, met with Thai authorities to designate the Cambodian Consulate General in Aranyaprathet District as another location for returning Cambodian workers to fill in their required re-entry forms. They also organized four to five vehicles to transport Cambodian workers to the Consulate General to fill in their forms return them to Poipet International Gate to complete the procedure quickly while reducing congestion at the border.

The Cambodian Consul General of Sa Kaeo Province, Neth Sary, shared that since the locations for Cambodians to fill out their re-entry permit forms were designated, not less than 10,000 Cambodians have crossed over the Thai border everyday in the lead up to the Khmer New Year.