Running for Two Lives: A Pregnant Woman’s Fear as War Reaches Cambodia’s Shore

KOH KONG, Cambodia (Dec. 19, 2025) — At three o’clock in the morning, when the sea should have been silent and the village asleep, Rith Kongkea ran for her life.

Five months pregnant and disoriented by fear, she fled her home as explosions thundered across Koh Yor beach. The sound, she said, came from shells fired by Thai naval forces — deafening blasts that tore through the darkness and shattered the calm of a place far from any battlefield.

“I was so scared,” she said. “The explosions were so loud. They echoed across the whole village.”

Her house sits about a kilometer from the shoreline. There were no soldiers, no fighting positions — only families asleep when the shelling began around 3 a.m. on Dec. 13. Instinct took over. Kongkea ran not only for herself, but for the child growing inside her.

Fearing the next blast could strike closer, she and her husband fled and joined thousands seeking safety in an evacuation camp in Koh Kong province. It was a decision driven by terror — and by motherhood.

Life in the camp is harsh. The floor is hard. Privacy is scarce. Nights are long and filled with worry. Yet Kongkea says she is grateful for food and shelter. What she cannot escape is the ache of loss.

“I miss my home so much,” she said, her voice breaking. “I just want to go back. I want this conflict to end quickly so we can live normally again.”

This is not the first time she has run from war. In July, during earlier clashes between Cambodian and Thai forces, Kongkea fled once before. Now, pregnant and exhausted, she finds herself displaced again — carrying fear, uncertainty and an unborn life.

“It hurts deeply,” she said. “They keep attacking. It makes it impossible for us to live.”

Standing beside her, her husband spoke quietly of peace — not politics or borders, but the simple hope of returning home and working again to support his family.

“We just want peace,” he said. “So we can go back and live our lives.”

Kongkea’s story is one among hundreds of thousands.

As the Thailand–Cambodia conflict intensifies, the United Nations has warned of possible violations of international humanitarian law, citing the use of airstrikes, drones and heavy artillery near villages and cultural sites. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has stressed that civilian protection must remain paramount and that any credible allegations of unlawful attacks must be independently investigated.

Since fighting reignited on Dec. 7, Cambodia has confirmed 18 civilian deaths. Authorities also report nearly 500,000 displaced, including 260,000 women and 160,000 children.

But behind every number is a face like Kongkea’s — a woman who fell while running in terror, protecting an unborn child as war reached her shore.

For her, peace is not a diplomatic word. It is the silence of the sea at night. It is a safe home. It is the chance to give birth without fear.