‘What Do We Have Left?’: Cambodian mother returns to destroyed home after ceasefire

ODDAR MEANCHEY, Cambodia (Jan. 6, 2026) — Sitting on the dusty ground and clutching her young daughter, Sun Srey wept as she stared at the ruins of her home.

“My children and I could only sit and cry after we arrived and saw that our house had been nearly destroyed,” she said after returning from a displacement camp to Samraong town in Oddar Meanchey Province. One of her children asked where the family would sleep. “I told them we have no choice but to stay in a makeshift tent,” she said.

Srey had hoped the Dec. 27 ceasefire between Cambodia and Thailand would mark a turning point. Instead, she returned to rubble. “I worked so hard to build this house. Now it is gone,” she said quietly. “What do we have left?”

Her home is among 323 civilian houses damaged or destroyed since early December, authorities said. Public facilities including schools, health centers, pagodas, ancient temples and markets have also been hit.

The Interior Ministry said more than 37,000 people returned to their villages Jan. 4–5, reducing the number of displaced civilians to about 205,000, including more than 108,000 women and nearly 67,000 children. At least 32 civilians have been killed and 95 injured since Dec. 7.

Government agencies said rehabilitation, mine clearance and food and shelter assistance are continuing. Officials reiterated calls for an end to hostilities and respect for international law, as families like Srey’s struggle to rebuild their lives from debris.