Border crossings handle large volume of returning Cambodians

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Chantaburi – Cambodian migrant laborers who returned home for the Songkran holiday have continued to cross back into Thailand to return to work with up to 200,000 expected to pass through Chantaburi’s Baan Laem checkpoint alone.

The influx of returning Cambodian laborers began as early as April 17 and has continued steadily at the Baan Laem Permanent Border Crossing Checkpoint in Chantaburi province. Public and private agencies have integrated their resources into a “Cooperating Citizens” center vetting the returning migrant workers before they board buses and vans to proceed into the kingdom.

Authorities are also carefully checking vehicles transporting the workers to ensure their safety, stringently enforcing seating limitations and the wearing of seat belts.

Some 200,000 people are expected to have crossed the border at the checkpoint throughout the Songkran holiday. The government previously allowed leniency for foreign workers returning home for the holidays, giving them until April 30 to cross back into Thailand to alleviate congestion.