Sa Kaeo: Border trade at Rong Kluea market in Sa Kaeo province has yet to feel the affects of the exodus of Cambodian workers back home.
Business is carrying on as normal at the Thai-Cambodian friendship market, also known as the Rong Kluea border market in tambon Khlong Luek in Aranyaprathet district of Sa Kaeo. Most Cambodian employees at the market work there legally and are not among those returning home, who are mainly illegal workers.
The number of visitors to the market has not dropped despite rumours of a military crackdown on migrant workers, particularly illegal Cambodian ones.
About 60,000 Cambodian workers were seen fleeing across the border in Sa Kaeo province in the past week.
A 53-year-old Cambodian garment trader called Supawadee said despite the rumours most Cambodian traders at the market were selling goods as usual.
She has been running a garment shop at Rong Kluea market for more than 10 years.
Mariem Jiang, 32, who sells kids' military clothing at the market, said she was worried about news of the crackdown as rumours had spread that Thai soldiers had shot dead some Cambodian nationals.
Salailak Piak, 33, another trader, expressed concern about the long-term consequences of the exodus of Cambodian labour.
She said she regularly travels back and forth between Khlong Luek in Thailand and Poipet in Cambodia and heard news about the deportation of Cambodian workers after they were caught last week.
Word spread that the military did not want Cambodian workers to remain in Thailand and someone said they saw Thai soldiers in black uniforms shoot dead several Cambodian construction workers, said the trader.
"Those rumours spread across the border and we don't know whether they are true or not, but most Cambodian people believe the rumours are true," Ms Salailak said.
Though border trade has not been affected, the agricultural sector in Sa Kaeo and businesses that relies heavily on Cambodian labourers has been badly hit.
Many Cambodian workers, both illegal and legal, have chosen to return home. Those who have decided to remain in Thailand are in hiding for fear of persecution.
Boonmee, from Sa Kaeo, said the crackdown rumours drove her Cambodian workers to hide in forests for fear of being arrested. They had not returned to work at her crop plantation for more than a week, crippling her farm due to a shortage of labour.
Her neighbours, who had also hired Cambodian workers as labourers on their farms, were also affected.
If the rumours continue, the agricultural sector and small- and medium-sized businesses would face a shortage of labour as many Thais shun farm work, Ms Boonmee said.
On top of this, Thais who are willing to work on farms ask for higher wages higher than migrant workers, she added.