A-chan born in the 1970s was like most girls from poor family conditions at that time. In order to support her younger siblings in school, she dropped out of school at the age of 17 to work to earn money to support her family. .
Can you imagine what Phnom Penh looked like in 2002? There were no K. Wah Building, Anda Building, or that unfinished building where our office is now located. The only shopping mall was Surya.
As a female garment factory worker more than ten years ago, Ah Chan had a salary of US$480, but back then it only cost 200 Cambodian dollars to travel by car in Phnom Penh.
Hearing this, today’s Cambodia is disliked by countless people for being dirty, messy and shabby. Ah Chan has to say: “If you had seen the Cambodia of the past, you would forgive the current one. Cambodia.”
Give up the opportunity to go to school and work to support the family
Come to Cambodia just for a little more salary span>
Achan is 41 years old this year and is from Luoding, Guangdong. I respectfully call her Sister Chan.
Sister Chan’s family has a total of five brothers and sisters. She couldn’t bear to see her sister working to support the family before she finished her studies. She dropped out of school after only the first year of high school and went to work in Shenzhen and Dongguan. I started as a workshop technician and gradually became a technical instructor.
Even so, with a monthly salary of less than 2,000 yuan, he still cannot afford the expenses of his younger siblings. In 2002, a large company in her hometown was recruiting labor dispatches. The salary of 480 US dollars was deeply attracted to her. She thought about it, it was work wherever she worked, and making more money was the real thing. She came to Cambodia with some fellow villagers. Garment factory work.
Life is boring
Enduring loneliness
Sister Chan stayed in Cambodia for more than ten years in total. During this period, she also returned to the country to get married and have children, and she stayed for 2 or 3 years.
Sister Chan came to Cambodia in 2002. Not to mention that she is not familiar with this place. It doesn’t matter what she wants in Phnom Penh. The only big shopping mall is Surya, and the products sold are not the same. The same stuff as in domestic shopping malls. Moreover, Sister Chan always remembers that she is here to earn money to support her family, not to see the outside world.
“There were no entertainment activities at that time, and there were very few shopping malls. My fellow villagers like to have nothing to do. When I was young, I went to gamble for a few games, but I was not interested in any of these. I stayed in the dormitory most of the time, sleeping or reading. Occasionally, I took a big truck that cost 200 Cambodian dollars at the entrance of the factory to go to the city to visit Surya.”
At that time, the rule of the garment factory was that you could only get free air tickets and holidays home after working for two years. In order to save this money, she never mentioned going home to her family.
After getting married, she was still separated from her family for a long time
In 2004, Sister Chan was already 28 years old, and her family also urged her to get married and have children as soon as possible. Wandering in a foreign land. Sister Chan, who had just finished two years, went home to celebrate the New Year and was introduced to her current husband. However, she discovered that getting married would not lead to a good life, so she resolutely insisted on staying in Cambodia and continuing to work.
“At that time, my wife came to Cambodia with me to look for a job, but he was not skilled enough and could not find a suitable job here and returned home. Because I came out to work very early, I have already worked as a technical instructor in China. Compared with domestic garment factories, Cambodia is more suitable for me and the salary is high.”
No country to rely on
Invest all your emotions in your work
It is wrong to say that you don’t feel lonely when you are alone in a foreign land. Possibly, it is normal to “think about your loved ones more during the holidays”. There was even one time when Sister Chan suddenly felt a severe stomach pain in her dormitory. Even though such a large garment factory usually has people coming and going during work, she was so nervous at that time. She couldn’t find anyone to take her to the hospital, so she reluctantly walked to the company gate but couldn’t stop the car. The security guard saw something was wrong with her, so he rode his motorcycle to take her to the hospital.
Even so, Sister Chan did not feel sorry for herself. Cambodia has summer all year round, and the warehouses of garment factories have iron roofs. No one wants to go, so she volunteered to go.
“Our warehouse is very hot. Everyone brings a kettle instead of a water cup to work. If you don’t drink water, you can’t withstand the high temperature in the warehouse. And there is only one water dispenser in the entire large area. We had to walk a long way to get there. Later, the company saw that I worked hard, so I applied for a water dispenser for my warehouse, and the workers were very happy.”
All my emotions were contributed to He gave up his job and thought about the workers and the company, but neglected the people closest to him at home.
My daughter drifting in Cambodia has become a left-behind child
In the future, I will consider going home to accompany my daughter to grow up
In 2007, Sister Chan welcomed her first child. She quit her job in Cambodia and returned to China to take care of her child. The burden from the family has become heavier with the arrival of children. In order to save enough money for her daughter’s education, Sister Chan decided that her husband would stay in China to work and take care of the children, while she continued to work in Cambodia.
Just when Sister Chan thought she was silently contributing to her family and her choice was right, her daughter’s test scores woke her up.
“My child is 10 years old this year. I never��I never thought it was so important to accompany my children to educate them. I never wanted to put pressure on my children, nor did I ask her how she was doing in the exams. Until that day when I was chatting about my children with a group of friends, I insisted on taking a look at her exam papers when I was video chatting with my daughter. , I was shocked by the score of more than 30 points on the test paper. I didn’t blame her for a third- or fourth-grade child to get such a low score. It was because I had neglected her education for a long time. ”
After 10 years of wandering in Cambodia, Sister Chan can describe the little changes in a city like Phnom Penh. A new shopping mall has been added here, a new traffic light has been added at that intersection, but she has no idea about her own. My daughter doesn’t understand at all.
She does not regret her choice to come to Cambodia for her family. At that time, it was the best choice, and now, she wants to do it for her My daughter chooses again, just like she has spent 10 years witnessing the changes in Phnom Penh, accompanying her daughter to grow up and watching her grow.
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