Oz Expats Trapped In Cambodia Getting No Help From Their Government

An Oz expat group is trapped in Cambodia after the Australian government ignored their pleas for help.

As fears mount over the likelihood of a full lockdown and state of emergency in Cambodia, a group of 85 Australian expatriates desperate to leave are being refused any assistance from their government. Commercial flights out of the Southeast Asian country are being sold at extortionate rates and then cancelled, forcing those affected to pay even more with no guarantee of further cancellations. Worse still, most routes to Australia are via other countries whose borders are now closed due to the pandemic.

One couple who moved to Cambodia in 2015 to teach and volunteer with a not-for-profit charity building a local school are now concerned the country's healthcare provisions won’t be able to deal with the increasing number of infections. Another Australian expat businessman who runs an education charity and a volunteer tourism company as well as managing a Kampot retreat has started a Facebook page in order to discover how many Oz expats are trying to find a way to leave. According to the Facebook page, 85 posters verified they were attempting to return home but had had no help at all from the Australian Embassy. One poster suggested there’s a ‘brick wall’ between the two governments which is preventing any action taking place.

Back in the home country, the Opposition Foreign Affairs spokesperson Penny Wong blamed the security and health situation, saying the many delays were putting Australian citizens at risk of catching the virus and even dying as a result. Local Cambodian media outlets are suggesting the Cambodian government is refusing to admit the situation is serious and will get worse should no action be taken. Reports also stress that, by the time the news from Wuhan first broke, many thousands of Chinese had fled the city and arrived in Cambodia. At the present time, reported cases stand at 107, but insufficient testing has spiked fears the actual numbers may be far higher