“I Am Hungry, I Miss School”: Cambodian Child’s Cry From a War Displacement Camp

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (Dec. 14, 2025) — “Here, I don’t have much to eat. Today I only ate twice, and it’s very hard to sleep.”

Those were the quiet but heartbreaking words of Nang Channa, a 12-year-old Cambodian girl now living in a displacement camp in Chong Kal district, Oddar Meanchey province, after fleeing renewed fighting along the Cambodia–Thailand border.

Separated from her parents, who are working in Kampong Speu province, Channa is sheltering with her aunt. Through tears, she said life in the camp is cold, uncertain and painfully different from home.

“When I am with my parents, I feel warm and safe,” she said. “Here, I cannot go to school.”

Her childhood was abruptly interrupted when fighting erupted near her school. She recalled standing for the national flag ceremony when teachers suddenly ordered students to evacuate. Moments later, she and her brother fled on a motorbike, leaving behind their classroom, home and belongings.

She is one of tens of thousands of Cambodian children whose education has been disrupted by the conflict. The Ministry of Interior reports 112,648 families — equivalent to 379,047 people, including more than 94,000 children — have been displaced since hostilities intensified. At least 900 schools have closed, affecting more than 216,000 students and 7,600 teachers nationwide.

Displacement camps remain overcrowded and under-resourced, with limited access to food, clean water, electricity and medical care. Many families fled with nothing but the clothes they were wearing.

Despite her hardship, Channa said she still dreams of returning to school and studying hard to help her family and her country. “I want to go home,” she said softly.

Aid groups warn the trauma may last a lifetime. Vorn Samphors, country director of Aide et Action, condemned the attacks as indiscriminate, saying tens of thousands of children are now suffering emotional breakdowns.

Fighting continues after Thailand defied a ceasefire initiative jointly announced by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and U.S. President Donald Trump — an initiative welcomed by Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet.

Children like Channa are paying the highest price. Forced from classrooms into crowded camps, they are growing up too fast in places meant for survival, not childhood.