Lower thirds:
00:02 Report by Akanksha Saxena
00:27  Cheoub Chantrea | Villager
01:01 Akanksha Saxena | DW Asia correspondent
01:42 Savey Phin | ADHOC
02:43 Nop Vy | Camboja
SCRIPT:
Location: Siem Reap province, Cambodia
Cheoub Chantrea is attending an anti-human trafficking awareness session by Cambodia’s rights group ADHOC. The workshop was launched after some villagers were trafficked to Thailand and Malaysia
SOT KHMER Cheoub Chantrea, villager
There was a woman who went to Malaysia to work as a housekeeper. She came back traumatized, unable to speak properly. While there, she was moved from one employer to another. She was never paid and was even beaten.
Irregular migration and official complicity in trafficking make Cambodia’s awareness campaigns particularly urgent, says a 2024  Trafficking Report published by the US State Department.
But undocumented migrants are vulnerable WITHIN the country's borders too, with thousands trapped in Cambodian scam centers, facing forced labor, torture, and sexual violence.
SOT ENG Akanksha Saxena, DW Asia correspondent
This trafficking prevention workshop warns people about the risks of illegal migration. It is run by a leading Cambodian human rights organization and, until now, has been funded by USAID. The campaign has helped people understand how to migrate safely —how to check job offers, secure the right visas, and avoid scam centers. But now, funding is ending, and with it, a critical safety net for those most at risk.
In Phnom Penh, the organization's founder says 72% of the organization’s work, including support for marginalized communities, has been hit by the aid suspension.
SOT ENG Savey Phin, ADHOC  
We work closely with indigenous communities, especially focused in the northeast part of Cambodia, in Mondulkiri and Ratnakiri provinces. We provide legal representation and legal consultation. In the cases which are not successfully advocated, we demand for the land title or demand for their land back. Because of the land abuse or confiscation by high-ranking officers or by tycoons, that's why we have to provide our service to advocate, to provide them with justice. Without USAID all this activity might be stopped.
Press freedom is also under threat in Cambodia, ranked 151 in the 2024 Index, with the Cambodian Journalists Alliance Association, or Camboja—one of the last independent outlets - facing possible license revocation.
SOT ENG Nop Vy, Camboja
Previously we planned to report more than 600 news reports, in-depth features and investigative stories, however because of funding limitation, we decided to decrease the number of reports. 
After USAID's suspension in Cambodia, China has stepped in to fill the gaps in certain areas, such as granting $4.4 million for demining — previously a US-funded operation.
China is well-positioned to fill some gaps left by USAID in low-income countries like Cambodia, using aid as a strategic tool to expand its regional influence — but that will come on its own terms and with conditions attached.
ENDS