‘Would you not come home?’

‘Would you not come home?’ An Irishwoman in Cambodia during the Covid-19 crisis

Christine Redmond on deciding between returning to Ireland or committing to her aid work

Wexford woman Christine Redmond in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Photograph: Christine Redmond

It’s a running joke in Cambodia that all foreigners either work as English teachers or for nonprofits. Typically, it’s true. I’ve been working in the charity sector in Cambodia for past two years and now consider the country’s capital of Phnom Penh my home – albeit a far cry from my hometown in rural Co Wexford. When the coronavirus pandemic hit, I felt pulled in two directions between the desire to stay in Cambodia and commit to my cause as an aid worker, and the desire to follow many of the other expats and return to the perceived safety of my home country.

In mid-March, the Cambodian government ordered a nationwide school closures in line with what many other countries in Southeast Asia were doing. Almost overnight, I saw huge numbers of the expat teachers pack up and leave town. Nonprofit workers on mission were ordered to return to their home countries immediately too. My Facebook feed was blowing up with everyone selling their stuff and freshly vacated apartments available to rent. Within two weeks, many friends and familiar faces were gone.

In early April, the Cambodian government drafted a newly proposed law in the case of declaring a national emergency. The draft legislation quickly came under scrutiny from human rights groups, claiming it could result in the curtailment of civil rights and liberties, such as freedom of movement, expression, association and assembly. In a country that already ranks second last out of 113 countries for rule of law adherence, and 162nd out of 180 countries for corruption, this criticism is no big surprise. Whether a state of emergency will be declared in the future remains to be seen, but many embassies have warned their citizens left living in Cambodia to prepare to hunker down for a while as flights out become less available.

At the time of writing, the amount of confirmed coronavirus cases in Cambodia have reached 122 – a number that some health experts doubt due to cases reportedly being vastly under reported in southeast Asia. Cambodia has a population of about 15.2 million and the population of Phnom Penh is 2.1 million.

Wexford woman Christine Redmond (far right) with two friends from the Cairde Khmer GAA Football Club after giving blood in Phnom Penh earlier this month. Photograph: Christine Redmond

“Would you not come home?” was the recurring question from my friends in Ireland over the last few weeks as Ireland went into lockdown. I thought about it, carefully weighing up my knowledge of Cambodia’s limited healthcare system (which relies heavily on donor funding) and restricted freedoms against my reasons for being here. My decision to stay came down to my career. In its different shapes and forms, my career has always revolved around storytelling. Now, more than ever, I thought that stories of how this pandemic will affect southeast Asian countries would need to be told.