During the height of the Khmer Rouge years many Cambodians fled the country fearing for their lives, and landed up in UN-run refugee camps in Thailand and elsewhere, hoping to be able to move on to a 3rd country.
When the Khmer Rouge were defeated by the Vietnamese and eventually a Cambodian government was back in charge these camps were closed and the people who hadn’t been relocated, were sent back home.
Meanwhile, however, all the land that had been under state control had already been redistributed to those who had stayed on in the country, and there was nothing left for those returning from the camps. These are the people known as The Wanderers.
We follow a group of families who now live on the edge on one of the villages, and work for the villagers, but have no land of their own. Somehow they have managed to put their lives back together, and in some cases, get an education and work.
Many bear the scars from the Khmer Rouge period: they do not know who their families are, how old they are, where they were born, etc. Other have physical scars, like those who faced amputation, or were crippled in other ways.
This very moving film looks at their lives, their struggles, and their hopes for the next generation – many of whom have also missed out on an education – as they live as refugees in their own country.
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to see an album of stills click here