by Sao Phal Niseiy and Moeurn Makthong Cambodianess  August 14, 2025

ODDAR MEANCHEY — A young girl walks along the highway under the scorching midday sun, making her way home from O Preal Primary School in the Bos Sbov commune of Samraong City. Her bicycle is broken, so she is completing the long journey on foot—alone.

The girl’s name is Trea Chandara Vimean, and she is 8 years old, currently in Grade 2.

She was able to return to her classroom this week after the school reopened. While she now could reunite with her classmates, she said she is uncertain whether she might have to take another break due to possible closures.

“The situation is still unclear,” Vimean said. “I hope my school doesn’t close again.”

Teachers have advised students to stay alert in case of danger. “My teacher told my friends and me to be vigilant. If we hear an explosion, we must leave immediately and rush home,” she said.

Vimean walks home alone from school not because it is her preference but because both of her parents are away. Her mother works in Preah Sihanouk province, while her father is frontline soldier stationed at Ta Moan Thom. She currently lives with her siblings under the care of an in-law.

When the fighting broke out on July 24, she was not taken to a displacement camp but was instead brought to Phnom Dei in Banteay Meanchey province.

Although she understands her family’s hardships, Vimean deeply misses her parents. Her eyes and expression reveal both desperation and longing for a reunion, with a quiet ache from growing up without the daily warmth and care of her mother and father.

“I miss my mom and dad. My dad has not come home yet, and my mom called and checked up on us,” she said. “But my mom says she needs to work.”

SOURCE: Cambodianess  August 14, 2025

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