Refugees Face Tough Times if Australia Deal Inked
On a busy street corner behind O’Russei market in Phnom Penh, a man meticulously prepared one piece of roti flatbread after another at his spotless food cart on Friday as his cousin took orders. But his journey to this nondescript street corner, where his golden rotis are lightly drizzled with condensed milk and dusted with chocolate powder, was a difficult one, spanning several years. He and his cousin, both Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar, arrived in 2010 after a turbulent year spent in Thailand. Although they gained refugee status here late last year, life has been anything but easy in a country poorly equipped to deal with such citizens. “Am I happy?” said the refugee, who asked to remain anonymous due to his sensitive situation. “Every day I am facing problems with the local community and also the local authorities. I am paying a lot of money, both to the authorities and for this place on the street.” “There are so many difficulties,” he said of life here. “It’s not eas...