Solidarity: The generous and effective mobilisation of Cambodians and their diaspora in response to the border crisis

While the border between Cambodia and Thailand has been ablaze since 24 July 2025, forcing nearly 200,000 people onto the roads and causing more than thirty deaths in less than a week, a mobilisation of rare magnitude has gripped the Cambodian people and its diaspora.

From the heart of Phnom Penh to community networks in Europe and expatriate circles, an energy of solidarity has spread, transcending status, generations, and continents

Mobilisation

In Phnom Penh, starting on 25 July, an impressive solidarity march brought together tens of thousands of citizens, waving flags and portraits of national leaders to support the army and honour the victims. But patriotism was not limited to the streets: social media, particularly among Cambodian youth, became a digital arena, with patriotic hashtags, viral videos of support, and an intense narrative battle against foreign public opinion. This digital activism strengthened national unity in a context of crisis, highlighting the country's cultural identity and sovereignty.

Solidarity on the ground: NGOs, secular and religious movements

Faced with a humanitarian emergency – 80,000 Cambodians displaced in a matter of days, hospitals overwhelmed, and villages emptied – NGOs, monks, and volunteer networks are playing a crucial role. Local organisations are rushing to distribute food, medicine and basic hygiene kits along the exodus routes. Buddhist monasteries are turning their grounds into shelters and collection centres, symbolising the continuity of the social fabric in the face of chaos. Coordination between national and international NGOs is enabling emergency aid to be delivered despite the insecurity and critical needs to be relayed to Western capitals.

Diaspora in action

Wherever a Cambodian heart beats outside the kingdom, solidarity is being organised. In Paris, Lyon, Montreal, San Jose and Melbourne, diaspora committees and associations are coordinating fundraising, medicine collections and awareness campaigns in the international media. From Cambodian students abroad to entrepreneurs and workers based in North America, everyone is coming together in effective networks to support humanitarian and media logistics.

The intensity of the mobilisation has been surprising in its speed and unity. This diaspora, with its shared historical memory (from exile to genocide and recurring border tensions), has once again found itself at the forefront of diplomatic advocacy, calling on governments and UN institutions for a just resolution of the conflict and respect for international law.

In Japan

The influence of Franco-Khmer communities

The large and close-knit Franco-Cambodian community has been particularly active. Various groups, such as the Association France-Cambodge, the Union des Jeunes Cambodgiens de France, and the Solidarité Cambodge network, launched online fundraising campaigns and physical donation drives, sometimes on the very first night of the fighting, which were shared by influencers and well-known figures in the French media.

Several Khmer restaurants in Paris and its suburbs organised charity evenings where all proceeds were donated to the victims of the conflict. One example: the France-Khmer Federation of Île-de-France announced that it had raised nearly €80,000 in less than three days, with the funds going directly to partner NGOs working in the areas around O'Smach and Preah Vihear.

In Thailand, the association of French expatriates ‘La France en Isan’ also launched a fundraising initiative to help Cambodian civilians who were repatriated in an emergency. This cross-border support, which is entirely apolitical, is a testament to a pure humanism that transcends borders and affiliations.

A Transnational Chain of Solidarity

Expatriates – whether Cambodian, Franco-Khmer or French nationals living in Southeast Asia – are actively involved in relaying verified information and coordinating humanitarian aid. Many have opened their homes, taken in displaced families, or coordinated the transport of essential goods from Bangkok, Vientiane, or Kuala Lumpur to the red zone.

Also noteworthy is the role played by the ‘friends of Cambodia’: former humanitarian workers, researchers, or ordinary citizens touched by the country's recent history, who are relaying calls for donations and situation reports on social media and advocating the Khmer cause to international bodies.

At the institutional level, France, through President Emmanuel Macron, has declared its readiness to support mediation efforts between Thailand and Cambodia and to strengthen humanitarian cooperation. Paris is counting on the mobilisation of the Franco-Khmer community, which is deeply involved in solidarity efforts, to act as a link between NGOs, French authorities and partners on the ground.

This crisis has exposed the resilience of a people marked by history, but also the ability of its diaspora, its foreign friends and its community networks to respond urgently and to assert, both symbolically and concretely, Cambodia's sovereignty and unity. Beyond the disputed border, it is national pride, transnational solidarity and the hope for a peaceful future that are being upheld by all those involved: NGOs, diaspora communities, expatriates, institutions and ordinary citizens.

From marches in Phnom Penh to fundraising campaigns in Paris, from humanitarian volunteer work on the ground to solidarity livestreams led by the new digital generation, Cambodia is proving that its strength does not stop at physical borders, but extends into unwavering solidarity whenever one of its sacred lands is threatened.

Illustrations AKP