Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI
Wednesday, 13 August 2025
Prefettura Apostolica di Battambang
Battambang (Agenzia Fides) – “The population had high hopes and was very happy and encouraged by the ceasefire agreement signed on August 7. Now the call is: respect it! We call on the governments to ensure that the military respects the agreement so that a genuine and lasting peace can be built,” explains Jesuit Father Enrique Figaredo, Apostolic Prefect of Battambang, a Cambodian province bordering Thailand, to Fides. He points out that, according to media reports and witnesses, even after the agreement signed thanks to Malaysia’s mediation (see Fides, 8/8/2025), isolated clashes and shootings continue to occur in the border areas between Thailand and Cambodia.”The population welcomed the signing of the ceasefire agreement with relief. And we have all gained new hope. Nevertheless, there are still over 100,000 internally displaced people on the Cambodian side, primarily in the border areas of northern Cambodia,” all areas under the jurisdiction of the Apostolic Prefecture of Battambang. “For this reason, we are working to assist the displaced, many of whom are in the refugee camps set up by the government, but also scattered throughout the region,” he notes. Caritas Cambodia – which has also launched an appeal for donations in collaboration with Caritas Internationalis – has already carried out three humanitarian missions, distributing rice, vegetables, hygiene kits, and plastic sheeting for protection against the weather. “In provinces like Preah Vihear,” the religious continues, “there are mission stations with some small Catholic communities,” with which the Prefect is in contact. “People are living in insecurity and hardship; this sudden war has shattered their peaceful lives, and they are marked by suffering. One thing is clear here: the Cambodian people deeply long for peace,” he emphasizes. Yet even in this critical situation, “a large influx of aid and profound solidarity can be observed, helping to sow a seed of hope. But the violence must stop completely; a definitive peace agreement is needed.”The Apostolic Prefect is in contact with the monks of the Buddhist University of Battambang and, together with them, has organized donations for humanitarian aid for displaced people: “In this time of need, we want to show empathy and make it clear that solidarity knows no religious boundaries: We are working with the Buddhist monks for the good of the people and for the highest good, peace,” he emphasizes.The theme of peace will be the focus of the Cambodian youth’s Jubilee celebration, which will take place on August 15 in the city of Siem Reap, Battambang Prefecture. Around 1,000 young people from across Cambodia will gather. “It’s a gathering that we place under the protection of the Virgin Mary, so that she can help us guide our steps toward harmony and peace,” emphasizes Father Figaredo.On Sunday, August 17, the entire Catholic community of the Apostolic Prefecture of Battambang will celebrate its special patron saint’s day with the official celebration of the Feast of the Assumption of Mary: “It will be a beautiful moment of witness to our faith, with the Eucharist and the procession through the streets, a moment shared by many non-Catholic Cambodians. A Catholic celebration marked by joy, faith, hope, and communion, in which the local population will join us. We look forward to it. Together we will ask for peace and commit ourselves to always making choices for peace,” he concludes. (PA) (Agenzia Fides, 13/8/2025)
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