A Dublin man who has shared his recent experience at a Cambodian Covid camp says he has no regrets in publicly exposing the camp’s appalling conditions.
In order to leave the camp, the man was forced by Cambodian authorities to formally apologize to the Cambodian government for embarrassing them by documenting the conditions.
Karl Mohan, 26, spent a week in one of several Covid quarantine camps in Siem Reap after he tested false positive in a PCR test on January 16 while trying to fly to Sri Lanka with his girlfriend.
Known locally as “care centers”, the camps were widely criticized for their prison-like conditions and were closed by the Cambodian government in recent days.
On January 21, just two days before Mohan was allowed to leave the camp, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen announced the relaxation of the mandatory national quarantine, allowing both nationals and foreigners to quarantine at home or in hotels.
Mr Mohan believes it was because records of his stay at the camp went viral on social media, he told This week was “the best part” of his experience.
“It took me through the whole ordeal seeing people reunite with their families after being inside for weeks,” he said.
Mr Mohan and his girlfriend have been traveling around the world since September 2021, and they have been in Africa and Thailand for several months.
The young couple had spent a month in Cambodia and bought special Covid travel insurance, which they were later told would not cover quarantine or isolation due to a positive PCR test result.
“We did the research, but it never mentioned that if you had COVID-19, you would be sent to camp,” he explained.
The couple, who were told they needed PCR tests to leave the country and fly to Sri Lanka, managed to find a testing center where they paid $130 per test.
“Given that the average Cambodian lives on less than a dollar a day, we thought it was a bit odd that we were paying $60 to $80 for a PCR elsewhere,” he added.
They went back to the hotel and were then told to come back the next day for results and Mr Mohan was told he had tested positive.
They returned to the hotel and the next morning they were told to return to the testing center and Mr Mohan was told he needed to go to hospital.
“Hospitals are the beginning of the end,” he said. “It was falling apart and most of the clinical work was done outside.” Mr Mohan was X-rayed while he requested another PCR test to prove the results he was getting were wrong.
“The next thing an ambulance pulled up, people in hazmat suits got out and pointed me in.” Mr Mohan and his girlfriend were sent to a Covid camp as the confused couple tried to figure out what was going on.
“We thought it was a joke, just another tourist explaining the situation to us. She said I had to stay for the first 7 days, after that I was tested every two days and once I had two negative results, I could leave.”
He said some people in the camp who had been there for weeks had become infected with the virus and were unable to leave.
Mr Mohan began sharing footage of the camp on social media, and videos of the wooden beds, dirty toilets and poor sanitation system went viral in just a few days.
He tried to convince doctors to test him again, insisting he would not spend the night at the camp, but said nurses and doctors “fleeed” him.
Mr Mohan and his girlfriend fled the camp in a panic and returned to their hotel, only to find local police already waiting there.
“I asked for another test and after a four-hour standoff they agreed, but they set me up – they took me straight back to camp.
“That’s when I realized there was no way out of the woods, I just had to fight the long game.”
Thankfully, Mr Mohan’s girlfriend was able to visit the camp freely, as there were no restrictions on visits from friends or family – despite the facility being set up to isolate Covid patients.
Mr Mohan received another negative PCR result two days after his stay, but he was still unable to leave the camp as he needed another negative result two days later.
His post on the Cambodian local tourism page was viewed by thousands of people, even reposted by local media, and refused to delete his post, cleaners were brought into the camp for the first time.
Mr Mohan’s girlfriend began bringing clean clothes and food to camp members, mostly locals, which he said “boosted morale” while the camp was cleaned.
He also negotiated with the people who run the camps to provide sleeping bedding for those who live there.
At night, Mr Mohan said the camp was locked from the outside and no medical staff were present.
“The cleaners removed a poisonous snake, what if one of us gets bitten at night? Who will help us?” he said.
While at the camp, he was told that he would be threatened with his life for documenting the camp.
“Publicly humiliating someone is a big deal in Asia. Especially if you publicly humiliate the government, you go to jail.
“I didn’t know this, so I’m sharing and getting hundreds of messages from people whose families are stuck in these camps, telling me to keep doing what I’m doing.
“I was kind of a scapegoat for the team, and I knew if something was going to happen, it was going to happen to me.”
Mr Mohan said it quickly became apparent what he had done, when a friend living in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh told him that truck drivers throughout the city had been warned not to pick him up.
The nearest Irish embassy in Vietnam was informed of the couple’s situation and assured the couple that they would remove Mr Mohan from the camp.
“There was a few days of back and forth between us, and then there was radio silence. We told them my life was in danger, our messages were seen, but we didn’t get a response until I actually left the camp.”
Finally, on the seventh day, he returned a negative PCR test result, and his name was called over the intercom to pack his bags and leave.
After saying goodbye to locals and other tourists, Mr Mohan walked over to the doctor to get his medical certificate so he could leave.
As he did so, he said he was dragged into a room by about 15 police and government officials.
They explained to him that the government was embarrassed by his behavior and worried about the tourism industry.
They demanded that he write to the Cambodian government apologizing for his actions and delete his social media posts, threatening to send him to prison if he did not comply.
“I still don’t know why they made me apologize, I didn’t lie, I didn’t do anything wrong,” he told .
Mr Mohan was finally free, and he and his girlfriend fled to the country’s capital, both inundated with calls from police asking them to return.
“We don’t know how they got our number, we didn’t share it with anyone. We put our phones on airplane mode before we left the country.”
The couple are now continuing their travels in Asia and have no plans to return to Cambodia any time soon.
After the prime minister ended the camp, Mr Mohan received a video of his former campmates being reunited with their families.
“All the hard work has paid off, it’s only because someone has spoken up,” he said.
“I take the whole thing lightly,” he said with a laugh. “I’m in the military, so sleeping outside doesn’t bother me too much.
“What really affected me was that no one felt safe to speak out, we were told not to speak out because we would disappear.
“But I’m crazy about it, it’s the craziest thing that’s ever happened to me.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs told reporters It “was aware of the case and provided consular assistance”.
“We will continue to encourage those considering traveling to Cambodia to consider the ministry’s travel advice before making plans,” it added.
