So far the health situation here is in control,'' says Dr Jaturong Teerakanok, head of Surin's health department. On the second week of heavy influx of Cambodians, the number of ill people in the camp exceeded 3,000. Meantime, the camp has turned into a small town overnight. Families have started building their own shelter from small trees they had cut down, and sheets of plastic. More than one family stays under a single roof.
People sleep on the ground with chickens, pigs and puppies they brought from home.
But the refugees have also begun to carry on with their lives. Within days, food and basic consumer products were being brought from other Thai villages and sold in the premises. Yet war is never too far way. Fighting is getting closer to Cambodia's border with Thailand, which is 10 kms from the camp. Refugees can sometimes still hear the sound of artillery shells and gunfire.