"The Khmers Krom are the original inhabitants and the rightful owners of the lands they are living in now. But they have always been maltreated by the occupiers, the Vietnamese. On the contrary, the Viet settlers are illegal aliens who have come to take Khmer resources which would have gone to the Cambodians who are getting poorer and poorer."
The report (below) about the Vietnamese delegation given free access to illegal Vietnamese settlers living in Cambodia has raised my eyebrows, not because I’m against it, but because of the hypocrisy and the unequal treatment from the Vietnamese authorities toward the Cambodian delegation visiting Khmers Krom a few months back. The delegation, which was led by MP Son Chhay, was not given free access to visit any temples, places or groups of Khmers Krom. The movement of the delegation was restricted and it was only given access to a few chosen temples and certain groups of Khmers Krom. All Cambodians should be outraged by this unequal treatment.
But this unequal treatment happened because the present Khmer government allowed it to happen. If the Khmer government takes a firm stance Vietnam would not have treated the Khmer delegation in such an insulting fashion.
The sensitive issue of the Vietnamese settlers in Cambodia has been a forbidden subject for any Cambodians to talk about. The subject has been a taboo and many Cambodians, in particular at the leadership level, are afraid to talk about it for fearing of international condemnation and afraid of being accused as a racist Viet-basher. Every time a Cambodian talk about the issue of the Vietnamese illegal immigrants in Cambodia he/she is accused of being engaged in racial incitement.
On the contrary, the long, deep sufferings of the Khmers Krom have received no public or international attention. The complaints and the cries of the Khmers Krom for international help have met with silence and gone unheard. Their sufferings and maltreatments, often at the hands the Vietnamese authorities, have gone unheeded and met with silence and inaction from the international human right protectors.
The analogy above has been made because of the hypocrisy of the international human rights organisations. While the illegal Vietnamese settlers in Cambodia have always received attention and protection from these rights groups, the sufferings of the Khmers Krom, who were and are maltreated at the hands of the Vietnamese authorities, have not. The difference between these two groups is a stark contrast. The Khmers Krom are the original inhabitants and the rightful owners of the lands they are living in now. But they have always been maltreated by the occupiers, the Vietnamese. On the contrary, the Viet settlers are illegal aliens who have come to take Khmer resources which would have gone to the Cambodians who are getting poorer and poorer. These settlers have always been treated better by the Cambodian authorities and the Cambodian population. And on top of that they receive the protection of the rights groups.
Having said all of the above, do I sound like a racist and a Viet-basher? No. I am only speaking my mind about the status quo and the reality. I advocate a peaceful co-existence between the Cambodians and our neighbours, particularly the Vietnamese. But co-existence must be based on mutual respect that lead to mutual benefits to both. Exploitation and taking advantage by any side from the other will cause irreversible mistrusts, as was the case with the Vietnamese.
What I want is for Vietnam to accord the same treatments, if not better, to our Khmer Krom brothers and sisters as Cambodia has accorded the Vietnamese settlers. They must be allowed to practise Khmer culture and learn Khmer language without fearing persecution. Land confiscations must be stopped and Khmer parliamentary delegations must be allowed to visit them, from time to time, without restrictions. I am of the opinion that if mutual respect can be restored, the mistrusts and the centuries-old hatred will be reversed and mutual trusts can be re-established. Then peaceful co-existence will naturally follow.
Having said all of the above, I am not a racist.//END..
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Poor Vietnamese in Cambodia receive gifts from HCM City
Poor Vietnamese living in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on February 20 received 250 gift packages, each worth US $20, from Ho Chi Minh City’s Committee on Overseas Vietnamese.The Vietnam News Agency reported that poor Vietnamese in Boribo district, Kampong Chhnang province, and Kampong Svay district, Kampong Thom province will also be given gifts during the delegation’s on-going visit.Addressing the ceremony in Phnom Penh, head of the Ho Chi Minh City ’s delegation Nguyen Thi Tho made known that the committee will continue helping overseas Vietnamese in Cambodia to maintain their national cultural identities and improve living conditions.
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Khmerization:- What about the poor Cambodians living in Vietnam's occupied territories of Kampuchea Krom? While the Vietnamese delegation was given free access to visit the illegal Vietnamese settlers in Cambodia, the Khmer authorities are not allowed free access to visit our unfortunate Khmer Krom brothers and sisters. Last time MP Son Chhay led a parliamentary delegation to Kampuchea Krom, the Vietnamese authority did not allow them free access to see the conditions of those poor Khmers Krom. The delegation was only allowed to visit a few chosen temples and see certain groups of Khmers Krom only. It is very unfair, isn't it?
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