Khmer-American hails a Khmer Surin's effort to teach Khmer language to Khmer Surin children

Mr. Chey Mongkol and his children inside his Khmer classroom.

I just got an email from Vanna asking for contact details of Mr. Chey Mongkol, a Khmer Surin who is trying teach Khmer Surin children Khmer language. Here is his/her message:

Chom reap sor Po Cheng Mongkol, Knom chmos Vanna ros nouw Sa Haak Rutt Americ, I am a Cambodian native and I was born in Battembong late 1970. I moved to the US when I was 10 years old and I am now living in California around San Francisco area. Anyhow, I had seen a video clip of you trying very hard to teach those Surin kids which I prefer not to call them Khmer Surin because I might end up saying the wrong thing. Just to let you know I am very proud of your hard work and I felt very happy inside to see how much you care for our language. I, myself hardly speak Cambodian at home due to I have no one to talk and I can barely learn how to read a few words that's about it. Anyway, if you don't mind I would like to have your address in Surin. The address that you will receive mails every time,

Thank you, Vanna
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And below is my message to Mr. Chey Mongkol:

Mr. Chey Mongkol please reply to Vanna's message below. Vanna, you can visit Khmer Surin website here: http://www.khmersurin.org .

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And below is Mr. Chey Mongkol's reply to Vanna:

Dear Lok Sovanna,

Most of all, I would like to thank you for your contact. Yes, in Sren there are more than 70% are Khmer but for more than half century that we don't have a school at all to teach Khmer children because Thai government didn't allow us to teach Khmer to children. Just last 2007 that they have removed the order. Now children speak Thai more than Khmer and that makes me worry that we will sooner or later losing our Khmer identity.

I have worked hard to teach Khmer to children and to promote the human right issue in Sren. But, I still can't get enough support from Sren people that is because our Khmer people are not aggressive race. But, I will have to find another way round just to make the problem catch the attention of the public.

Losing language mean so much to me because you will lose cultural pride and another culture will also be gone easily. These days, I am struggling to survive financially because I don't get support from any organization. What I do is extremely difficult to get support because it is not like you ask for money to make the road and it is also the problem of human right abuse.

I hope that you try to speak Khmer more and more and come to Sren someday to pay the ancestral homage. I feel that always our ancestral demands me to walk down the uneasy road--the road that not so many want to take.

Thank you and my postal address is beneath this email.

Chey Mongkol

-- "Rights in education also mean the right to language" Chaimongkol Chalermsukjitsri Human Rights in Indigenous Language Education Program P.O.Box 27. Surin City, Thailand. http://www.khmersurin.org Email: khmersurin@gmail.com Phone 0875815514, 0830860076 Want to help me continuing teaching Khmer in Surin please follow this link to Paypal https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=1424016