Your comment makes perfect sense to me, and as long as it stays reasoned and calmly balanced like this, no one in their fair judgement would mind reading it even if it's much longer!
Your previous point about the American civil war and slavery is well made and pertinent. The man who waged that war to save the Union declared that if the war ended slavery in the process, so be it. However, if the war didn't free the slaves, 'we would still wage it in order to save the Union'.
In fact, many former slaves opted to stay with their former masters after the war out of economic necessity, while some migrated North or East in search of a new life in industrial cities like Chicago.
I sense that too many Cambodians are too blinded by their gratitude to grasp the distinction between incidental events and deliberate policies of their neighbours that have been pursued to their nation's long term enslavement and disadvantage.
In coming to Cambodia in 1979, the Vietnamese, in fact, had done no more than cleaning up the mess they had a hand in creating in the first place. There were other factors that also forced them to commit themselves vis a vis Cambodia at that particular point in time, other than humanitarian calculations. But, to elaborate on this will make my comment even longer!
Personally, I have nothing against Vietnam, even less ordinary Vietnamese people, provided they have nothing of ill intent against Cambodia. However, I remain unconvinced that the present form of relations between the 2 countries are fair or equitable. Others will differ - of that I'm certain - no matter what. That's because they fear what an independent, free Cambodia would mean for their selectively propped up status within the present arrangement.
Thank you for reading.
Your previous point about the American civil war and slavery is well made and pertinent. The man who waged that war to save the Union declared that if the war ended slavery in the process, so be it. However, if the war didn't free the slaves, 'we would still wage it in order to save the Union'.
In fact, many former slaves opted to stay with their former masters after the war out of economic necessity, while some migrated North or East in search of a new life in industrial cities like Chicago.
I sense that too many Cambodians are too blinded by their gratitude to grasp the distinction between incidental events and deliberate policies of their neighbours that have been pursued to their nation's long term enslavement and disadvantage.
In coming to Cambodia in 1979, the Vietnamese, in fact, had done no more than cleaning up the mess they had a hand in creating in the first place. There were other factors that also forced them to commit themselves vis a vis Cambodia at that particular point in time, other than humanitarian calculations. But, to elaborate on this will make my comment even longer!
Personally, I have nothing against Vietnam, even less ordinary Vietnamese people, provided they have nothing of ill intent against Cambodia. However, I remain unconvinced that the present form of relations between the 2 countries are fair or equitable. Others will differ - of that I'm certain - no matter what. That's because they fear what an independent, free Cambodia would mean for their selectively propped up status within the present arrangement.
Thank you for reading.
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