Economics
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A Plea from Afar
Wednesday, 06 January 2010 15:02 Sophan Seng
Dear Editor,
Reading your article “Three more sought in removal of post at Svay Rieng border” (January 4) broke my heart.
The villagers should be congratulated and taken care of by the government for their courage in publicly claiming their ownership of the rice paddies and denouncing the violation of their territory by Vietnamese authorities who have mismanaged the process of demarcating the border. Instead, as unbelievable as it may sound, these five farmers face a terrifying fate and the loss of their status as “good” citizens.
There have been different interpretations of this story within the media, but at the end of the day, no one can deny the truth: Cambodian people living along the borders with Thailand, Laos and Vietnam no longer dare voice their concerns about neighbouring countries encroaching on their territory and stealing their land for fear of reprisals.
On one hand, the government may have good reason to accuse opposition leader Sam Rainsy of acting as a provocateur in bringing news of Vietnam’s mismanagement of border posts to the public. But on the other hand, the government is following a course of action that could rob Cambodia of its strength as a nation and destroy the immunity of every parliamentarian.
At the grassroots level, Cambodian people living along the border will no longer dare to stand up and protest against the theft of their land by neighbouring countries. At the national level, parliamentarians – both government and opposition – will lose confidence in their abilities to serve the genuine interests of the people.
The government must evaluate the situation fairly if it is to effectively represent the nation’s interests. I would like to appeal to the government to restore the prowess of elected parliamentarians and allow them to fulfil their duties, which are more important than those of the lower court of Svay Rieng. I would also like to appeal to the government to drop all charges against the five farmers – Prak Chea, Neang Phally, Prak Koeun, Meas Srey and Prom Chea – and release them without condition.
Sophan Seng
University of Hawaii
Original reference: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2010010630653/National-news/a-plea-from-afar.html
Southeast Asian Immigration to Alberta
Note:
While “Laotian” is used in this article, the usual adjectival form is “Lao”, not “Laotian”. However, to avoid confusion with the Lao ethnic group, “Laotian” is commonly used to describe the people of Laos.
The history of the southeast Asian nations of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam are both shared and unique. Events in one nation often spilled across mutual borders, affecting people throughout the region, as was the case with the Vietnam War. In addition, all three countries have been influenced by outside nations such as France and China. At the same time, each country consists of different peoples and cultures. For example, while Laotians and Cambodians are predominantly Buddhist, Vietnamese traditionally hold a mixture of Confucian and Taoist beliefs. Moreover, each country has large ethnic minorities living within its borders. For this reason, it is best to treat each nation as individual. However, when it comes to exploring the history of immigration to Canada, the three nations share more similarities than they do differences.
Immigration from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam to Canada is a modern occurrence. The first southeast Asians to journey across the Pacific were Vietnamese students in the 1950s. These students were awarded scholarships by the Roman Catholic Church. Due to France’s long involvement in Vietnam, many Vietnamese spoke French; consequently; most of these students chose to study in Quebec. While some returned home, many continued to live in Canada upon graduating. Until 1975, scholarship students (some also won scholarships through the Colombo Plan) made up the small stream of immigrants from southeast Asia.
The year 1975 was important in the histories of all three southeast Asian nations. It was in that year that Communist parties gained control of all three countries. After years of fighting with first France, then the United States, the Communist North Vietnamese finally took control of South Vietnam. In the same year, Laos’ monarchy was overthrown by Communist forces and the Khmer Rouge came to power in Cambodia, led by the despotic Pol Pot.