Background

Khmer Kampuchea Krom people are Khmer citizens who are originally born and live in Khmer Kampuchea Krom (lower Cambodian) territory, which is now located in the Southern Vietnam with an area of 68,965 Km2. There are 14,778 villages, 1368 communes, 171 districts and 21 provinces and cities with the population of 12 millions. There are 567 Buddhism monasteries with more than 20,000 Buddhist monks. There is a city called Prey Nokor City, which is changed to Ho Chi Mimh City by the Vietnamese government. The territory of Kampucher Krom was transferred to Vietnam during French colonization on 04 June 1949 as stated in the French law No. 49/733. Since the colonization of Vietnamese government from France, Khmer Kampucher Krom people have faced many challenges and problems such as having no legal schools and being unable to study their Khmer literature, lack of freedom to uphold their tradition, culture and religious belief, and many other issues. Invasion, annoyance, violation and racial discrimination are the serious human rights violation committed by Vietnamese government and its constitutions. Khmer Kampuchea Krom people are indigenous people and the owner of the territory of Southern Vietnam, but they become the victims and minority groups in their own territory as stated in the Vietnamese constitutions. With the above mentioned serious challenges and issues, Khmer Kampuchea Krom people cannot bear with and avoid them, therefore force to leave their beloved homeland to live in the Kingdom of Cambodia. While living in Cambodia, they hope to live with warm welcome and harmony as they are original Cambodian people. However, their hope has confronted more challenges because they are considered as the Vietnamese immigrants by some local authorities and Cambodian citizens. According to the experience from working with Khmer Kampuchea Krom people and the research and information collected, Khmer Kampuchea Krom for Human Rights and Development Association (KKKHRDA) has identified some challenges and difficult conditions of Khmer Kampuchea Krom people who are currently residing in the Kingdom of Cambodia such as having no legal identity cards, living in makeshift shelters (slum areas) along canal dikes or reservoirs as they have no land for house building and farming, lack of skills and knowledge to earn their living, having high expense, but low income, suffering from domestic violence, and lack of solidarity which leads to conflicts in their community and with powerful people. Their children cannot go to or drop out of schools, so they are illiterate. These serious issues for Khmer Kampuchea Krom people currently residing in the Kingdom of Cambodia are detailed as follows: The issue of identity as Cambodian citizenship This issue is related to the provision of Cambodian identification cards, resident registry, family record book, etc. As mentioned above, many of Khmer Kampuchea Krom people currently residing in the Kingdom of Cambodia are considered as the immigrants by many people and authorities, so they are refused to provide with these documents by the police officials and local authorities unless they spend money to the polices. Moreover, Khmer Kampuchea Krom people have to change their background or places of birth by telling the police that they were born in Svay Rieng or Battambang province or other provinces, etc. Such treatments clearly reflect the corruption, violation and racial discrimination committed by some local authorities against them. These issues most occur in Kandal and Svay Rieng provinces. Residence in temporary construction sites In official report, most of Khmer Kampuchea Krom people have resided in Cambodia since 1980s while some others came in 1990. When living in Cambodia without permanent residence, some people forced to site along canal dikes or reservoirs, etc. By building the cottage with the size of 3 x 4 meters made of thatch-roof and small column where four to five members live together. As mentioned above, they are living without clear identity and their future challenge is that their residential areas are located in the government’s development project, so they will be forcibly evicted. Then they will be hopeless and homeless and will be subject to greater restriction from Vietnamese authorities if they return to their homeland. These issues mostly occur in Kandal, Svay Rieng and Battambang provinces. Daily livelihood activities Living in the countryside normally is required to have farm land and some skills to earn their daily livelihoods. However, as mentioned above, most Khmer Kampuchea Krom people in the target areas do not have land for settlement and farming, so they become agricultural day laborers whose income is less than expense. During the rainy season, they are hired to work in the rice fields and some are illegal fishers or are hired to transport tax evasion goods across the border. During the dry season, some people borrow money from wealthy family for their daily consumptions and have to pay back by using their labors in the rainy season; some force themselves to migrate to other places to earn their living. These issues are mostly occurred in all target areas. Domestic violence and lack of solidarity Due to the inadequate living, permanent occupation, stress and depression are often developed so domestic violence also happens among those families; other families may come up with divorce while others lose their little assets. Because of the poverty, some families consider only on their own benefits without recognizing the importance of helping the others. This affects the social orders in the communities leading to non-solidarity, ignorance and insecurity in the communities. Educational issue As stated above, Khmer Kampuchea Krom people currently living in the Kingdom of Cambodia do not acquire enough education. They can read and write Khmer language by learning it secretly without the notice of Vietnamese authorities. About 95% of women are illiterate in their Khmer language. Illiteracy among the women currently living in the Kingdom of Cambodia is still high due to poverty. Their children never go to school as they lack relevant documents, for example, they will be refused by some school principals if they do not have clear identity, while some families send their children to school but they drop out of school in order to help their parents when they are in grade 4 or 5 due to the poor livelihood.