The inter-racial marriage between the Khmers & the Chinese or the Vietnamese is an evolution of the Cambodian nation. This evolution isn't new. It's believed to have started at least about 150 years ago. A study by a Western scholar in the 1970s revealed that in South-East Asia, Cambodia has the highest rate of inter-racial marriage between the aboriginals (in this case the Khmers) & the Chinese or the Vietnamese.
This evolution is good for Cambodia. The resulting mixed-raced Khmer- plus-Chinese-or-Vietnamese-or-all-3 Cambodians are intelligent, and, more importantly, very patriotic. They've been the majority of the Cambodian population for about 75 years now. For proof, just look at the music & movie stars before 1975 & after 1979. Virtually all of the mixed-raced Cambodians can speak only Khmer (&, for some, French &/or English), not Chinese or Vietnamese. Virtually all the pure Khmers in Cambodia including the Khmer rice farmers wholeheartedly accept the mixed-raced Cambodians, & are even proud of them. There are even affectionate Khmer expressions that refer to the mixed-raced Cambodians: they're "koun chao chen" & "koun katt". The mixed-raced Cambodians, the Khmers, the Chinese, the Vietnamese, & even the Chams live together in harmony in Cambodia, even though to a little lesser degree for the Chams due to the difference of religions. Oh boy do I miss my birthplace Kampong Luong, 32 km north of Phnom Penh, on the bank of the Tonle Sap River, all 5 ethnic groups living there. The only people who're not happy with the fact that there are non- Khmer Cambodians, including even the mixed-raced Cambodians, living in Cambodia are the Khmers who were born abroard including Kampuchea Krom in Vietnam, or got to overseas when they were very young, live abroard, & have never lived for an enough time period in Cambodia. They don't know the social makeup & dynamics of the Cambodian society in Cambodia. These people should at least avoid confrontation with the mixed-raced Cambodians, who're the majority of Cambodians, in Cambodia or abroad except Kampuchea Krom. They should be smart enough to realize that no one can prohibit a Khmer from marrying a Chinese or a Vietnamese. Or, of course, a Cham!! In case you don't know, Hun Sen's maternal grandfather was a Chinese. Several years ago China even declared that Hun Sen is ok for them because his maternal grandfather was a Chinese!! Even if your skin is dark, you can never be 100% sure that you're 100% Khmer. Eg, a story in Toronto. I know a Cambodian family here. The father is dark-skinned. So of course he thought he was a 100% Khmer. One day he learned that one of his great-grandfathers was a Chinese. He was so excited that he called everyone in his extended family all around the world to tell them the "good" news!! He even did so when I visited him at his home (that's why I began to know). And he also told everyone of his friends & acquaintances in Toronto, including me, about his "good" news!! Soriya --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Cambodia Discussion (CAMDISC) - www.cambodia.org" group. This is an unmoderated forum. Please refrain from using foul language. Thank you for your understanding. Peace among us and in Cambodia. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/camdisc Learn more - http://www.cambodia.org -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
