Mekong River, My article clearly implies that in Cambodia, before 1970 the eating of dogs was virtually non-existent, & during the war years 1970-1975 it was out of poverty & for pure survival.
Soriya On Sep 13, 6:20 pm, "Mekong River" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > You have to distinguish eating dog meat as a culture and doing it out of > poverty and for pure survival. Although the overwhelming majority of Khmer > don't eat dogs, you are bounded to find a small group of Khmer who indulge > in the practice. I know one guy, a Khmer, who confides to me he likes it, > and he would take the opportunity to join in the party with other friends in > doing so. Having said this, compared to the yuons, the Korean and Chen, most > Khmers don't regard it as a national culture. > > > > > > On Sun, Sep 14, 2008 at 12:29 AM, Soriya <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > In Phnom Penh in the late 1960's when I was an early teenager I heard > > that the Vietnamese in Vietnam ate dogs, openly. Although I > > was still young I immediately believed that this practice was a result > > of a lengthy war. War makes lives of all ordinary people a very > > difficult struggle. People need to eat. If they have nothing to eat & > > they have dogs or can afford to get them, they'll inevitably eat them. > > > Surely enough, in Cambodia, starting from 1972, only 2 years after the > > war started, the eating of dogs began. > > > A story. In Phnom Penh, 1 day in 1974, about 6 pm, I was with a group > > of people in an open-air market, which was already almost empty, just > > east of the Soriya cinema (not my cinema!! d'ohh!! ha haaaaaaaaa!!). > > Then we heard the painful scream of a dog. We looked in the direction > > of the scream. We saw a man, about 50 years old, sitting on his bed in > > his tiny home on an edge of & inside the market, at a distance of > > approximately 30 metres from us, holding the top of a closed big bag > > containing something in it in his left hand, the bottom of the bag > > resting on the ground, & a big stick on his right hand. There were a > > few other people in his home, who we believed were members of his > > family. We knew right away that that something in the bag was a dog & > > that he was killing it for food. Realizing that we looked at him, he > > appeared to be a little ashamed, & stopped beating the dog, which was > > probably already unconscious because there was scream no more. > > Realizing his emotion, understanding his miserable conditions, & > > having compassion for him & his family, we turned our eyes away from > > him & pretended to see & hear nothing. He & his family must have been > > a few of the 100s of 1,000s of war refugees in Phnom Penh. I believed > > that he felt a little ashamed because at that time the eating of dogs > > was still a new routine & as yet not very many people did it. > > > That's a personal story. As of now I still have compassion for him > > whenever I recall that story, even though I never knew him. In > > general, it was well known that more & more people ate dogs, in Phnom > > Penh or elsewhere in Cambodia. > > > Before 1970, there were also people in Cambodia who ate dogs & even > > cats. But there were so few of them that practically their > > number could be & was considered as negligible. > > > People who're against eating dogs should consider these: > > > - If you can eat cows, pigs, chickens, ducks, fish, etc, then why > > can't other people eat dogs?? > > > - If dogs are your pets, then cows, pigs, chickens, ducks, fish, etc, > > are other people's pets. Cows are even more than pets: they've > > been helping man in his agriculture all over the world & > > throughout history, & still so even today in many countries. > > They're so important to man that Hinduism even "promoted" them > > to the status of a "god", clearly to frighten people into > > respecting > > & not eating them!! > > > - If you love dogs, then other people love cows, pigs, chickens, > > ducks, fish, etc. > > > - If you're a vegetarian, you shouldn't try to impose your beliefs & > > values on other people, as you have no right to do so. > > > - Some people shed their tears for the freedom of whales & > > dolphins but when they come home they eat cows or pigs or even > > fish like tunas or salmons or mackerels. They're hypocrites. > > > - Some people even demand that fishermen on the high seas who > > catch tunas must avoid touching whales & dolphins, which now > > are no longer endangered species!! How hypocrite that is!! > > > As if the life of a whale or a dolphin were more precious than that of > > a tuna or a cow!! That's a discriminatory attitude!! Which is a > > part of the root of racism. > > > I don't eat dogs. However I don't try to impose my habit of not eating > > dogs on other people. > > > Soriya > > -- > MR, > > Khlean + Khlao + Khlach = Khmer- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
