Vietnamese Cambodians
Total population | |
---|---|
180,000–1,000,000 (est.) 1% - 6.25% of the Cambodian population[1] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, South-East Cambodia | |
Languages | |
Vietnamese, Khmer | |
Religion | |
Vietnamese folk religion, Mahayana Buddhism, Theravada Buddhism, Caodaism, Roman Catholicism | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Overseas Vietnamese, Austroasiatic peoples |
Vietnamese Cambodians refers to ethnic group of
Ethnic relations between the
History
Relations between Cambodia and Vietnam date back to when
With the unification Vietnam under Emperor Gia Long, the Court of Huế asserted its hegemony in 1813 and sent 10,000 troops to Phnom Penh. The Cambodian court was split into rival factions vying for power and some members of the Cambodian royal sought the support of the Vietnamese, thus implanting Vietnamese power within the kingdom.[16] Favors were granted to allow more Vietnamese settlers and by the reign of Emperor Minh Mạng, Vietnam chose to impose its rule directly, relegating the Cambodian court to a minor role. Administrative renaming of town and provinces was carried out while Vietnamese customs were forced upon the Cambodian populace.[17] The heavy-handed policies stirred resentment among the Cambodian populace, provoking protracted insurgency and unrest.[18] Vietnam was forced to withdraw, accepting the restoration of the royal candidate Ang Duong as the Cambodian king. Vietnam nonetheless joined Siam to hold Cambodia in joint vassalage.
In 1880 with the establishment of the
With independence in 1954, Cambodia legislated a citizenship law based on knowledge in the Khmer language and national origin; this effectively excluded most Vietnamese and
When
Vietnamese migrant workers started to arrive from 1992 onwards due to the creation of new job opportunities by the UNTAC administration.[29] At the same time, the UNTAC administration allowed the opening of political offices and political parties such as FUNCINPEC and the BLDP began to propagate anti-Vietnamese sentiments among the populace to shore up electorate support in the 1993 general elections.[30] In November 1992, the Khmer Rouge which controlled northwestern parts of Cambodia, passed a resolution to target systematic killings of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians.[31] The first guerrilla-style attacks by the Khmer Rouge on Vietnamese civilians started in December 1992, and Khmer Rouge soldiers justified the killings by claiming that some of the civilians were Vietnamese soldiers in disguise.[32] The spate of killings by Khmer Rouge prompted some 21,000 ethnic Vietnamese to flee to Vietnam in March 1993.[33]
In August 1994, the
Demographics
Population
The Vietnamese are generally concentrated along the river banks of the Tonlé Sap lake and Mekong river which encompass the provinces of
Population history | |
---|---|
Year | Number |
1874 | 4,452[39] |
1911 | 79,050[39] |
1921 | 140,225[39] |
1931 | 176,000[20] |
1936 | 191,000[39] |
1962 | 218,000[25] |
1981 | 8,197[38] |
1984 | 56,000[38] |
1995 | 95,597[38] |
1998 | 96,597[38] |
2008 | 72,775[38][40] |
2013 | 14,678[40] |
Religion
The Vietnamese identify themselves as adherents of
A minority of Vietnamese are also followers of the
Language
The Vietnamese as a whole exhibit varying levels of fluency in the Khmer and Vietnamese languages. Vietnamese that live in self-contained fishing communities along the Tonle Sap use Vietnamese in their day-to-day conversations and have individuals that have limited Khmer language skills[48] and those that are bilingual in both languages.[49] On the other hand, Vietnamese that live in predominantly Khmer-speaking neighbourhoods send their children to public schools, and as a result the children are able to speak Khmer fluently but show very limited understanding of Vietnamese.[48]
Education
Field research carried out by
Economy
During the French colonial administration, educated Vietnamese were employed in the civil service administration as secretaries, clerks and bureaucrats. When Cambodia gained independence in 1953, the Sihanouk-led government phased out most of the Vietnamese civil servants with Cambodians, and they sought employment in banks and commercial enterprises as secretaries and other office-based positions. In the 1960s, urban-dwelling Vietnamese with lower education backgrounds also worked as mechanics in car repair and machine shops owned by Chinese businessmen. Vietnamese immigrants that settled in the countryside worked as fishermen along the Tonle Sap lake and Mekong river,[43] and also as rubber plantation workers in Kampong Cham and Kratie provinces.[54]
As most Vietnamese are stateless residents, they seek a living through ad-hoc various industries such as the construction, recycling and prostitution industries or as street pedlars. Vietnamese that live along the Tonle Sap lake and Mekong rivers are subsistence fishermen.[55] A sizeable number of these stateless Vietnamese consisted of migrants that came to Cambodia between 1992 and 1993 during the UNTAC administration.[56] The majority of Vietnamese still live below the poverty line,[57] although a very small number of Vietnamese are represented in the Cambodian business sector. One example is Sok Kong, the head of the business conglomerate Sokimex which owns state concessionaires in the country's petroleum, tourism and entrepot industries.[58]
Relations with community and society
Government
Almost 90% of ethnic Vietnamese are stateless residents of Cambodia, and do not carry citizenship papers such as identity cards or birth certificates.[42] The 1996 Cambodian law on nationality technically permits Vietnamese residents born in Cambodia to take up citizenship, but faced resistance from mid-ranking interior ministry officials who generally refrain from registering Vietnamese residents due to concerns of political implications from opposition parties if citizenship were to be granted.[59] A minority of Vietnamese residents were able to obtain citizenship only after paying bribes to interior ministry officials, or were married to Khmer spouses.[37] The minority of Vietnamese residents who hold citizenship reported of interior ministry officials confiscating their citizenship papers.[60] As a result, the Vietnamese faced legal restrictions from getting access to public healthcare, education, employment and buying land for housing as the majority do not carry Cambodian citizenship. Stateless Vietnamese built floating settlements in-lieu of buying land-based dwellings which require citizenship papers.[61] According to field research carried out by Cambodia's Minority Rights Organisation, interior ministry officials would confront Vietnamese fishermen in the Tonle Sap and demand bribes in order to allow them to carry out fishing.[62]
Inter-ethnic relations
Ethnic Khmers have a poor perception of the Vietnamese community, due to persistent feelings of communal animosity from the past history of Vietnamese rule over Cambodia.
Most Vietnamese are unrepresented in the Cambodian commune councils as they lack Cambodian citizenship.[66] According to respondents from Ehrentraut's field research, the majority of Cambodian commune chiefs and officials express support in excluding Vietnamese representatives from getting citizenship and participating in commune elections and meetings due to contempt.[57] The Vietnamese appoint their own village heads, and convey community concerns Vietnamese community associations (Vietnamese: Tổng hội người Campuchia gốc Việt) that was first established in 2003. The community associations own limited assets and obtains funding from membership fees, donations from the Vietnamese embassy in Cambodia and sale of cemetery land from the Vietnamese communities.[60] The funds are subsequently used to address Vietnamese communal concerns which includes supporting religious places of worship and teaching of the Vietnamese language, as well as providing assistance to disadvantaged families. While the community associations have the tacit support of the Vietnamese community, the majority do not accept membership for fear of getting social stigma from mainstream Cambodian society. As of 2013, branches of these associations are established in 19 out of 23 provinces across Cambodia.[67]
Politics
The issue of Vietnamese presence in Cambodia has been used as a topic by political parties to shore up electorate support since the 1993 general elections. Mainstream political parties that participated in the 1993 election included
When the 1998 general elections were held, FUNCINPEC and the then-newly formed
The vast majority of the Vietnamese support the CPP, and those who carry Cambodian citizenship would vote for the party. Vietnamese support for the CPP has mostly driven by strong anti-Vietnamese sentiments from other political parties. Although many members within the rank and file of the CPP share anti-Vietnamese sentiments with other political parties, the CPP maintained an openly neutral stance towards the Vietnamese community. According to Ehrentraut, the CPP's neutral stance was a balance between not providing open support for the Vietnamese community, which would have the potential effect of losing electoral votes to other political parties, while at the same time maintaining close ties with the Vietnamese government which the CPP had historical ties dating back to 1979.[77] Vietnamese who hold Cambodian citizenship have also expressed fear over physical insecurity during election periods, which is most apparent during the 1993 and 2013 elections when Vietnamese civilians faced physical intimidation from the Khmer Rouge[78] and CNRP supporters respectively and have abstained from participating in elections.[79]
References
- ^ "'Please show mercy': Evicted by Cambodia, ethnic Vietnamese stuck at watery border". Reuters. 2 July 2021.
- ^ "VN phối hợp với Campuchia đảm bảo cuộc sống người Việt". Ngày Nay. 23 September 2016.
- ^ "A People in Limbo, Many Living Entirely on the Water". The New York Times. 2018-03-28.
- ^ Heng, Kimkong (2022-04-12). "2022/36 "Cambodia-Vietnam Relations: Key Issues and the Way Forward" by Kimkong Heng". 2022 (36).
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(help) - ^ https://asiafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Cambodia-StatofConflictandViolence.pdf
- ^ Christ, Kiernan (2022-06-14). "The Perpetual Foreigner: Statelessness among the Vietnamese Minority in Cambodia". Georgetown Journal of International Affairs. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
- ^ VnExpress. "Vietnam, Cambodia to further strengthen multifaceted relations - VnExpress International". VnExpress International – Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
- ^ "Cambodia-Vietnam, a true friendship in ASEAN context - Khmer Times". 2022-11-13. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
- ^ Heng, Kimkong (2022-04-12). "2022/36 "Cambodia-Vietnam Relations: Key Issues and the Way Forward" by Kimkong Heng". 2022 (36).
{{cite journal}}
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(help) - ^ "Dialogue on War Legacies and Peace in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia". United States Institute of Peace. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
- ^ Mai Thục, Vương miện lưu đày: truyện lịch sử, Nhà xuất bản Văn hóa - thông tin, 2004, p.580; Giáo sư Hoàng Xuân Việt, Nguyễn Minh Tiến hiệu đính, Tìm hiểu lịch sử chữ quốc ngữ, Ho Chi Minh City, Công ty Văn hóa Hương Trang, pp.31-33; Helen Jarvis, Cambodia, Clio Press, 1997, p.xxiii.
- ISBN 978-1-4327-2208-1. Archived from the originalon 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
- ISBN 1-55970-433-0.
chey chettha II.
- ^ "Nguyễn Bặc and the Nguyễn". Archived from the original on 2009-04-13. Retrieved 2010-06-16.
- ^ Corfield (2009), p. 3
- ^ Schliesinger (2015), p. 258
- ^ Kuhnt-Saptodewo (1997), p. 154
- ^ Corfield (2009), pp. 17–18
- ^ Corfield (2009), p. 28
- ^ a b Schliesinger (2015), p. 259
- ^ Corfield (2009), p. 40
- ^ Ehrentraut (2013), p. 50
- ^ a b Willmott (1967), p. 35
- ^ a b Schliesinger (2015), p. 260
- ^ a b c Tabeau (2009), p. 48
- ^ Ehrentraut (2013), p. 56
- ^ Heder (1995), p. 154
- ^ Heder (1995), p. 135
- ^ Heder (1995), p. 62
- ^ Heder (1995), p. 63
- ^ Heder (1995), p. 94
- ^ Heder (1995), p. 95
- ^ Heder (1995), p. 262
- ^ Amer (2013), p. 95
- ^ Ehrentraut (2013), p. 30
- ^ Willmott (1967), p. 107
- ^ a b Ehrentraut (2013), p. 71
- ^ a b c d e f Schliesinger (2015), p. 261
- ^ a b c d Goscha (2008), p. 5
- ^ a b Pen and Heng (2014), p. 12
- ^ Willmott (1967), p. 90
- ^ a b Ang (2014), p. 10
- ^ a b Willmott (1967), p. 34
- ^ a b Post Staff (25 March 2005). "Vanquished in the 70s, Catholic Church still on the mend". Phnom Penh Post. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
- ^ Harris (2008), p. 166
- ^ Harris (2008), p. 136
- ^ Harris (2008), p. 276
- ^ a b Ehrentraut (2013), p. 79
- ^ Heder (1995), p. 136
- ^ Ehrentraut (2013), p. 80
- ^ Ang (2014), p. 11
- ^ Ehrentraut (2013), p. 81
- ^ Ehrentraut (2013), p. 82
- ^ Corfield (2009), p. 21
- ^ Ehrentraut (2013), p. 78
- ^ Heder (1995), p. 137
- ^ a b Ehrentraut (2013), p. 85
- ^ Peter Olszewski (9 December 2011). "Man About Town". Phnom Penh Post. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
- ^ Ehrentraut (2013), p. 75
- ^ a b Ehrentraut (2013), p. 72
- ^ Ehrentraut (2013), p. 77
- ^ Ang (2014), p. 18
- ^ Ehrentraut (2013), pp. 86–87
- ^ Willmott (1967), p. 42
- ^ Ehrentraut (2013), p. 76
- ^ Ehrentraut (2013), p. 83
- ^ Ehrentraut (2013), p. 73
- ^ Heder (1995), pp. 199-200
- ^ Heder (1995), p. 66
- ^ Ehrentraut (2013), p. 90
- ^ Amer (2013), p. 93
- ^ Amer (2013), p. 94
- ^ Ehrentraut (2013), p. 62
- ^ ALEX WILLEMYNS (14 August 2014). "Kampuchea Krom Protests Speak to Larger Fears". The Cambodia Daily. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
- ^ Bennett Murray (14 February 2014). "Nowhere to call home". Phnom Penh Post. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
- ^ Ang (2014), p. 20
- ^ Ehrentraut (2013), p. 91
- ^ Amer (2013), p. 91
- ^ Ang (2014), p. 16
Bibliography
Books
- Corfield, Justin (2009). The History of Cambodia. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-0313357237.
- Heder, Stepher R.; et al. (1995). Propaganda, Politics and Violence in Cambodia: Democratic Transition Under United Nations Peace-Keeping. M.E. Sharpe. ISBN 0765631741.
- Harris, Ian (2008). Cambodian Buddhism: History and Practice. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0824832988.
- Kuhnt-Saptodewo, Sri (1997). Nationalism and Cultural Revival in Southeast Asia: Perspectives from the Centre and the Region. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. ISBN 3447039582.
- Schliesinger, Joachim (2015). Ethnic Groups of Cambodia Vol 2: Profile of Austro-Asiatic-Speaking Peoples. Booksmango. ISBN 978-1633232372.
- Willmott, William E. (1967). The Chinese in Cambodia. Publications Centre: ISBN 0774844418.
Reports and journals
- Amer, Ramses (2013). "Domestic Political Change and Ethnic Minorities - A Case Study of the Ethnic Vietnamese in Cambodia" (PDF). Asia-Pacific Social Science Review. 3 (2). Institute for security and development policy, Sweden: 87–101. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
- Ang, Chanrith (March 2014). "LIMBO ON EARTH: An Investigative Report On the Current Living Conditions and Legal Status of Ethnic Vietnamese in Cambodia" (PDF). Minority Rights Organisation. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
- Ehrentraut, Stefan (2013). "Challenging Khmer Citizenship: Minorities, the State, and the International Community in Cambodia" (PDF). Asia-Pacific Social Science Review. Universität Potsdam. S2CID 145188841. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
- Goscha, Christopher E. (2008). "Widening the Colonial Encounter: Asian Connections Inside French Indochina During the Interwar Period" (PDF). Modern Asian Studies. 43 (5). Cambridge University Press: 1189–1228. S2CID 145129327. Archived from the original(PDF) on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
- Pen Socheat and Heng Phally (July 2014). "Cambodia Socio-Economic Survey 2013" (PDF). National Institute of Statistics, Ministry of Planning, Government of Cambodia. Retrieved 2015-01-16.
- Tabeau, Ewa (30 September 2009). "Demographic Expert Report - Khmer Rouge Victims in Cambodia, April 1975 - January 1979 - A critical Assessment of Major Estimates" (PDF). Extraordinary Chamber in the Courts of Cambodia. Retrieved 1 March 2015.