Washington
16 June 2009
So Farina is a graduate student in Southeast Asian Studies at Ohio University. She worked at the Documentation Center of Cambodia from 2003 through 2008 as a researcher of Cham communities under Khmer Rouge.
“There was a great loss of Cham community in Cambodia” under the regime, So Farina told “Hello VOA” Monday. “The Cham lost human resources, culture, identity, mosques, and the Quran.”
An estimated Cham population of 700,000 lost up to 500,000 under the Khmer Rouge. The group has returned to a population of around 500,000, spread across 400 communities, many in Kampong Cham province.
For the last five years, So Farina, 28, has undertaken an oral history project, working in these communities to recapture stories from her people.
“This project exists because I asked my parents, who experienced the Khmer Rouge,” about their experiences, So Farina said Monday. “They did not give me details about what happened.”
That void of detail prompted her to learn more, but there was not enough written documentation.
“The shortage of documents makes oral history more important, as Cham community members are able to help us document what happened to them during Khmer Rouge period through their memories,” So Farina said. “We’ve collected everything, including their memories, written documents, materials and Qurans left from the past.”
So Farina said she’s most interested in the experiences of Cham women under the Khmer Rouge, their “motherhood, wifehood, caretaking, labor and religious practices.”
After the fall of the regime, in 1979, widows made up around 65 percent of the Cham female population in Cambodia.
“Women had a lot of burdens due to the fact that they had lost their husbands, children, and had to deal with everyday problems and problems from the past,” So Farina said.
“There was a great loss of Cham community in Cambodia” under the regime, So Farina told “Hello VOA” Monday. “The Cham lost human resources, culture, identity, mosques, and the Quran.”
An estimated Cham population of 700,000 lost up to 500,000 under the Khmer Rouge. The group has returned to a population of around 500,000, spread across 400 communities, many in Kampong Cham province.
For the last five years, So Farina, 28, has undertaken an oral history project, working in these communities to recapture stories from her people.
“This project exists because I asked my parents, who experienced the Khmer Rouge,” about their experiences, So Farina said Monday. “They did not give me details about what happened.”
That void of detail prompted her to learn more, but there was not enough written documentation.
“The shortage of documents makes oral history more important, as Cham community members are able to help us document what happened to them during Khmer Rouge period through their memories,” So Farina said. “We’ve collected everything, including their memories, written documents, materials and Qurans left from the past.”
So Farina said she’s most interested in the experiences of Cham women under the Khmer Rouge, their “motherhood, wifehood, caretaking, labor and religious practices.”
After the fall of the regime, in 1979, widows made up around 65 percent of the Cham female population in Cambodia.
“Women had a lot of burdens due to the fact that they had lost their husbands, children, and had to deal with everyday problems and problems from the past,” So Farina said.
19 comments:
Cham kingdom was taken over by Dai Yiek since late 900s. Those Cham came to take shelter in Cambdia since then and they seem not wanting to become Khmer-Islam/Khmer-Muslim. These pple are not new immigrants. If they are so proud to declare themselves Cham, they one day will declare an independent Cham country inside Cambodia.
Hmmmm 9:16, would you please slow down your anger towards these people. Their name is Cham, but we Khmerize them to Khmer-Islam. At least Khmerize them into Khmer-Cham as the Khmer have bestowed upon other ethnic groups: Khmer-Jen; Khmer-Kleng; Khmer-Youn; Khmer-Liev; Khmer-Siem; Khmer-Jvear?, etc. However, Khmer-Cham (Khmer-Islam) are part of the Khmer nation and great family, and they don't ever try to create an independent territory within the Khmer territory at all. Please don't hate them and just respect them as brothers and sisters instead. They are going nowhere except to contribute to the Khmer nation. I don't have the evidence for this, but I am sure they do in however small. They even came to support the Khmer border defenders against the Siems. If black and white can work together, then the Chams can also work with the Khmer people. I think. Lol. Don't we have a movie about a Khmer man falling in love with a Cham woman. Lol. Anyway, I am a Khmer person. I have no clues about who the Chams are and I am just advocating that we Khmer as owners of the territory must practice respect for all minorities in our land.
Ah Soy, ah ngorb RACIST.
Khmer Islam you called them Cham, and your fucking Chink-Youn you called them Khmers. Just because they chose to worship GOD (Allah) through Prophet Myhammed, you divided class ah choss k'ourth.
Khmer Islam
I meant Mohammed.
10:29 AM
Fuck You! Did Allah teach you how to speak like that? you mother of camel! go and Jerk off in your fucking masterland middle-east. I still call you Cham!
Pi Anh: PPU
Fuck Ah Allah & Ah Mohammed!
Allah is a fucking idiot god who sent his followers to kill innocent people.
Yes, fuck Ah Allah & Ah Mohammed shit.
Oh, tell your Ah Allah & Ah Mohammed that I told you to tell him to fuck off.
Do you want to live on water or land? The choices is CLEAR.
Pi Anh: PPU
Is it an anger when telling the truth?
Before 1975, any Cham that are not having national identity as Khmer-Islam?
Now they are Cham. Next they have their country.
Is this anger? or just telling the truth.
Have friends, originally a Khmer from Cham descent live in Mekong Delta. They are Buddhist like all of us. Do we need to call them "Khmer-Buddhist.
For all citizen live in Cambodia and well integrated. In this case, we just call them Khmer.
Don't need to call Khmer buddhist...our state religion is buddhism...just like Malaysia their state religion is Islam and I doubt if they allow your ass to integrate with them easily! the Taliban blew up the big buddha statue when they are in power....Shall we blow up the mosque in cambodia too? We are buddhist we have tolerance but if cambodia was Islam state I doubt if the cham treat you guys the same way we treat them now! read the history book ...how the buddhist/hindi country like Indonesia became muslim country...
Pi Neak Sre
Ah.mi ngorb PPU is ah Soy Heng.
Khmer Islam is not Cham, we are Khmerer than you ah.mi ngorb chink-Youn. Fuck you ah mi. ngorb youn PPU. fuck you.
Khmer Islam all the way
Khmer Islam all the way to Pig Shit Ah Cham LoH! Ah sam Oy Bey Kilo!
Pi Anh:PPU
To 5:52pm
I agree with you 100%. I just can't stand the present media. People live in Cambodia should be clasified as Khmers Period. If you want to be call Cham, Youn, Chinese, Thai etc....etc....etc.. please find your own place to call your own. We Khmers can not afford to lose another inch of land.
Regards,
KhmerNY
Mi ngorb mi sam-oy PPU 12:45 AM,
I am Khmer and always Khmer regardless what religion I chose.
I called myself Khmer Islam because my Khmers who are Buddhists or Christians or labeled themselves as who they are and always look down on Khmer like myself, and why can't I identify myself as a Khmer Islam?
Racist and looking down on their own Khmer people are mostly Khmer Buddhists. Called us Cham, because we chose to be Islam? Fuck you, Fuck you mi. ngorb PPU, ah Heng Soy and ah Sothearith Im ah pli pleu. Did Preah Puth teach you to be racist and to hate your own kind who believe different from you??
Why did you even bring the ultra scum Taliban fake Muslim in this conversation? Fuck you.
Hey Ah Cham Loh!
you know you are not khmer! you dress differently! your woman cover herself too much and becomes stink! your name and everything you have are borrowed from the middle east and they are your master the Arabs! but the arabs made fun of you guys! they said they can fool Chinks(they refer to asians) like you guys to follow their voo doo islamic religion. here something for you: Len oat see sach chrouk teh ES! Len oat see Chker teh ES! but pol pot euy Len see teang oh...mean ey sach chrouk is Good!
and finally Fuck you ah cham loh bye bye... this is my last message here i'm too busy and no time for you motherfuckerCamel! you have no land vietnamese took your land longtime ago you come to take asylum in Cambodia even Malaysians don't treat you right!
Pi Anh: PPU (mchas Srok and your superior)
Ah Cham Loh! If you want to meet me again go to the other board message especially the most recent one and look for your master and superior PPU! but identify yourself so I know whomm I'm dealing with.... Leu Teh Ah Ngorb Cham loh Choh lamm? hhahha...
Pi Anh:PPU
mi. ngorb PPU. mi heun horch khour kbal Youn. Are al Khmers dressing Khmer style in Cambodia? Fuck you mi heun horch k'bal Youn, all Khmers now dress up like the west. How come ah Kvack doesn't dress chong k'beun instead of suit? Mi prakach heun horch eign kom ban tae samdei s'oy doch ach. Mi. pli pleu PPU, mi jumkourt.
Khmer Islam all the way
Ah Khmer Islam freak, just go die fighting for Ah Bin Ladin tuv. Lol. The next time I see a Khmer Islam, I will tell all of them to get the hell out out every province from Cambodia. Just pack up and go live in your ancestral land in the middle of the ocean, Ah Khmer Islam freak. There I said it. Khmer Rouge didn't want you, and neither do I. Lol. Y'all Khmer Islam shit are just dirty uncleaned pigs and dogs worshippers anyway. Allah my prohong kdet. The more you believe in Allah, the more Pigs and Dogs become your Mothers and Fathers. Lol.
7;37am,
Don't speak for Khmer Buddhists, speak for yoursef, the stupidest below all ot pouch ot trokol.
Why do you care who worship who or who worship what? Leave other people alone the world may have some peace. Khmer Islam are Khmers, they are not Youn who came illegally into Cambodia.
9:18 Don't try to be a Hero for the Cham idiot! When your stupid ass go and live in the cham commune you will see how they treat your stupid ass. Cham they think and they always look at us differently and they only look up to the middle-eastern people and they don't mix with you! their ancestor tried to conquer our angkorwat and we khmers beat their asses...pick up the history book if you don't know shit!
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