The Khmer Krom (Khmer: ) are the indigenous ethnic Khmer minority living in southern Vietnam, especially in the Mekong River delta. In Vietnamese, they are known as Khơ-me Crộm or Khơ-me dưới, which literally means "Khmer from below" ("below" referring to the lower areas of the Mekong Delta). Khmer (ភាសាខ្មែរ) is one of the main Austroasiatic languages. ... File links The following pages link to this file: Khmer Krom Categories: GFDL images ... View of the Mekong before the sunset The Mekong is one of the worlds major rivers. ... The Khmer people are the predominant ethnic group in Cambodia, accounting for approximately 90% of the 13. ... Mekong River Delta from space, February 1996 Mekong Delta, February 2005. ...

Origins

The Khmer Krom are ethnic Khmer who inhabited the delta of the Mekong long before the arrival of the Vietnamese. The Khmer people are the predominant ethnic group in Cambodia, accounting for approximately 90% of the 13. ...

According to Vietnamese government figures (1999 census), there are 1,055,174 Khmer Krom in Vietnam. However, this figure has been disputed as low. International observers do not participate in collecting population figures for the more than 60 different ethnic groups in Vietnam.

History

Main article: History of Cambodia

Beginning in the early 17th century, colonization of the area by Vietnamese settlers gradually isolated the Khmer of the Mekong Delta from their brethren in Cambodia proper and resulted in their becoming a minority in the delta. This is the History of Cambodia series. ... Khmer can refer to, the: Khmer people, the ethnic group to which the great majority of Cambodians belong to Khmer language Khmer script Khmer Empire, which ruled much of Indochina from the 9th to the 13th centuries. ...

Prey Nokor was the most important commercial seaport to the Khmers. The city's name was changed by Vietnam to Saigon and then Ho Chi Minh City. The loss of the city prevented the Cambodians access to the sea. It began as a small fishing village known as Prey Nokor. The area that the city now occupies was originally swampland, and was inhabited by Khmer people for centuries before the arrival of the Vietnamese. Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnamese: Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh) is the largest city in Vietnam and is located near the Mekong River delta. ... Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnamese: Thành Chí Minh) is the largest city in Vietnam, located near the delta of the Mekong River. ... Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnamese: Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh  ) is the largest city in Vietnam and is located near the Mekong River delta. ...

In 1623, King Chey Chettha II of Cambodia (1618-1628) allowed Vietnamese refugees fleeing the Trinh-Nguyen civil war in Vietnam to settle in the area of Prey Nokor, and to set up a custom house at Prey Nokor. Increasing waves of Vietnamese settlers, which the Cambodian kingdom, weakened because of war with Thailand, could not impede, slowly vietnamized the area. In time, Prey Nokor became known as Saigon. Year 1623 (MDCXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... Events March 8 - Johannes Kepler discovers the third law of planetary motion (he soon rejects the idea after some initial calculations were made but on May 15 confirms the discovery). ... 1628 was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... Trịnh-Nguyen War (1627 - 1673) - A long war waged between the two ruling families in Vietnam. ...

In 1698, Nguyen Huu Canh, a Vietnamese noble, was sent by the Nguyen rulers of Huế to establish Vietnamese administrative structures in the area, thus detaching the area from Cambodia, which was not strong enough to intervene. Events January 4 - Palace of Whitehall in London is destroyed by fire. ... Huế (化 in Vietnamese Chữ nôm, 順化 in Chinese characters) is the former modern capital of Vietnam. ...

When independence was granted to French Indochina in 1954, the delta of the Mekong was included in the state of South Vietnam, despite protests from Cambodia. In the 1970s, the Khmer Rouge regime attacked Vietnam in an attempt to reconquer those areas of the delta still predominantly inhabited by Khmer Krom people, but this military adventure was a total disaster and precipitated the invasion of Cambodia by the Vietnamese army and subsequent downfall of the Khmer Rouge, with Vietnam occupying Cambodia. French Indochina (French: LIndochine française, Vietnamese: Đông DÆ°Æ¡ng thuá»™c Pháp) was the part of the French colonial empire in Indochina in southeast Asia, consisting of a federation of protectorates (Tonkin and Annam, which now form Vietnam, as well as Cambodia and Laos) and one directly... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Official language Vietnamese Capital Saigon Last President Duong Van Minh Last Prime Minister Vu Van Mau Area  - Total  - % water 173,809 km² N/A Population  - Total  - Density 19,370,000 (1973 est. ... Khmer Rouge flag The Khmer Rouge (Khmer: ) was the ruling political party of Cambodia -- which it renamed to Democratic Kampuchea -- from 1975 to 1979. ... Khmer Rouge flag The Khmer Rouge (Khmer: ) was the ruling political party of Cambodia -- which it renamed to Democratic Kampuchea -- from 1975 to 1979. ...

Current Situation

Flag of Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation (KKF)

Many independent NGOs report the human rights of the Khmer Krom are still being violated by the Vietnamese government. Khmer Krom are reportedly forced to adopt Vietnamese family names and Vietnamese language. {2} The education of Khmer Krom is neglected and they face many hardships in everyday life, such as difficult access to Vietnamese health services (recent epidemics of blindness affecting children have been reported in the predominantly Khmer Krom areas of the Mekong delta^{[citation needed]}), difficulty in practicing their religion (Khmer Krom are Theravada Buddhists, like Cambodian and Thai people, but unlike Vietnamese who are Mahayana Buddhists or Roman Catholics), difficulty in finding jobs outside of the fields, and societal racism.^{[citation needed]} The Khmer Krom are among the poorest segments of the population in southern Vietnam.^{[citation needed]} Image File history File links Flag_of_KKF.svg‎ Data from FOTW and the KKF homepage Date 2006/8/16 Author Himasaram Permission File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Khmer Krom Flags of ethnic groups ... Image File history File links Flag_of_KKF.svg‎ Data from FOTW and the KKF homepage Date 2006/8/16 Author Himasaram Permission File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Khmer Krom Flags of ethnic groups ... The term non-governmental organization (NGO) is used in a variety of ways all over the world and, depending on the context in which it is used, can refer to many different types of organizations. ... Vietnamese (tiếng Việt, or less commonly Việt ngữ[2]), formerly known under the French colonization as Annamese (see Annam), is the national and official language of Vietnam. ... Theravada (Pāli: theravāda; Sanskrit: स्थविरवाद sthaviravāda; literally, the Way of the Elders) is the oldest surviving Buddhist school, and for many centuries has been the predominant religion of Sri Lanka (about 70% of the population[1]) and most of continental Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand). ... Relief image of the bodhisattva Kuan Yin from Mt. ... Statues of Buddha such as this, the Tian Tan Buddha statue in Hong Kong, remind followers to practice right living. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ...

Unlike other minority people groups of Vietnam, the Khmer Krom are largely unknown in the western world, despite efforts by associations of exiled Khmer Krom such as the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Federation to publicize their issues with the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation. No western government has raised the matter of the Khmer Krom's human rights with the Vietnamese government. Logo of the UNPO The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) is a democratic, international organization. ...

External links

• Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation (KKF)
• Khmer Krom news and information network
• Khmer Krom news and information in Khmer language
• Khmer Krom: A Royal Solution for a Nationalist Vietnam reported by Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation
• Video clips of Rebecca Sommer's film "Eliminated without Bleeding" documenting human rights violation claims of the Khmer Krom in Vietnam
• March 2007- Article on religious oppression by Vietnam

Logo of the UNPO The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) is a democratic, international organization. ...

Ethnic groups in Vietnam (sorted by language family)

Viet-Muong: Chut | Muong | Tho | Viet (Kinh) Tay-Thai: Bố Y | Giáy | Lao | Lu | Nung | San Chay | Tay | Thai Mon–Khmer: Ba Na | Brau | Bru-Van Kieu | Cho Ro | Co | Co Ho | Co Tu | Gie Trieng | H're | Khang | Khmer | Kho Mu | Ma | Mang | Mnong | O Du | Ro Mam | Ta Oi | Xinh Mun | Xo Dang | Xtieng Hmong–Dao: Dao | Hmong | Pa Then Tai-Kadai: Gelao | Lachi | Laha | Qabiao Malayo-Polynesian (Nhóm ngôn ngữ Nam đảo): Chăm | Chu-ru | Ê-đê | Jarai | Ra-glai Nhóm Hán: Hoa | Ngái | Sán dìu Tibeto-Burman (Nhóm Tạng): Cống | Hà Nhì | La Hủ | Lô Lô | Phù Lá | Si La