The Kingdom of Cambodia, situated in the Indochinese peninsula above the Gulf of Thailand, is an ancient nation with a rich and unique history. In Khmer, its official language, the country’s name is Preăh Réachéanachâk Kâmpŭchéa, though it is usually referred to as Kâmpŭchéa. Throughout its checkered past, Cambodia has been influenced by many external forces, the most prominent of these being India, China, and France. Being a part of a peninsula known for facilitating multi-cultural diffusion has allowed the nation to develop a distinctive culture. Though Cambodia has not always thrived, it has certainly stabilized and developed much since the late 20th century. Its booming textile and tourism industries are unmistakable signs of its progress.
Geography:
Cambodia is found in the southern part of the Southeast Asian peninsula, bordering the countries of Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos, as well as the Gulf of Thailand. Although most of the land in the nation is considerably flat, there are also several uplands and mountain ranges, which form natural political borders with neighboring countries. Examples include the Cardamom Mountains in the Southwest and the Dangrek Mountains in the north. In terms of climate, the region has a tropical, monsoonal climate, which gives rise to two distinct seasons: a monsoonal season from May to November and a dry season from December to April. Cambodia has an annual average temperature of about 80 degrees Fahrenheit and an average precipitation rate of about 70 inches per year. Its two main bodies of water are the Mekong River, and the Tonle Sap, a large lake in the country’s center. The Mekong River flows south from Laos, through Cambodia and Vietnam, into the South China Sea. All other rivers drain i...
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...ry school for 3 years at age 15. Many children discontinue after primary school, usually to help support their families.
Traditionally, in Cambodian families, the parents arrange marriages for their children, and the weddings are quite elaborate. Typically, men marry in their early twenties, while women marry in their late teens. In rural areas, usually, the husband is in charge of supporting the family, and the wife is in charge of taking care of the home, children, and the family’s budget. In urban areas, it is more common for women to work outside of the home. Social register is an important aspect of Khmer culture. For example, elders are held with very high respect and reference in Cambodian culture. They are consulted to resolve problems in villages, between families, etc. Often times, Cambodians open their households to elder relatives, such as grandparents.
Web. The Web. The Web. 13 Apr. 2014. The 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the http://worldwithoutgenocide.org/genocides-and-conflicts/cambodian-genocide>.
The Cambodian culture is very collectivistic and a lot of those values are still upheld by the younger generations of Cambodian Americans. In Cambodian culture, family comes first. Terry Nhim, her in-laws Mon Neang and Roeun Muth and her brother in-law Vanna Neang all greatly emphasized the importance of family and looking out for one another. “Our family is large, not just my parents and siblings but rather my extended family as well. We try to be close to one another, and of course, there are some families we’re not as close to as others.
7 May 2014. <http://www.mekong.net/cambodia/redbook.htm> "The Impact of Pol Pot's Regime 1975-1979". Rhianbell.edublogs.org. 6 August 2012. Web. 8 May 2014.
Ung (2000) mentions that the Cambodian genocide is a product of a perfect agrarian vision that can be built by eliminating Western influence. More specifically, the Angkar perceives peasants and farmers as “model citizens” because many have not left the village and were not subjected to Western influence (Ung 2000:57). Moreover, the Khmer Rouge emphasized the ethnic cleansing of individuals from other races who were not considered “true Khmer” and represented a “source of evil, corruption, [and] poison” (Ung 2000:92). Lastly, the ideology centered on obtaining lost territory was based on a “time when Kampuchea was a large empire with territories” (Ung 2000:78). In essence, Ung successfully demonstrates that multiple causes encouraged the Cambodian
A policy that has made it possible for the deportation of refugees back to their homeland has already affected 1,400 Cambodians. As a result of the Illegal Immigration and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, non-citizens of the United States who have been convicted of certain crimes are being targeted for deportation. The U.S. Committee for Refugees states that this harsh law has made it easy for the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the U.S. government agency that enforces our immigration laws, to detain and deport legal immigrants who have committed crimes. Since 1996, the INS has been required to detain and deport any immigrant who is convicted of an “aggravated felony,” which includes such crimes as DUI’s, possession of marijuana, minor assaults, shoplifting, joyriding, and even writing a bad check. Any convicted Cambodian may be detained in INS up to 6 months by law. Although they have already served time for these past convictions, Cambodian immigrants still face possible deportation as part of their punishment. ...
Throughout the nation’s 2000-year history, Cambodia, a developing Southeast Asian country located on the Indochina Peninsula, has experienced a number of glories and tragedies; as a matter of fact, it was until 1993 that the democratic election, supported by the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC), were conducted to restore peace in Cambodia under a coalition government (CIA World Factbook, 2013). In order to transform from the negative peace which is just the absent of direct violence to the positive peace meaning the absent of cultural and structural violence, Cambodia, the younger member of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), has been trying as hard as possible to address the problem of inequality with the obvious hope that if inequality is not natural, according to Hobbes, but rather constructed, there are probably chances to level down its impacts or even demolish its existence.
The Cambodian Genocide has the historical context of the Vietnam War and the country’s own civil war. During the Vietnam War, leading up to the conflicts that would contribute to the genocide, Cambodia was used as a U.S. battleground for the Vietnam War. Cambodia would become a battle ground for American troops fighting in Vietnam for four years; the war would kill up to 750,00 Cambodians through U.S. efforts to destroy suspected North Vietnamese supply lines. This devastation would take its toll on the Cambodian peoples’ morale and would later help to contribute that conflicts that caused the Cambodian genocide. In the 1970’s the Khmer rouge guerilla movement would form. The leader of the Khmer rouge, Pol Pot was educated in France and believed in Maoist Communism. These communist ideas would become important foundations for the ideas of the genocide, and which groups would be persecuted. The genocide it’s self, would be based on Pol Pot’s ideas to bring Cambodia back to an agrarian society, starting at the year zero. His main goal was to achieve this, romanticized idea of old Cambodia, based on the ancient Cambodian ruins, with all citizens having agrarian farming lives, and being equal to each other. Due to him wanting society to be equal, and agrarian based, the victims would be those that were educated, intellectuals, professionals, and minority ethnic g...
The Cambodian Genocide was a trial and error of someone trying to make all people equal. Khmer Rouge had approximately 1.7 million people executed attempting to equal everyone out and make the world a “better” place. Although he tried very hard at this, he of course failed and and all of his attempts were, in the end pointless.
children start school at the tender age of four. In pre school you are taught to
Cambodia is one the poor country in Southeast Asia that has the highest Maternal mortality rate. This undeveloped country could make a woman die when they give childbirth. Almost of the victim’s women are living in the province because the health center is too far from their home. Moreover, this is important for me to investigate this topic because I want to prevent this bad issue and get rid out of it. There are many reasons that women still die during childbirth, such as, time (before, during and after childbirth issue), age, low-income country and tradition.
Families changed overtime by becoming more Americanized as they resided here. Few families still carried normal Cambodian traditions, but they had the
Once a child is finished with secondary school (middle) they take a qualifications test called the “CXC” to determine what high school they will be able to attend. Everything from text books to school uniforms has to be paid for out of pocket by the students guardian so even then, some children do not go on to finish school or some fall behind because they do not have the means to continue school all at one time.
Indochina, modernly known as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is located on the border of the eastern Indochinese peninsula and it occupies, according to the online encyclopedia (encyclopedia.com), about 331,000 kilometers squared, where in 1987, 25% of that land was under cultivation. Vietnam is bordered by the South China Sea, the Gulf of Thailand, and Gulf of Tonkin; and it is alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia. Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital since the nation’s reunification, is located in the northeast; and Vietnam’s largest city, Ho Chi Minh City, also known as Saigon, is located in the southeast of Vietnam. However, before becoming independent from Imperial China in 938 AD, Vietnam’s capital was “Đại La”, where it was located in present-day Hanoi. Additionally, the northern part of Vietnam is mainly composed of highlands and the Red River Delta; and the southern part of Vietnam is divided into coastal lowlands, large forests, and mountains of the “Annamite Range”. Vietnam’s official language is Vietnamese, and their largest ethnic group in Vietnam is the Kinh people, which takes about 86% of the nation’s population.
... History of Vietnam - Vietnamese Culture - Vietnamese National - Vietnamese People." Vietnam Information Guide Asia Travel Asian Tiger Travel to Vietnam. Web. 11 Nov. 2011
Back in Cambodia, relationship need to start through family, and no one able to break the rule because it is part of Cambodian culture, which I believed was right. Almost eight years of my living in the United states, I have learned what I believe in the past was wrong. Arrange marriage should not be allowed because it would cause painful marriage life.