t the start of this letter, I would like to take this unique opportunity to thank the KKF President, Mr. Thach Ngoc Thach; Chairman, To Kim Thong and our youth leader Mr
. Jeffrey Kim in Canada for the giving me the opportunity to participate at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
For the first time, I had the chance to be involved in something that is truly significant and worthy of fighting for: the fight to bring awareness to the struggles of Khmer Krom people in Vietnam.
At the UN Headquarters in New York City, we met many youths with the same concerns and goals. It is an inspirational feeling when we meet people of other ethnics with the same mind set as us. I guess there is a certain bond and unity among us because we are facing the same struggle. There was a sense of understanding and empathy for each others' fight to gain recognition as indigenous peoples as well as the right to have the freedom and rights as human beings.
When we were in the United States, we stayed at homes of friends in Philadelphia, New Jersey and New York. They welcomed us with open arms. It is amazing to see that everywhere we go the Khmer Krom community was like one big family.
It was also my first time to meet many elders in the United States that are very dedicated to the KKF. They have and continue to work tirelessly to help the voiceless Khmer Krom people in Southern Vietnam. I also have had the opportunity to meet many other Khmer Krom youth members like Sothy Kien from Australia; Romy Thach from France; Chau Serey, Samon Thach, Soda Huu, and Don Lam from the United States.
As Soda have mentioned, on the very first day at the United Nation Permanent Forum, as newcomers, we were too dubious to actively participate. However, after the ice was broken, everyone was participating and giving great suggestions. I think even new comers like myself were ecstatic about the opportunity to play important roles. We felt that it was our time to voice out, to be represented and to fight for our people's rights. No matter how insignificant we are in a world of over 6 billion people, at that moment I felt as though our thoughts and struggles mattered.
On the second and third day, Mr Chau Serey, the KKFYC President in the United States took Soda, Don and I to attend the international youth caucus. The meeting welcomed many indigenous youths from many parts of the world including New Zealand, Canada, Greenland, Taiwan and Philippines.
It was very inspirational to see how young people from different parts of the world come together and was able to share stories about the suffering of the people in their homeland. Each youth brought up the main issues of what was happening and offered recommendations to help reduce and solve the problems that their people are facing.
At the UN Permanent Forum, it does not matter as to which country the indigenous people are from, whether they are young or old; the fact of the matter was that these people were there for the same reason, purpose and goals. They were there to raise the voices on behalf of their peoples in their homeland; to promote indigenous rights and interests at the international level; to ensure and further develop the indigenous culture and society for both the present and future generations.
In addition, I would like to say that I am very inspired by Khmer Krom both old and young, who is dedicated to help bring Khmer Krom issues to the international level. As Khmer Krom people living abroad, each and every one of us have choices. We have all the opportunities that our new lives offer. We may choose to live as carefree citizens by ignoring problems that are happening in our homeland or we can choose to make a difference in the lives of Khmer Krom in Vietnam. This is the most prominent difference that categorizes Khmer Krom people overseas and in Vietnam. We have choices and opportunities, whereas in Vietnam, all of those are restricted. I know that this would be a difficult task; it's very tiring and requires extra effort and time. But, if we do not stand up for our people, who will?
Lastly, I do encourage all the youths that did not have a chance to participate at the sixth session of the Permanent Forum this year, please join us next year on this unforgettable event. I am sure that you would love your experience there as much as I do. Together, we can make a difference for the people in our homeland. We are the future generation, and we demand that our voices be heard.
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