Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation at the Third Session United Nations Permanent Forum on the Indigenous Issues, May 10-21,2004 in New York City Item 3: Special Theme-Indigenous Women Date: May 10, 2004 Speaker: Polly Luu Good afternoon Mr. Chairman and Distinguished Members of the UN Permanent Forum: First, I would like to express our deepest gratitude and appreciation to the UN for giving us this opportunity. For the first time in the world history, the Khmer Krom has the privilege and honor to be at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues with all indigenous brothers and sisters from around the world. Before I begin to elaborate in depth pertaining to issues faced by many indigenous Khmer Krom women, I would like to introduce you a brief history about Khmer Krom people. Khmer Krom is one of the largest ethnic groups occupying the Southern Vietnam along Mekong Delta, whose territory was once belonged to Khmer Empire. It was taken over by the Vietnamese Government through a secret and improper transfer to Vietnam in 1949 without the approval of Khmer Krom, the indigenous owner of the land. The majority of Khmer Krom people live in rural areas and are followers of Hynnayanna Buddhism. I would like to bring to the UN and the world attention to the general situation of the Khmer Krom along the Mekong Delta. Even after many centuries of human rights violation by Vietnamese totalitarianism society with economic marginalization, political oppression, all methods of ethnocide, and religious persecution, the Khmer Krom are still facing ethnic discrimination. Today, the Khmer Krom still continue to live without freedom to preserve their cultural heritage and practice their religious beliefs. Our rights to freedom of speech, freedom to hold public general assembly, or establishing private educational institution for their younger generations are taken away. We have been oppressed, terrorized, alienated and exploited. Although our homeland has been fertile and very rich in natural resources, the Khmer Krom have no choice but to live in poverty without equal educational opportunity and health care accessibility compared to the majority Vietnamese. On behalf of millions of the Khmer Krom People, I would like to present to the United Nations the following problems that Khmer Krom Women experience in their daily lives: 1. Inequality in employment: Due to the lack of financial resources, these women are forced to go to the city and work under paid-jobs. There were cases where many young innocent women from the countryside were deceived by Vietnamese traders and fell into Women trafficking traps. 2. Inequality in Education: More than 75% of Khmer Krom women are not educated. Living below poverty has forced young women to quit school and take family responsibility subjected to domestic chores with no hope of a better living condition for the rest of their lives. 3. No role in the political world: Women are being treated as second-class citizens. They live in a society where government grants no public opinions. They live in a world where their words have no meaning and have no say in politics; their destiny is judged based on the social stratification of the society. 4. No prenatal care for thousands of Khmer Krom pregnant women. As indigenous pregnant women, their rights to health care systems are limited. In fact, they are what people consider medically neglected. There are no public health centers available for easy access to prenatal care. Therefore, for the majority of these women, prenatal/antenatal care does not exist. There are no doctors or nurses to perform the initial assessment interview and obtain obstetric/gynecologic, medical, nutritional and family history. Only a small percentage of these women are able to afford a onetime ultrasound just to determine the gender of their child by paying- out-of pocket. For the rest of Khmer Krom women especially the low socioeconomic, in the first trimester, they have to diagnose their own pregnancy. There are no prenatal vitamins to take in order to prevent fetal neurological defects. They can not afford to deliver in a hospital or private clinic, they give birth in their home. Today, I take this opportunity to be the voice of millions of indigenous women, and let their unspoken expression of emotional and physical sufferings be heard. Based on these problems, we have some recommendations as the following: 1. To establish a health care system for Khmer Krom people with affordable health insurance or universal health insurance. 2. To establish public health facilities available for Khmer Krom women and children in order to promote optimal health level. 3. To request that the WHO conduct studies on Khmer Krom health issues. 4. To establish women’s organizations for Khmer Krom women. 5. To have issues like women trafficking and coercive female sterilization related to Khmer Krom women investigated. Mr. Chairman, it’s time for the UN and the world to intervene with the situation of the indigenous people in Vietnam. On their behalf, I would like to appeal to the UN and the world to help pay close attention to the Khmer Krom women’s issues and take appropriate actions to resolve the suffering and stabilize the situation from getting out of hand. Once again please accept our deepest gratitude and appreciation. Thank you for your time and undivided attention. Polly Luu
