Those “Mien” Look Me to fall down Eyes

August 02, 2009
by Independent

Today I have spent one hour to drink coffee at Vietnamese coffee shop which name is “You-Me”, has just run before here 4-5 months opposite of “The Industry of Energy and Mine”.

I stayed there from 9AM to 10 AM while everyone whom are drinking coffee and looking at Vietnamese girl, wear sexy skirt. It is so attractive. When I seated down, a Vietnamese younger girl comes and asks me, “What do you drink (Anh uong gi)?” I answered, “I drink milk-coffee (Khnhom phek café tek dos kor).” She looks at me full of looking down when I can not speak Vietnamese to her (She does not know I can speak Vietnamese).

She stared bringing milk-coffee to me, and then she seated behind me with her friends. Most of the Vietnamese girls who service in coffee shop are rather beautiful and wear sexy skirt (too short). While that time, I saw many people both old and younger-Khmer arrived. For other people who have arrived ahead, had got some drink already. So they just looks at those girl (Vietnamese girl), and then they admired, “Oh my God! Beautiful and sexy like this how I am afraid to spend for drinking here.” (Joy yeak has! Ber sar- at hoay sleak khlei jerng, anh min klach chorm nay luy mok phek nerng te).

It seems that very Cambodian people both old and young, they love it and they are be attracted so that they do not care of what those Vietnamese girls think about them (they can not listen to Vietnamese language).

A Vietnamese service girl enters the room to take coffee for customer. Most of eyes of many people through follow looking at her, and admired, “Jos! Jos! Jos! Without consideration! (Os tors mdong). After that service girl went out, their eyes still start looking at her. At that time that Vietnamese service girl said by Vietnamese language, “These ‘Mien’ look at me to fall down eyes (May thang ‘Mien’nay nhin tao muon roi con mat).” Furthermore, when some customer srequire to pay money for drinking, she said, “one class of milk-coffee equal 2.500 ‘Mien’ (Mot ly café hai nghan ruoi tien ‘Mien’).

When I heard the word ‘Mien’, it made me unhappy, and then I started the conversation while she was seating behind me.

“How have you worked here (Em lam viec o day lau chua)?”
She answered, “I have worked here for 4 moths when this coffee shop run (Em bat dau lam viec o day khoang 4 thang, tu khi quan café nay mo lan).”
“Where is your hometown (Que em o day)?”
She answered, “My hometown is in Dong Thap, Vietnam. I just came here 4 months ago (Que em o Dong Thap ‘Phsar dech’, Viet Nam. Em len day duoc 4 thang roi).
“Could speak Khmer language (Em co the noi tieng Khmer khong)?
She said, “No! I just can count money (Khong! Em chi biet tinh tien thoi).
“When you stayed in Vietnam, what grade of your studies (Khi song o Viet Nam, em hoc duoc lop may)?
She was smile, and said, “I just ended grade 5 (Em hoc duoc lop 5).”

I said why did you call them “Khmer, but Mien”? She no answered to me. For this time, I have given her a lesson while other Cambodian people did not know what I was saying. Though I do not know more about history, I can tell her. I understand and I know such as experience of my suffering when I live in Kampuchea-Krom where suppress by Vietnamese Authorities till present (South Vietnam). I said that you can call Khmer Krom in Kampuchea-Krom is ‘Mien’, but when you arrive Cambodia, you should change because this is Cambodia, not Vietnam. Anyway, you have no high education, so you do not know history. You have just heard someone call Khmer Krom by ‘Mien’, and then you keep in your brain, it means you do not know anything.

In fact, you have learnt from your government to discriminate even if you are living in Cambodia. However, I want to tell you that Khmer Krom or ‘Mien’ who are called is not stupid as you think, but sometime they can not stand up for their rights because your government suppresses us all time. You could tell all Vietnamese whom you know, are living in Cambodia that Cambodian, Khmer, or Khmer Krom are not ‘Mien’. Cambodian people are Cambodian, but Khmer Krom people are Khmer who are living Kampuchea-Krom (South Vietnam). South Vietnam is not the land of Vietnamese because Vietnamese just immigrate.

I continue that Vietnamese call Khmer Krom ‘Mien’ is not correctly because the full term of its “Mien Nam or Nguoi Mien Nam”. This means indigenous people of South Vietnam (refer to Khmer Kampuchea-Krom)…

When she heard like this, she and others enter the room and service other customers. For this time, I look to the Cambodian people there. They still drink coffee and look at those girls. It seems they can not live without those Vietnamese girls or hungry from anytime live. They do not know what Vietnamese and those Vietnamese girls treat them into?

I saw all eyes of those girls. I am full of sadness and hopeless when I saw the Cambodian people can not speak, understand Vietnamese language and importantly they do not know any bad of Vietnamese attitude. I confess that I need a warm family, a good fresh girl or beautiful girl and has educated, but for Vietnamese I think all of you should think again.

Nowadays do you think you understand Vietnamese people than Khmer Krom when they live and crash with Vietnamese all times? If you said that Vietnamese are good person and help you all time whenever you need, please think again that could you speak and understand what Vietnamese said? If you want admire someone, please do not admire at the first time of your meeting, seeing or by someone. Khmer Krom still keep the term in brain that “Do not listen to what Vietnamese said, please see what they do. Do what they fear, and do not fear of what they do.”

Finally, I would like to encourage the Cambodian teenagers try to study, and do not made up with Vietnamese girls. You should read history. Because of Vietnamese girl, we have to lose land and everything. If you mad up with Vietnamese girls, and money, your country would be trouble in the future. Vietnam always does bad thing and makes Cambodian unhappy, peace, justice…; furthermore, Cambodian people must be busy with other side. For example, now Cambodian fail in trick while Cambodian have just protected West-border. These reason, now it is full of Vietnamese in Cambodia. So, Cambodia will lose from the world map if Cambodian do not wak