My Experience at UNPFII 2010

Source: www.kkfyc.org

This is my first time that I went to the United States to attend the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issue (UNPFII) at the United Nations headquarters in New York from 19th-30th April 2010. It was a really good opportunity for me as well as other Khmer-Krom youths to attend this conference.

During the UNPFII, I was really excited because everything was new for me. I got the opportunity to meet with many indigenous peoples from different countries. They came to the UNPFII with a common purpose; to represent their own indigenous peoples and speak up on a range of issues that their people were facing.

I gained lots of experiences from attending the UNPFII. I learned how the indigenous peoples from around the world, especially the KKF Youths exercise their human rights knowledge to present their people’s issues. I saw how they recommended diplomatic and peaceful solutions to solve issues ranging from human rights violations, land rights to religious rights. We also heard about how global warming would affect on the Indigenous Peoples around the world.

I also have an opportunity to work and share experiences with the KKF Youths from around the world. I found them to be educated, friendly, honest and helpful. It was the first time that I met them and while it was only for a short time, I felt like we were siblings. Even though we faced some difficult situations such as finding a place to stay in New York because we could not afford to stay in a hotel, we still continued to work hard during this conference. We all have the willingness to make our voice heard so the world would know the issues that our unfortunate Khmer-Krom people in Kampuchea-Krom face.

As a student, I am usually very busy with my study and I try to focus on what I have learned at my University. I did not care much about my own identity. I just knew that my parents came from Kampuchea-Krom. When I started to get involved with our Khmer-Krom, I started realize that my people back home definitely needed our help. Fortunately, I had a chance going to attend UNPFII and saw Bong (sister) Chantria Tram representing for our KKF youth deliver a speech. The speech had to be given in 3 minutes and Bong Chantria presented an excellent speech to the forum. It was a moment that I would never forget in my life. It was a moment that will always serve to remind me to study harder so that I can have enough knowledge and ability to help my unfortunate people.

It was a short trip going to the United States, but it was an eye opening experience for me. Besides attending UNPFII, I also attended the Khmer-Krom Youth Conference in Philadelphia. I was really impressed to see how our Khmer-Krom Youths abroad came together to help each other to preserve our Khmer-Krom identity and also to help raise the Khmer-Krom issues to the world. I am really proud of them and proud to be a Khmer-Krom.