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Linguistic Discrimination of the Khmer language in Education: A case study of Ethnic

Khmer Surin, Surin Province, Thailand.

by

Chaimongkol Chalermsukjitsri

Language and Culture Association of Surin Province

House #8, Ban Kok Krapeu, Surin, Thailand 32000

Email: khmersurin@gmail.com

Tel. +66-08758155814 October 25th, 2010.

Background

Rights to education do not just mean the right to go to school, but in a wider meaning, it
means the right to access to his/her mother tongued language. Human rights of linguistic
minorities means the right to education as it is prepared by the state or education management
in the mother tongue language; it combines the protection of civil rights, and the indigenous
rights in maintaining/preserving their cultural identity and value. Linguistic right also means
the right to communicate and the right to transmit one’s mother tongue language to another
generation through education and other mean. Lack of clear government policy can
marginalize the linguistic minorities from the mainstream majority linguistic—the dominant
linguistic of the nation.

The painful fact is that while Thailand is struggling to be a democratic country that ruled by
the law, to be country with good reputation of human rights abuse record. But in education
indigenous languages has been rejected and marginalized. Ironically, the present Constitution
of the Kingdom B.E. 2550 recognizes and the Article 66 is set to protect rights of indigenous
peoples as it says, “Indigenous peoples enjoyed the rights to protect and to pursue their
custom and culture.” Article 80 of 2006 National Education Act also stipulates that,
“Education management must fit well with cultural environment of the local people.” But,
this is just what it has been said in the law. But, it is better than having nothing at all to refer
to. Idealistically, education should be a tool for human kind to find way to live together in
harmony not in agony. But, Thai education aims only at making everybody look just the

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same, but in Thai society, differences means breaking up. If you are different that means
you’re not my group. So, if you want to be in my group, you must become lime me. In Thai
language called, “Phuak Khao, Phuak Rao.” If you want to our group, then you must speak
my language, if you don’t then you are not with me.

Unknowingly Thai education has produced a mono-lingual society. Yet another argument is
that English language is perhaps the second language but due to poor education, people that
can communicate in English are very limited in the numbers although Thailand has spend
around twenty percent of its annual nation budget on education in all level, but the number of
speakers of the language are still very limited. Different from neighboring country in the
south of Thailand like Malaysia and Singapore that experiencing ethnic clashes between the
Chinese and the Malay. Thailand has no experienced at all in dealing with ethnic differences
because she thinks that there is no ethnic differences in the kingdom of Thailand. It is not
until the uprising of the Muslims in 3 provinces adjacent with Malaysia erupts in 2006; Thai
society has started to realize that ethnic problem is powerful that the ideology clashes. From
then the TV audiences are familiar with Muslim topics discussed on TV tube, and how the
government in the past and in the present have to send troops to restore peace and order in the
three provinces. However, this is still not enough for Thai educator to come to term with the
truth that, Thai education goes wrong for decades and it is continuing to go wrong because it
needed to go wrong.

From attitude, bias, stigmatization, indiscrimination, to marginalization of the Khmer


Language in Schools in Surin Province: A Five Decades of Elimination of the Khmer
Culture and Language Without a Bleeding

Ethnic Khmers are the indigenous people of the Surin province since time memorial. They
are the dominant population of the province, including in the neighboring provinces of
Srisaket, and Burriram. They speak and write Khmer until the 1962 when Thai government
has put the ban on the indigenous languages especially in government schools. Children are
forbid from speaking their mother tongue, especially Khmer and Kuy. The ancestors of the
ethnic Khmer have left plenty of tangible and intangible heritages to their children, for
example, Khmer ruins, Khmer language, social infrastructure, and culture. Although, the
official history of the province doesn’t give any credit to the Khmers who construct the city,
but the earliest evidences are existed everywhere i.e. Prast Phum Pun—the oldest Khmer
temple in Surin, and in Thailand constructed in the 8th century, and other Khmer ruins like

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Prasat Srikhoraphum constructed in the 8th century by the order of King Yasovarman I. These
are undeniable facts that, the Khmers are the owner of the land right before other ethnic
groups. The Khmer language spoken in Surin can be traced back to the 6th century when

Khmer pronounces “R” រ and “L” ល very clear.

In 1907 the Franco-Siamese Treaty has cut off these land from the Khmer in lowland ,
although King Sisowat Monivongse of Cambodia has send the letter to protest to the French
protectorate to incorporate these provinces back to the Khmer; but the French doesn’t take
heed his complaint. It is estimated that there are presently five millions on the ethnic Khmer
living in Thai territory now stretching from Ubolratchathani to Trat province. I still remember
the song aired on the Radio Phnom Penh when I was young, it called “Sren Khnong Phnom

” It is sad song, and it is a song without knowing who is the author of the song.

Since then, the ethnic Khmer Surin’s way of life has evolved in a different way from their
relatives in Cambodia. Under the new parents, ethnic Khmer Surin were told of a new story
that theirs bio-parents are dead, and they are now under care of a foster families. They have
to forget their past when they were with their bio-parents. A new state sponsored history has
been written, and the Kuy—an ethnic Mon-Khmer group like the Khmer has to play a new
role as a founder of the province, and they take the role of the mahouts. A new word to call
the ethnic Khmer Surin introduced to the researchers “Khmer in Thai’s land เขมรถิ่นไทย”

Do you read the Khmer letters? I asked an old man who frequently come visiting
my house. “No, I don’t want to because I hate the Khmer language.” I keep
asking him, “Why do you hate the Khmer language? You can’t even speak Thai
properly.” The old man walked away, the same way that he came that morning.

Nationalism is always in the mind of those education managers in Bangkok, and nothing else
but Thainess or Kwampenthai—a very ambiguous words and people hardly know the true
meaning of it. Yes, Kwampenthai doesn’t come alone; it comes with the power and authority
from the central Thai government and through effective government schools sprung up in
almost every villages of Surin province. But, don’t waste your time looking out for the

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indigenous language or stories to be told in those schools because it is forbidden places, it is
well reserved for the Thai culture only. For the Kuy, Khmer or Lao, it is just like you take the
ride with a 2nd class train or even at its worst the 3rd class train and you aren’t deserved
attention because you’re at the lowest part of the social stratum. It is just like the story of the
Afro-Americans in the early 20th century who share the same religion with their masters, and
it is the only thing that makes them feel equal with their masters although it is a master and
slave relationship.

It is interesting to find how ethnic Khmer Surin gives up their cultural tie with the Khmer in
Cambodia. Why so? Attitude doesn’t come by itself. We may have poor or even bad attitude
on something that we may not even know. We just listen to people say and for some may
jump to the conclusion that may be wrong. I was also at one time, told that Khmer in
Cambodia weren’t good people because they always fight each other for power. Now, they
fight with Thailand for the temple of Preah Vihear especially Somdech Sihanouk because
Somedech Sihanouk takes Prasat Preah Vihear from Thailand. I was also the victim of
history taught in government school that through media and through education, ethnic Khmer
Surin infected with the state sponsored history. When I worked in Site II—a Khmer refugees
camp in Ta Praya district, I hardly speak Khmer at all when I was my twenties, but little by
little I learn Khmer language with friends, and I started to ask myself whey I can’t read
Khmer. I was also told that, “Khmer language spoken in Surin is not understandable by the
Khmer in Cambodia.” But, the more I learn, the more I have found that this is nothing but a
propaganda that aims to separate cultural tie between the once were people living in the same
house. I saw people in the refugee camp got crazy, fighting, friendship and sincerity. Years
with Khmer refugees I start to know that I am a Khmer culturally. Although my nationality is
Thai, but culturally I am Khmer—my cultural citizen is Khmer. I know some people who
also worked in refugee camp for fifteen years, but they don’t speak Khmer. I know that they
don’t want to learn Khmer because they think that they are Thai both by law and by culture.
Khmers are foreigners to them, they are not relatives anymore. But, that is because of Thai
education doesn’t teach anybody to be proud of being Khmer, Lao, Kuy within the Thai
social context. But, for the Chinese ethnic in Surin, with social and economic power, they are
survived the suppression from previous Thai military dictatorship, in the last 30 years, with
economic power, they now take control of the local politics, and their bargaining power is so
high. It is normal for the Chinese to look out for their ancestral home or ties in mainland
China—the country that Thailand once painted as a monster communist country. This is no

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exception for the current Prime Minister of Thailand seeks for his ancestral tie back in
Vietnam because his ancestors are from Vietnam long time ago. What about the Khmer
people of Surin province? What about the Lao ethnic? Would it make them pride of their
connection with Khmer in Cambodia? I don’t think so because Thai education paints the
picture of the Khmer as the underground people with cursing from Phra Ruang written by a
brother of a King of Thailand. I am sure that everybody in Thailand knows the story very
well because it is a must read book for all.

In 1962 Thailand and Cambodia fought over the sovereignty over the ancient Khmer temple
of Phnom Preah Vihear at the International Court f Justice (ICJ) at The Hague. ICJ rules in
favor of Cambodia, and Thailand has to return the ruins to Cambodia with pressure from the
super power nation like the USA, at the time has its busy hands with the war in Vietnam. The
year marks as the beginning of forced suppression by Thai government to eliminate Khmer
culture from the provinces where the Khmer ethnics are congested. People forced to change
their name because Khmer name is very short i.e. Noun is my father’s name—a purely
Khmer name, but because he wanted to work with the government then he has to change his
name to Montri—a sound Thai name. Khmer Palm Leaves Scripts are ordered to be burnt
down by the order from the government through local authorities. Temples were banned from
teaching and functioning as a local learning ground. Monks were no longer allowed to teach.
Children must go to government school with the curriculum that doesn’t fit well with their
locality. In sum, education is no longer manager by local people as it is traditionally under the
management of the temples. Teachers are recruited from somewhere else having no tie with
the village they work with. In the past, teachers are the villagers therefore their conducts are
observed by the fellow villagers who live in the same village.

War in Cambodia for three decades also make Khmer ethnic’s views on their Khmer brothers
and sisters as the country without no peace. The Khmer Rouge ruled Cambodia for a brief
period from 1975-1979 but that is enough to make the Khmer Surin looks at the Khmer in
Cambodia like a foreigners especially who live on the border. Border areas are targets as
vulnerable territory because of frequent move from Cambodia and from Thailand. Thus, Thai
military has spend a huge amount of budgets to develop the area connecting with Cambodia,
and fostering local militias to fight with Communist Party of Thailand (CPT) and sending the
ethnic Khmer Surin to conduct a clandestine operations in Cambodia in the 1970s and
through out the war in 1980s and 1990s.

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Many Khmer refugees recalled the brutality of ethnic Khmer Surin militias working with
Thai soldiers. Although, they speak Khmer but they have no mercy for their Khmer brothers
and sisters. A man from Samroang, Oddor Meanchey province, Cambodia tells me horrible
story how his wife was raped by local ethnic Khmer militias under the supervision of the Thai
soldiers. It is always stick in his mind. Many Khmers in Cambodia feel hate ethnic Khmer in
Surin because of these uneducated militias. The majority of the border areas are mixed up
between ethnic Lao, Thai, and recently southern Thai ethnic who comes to purchase a big
plot of land for rubber plantation. They are powerful and skillful in recruiting people to
demand the government for their own purpose. Ethnic Khmers are Buddhist and listen to
order from the government and listen to their leader often bribed and perform like an agent
from the rich people in town. Ethnic Lao always work in the team, and they are determined.
Most of newly villages sprung up along the border are ethnic Lao from somewhere else while
ethnic Khmer always live in the old villages for generations.

Myths about the Khmer language in Surin

“Why do we have to learn Khmer?, said a university president in Surin Province.

“Nobody speaks Khmer in this village anymore,” said a grocery owner at Phum Kok
Krapeu village, Amphoe Muang Surin, Surin Province, Thailand.

“Oh, the Khmer language taught by Mr.Cheymongkol is the Khmer language of


Cambodia. Khmer in Thailand don’t have writing system and if ethnic Khmer in
Surin learn Khmer writing then, they will be Khmer Hun Sen. That is why we have to
use Thai scripts. Doing so we can protect and preserve our language and culture. I
remember that a teacher at Poh Kong Village said to me when we first met.

War in Cambodia continued until 1993 when Paris Peace Agreement signs by all the states
involved in the conflict, it brings Cambodia to another chapter in the history. Border posts are
sprung up along the border line between Thailand and Cambodia stretching from
Ubolratchathani in the northern territory down to Trat Province at the end of the Gulf of
Siam. Khmer Refugees are repatriated to Cambodia. “Turn the battlefield into the Market
Place,” said by the late Gen. Chatchai Chunhavan applauded by the many business in both
countries. Surin also has one international crossing point called “Chong Chom.” Chong

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Chom market—the market largely filled up with Khmer traders from Cambodia, it is the
market place that Khmer language spoken widely.

In fluctuation of the Khmer migrant workers are also commonly found in Surin province.
They come find the work to meet the end’s meets at home in Cambodia. Although, it isn’t
always a good luck story to remember for many but it is better than waiting for hungry at
home. More powerful in term of economy and social sound, many Khmers from Cambodia
now working and inter marriage with local ethnic Khmer Surin. Comparing to Bangkok,
working in Surin gets low paid that in Bangkok and elsewhere. They ethnic Khmer Surin
doesn’t want to do a sweat job; they prefer to work in Bangkok and in other industrialized
provinces where they can get higher pay with limited education. For some factories like rice
milling factory, ice factory, house workers, food vendors are commonly filled up Khmer from
Oddor Meanchey Province of Cambodia. It is common because border crossing is easy than
other in Poi Pet, and checkpoints very few and plenty of road web to sneak away from they
eyes of Thai police and army. But, the presence of the Khmer migrant workers in Surin
doesn’t make the ethnic Khmer Surin speak more of the Khmer language or think that they
are attached to the same Khmer culture. Ethnic Khmer in Surin calls Khmer from Cambodia
Khmer Krom because they live on the southern side of the Dong Raek ranch where
geographically lower than in the north of the mountain. Accent is very similar for those who
oftenl communicate in Khmer, but for ethnic Khmer Surin who doesn’t speak Khmer much,
they have a difficulty in listening to the accent. That is not because language differences. It is
the same for other language i.e. English.

In conclusion, there are many factors that cause ethnic Khmer Surin to give up their cultural
background. It is obvious that, government ethnic policy, history, education, and economy
are also have its share in the decline of the Khmer language and culture in Surin province,
and other neighboring provinces where ethnic Khmers are congested and dominated.
Government policy implemented through education has played a fatal role for the
survivability of the indigenous languages especially weaker cultural group, for example, the
Kuy or Kuay who don’t have the writing system and distinct culture from the others like the
Khmer. Ethnic Lao has its special because it belongs to the same language family with Thai
or Tai language; therefore, they are unofficially representing the ethnic group of the
Northeast of Thailand. Lao language can be viewed on National Broadcasting of Thailand
(NBT) in Ubolratchathani province every Sunday morning; but there is no place for the
Khmer and the Kuy language.

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Khmer Writing Scripts Based VS Thai Writing Scripts Based---A Battlefield in Surin
Province

I have interviewed an old lady who also attended the Khmer language training in Bangkok
with Research for Language and Culture of Asia, Mahidol University in 2008. She told me
that she was taught to write Khmer words by using Thai writing scripts, and during the
training, participants were taught to write the tales intended for teaching the children at Poh
Kong School. I asked her to write a Khmer word, “Watermelon” in Kher using the Thai
scripts, she couldn’t write it. She said that, “it isn’t exact sound that she knows.” Her
background is that, she is a daughter of a Palm leaves writer; she can memorize a famous
Khmer story of Tum Teav because she heard her father sung when she was young. In her
time, women hardly allowed to get education, and because education is in the temple ground
only.

In 2006, Office of Primary Education Committee (OPEC) and Thailand Research Fund
(TRF) financed the Bilingual Program—teaching Khmer language using Thai scripts in Surin
province at Poh Kong Primary School, Prasat District. The objective is to preserve the local
culture and secondly to make children perform well in Thai language. Students are taught
Khmer language using Thai scripts starting from Grade 4 up until Grade 6. For this year
2010, there are 21 schools joins the project using the budget allocated from SP2. I have asked
teachers who join the project to write just like what they have learnt from the BL Project.
They hardly write it correctly, and the argument is that why we have to learn Khmer using
Thai scripts when we already have our own writing scripts? Writing Khmer using Thai
scripts doesn’t present the correct sounds in Khmer. Worst of all children will get confused
with Thai language and Khmer language will be blamed eventually.

The bilingual undertaken by Research for Language and Culture of Asia has also operated in
three troubled southern provinces of Thailand, but facing a tough resistance from teachers
and villagers, they turn to Surin province, where people are weaker in terms of culture and
social force and they are subject to years of stigmatization operated by Thai government. Poh
Kong Village has been picked up to take the leading role and it is a pure Khmer village.
Many villagers are convinced to join the classroom organized in the village and in Bangkok.
It is easy to get people involvement because it is a government project, and the school master
take the leading role in her research. Now, they learn to write Khmer language using Thai
scripts, and an old lady we have talked with said that, “it is difficult because it is not exactly

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what I really want to say.” New stories are invented with no regards to existing local tales,
and villagers and teachers told that, “Khmer Surin doesn’t have a writing system. Khmer
Surin speaks Khmer different way from Khmer in Cambodia.”

It can not be understood other way that Ministry of Education has openly support its intention
to eradicate the Khmer language from the province and they care only Thai language. The
eradication process has been carried out for fifty years, and now perhaps the last assault in the
last stronghold of the Khmer culture in Thailand. This is considered as a violation of the
National Education Act 2006 and Article 66 of the Constitution of Thailand which clearly
recognizes the right of the indigenous peoples and the involvement of the local communities
in managing education with respect to their own culture. Ministry of Education has
committed its mistake in the three troubled southern provinces of Thailand already by forcing
the indigenous Muslims to attend the government school while the curriculum doesn’t in
correspondence with their life. Compulsory education means that every must attend because
it is the law although the quality of education is very questionable, but you must comply with
the law. What happening in the three troubled southern provinces of Thailand is because
central government has tried for decades to insert Thainess in the Muslims dominated land,
and the result is what we have witnessed these days. It is the hidden war that Thai society has
to pay with the lives of the innocent people.

I also have the question to ask to Research for Language and Culture of Asia following
questions. There are:

1 Why Khmer Surin have to learn Khmer language using Thai scripts?

2 Where and how the project participants get the idea that Khmer in Surin doesn’t have
our own writing system?

3 Why there is no such kind of project for the Kuy who doesn’t have writing system?

Rights Movement Demanding for the right to learn Khmer in government school

Language and Culture Association of Surin Province has been found in order to promote and
to raise the cultural awareness of the ethnic Khmer in Surin province and in another province.
Since 2006, Education in Indigenous Language Project has closely worked with ethnic
Khmer communities in Surin province in different locations of the province and through local

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cooperation i.e. temples and villagers, Language and Culture Association of Surin Province
has set up four learning center. In addition, local awareness of cultural value has also been
introduced through cooperation with other community groups.

August 4th, 2009, Language and Culture Association of Surin Province has signed
Memorandum of Understanding with Regional Education Zone 1 of Surin province which
clearly says that, “Learning Khmer must use Khmer scripts only.” However, Regional
Education Zone 1 has failed to implement the MOU for some reason. Language and Culture
Association of Surin Province has raised the issue to Office of Primary Education
Commission and Ministry of Education to take the appropriate actions to enforce the rights as
clearly states by the current Constitution of Thailand; but so far there is no answer at all from
the OPEC. LCASP will also seek for help from other institution and legal process will be
taken if it is found necessary.

Domestic and International Commitment by Thai government

Since Thailand is a member state of the United Nations, it shall not shy away from the
international treaties that it is also a signatory state, for example, Universal Declaration on
Human Rights, Universal Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, UNESCO’s
Declaration on Cultural Diversity, UN’s Social and Economic, and even its own Constitution
of Thailand B.E. 2550 that endorses the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples of the Kingdom of
Thailand. I would also propose these questions to Thai government and concerned
organizations both inside and outside Thailand to find out appropriate means to implement
the laws.

The questions are of the followings:

1 What are the general contours under International Law of the right to mother tongue
education and how does the right relate to the broader rights to an education and to culture?

2 What is arguably the proper balance between the right to mother tongue education and
the State’s right (duty may be?) to prepare students for the linguistic requirements of national
and global society?

3 What kind of affirmatives measures are taken by the Thai government to ensure the
educational/cultural rights of linguistic minorities?

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4 What is the role of non-government and international organizations in promoting the
right to mother tongue education in Thailand?

5 In what way is the right to mother tongue education implemented in remote area, non-
urban areas of Thailand?

In conclusion, it is necessary step for Thailand to seriously include the indigenous languages
into the country’s education system. Marginalization of her own ethnic groups is proved a
fatal blow the country’s unity. Unity doesn’t mean that everybody must be the same; ethnic
groups must be able to maintain their cultural differences and uniqueness. Of course, national
language is important for citizen to communicate when interact with difference ethnic groups.
But, indigenous culture is also crucial for maintain the integrity of the community at the
grassroots level. Local wisdom gone when language gone, it is also cultural identity and
when it is gone, it is not easy to restore. Education must be flexible to different cultural
background of the different part of the country. It is also to show to the world community
how seriously Thailand takes the issues of human rights as it is now the Chair country of the
Human Rights committee of the United Nations.

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References

Ash, Lucy.2002.”China’s Fearful Muslim Minority.” BBC News (Jan.22):3. Accessed online
at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/word/asia-pacific/1748801.stm,on Feb.25,2004.

Brown, Melissa J.2001. “Ethnic Classification and Culture: The Case of the Tujia in Hubei,
China.” Asian Ethnicity 2, no. 1:55-72.

Council of Europe. 1992. European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages Accessed
online at http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/en/Treaties/Html/148.htm, on Nov.11, 2004.

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