Vietnam

1: So you’re from Vietnam?
2: Yeah. Southern area. I grew up there, it’s near Cambodia.
1: Cambodia? I read about some history of them before. There was communist rule there back in the 70’s and a lot of Muslims were killed.
2: A lot of people were killed actually. Like a few million.
1: Yeah? Wow. Of that, I never knew Muslims even existed there. But I heard between 500,000 and a 1,000,000. Pretty crazy. Looks like they were targeted.
2: Probably. There was a genocide, Muslims, Chinese and others were targeted.
1: I met someone here who said they would kill them with bamboo sticks by striking their necks. You familiar with that?
2: I think this was one of the techniques. Yeah. Actually, in Vietnam, there are many Muslims near the border.
1: No way. Really? Where?
2: Châu Đốc. I grew up there. Also other areas like Hồng Ngự.
1: Oh, so these are Vietnamese Muslims?
2: Well, they are mainly Cham people, but yeah, from Vietnam. Actually, it’s kind of complicated.
1: Oh. How come?
2: Because that area is kind of fluid. I met people here who speak Vietnamese but are Cambodian. Many Cambodians moved to Vietnam. That area has its own culture.
1: So you’ve seen Muslims there?
2: Of course. Like I said, I grew up in that area. They have good restaurants.
1: So there’s mosques?
2: Yeah, for sure.
1: I also read that the Muslims live living near that river?
2: Mekong River.
1: Yeah.
2: The Mekong River is one of the longest rivers in the world. It has its own kind of culture. Muslims and others live there.
1: Are there any problems there?
2: Between the Muslims and Vietnamese?
1: Yeah, the government.
2: No, not really. Historically, the Vietnamese have taken land from the Cham people, but things are fine now. There was a Cham king. He was exiled to America but I think after 1995, he came back. There are some restrictions. Like he can’t sing songs to rally his people.
1: So they won’t ask for a state?
2: Something like that.

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