New power of life among Khmer community

Update: 10-03-2023 | 14:55:15

After many years of working with shifting cultivation, the U60 and 70 generations of the Khmer community in An Binh commune in Phu Giao district are not only economically stable but also become rich and have successful children. The story of poverty is now the past when the right policies of the authorities at all levels have brought sweet fruits to the people, creating new vitality for the local community.

Every early morning, the famous barefoot giants of Khmer village in An Binh commune such as Nguu Bu, Kim Ngoc, Kim Nho, Kim Niem come to the cafe, have breakfast, and sit down to talk about the news of private business. Around 9 o'clock, they drive cars into the fields to manage workers harvesting fruit and gardening. In the evening, they sit and sip a cup of tea on the large terraces with their children and grandchildren; some play and relax by the Koi pond priced hundreds of millions of VND. After many years of farming, they themselves did not expect life to turn to such a spectacular side.

Nguu Bu is by the Koi pond has just been built by hundreds of millions of VND near a billion-VND villa

The race to build villas and buy luxury cars

Returning to the village of the Khmer community in Nuoc Vang hamlet of Tan Thinh in An Binh commune of Phu Giao district) after a short time, we were amazed at the rapid changes of the locals. The large and widely open asphalt roads between communes interspersed with flat concrete routes connecting residential areas lead to more than 260 Khmer households which are no longer shacks but spaciously built houses. The alleys in the residential area are opened by people selling fashion, hairdressing and beauty shops like in a rich town. Particularly in the last few years, more Thai roof villas and high-rise buildings worth VND 2-3 billion each have mushroomed making the whole residential area more prominent and luxurious.

Not only are they getting richer, but the Khmer community has also made life aspects of also catch up with the general development of society. The wifi network is connected to each household. Every house has a smart TV or a refrigerator. Better families invest in amenities such as air conditioners, washing machines, and many other expensive items. Take a look at the giants, besides those who are nearly 70 years old with huge assets of up to tens of billions of VND such as Kim Niem, Kim Ngoc, Nguu Bu, Kim Nho, young people next to them who are in recent years interested in doing business and become rich like Kim Duyen, Kim Thanh, Kim Minh Thong, Kim Man, Kim Bang, Tri Hoang, Tri Thanh, Tri Ca among others.

Kim Niem, a village elder with great affection for his relatives said: “Out of 263 households with more than 1,000 Khmer people, only 2 are in poverty. Most of them have a stable and good economy. Dozens of households are rich, some are even very rich with assets up to tens of billions of VND. Therefore, it is normal for relatives to race to buy cars and build villas. They are rich but do not spend lavishly because they understand the hard times of going through for many years."

In 2000, Nguu Bu invested in building a Thai roof villa with a campus of hundreds of square meters worth more than VND 2 billion, and other expensive furniture up to hundreds of millions of VND. In it, there are dishes ordered from abroad to decorate the house. He also invested heavily in a Koi pond in a beautiful yard with an amount of up to hundreds of millions. He bought car worth VND 700 million 4 years ago. The property is earned by his hard work after decades of farming. “In 2000, someone paid me nearly VND 22 billion for 5 hectares of rubber land, I sold it as at that time the land was valuable. When I held the money from selling the land, I bought back 3 hectares of rubber trees elsewhere; the rest I bought the ground land and the land in front of DT741 street, but did not spend any money. In general, no matter how much I sold, now I bought back more than before, I have made a pretty high profit."

Recently, people could not help but admire when Kim Nho invested more than VND 3 billion to build a villa with 1 ground floor, 1 floor with 5 bedrooms on DH502. Or Kim Niem's large wooden house which is also very hard to value for its precious wood stored for many years. Kim Niem's family now has 6 children and 6 cars.

Build the future with literacy

Besides trying to get rich, Khmer people are especially interested in raising their children to study well. According to the statistics of the dignitaries in the Khmer community, nearly 100 people are currently their descendants who have graduated from universities, colleges, and intermediate schools; and there are many successful people with education. For example, Kim Niem's family has 6 children who are teachers teaching in many localities in the province. Nguu Bu's daughter works as a translator of 3 languages in English, Chinese and Japanese for a business in Ben Cat town with a salary of tens of million VND a month.

Nguu Bu recalls: “More than 10 years ago, when the family's economy was still harsh, and the fruit trees did not yield much, I had to do all kinds of jobs and also worked as a veterinarian for people in the area to earn money. There was a time when two children went to university at the same time; we loved them very much, but when we saw them back, we were worried because we had no money to give them. Loving their parents' hard work, they just go to school and carry calves for restaurants and cafes to earn more. Through discussions with children and grandchildren in the area, I often repeat the story so that the children can follow the example of their predecessors."

Kim Nho has just invested in building a spacious 1 ground and 1 floor villa of more than VND 3 billion

In the past, many locals thought of learning as to knowing the words;then in the past 10 years, every family has directed their children to study for the future. There are still families in hardship trying to send 2-3 children of school age to schools. There are people who study successfully and work far away, but many people choose to be a teacher to return to teach their community with the desire to bring more knowledge to their Khmer people like Kim Thi Yen Trinh, Kim Thi Hoang Yen, Kim Thien Long, Kim Thi Kieu Trang who are teaching at kindergartens, primary schools and high schools in An Binh commune.

Kim Thien Long said: “Many years ago, we have seen the hardships of fathers and mothers in the area when their whole lives were attached to farming. Many of young people like us go to middle schools, colleges, and then step by step go to universities to acquire the knowledge for the future. People are multiplying every day, but the earth does not make rooms. If you don't study, even if you want to be a farmer, you won't have land to do it. Therefore, every day we try to instill the literacy among our children.”

Besides, with policies to support education and help poor and disadvantaged students for ethnic minorities in the province, the education of Khmer children in An Binh commune is getting better and better. (To be continued)

Reported by Quang Tam – Translated by Vi Bao

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New power of life among Khmer community

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