Indigenous people are poorly educated with health, livelihood challenged

The Bunong (alternatively Phnong, Punong, or Pnong is an indigenous ethnic group in Cambodia. They are found primarily in Mondulkiri and Ratanakiri in Cambodia. The Bunong is the largest indigenous highland ethnic group in Cambodia. They have their language called Bunong, which belongs to Bahnaric branch of Austroasiatic languages. see more

The majority of Bunong people are animists, but a minority of them follows Christianity (Evangelical Protestantism or Roman Catholicism) and Theravada Buddhism. After Cambodia's independence in 1953, Prince Sihanouk created a novel terminology, referring to the country's highland inhabitants, including the Bunong, as Khmer Loeu ("upland Khmer")

Bunong language (sometimes spelled 'Mnong') is the native language of the Bunong people. It is a member of Bahnaric branch of Austroasiatic languages and is distantly related to Khmer and other languages spoken in the Cambodian highlands (excluding Jarai and Rade which are Austronesian languages closely related to Cham). There are several dialects of Bunong, some even recognised as a distinct language by linguists; most Bunong dialects are spoken in neighbouring Vietnam, except for Kraol which is spoken within Cambodia.

The government and Civil Society Organisations have said that indigenous people in Cambodia are poorly educated and their health and livelihoods are also challenged with them living according to their traditional culture. These remarks were made at the launch of the National Report on Socio-Economic Situation of Indigenous Peoples in Cambodia yesterday. The report describes 22 indigenous groups, identified by their unique languages. Their population has been assessed at close to 180,000, equivalent to 1.34% of the national population with the vast majority dwelling in only six provinces – Ratanakkiri, Mondulkiri, Kratie, Stung Treng, Kampong Thom and Preah Vihear.

Minister of Rural Development Ouk Rabun told attendees that he recognises some of the obvious shortcomings with the report showing that the indigenous people have been the lowest incidence of registry to study. The percentage of indigenous people continuing their education at the junior high school and high school levels are the lowest in the nation. China to more tightly control ethnic minority discussion online and in print to temper ideological ‘risks’ Communist Party’s theoretical journal article calls for greater oversight of public opinion to ‘resolutely fend off the infiltration of the three forces’ The remarks come as Beijing stresses the need to realise Xi Jinping’s vision of ‘forging a sense of community of the Chinese nation’ See more