Khmer Times, Opinion, 25 January 2023 (Link)
There are two ways to better understand a country and its people.
One way is to give up all prejudice and try to approach local people with naked eyes.
Another is to seek to understand the original thoughts, cultures and identities of local people.
Now let us discuss about the first way, the importance of seeing local people with naked eyes without predetermined frames of prejudice.
The approach towards Cambodia and Cambodian people should be in a learning attitude, trying to understand without prejudice and predetermined judgment.
For example, for Cambodian people, when asked what they think about Japanese, they often can accept Japanese as they are, not as the imperialist invaders based on historical and cultural prejudice even if Cambodian people like to watch Khmer-dubbed Chinese movies, Korean movies and American movies that portray Japanese as devil imperialists.
They just accept Japanese people as Japanese, as friends, as guests, as pure human being without any prejudgment.
Cambodian people know that there are also some rude and arrogant American, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. But they still approach those foreigners without discrimination.
Cambodian people rarely view Westerners in the historical frames, such as the past colonists, the past bombers over our grandparents, the past “sanctioners” over our parents, or as the past Khmer Rouge sympathizers.
Generally, we don’t have vengeful feeling against foreigners.
Such kind of approach by Cambodian people should be reciprocated by foreigners.
Now let us discuss about the second way, the importance of digging deeper by getting to know the original thoughts and ways of life of local people.