Cambodians have a rich history of grand accomplishments and great endurance. We have built monumental temples which have lasted over seven centuries, survived decades of imperialism and war, and repeatedly rebuilt our country and our dreams. We have refined our dances to exquisite beauty and unlocked the many secrets of lemongrass. We proudly respect and honor our extended families. We freely acknowledge our brown skin, short noses, and love of rice, prahok, and durian. We have nurtured sons and daughters who have been visionaries, architects, scholars, and dancers and who now aspire to leave a mark worthy of our resilient, industrious, and talented lineage. We believe that feeling proud about our heritage is a way to bond over our common history, celebrate our potential, and understand ourselves and each other. This is what we feel when we say that we have Khmer pride.

Your Vision

We recognize that Khmer pride and community mean something different to every person. We invite you to share your interpretations of Khmer pride and send us your thoughts on what Khmer pride means to you. Because pride takes different forms, anything you send us is welcome. It can be as intense as a soul searching article, as brief as a pointed sentence, or as spontaneous as a snapshot of you and your friends at the beach. We will do our best to post everything we receive.

Who Should Have It?

All Cambodians should be proud of their heritage. You could be Cambodian-American or American-Cambodian, Cambodian-Australian or Cambodian-French, or if you're Phnom Penh Khmer or Battambang Khmer. Which part of the world you live in doesn't matter; which side of the hyphen you identify most with doesn't matter either. Being Cambodian is only one way in which we define ourselves and how we fit into the rest of the world. Showing Khmer pride is an act of embracing one part of our identity and is not synonymous with rejecting all other parts of who we are. In addition to being Khmer, we are also Americans and Canadians, students and teachers, engineers and dancers, children and parents. Being proud of our heritage is an inclusive feeling, not an exclusive one. While heritage will be the strongest source of Khmer pride, we think that anyone with a tie to Cambodia should be able to feel and understand it, whether that tie be from friendship, travel, reading, or any type of exposure to the country.

Why Should We Have It?

We believe that pride and knowledge of oneself is a source of peace and strength. Being Cambodian is part of our identity, so we should recognize it, become comfortable with it, and hopefully, embrace it.

The KhmerConnection Mission Statement

We call ourselves the KhmerConnection because our mission is to help Cambodians connect to each other and build a Khmer community. Obviously, our community starts online, but we hope it will expand offline, bringing you to events and into each other's company. By interacting and engaging with each other on topics which are relevant to Cambodians, we hope you will begin to feel even more pride in our heritage and our people. We believe that pride and community are two tools which will empower us to achieve more, allowing us to celebrate, learn from, and build upon our past and each other.

Our Commitment to Community

While we welcome people from all backgrounds and ethnicities to our site, Khmer Connection is an online community mainly designed by Cambodians for Cambodians. We attempt to fulfill three important community-building functions. We want to :

• Inform the Khmer community of news, events, ideas and opinions.
• Be a forum for exchange of ideas and a meeting place for Cambodian friends, colleagues, role models, and mentors.
• Serve as a reference for Cambodian resources, culture, and history.

The programs and resources below are designed to foster community and connectivity to other Cambodians and Cambodia-related events and programs. We invite you to be a part of our community.