It was Thursday evening in Adelaide and the Khmer Krom community were preparing to walk in the Respecting Country Parade across the Riverbank Precinct Bridge to Elder Park to celebrate Australia Day.

An annual celebration similar to America’s Independence Day, Australia Day marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet and the raising the Union Flag of Great Britain. While some are protesting this day because it represents the invasion against the native aboriginals, others like the Khmer Krom are celebrating their culture and valuing the diversity that makes Australia Australian.

The Night Before

“I was looking for details of the day to show my friend and mum was there,” my younger sister sent a message via Facebook messenger with a screenshot late that night.

It was a picture of my mother, Tina from last year’s parade on the Australia Day SA website. She had a large pink flower tucked on the left behind a headband made of the Australian flag colors. Draped above her red traditional lace top was a scarf in blue, yellow and red. Colors of the Khmer Krom flag, one that represented the movement of the Khmer Krom and their struggle to be identified as indigenous peoples of the Mekong Delta.

With a smile on her face and her right hand held up to wave, my mother looked like the Queen of England.

“That is my mother,” I thought to myself, feeling a deep sense of pride for someone who is always giving herself to the community. 

She was not a queen but she was a leader in her own right, an ordinary woman doing extraordinary things. 

For the past 15 years, my mother along with a few elders like Om Sami and my father (you can read his story here) have kept up the tradition of walking in the parade.

It was my mother’s way of demonstrating her love of her Khmer culture and pride as a Khmer Krom. More importantly, it was a way of expressing her gratitude and love of Australia, her adopted home since the 1990s.

My family like thousands of others fled the Mekong Delta or Cambodia and trekked through the borders of Thailand in search of a better life in the 1980s. We were the fortunate few that was accepted and offered refuge in Australia, a gift my parent has never forgotten.

And in spite of having a better life in Australia, they have never forgotten their roots back home and remain advocates for their people back home by volunteering for the Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation (KKF) and community.

“It’s so hard to find people to participate,” she mentioned to me in a call yesterday, the day before the parade. 

I wondered where everyone was. Surely it would be a great event to attend, to celebrate our culture and identity? Show the world our pride?

“But our Khmer Krom friends from Melbourne are coming to support us,” she added, her voice hopeful.

We were on video call and my mother and father were preparing the living room for the guests, who were scheduled to arrive at 1 am the day of the parade.

Surprised, I wondered why those who were driving 8 hours or flying from Melbourne felt it was important to participate and yet those who are close did not.

As I pondered and wondered, I knew there really nothing I could do, I was thousands of miles away and could only cheer in spirit.

The Day of Australia Day

It was early Friday when I woke up and checked my phone to see Facebook posts with live videos documenting the parade in action from Adelaide. There were hundreds of people and organizations representing Thailand, China, Cambodia and many other ethnic groups.

Surprisingly, more than thirty Khmer Krom people, young and old including several Buddhist monks, showed up for the event, proudly dressed in Khmer clothes and or with scarves of blue, yellow, and red. Some held flags while others wore masks holding two banners representing the KKF and the Khmer Krom monastery SA.

My mother was standing next to a Khmer Krom flag, holding a pink poster with hand-drawn flowers, hearts, blue ribbons, and Australian flag stickers with the words, “Overwhelming Khmer Krom heart. Thank you to the Australian People.”

Like many that attended the parade, she was proud to be an Australian and Khmer Krom.

“I just want to represent and promote Khmer Krom identity to others communities in SA, Australia, ” says Bonat Danh, who flew from Melbourne to participate in this event.

Moments later, the parade started and with the Khmer music blasting from a portable speaker on wheels and the slight wind blowing as if to cheer them on, they walked across the river Torrens to Elder Park proudly showcasing their culture and identity. 

Final Words

Australia Day remains a controversial day and will may stand for different things for different people. For the Khmer Krom people, it is a celebration of who they are and where they come from. The group may have been small but their spirit was like a beacon of light for those who could not do what they did in the Mekong Delta, speak up and proudly proclaim that they are proud to be Khmer Krom.