Cham diaspora in Southeast Asia: Construction of Identity and Transnational Network (Study Case of Cambodia)

Diasporic communities have been emerging along with the rapid transnational movements withnessed by the migrations in Southeast asia. Cham people who originally came from the Kingdom of Cham in Central Vietnam, have migrated to Cambodia in several stages. When defeated by Vietnam in 1693, Cham People moved to countries like Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia. Early migration to Cambodia took place from the end of the 16^th to the early 17^th centuries. After the fall of Pol pot, internal problems in Cambodia encouraged another movement of Cham people from Cambodia to Malaysia. From 1975 to 1988 around 10,722 refugees entered Malaysia. Historically, Cham people had close connections with people from in other countries of Southeast Asia, especially Malaysia. Transnational networks have been established and these seem to follow old patterns of relationships. The Islamic world indeed is an important channel for transnational networking. This in turn has equally influenced the contemporary construction of Cham identity.