University of the Pacific students and sisters Chandra Chhin, left, and Caly Chhin attend a rally on campus Wednesday to protest what they call unjust deportation of some Southeast Asian immigrants in the United States. (Photo: Cliffors Oto/The Record)
Click chart to zoom inApril 24, 2008
By Jennifer Torres
Record Staff Writer (Stockton, California, USA)
"It's encouraging to see our young leaders ... exercising their voice. It's not just about cultural heritage. We're Americans, too" - Sondra Roeuny, president of United Cambodian FamiliesSTOCKTON - A group of Cambodian students and their allies rallied at University of the Pacific on Wednesday to protest what they believe are unjust U.S. deportation policies and to call attention to the overall status of Southeast Asian immigrants.
The efforts, participants said, demonstrate that while groups such as Pacific's Cambodian Student Association work to preserve Southeast Asian culture, they also are participants in American civic life.
Wednesday's lunchtime rally was one of six held at campuses throughout California to protest the deportation of some Southeast Asian immigrants.
In 1996, the U.S. government expanded its list of deportable offenses to include crimes such as domestic violence and drunken driving. The change was retroactive so that noncitizens who had been convicted of those crimes in the past - even if they had since reformed - still could be deported.
In the case of many Cambodians, immigrants face deportation to a country where they might have little memory and to which they have no connection, said Caly Chhin, who leads the Cambodian Student Association.
"They were born in a different country, but they have lived here their whole lives," the 22-year-old history student said.
Chhin and other students at the rally said they want immigration judges to consider such deportations on a case-by-case basis.
Other organizations, meanwhile, have argued that immigrants who break laws give up their right to stay in the United States and shouldn't receive special consideration.
From 1975 to 1979, an estimated 1.7 million people - 21 percent of Cambodia's population - were killed when Khmer Rouge forces took over the country.
Thousands fled. Many of them came to the United States as refugees.
Over the past decade, San Joaquin County has received far more refugees from Southeast Asia than from any other region of the world. From 1995 to 2007, 1,203 refugees came to the county from Southeast Asian countries, including Cambodia.
The next highest number, 27, came from Afghanistan.
More than 10,000 county residents claim Cambodian ancestry.
Chhin said she hoped Wednesday's rally and future events would underscore challenges the community has faced. For example, education remains a struggle for many Cambodians, she said.
According to data from the California Department of Education, Cambodian children have earned lower standardized test scores than San Joaquin County's average, as well as Asian students overall.
"This is a way to highlight needs here," said Savong Lam of the organization United Cambodian Families, which advises the student group.
Sondra Roeuny, president of United Cambodian Families, said, "It's encouraging to see our young leaders ... exercising their voice. It's not just about cultural heritage. We're Americans, too."
Contact reporter Jennifer Torres at (209) 546-8252 or jtorres@recordnet.com.
30 comments:
Hahaha, just look at how gorilla score in their school works compare to other Asian, and they thing they can do better than Vietnam, Laos, and China if we let them run our country, hahaha, LOL, hahaha.
Come back to Cambodia, if you are the criminals in the US, bro!! however, remmember if you fuck-up your life here, you will go to Prey Sor, that is your real home where you should belong to!
Only lazy people have bad scores.
It is so easy to study in overseas.
So stop demonstrating like an idiots, go back home in Cambodia as a farmer.
We cant make a statistic like this.
We have to know that cambodians refugees arrived in overseas between 1981-1985, they were poors, have no jobs, no homes and they have to learn the language of the country.
Most of cambodians children were old and they can study like others children.
We can make a statistic after the year 2000.
Oh plzzzz... 6:51, we are talking score for 2nd to 8th grade, and we are talking 2nd generation and up. Spare us from stupid excuses, will you?
To 4:45PM
Guess where these Cambodian people came from and these are poor Cambodian peasant straight from the farm and the jungle! This is what can happen when the B-52 and the Khmer Rouge completely destroy Cambodian society! Many of these Cambodian people are the first generation who chooses to take a short cut in life and they like to walk the mean street of America and this is where they end up!
Do you think that Cambodian city folk would be like this? Hell no! Cambodian city folk wouldn’t allow themselves be like this and Thank God and there are a few of these Cambodian city folk left from the Khmer Rouge and they are achieving their American dream!
Please remember that there is no shortcut in life in America and don't even try otherwise you will end up in the cage and be deported! Uncle Sam doesn’t fuck around with low class people!
Who are you? 4:45PM,5:01PM,5:52PM and 7:30PM.
Are you Cambodia? or Vietnam,Loas,and China.
Because I am khmer person,I love people and my Country.
9:50pm, he or she is just one person trying to make Khmer people looks bad. To be exact he/she is the Youn internet cover agent and as you have notice he/she managed to leave every comments on every article that talk about bringing up our Khmer people.
I mean that is basically his/her job, which to attack Khmer people on the net. Best thing to do is to ignore the negative comments and leave your positive comment and move on.
Sooner or later the Youn internet cover agent will back and go back to Hanoi. Yes I mean not and there will be no more Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon. Khmer-Krom will be ruling Prey Nokor by then.
Have a nice day everyone.
That's right 10.30PM !!! Simply, ignore those idiots' comments. We've seen lots of progresses within the last few years from the new khmer breeds outside Cambodia. I've met many khmer kids who have been on their way to higher education. Not sure those fools ever pass HS, not to mention univ.
Do you see what I mean 9:50pm? These agents are under constant attack toward our Khmer race and Khmer civilization. And they are pretty good at what they are doing in twisting and changing our words around to make us look like we are the bad one.
Don't be fool one bit folks! Again these agents will pack they bag and walk along the Ho Chi Minh trail back to Hanoi. Because our brothers and sisters Khmer-Krom not Khmer-Youn as they try to wash our brain that our Khmer-Krom people is Youn, will have their rights and land back to live their lives accordingly.
Nice try 12:41 agent.
future generation, stand up for your rights. fight the injustice and the unfair act. why just target only cambodians? if deport the criminals, then must deport every other nationalities out there, not just cambodians.
this is some kind of bias against cambodians? not fair!
To 2:09 AM.
There is nothing wrong.
On the one hand, our beloved country needs more cambodians to work on rice field and on the other hand, it will create good scores for khmer people on statistics when lazy people are taken out.
They were born in a different country, but they have lived here their whole lives.
Well, if they lived there all theirs life why don't they take up citizenship which will protect them from deportation as USA has no policy to deport any of their citizens or any of their citizen should face charge in foreign land either.
If they committed crime they should pay the price.
Cambodian had been in the US since the civil war started. They are now on their third generations there, and they are still losers, no more excuses please.
9:26, stop trying to pull our leg here. No one does survey on an isolated group of Khmer peasant in the US. Just take a look at the given chart again. It covered average Khmer new generation in the US, and they suck accordingly.
To 8:56AM
Third generation? Ahhahhahahhahah
Hey! Maybe it is your generation which runs in your family and your generation allowed children to produce another children! This is sick!
Do you have the statistic to back up your claim that the Cambodian third generation who are fluent in English is still a sore loser? Prove it bitch!
By the way I am the first generation with ambition to kick your arse! Ahahhahahhaha
To 9:03AM
"It covered average Khmer new generation in the US, and they suck accordingly." ahahhahhahahh!
Do you even know how to read the fucken chart and graph? Do you? I want to know your educational level for you to make such above statement. You have too much salt in your brain fool! If you are dumb fuck and declare that you are dumb fuck and don’t pretend to be an educated fool okay!
First the fucken chart talk only about the San Joaquin County which has about 10,000 claim Cambodian ancestry and not the whole Cambodian population in US okay! The fucken chart talk about 2nd grade to 8 grade level about the low score on standardize test!
Does this fucken chart give a true picture of how these Cambodian children will become?
Think again fool because I used to be in the same position! I used to wake up 3 o’clock in the morning to deliver news paper with my parent just to pay the bill but not anymore!
By the way I don’t even know where the hell San Joaquin County is but I do hear a lot about San Joaquin prison on television and news paper where they lock up many hardcore criminal from all over California! I certainly wouldn’t want to live in a place like that! Ahhahhahahhahh
11:10, the Khmer people started to migrated to out of the country since the civil war started in 1970. Thus you are talking about 38 years now. And if you assuming a 16-18 years between generation because many girls married as young as 16, that will put your kids in the third generation to attend school somewhere between 1st and 3nd grade, get it.
11:51, I don't see anything about San Joaquin on the right side of the bar graph; Plus, from seen other surveys in the past, I doubt it will make any difference elsewhere. Losers are losers, no matter where they are.
In any case, stop embarrassing yourself by trying to deceive us. Even if we let you run our country, you ain't gonna make it like the US as you implied, but to destroy it within a couple decade as usual.
But alright, to be fair, if you think you can build us a space shuttle like the US within a few decades, we will let you be in charge of all of our aviation program. Do you think you can?
To 1:44PM
You are fucken blind! Just shut the fuck up! I have pity for your stupidity! Get the fuck outer my face!
To 1:21PM
Do you have the fucken statistic to back up your claim? I thought so and if you don't anything to prove just shut the fuck up!
Shit, now you want me to get the stat from the US, AU, UK, FR,..., and HK immigration for you too? I think I'll be dead before I'll get back the replied. I am just telling you from what I learn from our peeps all over the world, alright?
And what is eating you, 1:44? Do you disagreed that you can't turned Cambodia in to the US, or you disagreed that gorilla are dumb losers?
To 5:58PM
Hey bonehead! Tell me what the article is talking about? Does the article talk about US, AU, UK, FR,..., and HK? No fool! The article is talking about one US County called San Joaquin County which has about 10,000 Cambodian ancestries and the low score on standardize test and that is it! This article didn't even tell how many Cambodian students take the test either out of 1,203 Southeast Asian children!
How much more difficult do you want to make fool?
You are ahead of your time! Ahahhahh
Give me a break, 1:30. Do you think it will make a difference if we were to do the same survey worldwide? I don't think so, at least, not from what I have seen over the decades.
Hey fool! Nobody is going to stop you from looking at the negative side of everything!
Here you are trying to make an issue out of 1,203 Southeast Asian students who standardize test! And do you know, what is the percentage of Cambodian student out of 1,203 Southeast Asian students? Of course not!
Tell you what! People use statistic to lie all the time! If you are not careful and you will become one of the statistic! You are such a dumb arse not to know that!
Wrong, no one is trying to put down Khmer people by using stat to lie about it. I don't see how anyone would benefited from that. The truth is gorilla is the dumbest group in the US, period.
And to propose we should let gorilla to run Cambodia is ludicrous, hahaha, LOL, hahaha.
Cambodian people don't need approval from you Vietcong bitch to run Cambodia okay! Cambodian population know that you Vietcong bitch own the ballot box and all your victory is a hallow victory!
By the way, how many times did I tell you Vietcong bitch not to speak for me? So you better stop using the word "we" in your writing okay! Speak for yourself Vietcong bitch!
Who say anything about "we" included moron like you?
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