Long Beach mourns Cambodians lost in holiday stampede

11-27-10 - Savy Pan of Long Beach says a prayer during a prayer an candle light ceremony for the victims of the tragedy at the Water Festival in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. (Stephen Carr / Press-Telegram)

11-27-10 - Melissa Suos, 9, and her sister Melinda,4, make a donation for the victims in this week's tragedy at the Water Festival in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Members of the Cambodian American Business Association and other civic organizations held a fundraiser and memorial Saturday at MacArthur Park, 1321 E. Anaheim St. (Stephen Carr / Press-Telegram)

Vigil kicks off fund-raising drive for survivors families of lost.

11/27/2010
By Kristopher Hanson, Staff writer
Long Beach Press Telegram

LONG BEACH — Dozens of mourners gathered here Saturday to remember and raise funds for nearly 800 people killed or injured Nov. 22 in a panic-induced stampede during a national holiday in Cambodia.

The memorial and candlelight vigil drew people from across the Southern California to the heart of Cambodia's largest expatriate community, centered on East Anaheim Street in Central Long Beach.

The vigil, organized by the Cambodian American Business Association and other civic groups, launched a fund-raising drive to assist the injured and help the families of those killed.

Relief organizations say at least 395 were hurt and 347 killed.

"We're raising awareness, honoring the dead and collecting funds through the end of December to take back to Cambodia to help," said Steve Meng, a Long Beach resident who helped organize Saturday's event.

The group raised more than $2,500 on Saturday afternoon before performing traditional blessings for the dead. Earlier in the day, they visited dozens of local businesses to enlist help for further fundraising efforts.

Thary Ung, a community organizer and member of the Long Beach Police Complaint Commission, plans to fly to Cambodia in late December with funds raised in Southern California.

"Every bit helps, $1, $20...this money will go a long way to helping people recover," Ung noted. "The response so far has been very positive."

Tax-exempt donations can be made through the business coalition's website, cambaorg@aol.com.

The tragedy erupted when a crowd of festival-goers stampeded across a small bridge outside the nation's capital, Phnom Penh, reportedly after the span began swaying violently as if nearing collapse.

The event deeply shocked the small, peaceful nation, still recovering from years of internal violence and foreign interference culminating in a genocide during the brutal 1975-79 reign of notorious despot Pol Pot.

Those injured and killed were among several thousand participating in an annual "Water Festival," a national ceremony marking the end of the monsoon season.

Aid groups report 221 females and 146 males were killed, mostly by suffocation or internal bleeding. A few drowned after being pushed from the bridge.

Long Beach is home to some 50,000 Cambodian immigrants and their descendents, many of whom arrived in America as refugees and have since formed a thriving cultural, business and educational community in the heart of America's most ethnically diverse city.

To learn more about the stampede and relief efforts, visit www.cambaonline.org.

Kristopher Hanson 562-499-1466 kristopher.hanson@presstelegram.com