Bunthay Cheam’s main exposure to his Khmer heritage was through his father, who was a community organizer and worked on youth development in White Center, a neighborhood that is home to the largest Cambodians in the Seattle area. Cheam was also a member of the Khmer Student Association of the University of Washington, but does not regard himself as directly active in the community. However, he does make a point of attending notable events, and has a passion for the culture. Clearly, in joining the Khmerican team, he also believes in shedding light on the stories of Khmer America.Cheam shared further some reflections about his upbringing and recent trends he has noticed. “I don’t think we had many good role models growing up. Although there were programs/groups formed during the 90’s that addressed this, I think there was a bit of a disconnect from kids to adults”—a lack of acknowledgment of negative social factors that those growing up in America were facing, such as drug abuse and gang activity. “I don’t think things as simple as the value of good credit or eduction were taught much, or taught correctly.”
In fact, Cheam himself did not consider attending college until participating in a program by the White Center Kids Society that allowed him and other middle school students to spend a weekend at the Washington State University campus. Afterward, he realized that he and many of his peers had not been thinking of education beyond high school.
Cheam has also observed that during the past decade, funding for many such social/outreach programs has dwindled, with a terrible effect on minority populations such as Cambodians. Part of reversing that is raising awareness and visibility. “Personally, I’m not aware of a central place anyone can absorb information in regards to Cambodian American community,” said Cheam. He looks forward to contributing to the Khmerican to help build that much needed hub.
Bunthay Cheam joins the team as our second representative based in the greater Seattle area.
EC
2 comments:
first of all i would like to appologize to Ki-medai for using your site to curse Khmer sovannaphumi known as Pang Sokheun n his mistress Sokunther Som for falsely accused me...i gave them lots of warning to delete my stolen pic in their wall, n stop accusing me of created Pang Sokheoun id, but instead they ignored me times after times, n they're trying so hard to defame me....ladies n gentle men, Khmer Sovnaphumi known as( Pang Sokheoun) n his accomplish gf Sokunthear som will recieve all the curse from yeay mouth, n pres ong dong kal, included plan n car crashes where ever they're traveling, they will not be able to delivery baby, no matter what jobs they're having, they'll remain dirt poor, the lightning will strik both of them where ever they go, they both will die slowly of cow disease, if they traveled by water, they'll be eaten by sharks, if they traveled by foots they'll step on landmines, n the king cobra will bite them, n next life they'll become a two head dog..they'll die with heart attack in their sleep, when they're eating foods, they'll die of foods poisioning... all their families n relatives will receive the same curse as them.. they both have khmer blood in them, so they'll receive all of those curse for sure !!!! n if i created that Pang Sokheoun id, i'll receive the same fate....as soon as he step foot in cambodia airport my friends there will welcome him with dirty handcuff.....fuck u khmer sovvanaphumi pang sokheoun n sokunther som.....pi ach your worst nightmare!!!
7:53 pm,
Here's Hun Sen's email address:
hunsenstrong@yahoo.com
Email all of your questions to him.
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