KHMERICAN: Where Khmer America Begins from Khmerican on Vimeo.
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Our story: all of yours
Three decades after first immigrating, Cambodian Americans are stepping into the spotlight not as refugees, but as performers, activists, scholars, and entrepreneurs. There is an increasing number of new-generation “Khmericans” (as we like to call them) who are accomplishing amazing things while building off the advances made by their pioneering elders.
The stories of all our people—young or old, Cambodian or Cambodian American, well-known or not yet—deserve to be told. Yet when news does spread, it’s isolated within certain geographic boundaries or personal networks. Communicating between the different spheres is hard, and the many fragments don’t give a clear sense of the entire vibrant picture. In other words, newsworthy information about our community is often scattered, poorly documented, or not publicized.
Why Khmerican.com?
Engaging the Khmer diaspora and reporting its progress is the reason we exist. For us as national and even international (bicultural) journalists, the domain we cover is broad, and we want our scope to match the flourishing of our multifaceted community. But we intend to innovate, going beyond the news to become a strong resource for anyone who cares about the state of Khmer America. Whether databases of relevant student/professional organizations, a public event calendar, or the hub for sharing media and popular culture, our goal is to offer valuable ways of connecting to information and others.
The Khmerican team consists of many perspectives on Cambodian American life. Despite other obligations and little reward, our spare-time staff members have consciously decided to do something productive toward the greater good. It’s not just willingness or motivation, but delivering results.
Since September 5th, 2011, we have conducted 75+ interviews resulting in 25 published articles, 10 photo essays, and 4 podcasts. We hope these pieces have gotten people to want to know more. In fact, we've garnered over 3,300 Facebook friends and 1,300 Twitter followers. There have been a total of 300,000 page views (and counting) of Khmerican.com in more than 50 countries. These numbers illustrate our growth, our influence, and the interest we have generated among our audience through our efforts.
Your contribution
To keep up the momentum, we’re asking for help. Just like any other serious news organization, we need to compensate our staff for their hard work and continue developing the projects we have in mind. Reporting isn’t just writing articles or taking pictures, but a whole process of research, fieldwork, synthesis, editing, and presentation. The more we can fund our photographers and writers, the better we can keep you informed about all the things that make us who we are: from descendants of Angkor to survivors of tragedy, and everything in between.
With your support, Khmerican can officially register as a media company. The postal address will symbolically be in Long Beach, right off of America's first and only "Cambodia Town" neighborhood. But reporting from various locations is what will create the foundation for a truly connected, nationally aware Khmer America. It’s not just a Long Beach phenomenon, or a Lowell one, but a rising unified movement for the betterment of our people everywhere.
By enabling more thorough representation, the Khmerican means proof to the world that our community is worth knowing. Your contribution is a vote of confidence for that sentiment, turning our voices into an anthem.
Other ways to help
We would be glad to get your assistance in various forms. If you can't make a financial contribution, spread the word through email, Facebook, Twitter or other networks. THANK YOU so much! Som arkun.
For more information, please visit khmerican.com or contact Co-Founder Phatry Derek Pan at (206) 599-9444. Please note that donations are not tax-deductible.
With respect and appreciation,
Team Khmerican
MAKE YOUR PLEDGE AT khmr.cn/pledge-page
