[Cambodian] Refugees in Rochester

Jan 11, 2011
By Heidi Wigdahl

ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) -- Every year immigrants and refugees come to Rochester to start a new chapter in their lives.

The Intercultural Mutual Assistance Association (IMAA) in Rochester hopes to help make that transition a little easier.

Sarun Prum said he was only 21-years-old when he fled his home to escape the genocide in Cambodia.

"It was pretty dangerous," Prum said. "I walked through and ran through at night, through the land mines and before getting to our refugee camp, there was a soldier that could shoot and kill you."

Prum landed in Rochester in 1983 and sought help from IMAA.

"International Cambodian Assembly" Announcement

ANNOUNCEMENT

In my capacity as the President of the “Khmer M’Chas Srok” (KMS) and Chair of the "International Cambodian Assembly" (ICA), I have the honor to inform all Cambodian compatriots in the world, especially all Cambodian residents in the United States, the following:

Based on the support and assistance we have received from institutions in the US, KMS is organizing an event entitled “International Cambodian Assembly” (ICA) to commemorate the 19th anniversary of the 23 October 1991 Paris Peace Agreements on Cambodia and to assess the achievements and shortfalls of its provisions guaranteeing Cambodia sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and inviolability.

This event will be attended by representatives from all signatory countries to the 1991 Agreements as well as representatives of Cambodia’s donor countries and the media. The Conference will review with particular emphasis on the implementation of the Agreements which cost the international community over US$ 2 Billion immediately and countless billions in development assistance for the last 19 years.

We anticipate 400 participants to attend this “International Cambodian Assembly" event, including KMS delegates from the US and around the world, supporters of the 1991 Paris Peace Agreements, honored guests and international media.

Therefore we call on all KMS members and Cambodian compatriots who support the ideals of the 23 October 1991 Paris Peace Agreement on Cambodia please come and actively participate with us in this special event for the sake of our country. We urge you to come and work together to seek for the respect of our Khmer people Rights relating to economic development, land mine disposal, literacy, family reunification and health care and to seek for a right and fare solution to the loss of Cambodia’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and inviolability.

We are expecting 400 participants from all over the world, with the goal of an equal share of foreign and Cambodian attendees. We request that you RSVP in order to facilitate our preparation. Due to limited seating, please confirm your attendance with our organizing committee listed below as soon as possible.

Thank you

Email : ica.ppa.2010@gmail.com

1. Mr. Masavang Sean + 33 607 955 366 (Europe)

2. Mr. Ly Poeung + 33 668 441 333 (Europe)

3. Mr. Bun Heang Ung + 61 297 283 807 (Australia)

4. Mr. Kim Measkoy + 1 952 881 8678 (USA)

5. Mrs. Margaret Tham + 1 904 514 7224 (USA)

Paris, September 30, 2010

Dr. Sakhonn Chak

ICA Chair

Reception Invitation for Sam Rainsy in Saint Paul, Minnesota

The Cambodian American Veterans of Minnesota

and Mr. Scott Walker

invite you to a reception welcoming

The Honorable Sam Rainsy

Member of the Cambodia Parliament

Leader of the Sam Rainsy Party of Cambodia

Author of the book Rooted in Stone

Leader of the pro-Democracy movement in Cambodia

Candidate for Prime Minister of Cambodia


Friday, June 11th

4 PM to 6 PM

University Club Downtown
14th Floor Penthouse 340 Cedar Street
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Directions

RSVP requested to Leslie at
LRosedahl@PubAffairsCo.com or 651.353.1818

For seven years, monks have had no peace

Monks living at the Buddhist Support Society in Rochester had to replace their mailbox after vandals damaged it. They own a 10.5-acre site they bought for tranquil reflection. (Jim Gehrz, Star Tribune)
Monks Chhan Aun, left, and Sim Ouk (Jim Gehrz, Star Tribune)

Vandalism has plagued a Buddhist temple near Rochester for seven years. Neighbors and police are outraged and baffled.

May 29, 2010
By CURT BROWN
Star Tribune (Rochester, Minnesota)

VANDALISM MEETING

• What: Prompted by a string of vandalism at the Cambodian Buddhist temple in Rochester, monks, neighbors, city leaders, youth groups and members of police neighborhood watch program will gather to discuss the issue.
• When: 4 p.m., Thursday
• Where: Buddhist Support Society Address: 4462 29th St. SE, Rochester

A chorus of chirping crickets and the smashed shell of a mailbox greet Chhan Aun when he steps out the door of his monk's residence at the hilltop Buddhist temple southeast of Rochester.

"We are quiet and peaceful; we try to pray for good things, not bad," he said, wrapped in his orange robe, as a former monk translates his Cambodian words. "We don't understand why people are doing things like this."

This month's busted mailbox is the latest in a seven-year string of vandalism that has jarred the four monks who live on the grassy, rolling, 10.5-acre site they chose for tranquil reflection.

Someone sprayed-painted "Jesus Saves" and a cross on their driveway last May. Dozens of lights have been broken and stolen. Flowers and trees have been yanked from the earth. Instead of studying the teachings of Buddha, the monks have been installing motion-detecting lights and asking the Postal Service to approve moving their mailbox down from 29th Street and closer to their house.

"One night at 2 a.m., a group of four or five people were outside and I shined my flashlight in their face," said Aun, 63. "They never confront us face to face; they just run away."

Neighbors and police are outraged and baffled at what would motivate the vandals to harass such gentle men, some of whom, including Aun, lived through the Cambodian genocide of the late-1970s Khmer Rouge killing fields.

"They believe in peace and tranquility, and they sure don't deserve this," said Glenda Bale, who moved into the quiet residential area in 2003, just as the temple construction was completed and the monks moved in next door from their former downtown location.

Back then, her place was an overgrown "jungle," and as she worked to clear the lot, the monks would bring with food offerings. They invite Bale to all their celebrations.

Her friend's unlocked car was broken into once and papers were scattered. The monks say they've been struck three or four times a year since they arrived.

"For this stuff to only happen to them is totally uncalled for," said Bale, 47. "You couldn't ask for better neighbors, honestly."

Police cite six documented cases of criminal damage to property since last May, but the monks say the harassment dates to a group of aggressive opponents speaking out against the temple at city zoning meetings before the two temple structures were built. Opponents' concerns about increased traffic congestion have proven to be completely unfounded, Bale said.

"We have absolutely no idea as to why these people are doing this," said Sgt. Scott Behrns of the Olmsted County Sheriff's Department. "We're confident we'll catch the people doing it; it's just a matter of how long it takes."

Deputies have stepped up patrols in the neighborhood, and if arrests are made, Behrns said prosecutors will be asked to use state laws that target bias-motivated crimes. That could mean elevating misdemeanor charges into gross misdemeanors or felonies.

"Based on the way the crimes are occurring, one would think it's the same" person or people behind the vandalism, said Behrns, who thinks a baseball bat was used to destroy the mailbox earlier this month.

Community meeting slated

Rochester's Buddhist Support Society serves roughly 500 people, mostly Cambodian refugees who fled during the Vietnam War era and emigrated to Minnesota. The group owns the temple and recruits monks from Cambodia who make minimum five-year commitments to study, pray and teach at the hilltop temple.

Aun said that the destroyed mailbox, in itself, is not a big deal.

"But if they try to set fire to our buildings or hurt the monks, that would make us upset," he said.

He's speaking out despite some concerns that the vandals will relish the publicity.

"We want to show the community that we are doing something," he said. "It is 98 percent positive to get the word out and maybe two percent negative."

About 20 concerned citizens, mostly members of Rochester Meditation Center, met at the temple last Sunday, and a larger meeting is scheduled for June 3 at 4 p.m. Members of Rochester's Diversity Council, teenage youth groups, local church members and representatives of the police-sponsored Neighborhood Watch program will look for ways to enhance understanding about Buddhism and curb the vandalism.

Until then, Aun and his fellow monks will do what they came to Rochester to do. They will sit on pillows on the floor, surrounded by colorful paintings of Buddhist scenes, and recite prayers of loving kindness to the perpetrators of the vandalism.

"They know what they are doing is not right," Aun said. "We will pray for them to do good things instead of bad."

Curt Brown • 612-673-4767

More Vandalism At Buddhist Temple In

May 21, 2010

ROCHESTER, Minn. (AP) ― Police are asking whoever's behind a string of vandalism incidents at a Cambodian Buddhist temple in Rochester to stop.

Investigators say the latest incident was Monday, when rocks, dirt and sand were put in the temple's mailbox. Twenty solar-powered lights were also taken.

Members say the mailbox has been vandalized five times in the past month, and there have also been five attempted break-ins.

Vandalism at the temple a year ago included smashed lights, yanked flowers and a cross along with "Jesus saves" spray-painted on the driveway in orange.

Olmsted County Sheriff's Sgt. Scott Behrns says the crimes are obviously motivated by bias.

Buddhist temple heightens security after vandalism, harassment

5/17/2010
By Matt Russell
The Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN

The Cambodian Buddhist temple in southeast Rochester has taken a series of security measures following a string of vandalism and harassment.

The temple installed motion-detecting exterior lights and a steel-barred security door in the monks' residence in March after attempted break-ins by a man wearing a ski mask, said Chhan Aun, 60, the temple's head monk. The measures have not stopped the break-in attempts, five in total, Aun said.

Following a suggestion from the post office, the temple also removed its mailbox from 29th Street Southeast last week and and placed it next to its main building at the end of a long driveway.

The box has been repeatedly vandalized. Incoming and outgoing mail has been stolen in recent years, including bank statements, bills, and immigration documents whose theft has complicated the arriva of new monks from Cambodia, according to temple members.

"Our mailbox has been destroyed so many times, we're sick of it," said temple member Tracy Sam.

Vandalism at the temple a year ago included smashed lights, yanked flowers and a cross along with "Jesus saves" spray-painted on the driveway in orange.

Aun hasn't gotten a clear view of the mailbox vandals because the street is far from the building where he lives with two other monks. He's seen a car drive away after hearing what appears to be a hammer banging the box, he said.

The would-be intruder in the first attempted break-in earlier this year was a man in his late 30s or early 40s who didn't appear Caucasian, Aun said. The man tried to open several doors but ran when he looked in the window and saw Aun holding up a telephone threatening to call police.

Aun said he isn't sure if the same man has been involved in subsequent break-in attempts because the suspect has been wearing a ski mask.

Mailbox vandalism and mail thefts have happened at the temple sporadically since 2005, according to temple members. They haven't reported this year's vandalism and attempted break-ins out of fear of retribution but finally did so on Friday after their mailbox was damaged four times in a month, Sam said. The temple has had to buy four replacement mailboxes since 2007, she said.

Mailbox vandalism is common, especially this time of year, but it is very unusual for one mailbox to be targeted as often as the Buddhist temple's has been, said Olmsted County sheriff's deputy Jim Schueller.

"If it's happening this often, we want to start tracking it and see if we can do something about it," Schueller told Aun and other temple members Friday.

Schueller said he would request extra patrols of the temple area.

Local Buddhists say 'thank you' for support from the community

6/13/2009
By Matt Russell
Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN

The Cambodian Buddhist community in Rochester is extending a "thank you" to community members who offered an outpouring of support this week following reports of harassment and vandalism at the local Buddhist temple.

Residents have dropped off flowers to replace those torn up by vandals, and several churches have called to offer support, said temple member Tracy Sam.

"They said if we ever need something, to contact them," she said.

The community response followed reports of vandalism at the temple on May 24 and June 4. Vandals spray-painted "Jesus Saves" in orange on the driveway, threw eggs at an entrance sign, ripped up flowers, and smashed lights.

Temple members say a group of boys have also harassed temple members recently by shouting obscenities at people, including monks, from the road.

The incidents led temple members to say that they feared worse damage or that they might be attacked on their property.

The support from the community this week, however, has been reassuring, Sam said.

"Some people out there really care," she said. "They think about us and they pray for us. It feels good to know that there are people in the community out there who support us."

Buddhist monks know how to respond to vandals ... with compassion

6/12/2009
Post-Bulletin (Rochester, Minnesota)

We are members of a Rochester group that has met weekly over the past five years to learn how to meditate and to support each other in that effort. Among the members of our group are monks and lay people from the Cambodian Buddhist temple in Rochester.

It's with great sadness that we've learned about the repeated acts of vandalism against the Cambodian Buddhist temple in recent weeks.

Many members of the Buddhist temple in Rochester have a lot of experience with being victims of violence, having left Cambodia during the genocide there between 1975 and 1979, which claimed two million lives.

We hope that law enforcement works quickly in Rochester and that members of other faith communities in Rochester step forward to show their support of the temple. In the meantime, we offer this loving-kindness prayer that Buddhists offer when they become targets of violence, hatred and aggression:

"We pray that we may clearly understand the roots of these violent acts and that we respond to them not out of anger or hatred, but rather with wisdom and compassion. To both the perpetrators and to the victims of these crimes, we pray that you be safe. We pray that you be protected. We pray that you be happy. We pray that you be at peace."

Doug McGill
(For 21 members)
Rochester

Editorial: Temple vandals know not what they do

6/12/2009
Post-Bulletin (Rochester, Minnesota, USA)

To those responsible for the vandalism and harassment outside the Buddhist Temple south of Rochester in recent weeks, here's a little history of which you might not be aware.

Many of the people who live or worship at the temple came to this country because they wanted a better life for themselves and their children.

For five years they suffered through what can only be described as hell on earth.

From 1975 to 1979 their country, Cambodia, was ruled by a regime called the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer instituted an extreme form of agrarian Marxism in which everyone was forced to work for the government, often in the rice paddies. Husbands and wives were separated. Children were taken away from their parents. Most lived in conditions we wouldn't tolerate for livestock.

The regime distrusted intellectuals, business people, teachers, and anyone else they viewed as a threat to them. An estimated 200,000 people -- twice the population of Rochester -- were executed. To save bullets, the executioners often used shovels and hammers to crush the skulls of their victims.

You're probably too young, but maybe you've heard of the movie "The Killing Fields." It won three academy awards and is named for the fields where the Khmer's victims were buried. Many of them were forced to dig their own graves before they were murdered.

In addition to the 200,000 Cambodians who were executed, at least another 1.3 million of them -- one-fifth of the population -- died of disease, illness and starvation.

So, you can see -- at least we hope you can -- why so many Cambodians fled the land of their birth for a better place. A place founded on the principle that on this soil we treat all people with dignity and respect, regardless of their race, gender, education level or religious beliefs.

We're not suggesting to you that the monks and others who worship at the Buddhist temple south of town should be treated with more respect and compassion than any of the other people with whom we share this planet. They don't want that.

For 30 years, Cambodian refugees, their children and grandchildren have lived among us. They are your classmates. They are your doctors and police officers and clergy people. They are part of the fabric of our community.

When you painted a cross and "Jesus Saves" on the driveway at the temple, were you really attempting to preach Christianity to a people who practice a religion you don't understand? We think not.

Please understand that when you harass these victims or vandalize their property, you are committing crimes not only against the Buddhists among us. You are also staining our community's integrity.

Then again, maybe you don't care about things like civic integrity and reputation and pride. Maybe you don't care that some are calling this a racist or bigoted place. But most of the rest of us care.

There's little to gain by preaching at you. We've probably done too much of that already. The challenge before us is to figure out why you think and act the way you do -- why you bully people. Are you bored? Do you feel neglected? Are you just angry?

These are among the questions we all should be asking ourselves as we attempt to deal with the ugly issues of bias and racism in and around Rochester. But here's the most important question -- What can we do to change this?

The following is a quote from The Buddha, but there are similar verses in the Bible, the Koran and most other holy books: "Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule."

Let's talk.

L.A. man charged in gunfire at Cambodian fest

April 21, 2009
JOY POWELL
Star Tribune (Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA)

A 29-year-old Los Angeles man, Keng Nera, was arraigned Tuesday in Dakota County District Court for allegedly exchanging gunfire with another man during a Cambodian festival attended by about 2,000 people in Hampton on Saturday. Nobody was injured.

Bail was set at $150,000 for Nera, who was charged with second-degree assault and discharging a pistol where it endangered public safety. Bail will be reduced to $100,000 if he meets conditions, including staying away from gangs, alcohol and the Watt Munisotaram Temple, just off Hwy. 50. Several cars were struck by bullets when eight to 10 shots were fired in the temple's parking lot about 3:30 p.m., authorities said. Nera was arrested later Saturday.

Authorities are looking for at least one other man. They surmise that the shooting could be tied to gangs. Anyone with information is asked to call the Dakota County Sheriff's Office at 651-438-4720 or the TIPS line at 651-438-8477.

Gunshots fired at Buddhist temple

Monday, April 20, 2009
Nathan Hansen
The Farmington Independent (Minnesota, USA)

There were gunshots fired but no injuries when an argument apparently got out of hand Saturday afternoon at the Cambodian Buddhist Temple in Hampton.

Initial investigation suggests the incident may be gang related, Dakota County chief deputy Dave Bellows said.

The incident took place around 3:30 p.m. during a New Year's festival attended by about 2,000 people. At least two people exchanged gunfire in a parking area just west of the temple. According to Bellows there were eight to 10 gunshots fired, but nobody was hit. Several cars were damaged.

Three or four deputies were working the festival as off-duty security and were called to the parking lot immediately.

Bellows said there was not a large crowd in the parking lot when the shooting occurred but there were people nearby.

"It's extremely fortunate that nobody was hit given the number of rounds fired and the number of people at the festival," Bellows said.

A 29-year-old man was taken into custody following the incident and is currently in the Dakota County Jail awaiting charges.

Dakota County Sheriff's deputies are looking for additional suspects.

Anyone with information should call the Dakota County Sheriff's Department at 651-438-4720 or the TIPs phone line at 651-438-TIPS (8477).

Gunfire exchanged at Cambodian temple in Dakota County

04/20/2009
By Frederick Melo
fmelo@pioneerpress.com
Pioneer Press (Minnesota, USA)

A 29-year-old man is behind bars in connection with a shooting outside a Cambodian temple in southern Dakota County on Saturday.

Nera Keng was booked into the Dakota County Jail in Hastings at 10 p.m. Saturday on probable cause of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and recklessly discharging a pistol.

The Dakota County Sheriff's office said approximately 2,000 people were congregating at the temple to celebrate the Cambodian New Year's festival when two people exchanged gunfire in the adjacent parking lot. Multiple shots were fired and cars were struck but no one was hit. It happened at 3:36 p.m.

The cause of the incident remains under investigation, according to the sheriff's office, and additional suspects are being sought. The temple is located on 220th Street East in Hampton.

The sheriff's office is asking anyone with information to call their tip line at 651-438-TIPS (8477).

Frederick Melo can be reached at 651-228-2172.

Group plans celebration for Buddha-shaped wasp nest

Buddha is in the eyes of the believer?
(Photo: WKBT, La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA)

11/21/2008
By Matt Russell
Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN (USA)

The Cambodian Buddhist community in Rochester has scheduled a two-day celebration to commemorate what members believe is an apparition of the Buddha on temple grounds.

The Dec. 6 and 7 events will celebrate a wasp nest shaped like a seated Buddha that is tucked into the eaves over the entrance to a temple building. Monks and others in the Cambodian Buddhist community have called the nest a miracle, leading to national media attention.

The Dec. 6 event will begin at 6 p.m.; festivities start at 8 a.m. Dec. 7 and continue into the afternoon.

"It's just a celebration for the Buddha," said community member Tracy Sam. "We want everybody to know they are invited to the temple to help us celebrate."

The wasp nest, which members of the community have been calling a beehive, was noticed early this month. Beehives appear to have a special significance in Cambodian Buddhism: Honey collecting is a common activity in Cambodia, where Buddhist temples feature honeycomb-shaped towers.

Monk Moeun Ngop, 76, pointed to a colorful painting on the temple grounds of a monkey giving a honeycomb. He says the painting is a sign that the Buddha-shaped nest isn't a coincidence.

Experts who have examined photos of the nest say that the temple's eaves are an ideal place for a wasp nest to be located. There is nothing extraordinary about the nest's shape, they said.

The Buddhist Support Society's temple is at 4462 29th St. S.E. in Rochester.

Cambodian Buddhists abuzz about Buddha hive

Wednesday, 12 November 2008

ROCHESTER, Minn. (AP) — The Cambodian Buddhist community in Rochester is abuzz over what they believe is a miracle: a wasp nest in the shape of a seated Buddha built in the eaves of their temple. The nest was spotted last week. Elder members of the community say they have never seen an apparition of the Buddha in their lifetimes.

Seventy-year-old Voeun Sor of Rochester says the hive shows the Buddha is trying to tell everybody to seek peace in their lives.

Robert Jeanne is an entomology professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He says the Buddha-shaped hive could actually be four different nests formed over a couple of years. He says if someone wants to read miracles into that, that's their privilege.

Moeun Ngop is a 76-year-old monk. He has a more mystical take. He says the insects are trying to communicate Buddha's message.

Cambodian Student Association Brings New Year to the Twin Cities

Members of the Cambodian Student Association at the University of Minnesota

28 Mar 2008
By Vuth Chhunn and Mary-Ann Em
Asian American Press

“Okay, guys, let’s do it just one more time. The ending was a bit messy,” Sarim Pin urged the other dancers. As the lively, instrumental music began to play, 10 dancers took their places to start again. Since December, these dancers have been practicing almost every weekend to perform for their New Year celebration. They are members of a small student organization at the University of Minnesota called the Cambodian Student Association of Minnesota (CSAM).

While New Year’s Day is celebrated for a single evening, this holiday is given much more importance in Cambodia. Every April, children and adults look forward to the most anticipated holiday of the year, in which 3 days are devoted to festivities.

Not surprisingly, Cambodian New Year 2008 is CSAM’s showcase event of the year. “It’s the biggest celebration in Cambodia and we want to bring it here and share it with other cultures,” says Alexander Sok, a public relations officer for CSAM.

One member, Boramy Kim, feels the holiday is an important occasion for Cambodian-American families and individuals to take pride in their heritage. “It’s a meaningful time to come together as a family to celebrate both the blessing of a New Year and traditional culture.”

Through this celebration, CSAM hopes to unite the Cambodian-American community in the Twin Cities, especially in terms of bridging the gap between the older and younger generations. Sarim Pin, the president of the organization, feels strongly about this. “I hope people will see that we, as Cambodian students, are still holding on to our culture and traditions even though most of us here are second-generation Cambodians in the United States.”

Furthermore, CSAM wants to reach out and include the University community and the general public in the celebration. “Through sharing our food, our music, our dancing, our traditional fashion, and our stories, we want to inform and entertain members of the larger community who may not be familiar with Cambodian culture. After all, Asians and Asian-Americans represent a whole spectrum of unique, distinct cultures,” says Mary-Ann Em, vice president of CSAM.

The celebration will take place on Saturday, April 5th, 2008, at the North Star Ballroom on the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus. Free to the public, the event features authentic Cambodian food, a program of cultural performances, and a Cambodian live band for dancing. Doors open at 6 pm and will last until midnight.

For more information, please contact the Cambodian Student Association of Minnesota at
csam@umn.edu.

HumanTrafficking.org: Thailand is a destination country for human trafficking from Cambodia

Organization seeks to end human trafficking

A Thai government official met Thursday with local nonprofit organizations to learn how the U.S. is combating the problem.

February 15, 2008
By Riham Feshir
The Minnesota Daily (Minnesota, USA)

One night, Elsa Batica answered a frantic phone call from a woman who whispered, "I need to get out of here."

Sexually and physically abused by her husband and other men, the caller, a new immigrant from the Philippines, didn't know who to ask for help. She was randomly flipping through the phone book trying to see if she could recognize a Filipino name.

She found Batica, who is the founding member the Filipino American Women's Network Minnesota chapter, an organization that provides support for trafficked women and helps them escape from abusive partners.

As a part of the International Visitor Leadership Program, the Minnesota International Center invited Thai government official Ranee Wongprajuablap, who met Thursday with Batica's FAWN and other local nonprofit organizations, to learn from the ways the United States is combating the problem of human trafficking.

The United Nations defines human trafficking as "the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of threat or use of force."

Trafficked women are promised a better life in the United States, but in reality they're being sexually exploited, Batica said.

She added that they usually don't report incidents of abuse.

According to the Minnesota Office of Justice Programs, it's estimated that between 14,000 and 17,000 people are trafficked in the United States each year. Human trafficking victims are men, women, children and teenagers from all over the world.

Speaking about trafficked Asian women in the United States, FAWN member Corazon Brizuela said that many don't realize they're being exploited.

Local organizations like FAWN said they're doing what they can to help human trafficking victims in Minnesota, but Batica said she wants to focus on the problem internationally.

"We're trying to save them down the stream, but what's going on upstream?" Batica said.

Before she came to Minnesota, Wongprajuablap visited Washington and New York on an invitation from the U.S. Department of State.

Wongprajuablap said she wants to see how the laws regarding human trafficking are implemented in the United States versus Thailand.

In addition to meeting with FAWN during her Thursday visit, Wongprajuablap also met with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights and the Civil Society in Minnesota.

She said she would like to see the cooperation between nongovernmental organizations and the federal government applied to Thailand.

According to humantrafficking.org, through which organizations come together to combat human trafficking, Thailand is a destination country for those trafficked from Cambodia, Laos, China, Russia and Uzbekistan for sexual and labor exploitation.

Wongprajuablap said she hopes Thailand and neighboring countries will work together to solve the human trafficking problem.

Cambodians' Pride of Their Culture and New Lives

Map of Minnesota, USA, a new home for Cambodian-Americans in the US

Wat Munisoratam pagoda (Photo: http://www.wattmunisota.org)
Traditional Khmer dance at Watt Munisotaram pagoda (Photo: http://www.wattmunisota.org)

Thu, 3 Jan 2008
Op-Ed by Khmer Quorum

Minnesota is known as a land of ten thousand lakes and home of Mall of America, the largest shopping mall in the US. Geographically, Minnesota is a large state in the Midwest of the US, which has an area a bit bigger than Cambodia, but it has a population of only 5 million. In term of climate, Minnesota is among the coldest state in the country; temperature in Winter can go as low as -60 degree Fahrenheit (-51 degree Celsius). However, this harsh and dangerous weather doesn't bother many Cambodian-Americans from choosing this state as their permanent place because of job availability, good quality of education and health care services, and moderate cost of living.

Roughly, there are about 10,000 Cambodian Americans currently live in Minnesota; most of them settle in the suburb area of the Twin City (Minneapolis and Saint Paul) where there are a lot of big beautiful homes,city parks, fancy shopping malls, and excellent schools for their children. About 80 percent of them own a single family home which has a price range from $200,000 to $1 million. And each family at least own two cars that are used as their personal transportation for their daily works. They work in different careers from factory workers to upper level of professional jobs such as technicians, engineers, teachers, police officers, lawyers, doctors ... Some successful Cambodian Americans here own restaurants, stores, and mid-size and small companies.

The remarkable success for Cambodian Americans here is based on their hard work, not from any mean of corruption. Most Cambodians like to work overtime from 10 to 12 hours a day, and some work two jobs seven day a week. Too much work load and less time with family has created a lot of stress and family problems also. To release their stress, they like to do party such as Birthday, Graduation, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year. These occasions have provided a great opportunity for them to socialize with relatives and friends. More than this, they have a chance to sing Karaoke and play games or cards together. Others probably choose fishing, camping, hunting, and sport for their leisure time.

Another remarkable success for Cambodian Americans in Minnesota is not about family's wealth but about community. Although we are from the country where national disunity has prevailed for decades, in here Theravada Buddhism has brought us together as a single community. To keep our religion to survive in the new land, All Cambodian here have come together to build a large temple (Wat) on 40 acre land with a price tage of almost $2 million, and it was named Munisotaram. It now become the largest Khmer Buddhist temple (Wat) in the US. The red, golden roof of a two story temple located on a top of the hill, about 20 miles from the Twin City has become a beautiful landmark in Minnesota. When we drive to Munisotaram on a road through the cornfield, we can see the red and golden roof miles away, which appears above the green cornfield during summer and the white snow carpet during winter. We are proud to see our culture still survives in a land that is ten thousand miles away from our motherland. We never know how much we love our culture and motherland until we have become the immigrant living in another country.

Minnesota has a very harsh and severe cold in Winter, but during Summer, it turns into the most beautiful state in the US. With beautiful nature of ten thousand of lakes and green cornfield, job availability, excellent health care and education services, and moderate cost of living, Minnesota has become an attractive place for many immigrants around the world, including Cambodian immigrants.

By Khmer Quorum, MN, USA

For additional information on Watt Munisotaram, please click here.

Cambodian-Americans are among the victims of Interstate 35w Bridge collapse

Marine One flies over the collapsed I-35W bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota. President George W. Bush Saturday toured the highway bridge that crumbled into the Mississippi River and officials scrambled to inspect other spans to reassure the public that the country's bridges are safe.(AFP/Mandel Ngan)

Universal sorrow

The victims of the bridge disaster cover the diverse cultural, religious and economic spectrum of the Twin Cities. Although their loved ones' grieving rituals are varied, the sadness is the same.

08/11/2007
BY LAURA YUEN
Pioneer Press
TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press (Minneapolis-St Paul, Minnesota, USA)

The monks have been called. The food agreed on. Those who knew and loved Vera Peck and her son, Richard Chit, began this week planning a memorial service for the two - even though their bodies haven't been found.

Within seven days of a death, Buddhist custom dictates that the departed receive a proper blessing so their spirits may peacefully enter the next life. With prayers and memories, mourners will gather today to honor the Roseville mother and son who they presume died in the Interstate 35W bridge collapse.

"You're gone now, and you're going to start a new life," said family friend Chantha Eckman, explaining through tears the meaning of the service.

Victims of the Aug. 1 disaster make up a tiny fraction of the 141,000 drivers who passed over one of Minnesota's busiest bridges every day. Nevertheless, they represent the diverse spectrum of the Twin Cities.

United by a few tragic seconds, they spanned culture, faith and class. Now, the communities those people left behind express the diverse ways they mourn.

Anthropologists have written books about grieving across cultures. Jews practice a sitting shiva, a seven-day period after the funeral in which the mourning family returns home and receives visitors.

In Taiwan, families hire professional mourners to wail in funeral processions. Such public displays, the thinking goes, can cast the impression that the deceased were well-loved and improve their chances of getting into heaven.

But no matter the differences in mourning rituals, the pain when losing someone is universal.

In the days following the bridge disaster, social worker Alan Brankline noticed the mix of cultures and faiths represented by the victims' families at the American Red Cross family assistance center.

"But the grief was the same," said Brankline, a Red Cross disaster mental-health specialist.

"In my mind, there was little difference between someone who had a Christian or an Orthodox or a Muslim faith," he said. "The grief is still there, and people experience grief in their own unique ways."

A person's reaction to death had more to do with his or her previous experiences with adversity, said Brankline, who manages medical social services at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester.

Many were outraged, he added. After all, it wasn't a tornado or a hurricane that snuffed out lives, but a man-made disaster.

"The thing I was hearing was, 'This shouldn't be happening,' " he said. "Some were able to handle it and cope, and some were not able to even go there."

For the Somali refugee community mourning the loss of Sadiya Sahal, 23, and her infant daughter, Hana, the grief is tempered by the fact that Somalis have buried many of their dead in their homeland, said one community leader.

After the bridge disaster, people paid visits to Sahal's family to extend their condolences. Mohamed Hassan, a spokesman for the Somali Institute of Peace and Justice, said the outpouring of support must come as a relief.

"Remember what they have been through before," Hassan said. "They've been through a tragedy created by other human beings, where they were given no empathy."

The bodies of 22-month-old Hana and her mother, a nursing assistant student and graduate of Washburn High School in Minneapolis, were recovered late this week.

It is important for Sadiya Sahal's family to honor her with a respectful burial, local imams said. Typically, an imam washes the deceased, wraps the body in a white shroud and places it in a simple coffin.

"If the body is found, people know it happened. We say it's from God," said Abdirahman Hirsi, imam of the Darul Quba Mosque in Minneapolis.

Muslim leaders in the Twin Cities held a prayer service for Sahal and her daughter, along with the other victims and missing people, Friday at the Brian Coyle Community Center in Minneapolis.

"The memorial plans cannot be made yet, but we can (bring) goodwill, sympathy and soul," said organizer and imam Abdisalam Adam of the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Civic Center.

As of midweek, the family of Christine Sacorafas had not approached her pastor about a funeral. The 45-year-old White Bear Lake woman never made it to her church, where she was headed to teach a Greek dance class, on the evening the bridge collapsed.

"It's on everybody's minds, but we haven't gotten quite that far yet," said the Rev. Paul Paris of St. Mary's Greek Orthodox Church in Minneapolis. "We all have an understanding that she's gone, but, at the same time, we're waiting for her to be found. That would help to bring closure to the situation."

The state of limbo also has been hard on the family of Scott Sathers. The Maple Grove man was going to turn 30 last weekend, and his wife had planned a surprise birthday party with co-workers at a Twins game, said his uncle, Dick Sathers, of Bemidji, Minn.

Now, life has been put on hold.

"It's a sitting, waiting game," Sathers said. Scott's parents "want to have their son back, but who knows when," he said.

Sherry Engebretsen's Shoreview home teemed with family and friends in the days after her disappearance. The Lutheran family drew strength from their faith as well as from a full house of loved ones offering comfort and laughter.

Today, loved ones will pour into the Bloomington home of Richard Chit's father. Vera Peck's girlfriends will prepare dishes from her native Cambodia, including one of her specialties: steamed fish with coconut and vegetables.

If her relatives fail to send her off, her spirit might still hover around and lose its chance of being reborn, said her friend Eckman.

"This is just to send her spirit away and say, 'Go. Don't hang around. Just leave us, and start a new life.' "

Laura Yuen can be reached at lyuen@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5498.

Sadiya Sahal

Sadiya Sahal, of St. Paul, is the latest victim to be recovered from the site of the I-35W bridge collapse. She was a nursing student and five months pregnant. She moved from Somalia to the United States in 2000 and graduated from Washburn High School in Minneapolis.

Her husband is devastated by the loss of his family, according to family friends.

New life in a new temple

Fifteen-year-old novice Buddhist monk Kunmony Hang, from Burnsville, meditates Wednesday morning in one of the worship rooms at the monks residence at Watt Munisotaram in Hampton, Minn. (JOHN DOMAN, Pioneer Press)

As a temple welcomes the public, honoring Cambodian Buddhist heritage, Kunmony Hang will reflect on his journey from sullen teen to novice monk.

07/01/2007
BY FREDERICK MELO
Pioneer Press (Minnesota, USA)

His parents had divorced. Classmates picked on him because of his lanky build, his name and ethnicity. His grades hit bottom, and a funk seemed to hang over every moment at school, tempting him to drop out.

But when Kunmony Hang's guidance counselor suggested he see a therapist, the sophomore from Lakeville South High School had his own ideas. Instead, he would study to become a Buddhist monk.

"I went through some hard times," said Hang, 15, walking in the shadow of the Watt Munisotaram, Minnesota's largest Cambodian Buddhist temple, an orange monk's robe draped around his thin frame.

The temple, 60 feet tall and elaborately decorated from end to end, has become a spiritual wellspring for Hang, a novice monk living among seven Buddhist scholars. This week, its doors also will open to the general public, inviting a rare peek into a culture that faced brutal oppression at the hands of Cambodian leader Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.

Under construction since 2002, the $1.59 million structure on Minnesota 50 in rural Hampton, about three miles east of Farmington, is said to be among the largest - if not the largest - of the 84 Cambodian Buddhist temples in America. A smaller temple operates in Rochester, Minn.

Beginning Thursday, the Hampton site's four-day inauguration will draw as many as 100 monks from as far as Australia, France, New Zealand and Cambodia. For Hang, the ceremonies will mark a rebirth and renewal of his cultural roots, and, for the 6,000 to 9,000 Cambodians living in Minnesota, at least a symbolic turning point.

The inauguration events - part religious ceremony, part ribbon-cutting, part festival - will consecrate the structure and the giant bronze Buddha on its upper level. On Thursday morning, Hang will join novices from other parts of the country in a monk "parade," circling the holy site as older monks are ordained.

For Hang, it will be a proud display. Visitors over the weekend might number in the thousands.

"We expect to have so many people because the consecration of a temple is really a rare event for our community," said Yanat Chhith, a leader in the Minnesota Cambodian Buddhist Society Inc. and former analyst with the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank.

"It only happens when we build a temple, and that's something that might not happen in some people's lifetimes," he said.

The temple's official ribbon-cutting is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Sunday. Afterward, the monks will perform the Sima boundary ceremony, where nine heavy stone markers are placed into vertical shafts, delineating the religious grounds. There will be music, food vendors and live performances after 6 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The new structure sits on a hilltop overlooking the monks' house and a scenic 40 acres of rural land, purchased in 1988 by the Minnesota Cambodian Buddhist Society. The house, which was later expanded to include a shrine room, has served as living quarters and a temporary holy sanctuary.

The two-story temple was started in 2002. On Wednesday, volunteers were busy painting its exterior, adding cement plaster to long sculptures of snakes and dragons running the length of each outer stairwell and putting finishing touches on the downstairs social hall.

Living here "changed how I used to be," said Hang, recalling fistfights with teens who teased him about being one of the few Asians at previous schools in Farmington and Burnsville. "I came here, I was pretty much on a bad

path. I'm more respectful and pay more respect to elders."
With special permission from Lakeville South, Hang spent April living with the monks and then returned after classes let out in June. He expects to stay through the end of July and perhaps come back for a year after he completes high school.

Buddhism allows "part-time monks" to serve for as little as a week, and Buddhists in some countries, such as Myanmar, require brief periods of monasticism for all boys.

"Most Cambodians, most of the young kids, they're into 'gangsta' culture," Hang said. "I used to be like that, too. It's really fun. But my dad said, you're (my) only son. You've got to continue the last name. But I got C's and D's."

Hang's daily routine begins with prayers at 6 a.m., followed by a light breakfast of rice soup and fruit. He spends the rest of the morning in solitary chants and preparing the temple grounds. His evenings are devoted to reading Buddhist teachings.

Lunch is always served before noon - the last meal of the day. With their light diet, the monks emulate Buddha, who abandoned his princely upbringing for an ascetic lifestyle and reached enlightenment at age 35.

The temple inauguration will be a first for Hang. He has little recollection of Thailand, where he was born, and speaks the Cambodian language of Khmer only haltingly. It also will be a first for many of the grown children of refugees displaced by the Khmer Rouge, who held power in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979.

Led by Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge's systematic torture, execution and forced labor killed an estimated 1.5 million Cambodians, according to U.S. scholars, and twice that many by other counts.

The oppression targeted religious leaders of all stripes - including Cambodian Christians, Muslims and Buddhist monks. Monks who died under the regime are remembered with a long series of portraits at the Watt Munisotaram.

Many Cambodians first fled to resettlement camps in Thailand, and then immigrated to the United States in large numbers in the 1980s. Minnesota - with more than 6,000 Cambodians, according to the U.S. Census - is home to the sixth-largest community in the U.S., after California, Massachusetts, Washington state, Pennsylvania and Texas.

Chanda Sour came to Minnesota as a 9-year-old with his mother, grandmother and aunts after his father was slain by the regime.

"My generation, I don't know a lot of this stuff here," he said, eyeing the Hampton temple's large, colorful wall panels depicting the Buddha's origins.

Today, the 34-year-old financial adviser from Eagan is an active volunteer with the Buddhist Society, which has received donations from around the country.

"We thought Minnesota was going to be the same as Cambodia, a hot climate," Sour said. "We didn't know there were different states."

But the temple isn't just a symbol of cultural pride. For Sour, it is a symbolic step toward cultural and economic stability for the thousands who have built new lives in the U.S.

"Who would have thought in Minnesota," he asked, "in the little town of Hampton, we'd build a temple?"

Frederick Melo can be reached at fmelo@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-2172.

The Cambodian-Buddhist Temple in Hampton by the numbers:

• 5 years to construct
• Cost $1.59 million
• Home to 7 monks
• 9 large marble markers weighing 480 pounds (Sima stones) mark the boundaries of the temple
• One large bronze Buddha
• More than 12 smaller Buddhas
• 12 cement dragons, each measuring 16 feet long
• Temple is 60 feet high, guarded by Buddha lions
  

If you go

• Celebration of the temple begins Thursday, with entertainment Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, beginning at 6 p.m.
• The temple is located at 2925 220th St. E., also called Highway 50 in Hampton.
• For more information go to www.wattmunisota.org

Hampton [Minnesota] gets new holy site

A monk seen pitching in the construction of Watt Munisotaram Pagoda (Photo: www.wattmunisota.org)

The rolling farmlands near tiny Hampton, in rural Dakota County, now boast the nation's newest, largest Cambodian Buddhist temple.

June 22, 2007
By Curt Brown,
Star Tribune (Minneapolis-St Paul, Minnesota, USA)

In his orange robe and sandaled feet, Cambodian Buddhist monk Moeng Sang spends much of his time meditating down a path toward virtue and radiating the peace of Buddha's teachings.

These days, though, he can't help but pull out his digital camera to click snapshots of the ornate new $1.5 million temple being completed on a Dakota County hilltop just outside Hampton, a town of 434 people about 30 miles south of Minneapolis.

Move over Mecca, Jerusalem and Vatican City. There's a new holy site: the Watt Munisotaram Temple amid the rolling farmlands east of Farmington.

"I am so very proud because you can see it from all around," Sang said. "I have traveled all over the United States, and this is the biggest and newest temple to be built for our community, and it will be a landmark for future generations."

After 25 years of dreaming and five years of construction, Sang and his fellow monks have been working with Cambodian craftsmen and architects to put finishing touches on the 50-foot-high temple, which is designed to mirror the traditional holy structures of southeast Asia.

More than 100 monks from around the world are expected to consecrate the temple in a four-day celebration starting July 5.

"This is a very, very rare event that comes once a lifetime and that's why it will attract so many people," said Yanat Chhith, 65, a leader of Minnesota's growing community of 7,000 or so Cambodian Buddhists.

Chhith also is a former analyst for the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank.

Most Cambodian Buddhists emigrated to Minnesota in the early 1980s, fleeing their homeland after the Vietnam War. Chhith said the community started gathering at temporary temples in houses in Minneapolis, St. Paul and Eagan, but chose their rural enclave in the exurbs so they wouldn't disturb anyone.

While hundreds of Buddhists from across the region are expected for next month's celebration, the general public is also welcome to witness the rituals and enjoy traditional Cambodian music, dancing and crafts and food from dozens of vendors.

'It's just kind of neat'

At the Main Street Salon in Hampton, stylist Laura Dohmen says local residents welcome the new temple on the outskirts of town.

"It looks like a big Chinese restaurant," Dohmen said, shampooing a client's hair. "The place looks beautiful and they're not harming anyone or causing any problems."

Her sister-in-law, Vicky Dohmen, owns Little Oscar's Family Restaurant on Hwy. 52.

"Sometimes, people will come into Oscar's and are just like: 'Wow, we've just seen this Buddhist temple,' " she said. "It's just kind of neat when you drive by it. I've never heard any complaints or controversy."

But there's plenty of curiosity. The Rev. Jay Kythe, who oversees Catholic churches in nearby Cannon Falls and Miesville, said parishioners at his daily mass had so many questions, they scheduled a meeting with Sang.

"When you drive by it, you can't miss it," Kythe said. "We had a wonderful visit and it's just beautiful and they're such peaceful people."

Details, details

The door of the temple faces east, toward the sunrise, and is framed by staircases with railings topped with carved snakes swallowing sea serpents. Stone lions guard the doors.

Inside the first floor social hall, nine polished marble balls shipped from Cambodia, weighing 400 pounds apiece, sit waiting in roped nettings.

During the consecration of the temple's boundaries July 6, the visiting monks will join Sang and parade around the site three times, pulling one of the marble orbs in a cart. The stones will be placed in eight holes around the boundaries, with the ninth to be placed in the center of the structure.

"People will place flowers, books, jewelry and money in the holes to help them find wealth in the next lifetime," said Chanda Sour, another board member of the Minnesota Cambodian Buddhist Community.

On the temple's second floor, 26 brightly colored painted panels from Cambodia tell the story of Buddha, an Indian prince who lived more than 2,500 years ago. A 6-foot bronze statue of Buddha will be consecrated.

As workers chipped details into the stone carvings and put the final coats of paint on the temple, Sang flashed a beatific smile and took more photos.

"I took many pictures of the temples in Cambodia and brought them with me to Minnesota in 1996," he said. "I asked the board to draw up plans and sponsor an architect and now all the construction is nearly complete.

"It will be a historic place for our community and the state of Minnesota."

Curt Brown • 651-298-1542 • curt.brown@startribune.com