Thursday, October 28, 2010

Decades On, Southeast Asians Struggle in US

The two-day conference, organized by the National Association for the Education and Advancement of Cambodian, Laotian and Vietnamese. (Photo: Im Sothearith)
Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer
Washington, DC Wednesday, 27 October 2010
“Actually, Asian-American students don't do well. They have high rates of drop out and low access to higher education.”
Researchers and educators from Southeast Asian communities in the US met over the weekend to discuss the ongoing challenges immigrants from the region face in America.

Cambodian-Americans face social, cultural and economic difficulties, along with similar communities from Laos and Vietnam.

The two-day conference, organized by the National Association for the Education and Advancement of Cambodian, Laotian and Vietnamese, brought together 35 years of research and was sponsored for the first time by the National Education Association.


“We have lived here for 35 years and have been making our demands every ten years, five years, or yearly, but our voices have not been heard,” NAFEA President Chhany Sak-Humpry told VOA Khmer.

That's because there is a perception in the US that Asian-American students don't need help, said Bouy Te, director of the NEA's quality schools program. “Actually, Asian-American students don't do well. They have high rates of drop out and low access to higher education.”

The annual NAFEA meeting, which reviewed Southeast Asian education from kindergarten through grade 12, is a good chance to remind policymakers the needs of such students in schools, budgeting and curriculum, Bouy Te said.

Although the conference included a number of Cambodian-Americans with advanced degrees, the majority lag behind.

Cultural and language barriers, added to family problems and poverty, can lead to low self-esteem, said Nou Leakhena, a professor of sociology at California State University in Long Beach.

“Some parents don't understand their children, especially those who were born here,” she said. “They cannot communicate with their children.”

Trauma from the Khmer Rouge is another problem, along with gambling, violence and neglect, she said.

“Therefore, children who grow up here feel abandoned,” she said. “They don't have money to go on to university or [other] higher educations.”

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Only Khmer dogs are stupid, don't put Laos and Vietnam in the same category. I know Khmer only knows how to Fuck this Fuck that and got raped by niggas

Anonymous said...

LONG LIVE VEIT NAM.. You all should wishes that you never born and if you born next born as vietnamese so you be smarter...

Hun sen and CPP doing a good job for US... the master.. and Phay siphan providing a good lip services and SOK Siphana and Sarin Donora are working hard to manipulate all the foerigners there for us.. the rest of our vietnamese brother and sisters are all in every officials position in the cambodian government.

Long live Viet Nam

soon we will take thailand too

You all khmer wishes you never born.. next time make sure you born as a vietnamses maybe you a little smarter

you all useless khmer peoples have no more chance.. we vietnam controle your idiot king... HUN SEN and all the family and CPP.. we have our citizen in every level of your government.. basically we run you whole country for you.. becuase you khmer are useless and stupid and idiot.. if you dont believe ask you parent..

look you country now.. it is the fact you wishes you never born.. next time you better born as vietnamese.. Long live viet nam.. soon we will control even thailand the land of gay and lesbian they dont care they only make love .. so it will be more easy..

we want to thank hun sen and cpp ... personal that to phay siphan for his lip services and sok siphana the brother inlaw to the rapist young girls minister of information and Sarin Denora for their manipulation to all the idiot foreigners in cambodian .. we will reward you and we will keep you in power.

Anonymous said...

bạn ăn đồ ngu mẹ con chó.
Go back to Vietnam to live your miserable life.

Anonymous said...

2:18 PM
Your wife and your daughters got raped by niggas ? I am so sorry to hear that .

Anonymous said...

2:18 PM, you are a dump,
who talk about Laos and Vietnam here ?
Read again,
you are a Laotian or Vietnamese American and you are an idiot!

Anonymous said...

From the eyes of White people, we are all just Asian American. Education alone will not solve this problem.
I am Cambodian/American graduated from college with many Vietnamese student. First we thought that high education will lead us to a better life but it is still dificult to find a job with bad economy.
In the work place we are all look alike to them (White/Black). They thought that we are Asian period. Most of Vietnamese who graduated with me, they could find only the job as Technician (with BSEE).
In my generation, we have to face with the people who their father served in Viet Nam war or some one who had served in the War and they do not like Vietnamese at all. At the work place, we have no choice but to unite all Asian together so we can have our voice heard.
Prejudice at work place against Asian men is real and they love to flirt with Asian women.
This is the consequence of living in the foreign country.

Anonymous said...

KI,

You need to delete this idiot Long Live Vietcrab blog.

This Viet lice is either an imbecile delinquent or a jobless Viet who has nothing else better to do with his time.

Anonymous said...

2:18 and 2:39PM,

Vietnamese are usually ok in my book. I've known a few good Veit people in the US.

But as for you think you are the type of Viet that like to eat dog. I think you've been nothing but dog all your life it affects your head.

Anonymous said...

I fuck Khmer dogs in Long Beach, students my ass

Anonymous said...

people seemed to stereotype that asians are successful in school, etc; they don't understand that these once refugee people are struggling from language barrier to economic status, etc... successful asians, i don't care where you came from are hard-working, save a lot, frugal, etc, to makes ends meets. they all work extra hard because english don't come naturally for most of them. it is usually english is thier second language, and don't blame it on the language thing. hey, there are 197 countries in the world, so, not all can speak english, you know! but they never complain, instead just drop out because it's hard and a struggle for many of them in school, especially higher education, etc... to understand their difficulty, try to learn a foreign language for a change and you will see! it's extra work, really, not to mention, their family has no financial means to support them or send them to school. i'm not complain, i'm just telling the truth in life for many refugee people; life's a struggle for most of them in their new lands, wherever they may be. that's all!

Anonymous said...

I agree we need to delete Long Live Vietshit because his comments are very disturbing. I don't read his comments but that kind of put down is uncalled for. His country and people are no better most Vietnamese are cheaters and most of the females work as prostitute in Cambodia.

Anonymous said...

There are so many Vietnamese porns in the internets or at the video stores than the other races in USA.What a shame Vietnamese race!.Not just in USA,there are a lot of porns in every countries in the world.Go and check to see in your internets.

Anonymous said...

no excauses for anyone here in the USA. stop blaming any race. and dont see this and that. Do your shit

Anonymous said...

I am Cambodian in America...I don't believe there is a perfect country on Earth and the fact that I choose to live in America and living, work, eat and sleep in America show that I love America much compare to other country! There are some good and bad but I choose to look at the good and the bright side of everything...I believe as a human I must go out there in the world and make something out of myself! If you work hard, have persistence, and never give up and you will succeed in anything you touch and you don't need to be smart! There are many opportunities in America.

You may be too ugly or too beautiful, too short or too tall, dark or black skin or have buck teeth or sometime you may be stupid, crazy, and smart and that is okay because once you have the money people will look at you differently! ahhahahhaah

As for human interaction in the work place and all the stereotype, the prejudice, bad perception of one another, the gossip....bounce to happen and nobody can't escape that but it is how you handle it...You must constantly prove who you are whether you are at the work place, at community service, at social function, at the party...because it is the nature of people to judge other people...

Who said it is easy to be a human!