Links:
Cambodian
RISE: Rochester In
Support of Everyone: A brief overview of Cambodians in Minnesota.
Cambodian refugees:
a summary.
World
Factbook. Information and statistics on population, history,
economy, ethnic groups, religions, government, military, communication,
transportation, and more.
Cambodian
refugees: statistics
Health
issues among Cambodian refugees
The Cambodian Genocide Program.
The Cambodian genocide of 1975-1979, in which approximately 1.7
million people lost their lives (21% of the country's population),
was one of the worst human tragedies of the last century.
Khmer
Health Advocates, committed to a greater understanding of the
physical and psychological illness that comes from war, torture
and genocide.
History
of the war in Cambodia, a PBS site.
Cambodian Holocaust awareness
project
The Khmer Institute:
articles and resources about Cambodian immigrants.
Assimilation
issues among Cambodian American immigrants.
Check out these other groups:
African
American
Bosnian
Hispanic
Hmong
Somali
Sudanese
Vietnamese
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Recommended Reading
First they killed my father: a daughter
of Cambodia remembers, Loung Ung. Until the age of
five, Loung Ung lived in Phnom Penh, one of seven children of a
high-ranking government official.She was a precocious child who
loved the open city markets, fried crickets, chicken fights, and
sassing her parents. When Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge army stormed into
Phnom Penh in April 1975, Ung's family was forced to flee their
home and hide their previous life of privilege. Loung was trained
as a child soldier in a work camp for orphans while her other siblings
were sent to labor camps. Bolstered by the shocking bravery of one
brother and sustained by her sister's gentle kindness amid brutality,
Loung forged ahead to create a courageous new life. Harrowing yet
hopeful, insightful and compelling, this family's story is truly
unforgettable. Winner of the National Book Award. Available
at Rochester Public Library.
Lucky Child, by Loung Ung. In her second
memoir, Ung picks up where her first left off, with the author escaping
a devastated Cambodia in 1980 at age 10 and flying to her new home
in Vermont. Though she embraces her American life, she can never
truly leave her Cambodian life behind. She and her eldest brother,
with whom she escaped, left behind their three other siblings. This
book is alternately heart-wrenching and heartwarming, as it follows
the parallel lives of Loung Ung and her closest sister, Chou, during
the 15 years it took for them to reunite. Available at Rochester
Public Library.
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