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In 1980s thousands of Cambodians fled Cambodia over the border to the refugee camps, mostly in Thailand. From there, their journey continued to the West - France, England, United States. They settled in Long Beach, California, and many came to Lowell to work in the booming electronic industry. Others followed to join them from Long Beach or from Cambodia. Between 25,000 to 35,000 (depending on who you ask) Cambodians live there today.

Vong 1 himself was born in Cambodia and left Cambodia when he was about 10 years old. He was at the Cambodia-Thailand border before he arrived in the States. His father died in the Khmer Rouge regime. Vong is still young, but shares the memory of the Khmer Rouge regime with the older Cambodians. He got his education in the U.S. in business management and worked in a bank for a few years before returning to Lowell to take on the community development work he's doing now. His American experience is similar to that of the young Cambodians who grew up in Lowell. He sees a great disconnect between the young and older generation of Cambodians in America and it worries him.

It is a close-knit traditional community that is very grateful to their host country, who took them in and helped them to get on their feet after the harrowing experience of the Khmer Rouge regime and following flight from their homeland. They have homes, they make a living, their children are growing up as American citizens. Yet underneath, there are many problems. "Our social structure makes activism difficult," said Vong when I asked him what causes do young people get behind. There are strong ties from Cambodian political parties to the elders of the community and peace is not what they are always after. Often they fan inter-ethnic (particularly against the Vietnamese community) or inter-religious conflicts instead of mitigating them. The young respond to the elders, respecting the lines of authority valued in Cambodian culture. Some of the elders feel it is impolite to raise issues in a country where they were taken in as refugees.

There is also a strong sense of fear and mistrust in the community; after 9/11 many Cambodians that have not become American citizens were deported to Cambodia, a country that is a stranger to many of them now. Some of the deportees were not even born there. Vong is sad that there is nobody to stand up for the community, no young leaders and advocates for the issues that trouble this community.

Those that have survived the Khmer Rouge mostly keep their stories burried inside, too painful to share. The youngster then don't understand the struggle their parents and grandparents went through, or the history of their homeland and therefore are unable to relate and take interest in it. Many leave Lowell for universities and for jobs, never to come back. Some get tangled into the web of criminal gangs that spread to Lowell from Long Beach. Something has to be done to prevent this community from falling apart in the future.

Cambodian Mutual Association that Vong is heading has originated from a self-help group setting, when people helped each other as they first entered America in early 80s. It was a great challenge for most Khmer people to communicate in English, to deal with American authorities, and to live in a very different culture. The Association took on the education and skills training that people helped each other with - to enable children to enroll in shools, to provide skills for jobs, teach literacy and English as a second language. CMAA officially started operating in 1984. CMAA still provides those services today as there is a continuous stream of incomers. Yet times are changing. When the Cambodians in Lowell no longer had the status of a refugee group, they lost the funding that comes with it. It is difficult to find funding for all this. Needs are also changing. Vong and others feel the need for the community to speak out, especially now that the Khmer Rouge Tribunal is trying the handful of top leaders of the Pol Pot regime in Phnom Penh. "I think it is crucial for the young generation to learn about their background. That will give them a purpose of wanting to do things for Cambodia."  

George Chigas 2. says that the conflicts brewing within the Cambodian community started some 20 years back, when the Buddhist temple was established. Since then there are "divisions that gradually increase within the Buddhist temple and the Khmer community". They grow more and more as time passes. He assumed several factors cause the divisions. They are political affiliations (to political parties in Cambodia), selfishness and distrust.
The distrust among people is especially unsettling to George Chigas. "Individuals do not put trust into one another. People fear someone is cheating them, taking advantage of the temple as well as in the relationships. This leads people to think of nobody but themselves". He is worried that the entire community will fall apart. When asked where this distrust is coming from, he paused. "It is because of the vast tragedy, trauma, and the society full of distrust, even among one's own family, during the Khmer Rouge regime”. He also sees that young people are not caring about their futures and feels that the community has to come together to heal, grow stronger, and move forward.

In order to get the community 'unstuck', Vong feels they need a 'message'. Message to share with younger people of their community, but also with the wider population. Vong would like to see a Memorial Day of Cambodians

1. Dasha Kusa spoke with Vong Ros, the Executive Director of the Cambodia Mutual Association on November 6 2007 and March 11 2008

2. Vuth Kim (ICfC project coordinator from Phnom Penh) spoke with Vong Ros and George Chigas, professor of political science at University of Massachusetts, Lowell and local activist on Oct. 16 2007.