|
|
|
Cambodians in Waikiki?
Article submitted by: Van Fujimoto Anyone who has ever visited Hawaii knows that Waikiki is tourist central. Tourists from Japan, mainland United States, and Europe flock to this area year round. Waikiki is packed with high rise hotels and vendors. Everything is catered to the vacationing tourist in this highly dense beach front location. Tourists wearing aloha shirts are everywhere stalking the streets for souvenir deals and bargains. Everything is sold here: macadamia nut chocolates, shell trinkets, sushi take out, hamburgers, aloha shirts, plastic leis, coconut bras, etc. Tourists hit the beach to get their express tan, surf, or catch a boat ride. Traffic is heavy shuttling visitors to hotels and shopping destinations. Night time the street performers emerge and night clubs light up. Are there any Cambodians to be found in this Disneyland of Polynesia? The answer is YES. What in the world are they doing here? Providing taxi service for tourists! The next time you step into a Waikiki taxi there is a good chance your driver will be from Cambodia (if not, they are probably from Vietnam). There are over 300 persons of Khmer ancestry living in the state of Hawaii. The state consists of six main islands: Oahu, Kauai, Maui, Lanai, Molokai, and Hawaii Big Island. The island of Oahu contains most of the population. Likewise nearly all Cambodian-Americans of Hawaii live on Oahu. Only about ten individuals or so live on the other islands combined. On Oahu there are approximately 60 Cambodian households. About 25% have lived on the island over 20 years. Another 50% have been here between 5 to 10 years, and the remaining 25% have been here less than 5 years. Although many Cambodian�s drive their taxis in Waikiki, few actually live there. Waikiki is mostly for tourists. Residents live in other neighborhoods of the island. This includes the greater Honolulu area and outskirts. How do Cambodians end up here? They come for a variety of reasons. The weather is good, the pace is more relaxed. But the main reason is through acquaintances or family. Cambodians first immigrate to mainland United States then make their way to Hawaii. So far they have mainly relocated from Washington, California, and the lower Boston area. Are all Cambodians taxi drivers? No, but there are a plenty of them. Over 30 at last count. There are two households that have three taxi drivers each! Most of them are full time. Some operate their own business, others work for established cab companies. Night time and weekends are the most lucrative times to operate the taxis, hence the drivers are busy during these times. How do other Cambodians in the community make a living? Many ways. Some are farmers on the north and east end of the island. They grow everything from tropical fruits to Asian and American vegetables. Their produce to sold to chain grocery stores as well as local farmers markets. Others work in academia, specifically the University of Hawaii. Some work in the tourist industry. There are also folks running their own businesses. One is a convenience store owner. A lot of Cambodians are in the house cleaning business. There is one Cambodian restaurant on Oahu located downtown that serves fantastic food. Another one is setting up shop in the University of Hawaii campus town. Good luck! What else are the Cambodians of Hawaii up to? Plenty. The big events are the Khmer New Year in April and Pchum Ben (worship of the dead) in October. Last year they teamed up with others in the Thai, Burmese, and Laotian communities to host the first annual South East Asian Lantern Festival. There are also large gatherings for birthdays, sweet-16 partys, graduation, weddings, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any other excuse! Events are well attended with lots of great Cambodian food and music. They usually start off with an Apsara blessing then the fun begins. There is even a Cambodian band of four people. Usually Khmer music is played with young and old participating in traditional dance. Later the teens take over the scene with hard core rap, funk, and hip hop. Huge luxury vehicles can be seen coasting into each event as if a presidential motorcade. These are owned by the taxi drivers who remove their taxi signs for private use. Whenever possible events are schedule on Sunday during the day to accommodate the many taxi drivers. There are Cambodians attending the University of Hawaii, Hawaii Pacific University, and Bringham Young University (BYU). BYU is part of the Mormon church and has many Cambodian nationals attending their school. They even have a Cambodian club! The Mormon church also operates the well known Polynesian Culture Center. Here you can see members of the Cambodian club perform tradition folk dances in traditional outfits. The BYU folks are always welcome to events set up by the Cambodians living in Hawaii. The Cambodian community in Hawaii is alive and well and slowly growing. They are part of the diverse mixture of people who make up this island state of the tropics. If you use material from this article,
please cite it as you would any published source. |
About Us | Site Map | Privacy Policy | Contact Us |