CCH - CAMBODIAN-AMERICANS AND POLITICAL EMPOWERMENT

Cambodia in Modern History: Beauty and Darkness

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CAMBODIAN-AMERICANS AND POLITICAL EMPOWERMENT

Article submitted by: Christine Su

PART I: INTRODUCTION

In the dialogue about minority politics, both the concerns of and roles played by Asian Americans often have been overlooked. While more recently, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) have been introduced into the discussion, the interchange has concentrated primarily on Japanese Americans, Chinese Americans, Korean Americans, and Filipino Americans, and tends to overlook less-populous or -established groups. Yen Le Espiritu's seminal Asian American Panethnicity (1992) argues that various immigrant groups originating in Asia (and their descendants), previously unrelated culturally, have purposely assumed collective identity for purposes of political empowerment. "To interact meaningfully with those in the larger society," writes Espiritu, "individuals [of Asian heritage or descent] have to identify themselves in terms intelligible to others" (10). Indeed, a panethnic Asian American consciousness has been beneficial in combating anti-Asian American bias in which exclusionary policies, bigotry, and violence have been directed at members of varying Asian cultural groups collectively. "Asian Americans," for example, were integral in the efforts involved in the passage of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which provides a legal definition for hate crimes. Certainly, coalitions can maximize the political leverage of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

As the AAPI community becomes increasingly diverse, however, so too must the exchange of ideas about and within AAPI politics not only incorporate members of all of the groups which comprise this diversity, but also acknowledge and respect this diversity. Different Asian heritage groups face specific as well as panethnic challenges, and want reforms directed at issues salient for the members of their ethnic communities. Members of less-populous or more recently-arrived groups, such as Cambodian Americans, for example, have been overlooked by programs for disadvantaged groups as a result of the "model minority" myth, which highlights the academic and economic success of some AAPI inhabitants, yet overlooks or disregards the difficulties of others. More than 200,000 individuals in the United States identify as Cambodian Americans, and in their communities they must confront high levels of poverty, discrimination and harassment directed toward immigrants, racial profiling by law enforcement, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), gang activity and violence, and general lack of understanding of Khmer culture by the larger American society.

In order to be included in the dialogue and to improve the quality of life in their communities, moreover, Cambodian Americans have had to become more politically empowered and active. Cultural and linguistic barriers still impede Cambodian American political participation; however, indigenous leadership and community organizing are increasingly woven into the fabric of Cambodian American life.

If you use material from this article, please cite it as you would any published source.
Suggested citation:
Su, Christine. (February 2006). Cambodian-Americans and Political Empowerment. Cambodian Community of Hawaii website. Retrieved [date accessed] from <http://hawaii.cambodiaworldwide.com/polempower.html>.