A (BRIEF) CLINICIAN'S GUIDE TO CAMBODIA AND CAMBODIANS
by Thomas F. Carr, M.A.,LMFT,LMHC,LCSW
& Kimvun Suos
There is however a very real lack resources for some minorities, because
there is a lack of trained clinicians who speak different languages. This is
especially true of the Cambodian or Khmer population, which
came to the United States in the 1980’s and early 90’s, most from refugee
camps, having dealt with often inconceivable atrocities, which few
Americans can relate to, and now dealing with sometime debilitating
depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and then with the
Americanization of their children.
In too many cases, services for Cambodian and other Southeast Asia
populations must be adapted, with non Khmer clinicians stepping in to help,
to "do the best we can do".
Clinicians may use interpreters of varying levels. In some cases they
employ therapy within the range of language (believed to be) understood by
the client.
While well meaning, and done in an attempt to service a family, the fact
is that sometimes this approach fails to do the job, and may exacerbate
existing problems. In some cases, the perceived notion that a service is
being provided because there is an assigned clinician leads to a conclusion that a family is safe.
This paper is designed to help clinicians who come in contact with
Cambodian families, especially those who support others in working with such
families in understanding the unique cultural values, experiences, and ideas, of a people who over the
past ten years have come to the United States in great numbers.
Monica McGoldrick (1982) a pioneer in the importance of ethnicity to
working with families collaborated in her book Ethnicity & Family Therapy
with a number of contributors to outline profiles and strategies for work
with a number of different groups. In it, one chapter (Shon 1982) was
devoted to dealing with the unique, but generalized, observation of the
Asian Culture, with little distinction among sub groups. While well
done, it reflected the fact that little was avail or understood about the
sub groups, and that in one sense all Asians had enough of a similarity so
that certain paradigm could be derived.
McGoldrick’s important work had a place on the working shelf of many
clinicians, until the second addition of the book was released (1996). This
book published some 14 years after the first work had been expanded
significantly with regard to Asian families, and include specific chapters
on Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Filipino, and Cambodian
families.
Lorna McKenzie-Pollock (1996) contributed the chapter in McGoldrick’s
book on Cambodian families, a good overview of the life of Cambodian’s and
some of the treatment issues that face clinicians. Pollock aptly outlines
the problems that a non-Cambodian [Khmer] speaking clinician has in dealing
with some of the trauma and loss issues, and the fact that because there are
so few Khmer therapists, clinicians are often faced with adopting or
accepting a model involving some sort of para professional.
In too many cases, the case assignment authority may also as sign the
case to the “Asian” worker assuming cultural similarities when longstanding
conflicts may contraindicate that approach. For example, at one point in
its’ recent history, Cambodia was invaded by the Vietnamese, with many
civilians killed. It is quite common to come across a Cambodian whose son or
daughter was killed by a Vietnamese national. At the same time, it is quite
common to find a Cambodian who was born in what is geographically known as
Vietnam, or to find a Cambodian speaking person born in Vietnam, married to
a Vietnamese national, with Chinese ancestry. However, part of cultural
competence is a basic understanding that Asians or Asian cultures are not
necessarily interchangeable.
It is important that in taking on the Khmer client either individually
or in family therapy, that the clinician understand at least where some of
the issues with an individual or family may lie, by having a basic
understanding of the land, its’ people and their history.
There are many books at varying academic levels that will be mentioned
in this paper that enable a reader to get a feel for Cambodia and
Cambodian’s. David P. Chandler (1991,1993,1996) is a well known authority
on Cambodia and the culture and has written several books. The Cambodia
Genocide Program (CGP) at Yale University, is even available through the
Internet [www.yale.edu/egp/cgp.html]. It may be useful however, to use this paper is
a road map of sorts or frame of references and to working with a Cambodian family.
The Countryside
While some 180,000 Cambodian refugees have arrived in the United states
and have been here anywhere from four to ten years, the majority came from a
rural agricultural background.
Cambodia is a rich agricultural country bordered by Laos,
Thailand in the North and Northwest, and Vietnam in the east. It has an
area of approximately 69,900 square miles, about the size of the state of
Missouri. Much of the country's area is rolling plain. Dominant features
are the Mekong River, which traverses the country from north to south.
Mountain ranges are situated in the west, north, and northeast.
The climate of Cambodia is tropical and hot, with a rainy season
extending from mid-April to October. The mountain barriers provide the
interior with a drier climate than most southeast Asian countries. The
temperature is rather constant throughout the country, averaging about 77°
Fahrenheit.
The majority of adult Cambodians now living in the United States lived
in villages and engaged in "subsistence" agriculture, chiefly with rice
paddies and orchards, attempting to grow enough food to feed their
families. Large landholders were few; landless tenants were relatively
unknown. Food was sufficient in normal times, and farmers generally had an
adequate standard of living, if only by the Cambodian standards.
In 1970, Prince Sihanouk was overthrown by his Prime Minister, General
Lon-Nol. That same year, Cambodia was also the target of attacks from the
spreading war in Vietnam. Events in Cambodia and Vietnam spurred the growth
of the Khmer Communist faction "Khmer Rouge", which gained control of the
country in 1975. Vietnamese Communists then overran Cambodia and installed
a government headed by Heng Samrin. Pol Pot, who was believed to head the
government from 1976 to 1979, and his supporters escaped into the jungle and
initiated an ongoing guerrilla campaign with the hope of regaining the
control of Cambodia from the Vietnamese Communists. Nationalist factions,
called "Khmer Seri" (free Khmer) also began fighting to reestablish Cambodia
as an independent and neutral country.
NATIONAL SYMBOLS
Angkor Wat (Angkor Temple) is the soul of Cambodia, symbolizing the past
civilization and the greatness of the country. The Angkor Temple is
displayed on the flag of Cambodia. The national flag has three colors:
blue, white, and red. Blue symbolizes the morality, representing the
spirits of honesty, justice, and happiness of the Cambodian people. White
symbolizes purity and uprightness and represents the Buddhist religion. Red
represents the spirit of courage and determination.
THE PEOPLE OF CAMBODIA
The population of Cambodia was estimated at 7.1 million in 1972 and 8
million in 1975. About 85% of this number were ethnic Khmer (Cambodian),
with the remaining population made up of Chinese, Vietnamese, and Cham
(Khmer Muslims). As a result of various conflicts, a considerable number of
Khmer live outside of the country, in parts of Thailand and Southern
Vietnam, which were formerly part of the Cambodian kingdom. Those in
Thailand are estimated to number 700,000. The Cambodians in Vietnam reside
almost entirely in the Mekong Delta region and have been estimated to number
500,000. After five years under the brutal Khmer Rouge regime and the
resultant starvation, including those made known by the "killing fields",
disease, as well as continuous fighting between the Vietnamese troops and
the Khmer communists, only three or four million people are believed to
remain.
FAMILY LIFE
Although Cambodian society is family oriented, a close, nuclear family
may be more prevalent than in some other Southeast Asian cultures, although
like other Asian families, large family systems exist. The extended family;
including grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, may live as a unit in
rural areas, where financial considerations force them into a single
household. However, in normal times, the Cambodian family is likely to be
economically independent, owning a home and enough land to be
self-sufficient.
Religious practices and socialization usually take place in the
structure of the family. A great deal of respect is given to the fact that
specific roles are given to males and females. Boys are expected to be
actively involved in community and religious life, while traditionally,
girls represent the family by marrying someone deserving of her family's
respect. Within the family, the wife maintains an important, highly
respected role. She is primarily responsible for the education of the
children in social and moral matters. In some respects, she is also seen as
the leader of the family. The wife may also handle all the financial
matters. As a result, the wife is given great respect both within the
family and by the community at large.
The family relationship is very close. Three and four generations may
live under one roof, but nuclear families are not unusual. Elderly
relatives commonly live with the children and are well taken care of by
members of the family. Parents have all of the authority over their
children in every area of their lives. Children must obey their parents and
have no freedom of speech. They are strictly disciplined and are expected
to behave themselves. Children are considered the most valued "treasure" by
most Cambodian parents. Parents are ready to give up anything for their
children.
Grown up unmarried children (mostly girls) stay with the parents until
they are married (mostly girls). Often after marriage the children still
live with their parents (mostly boys). The husband is generally seen as the superior,
the head of the family, with the wife as subordinate in most
areas. Women rarely are seen as the head of the family. Following the
death of the family husband, the oldest son will become the head of the
family and is responsible for family matters.
Older children in the family are expected to help take care of the
younger brothers and sisters, more than just babysitting. The girls are
responsible for cooking and cleaning the house, and the boys are responsible
for chores outside the house. Eleven or twelve year old boys or girls are
expected to be very responsible, especially as the families adapt to new
countries. They may stay home and take care of older or younger family
members when parents are not home or are working. They may go to the store,
take care of money, or travel to other areas as a messenger for the parents.
Parents sometimes may be seen to have high expectations of their children
for performance in the present as well as for the future. Children are
sometimes not well treated by parents by Western standards, as they often
receive little or no encouragement; thank yous for a job well done, or
compliments.
In Cambodian homes, even in the United States, not everybody has a bed
and bedrooms are shared. Cambodians can share a bed with the same sex. It
is not unusual that two male or female friends or relatives share one bed.
Small children, boys and girls, often share the bed, younger children sleep
with parents. Cambodians traditionally take a nap, if possible, after lunch
every day. Cambodian beds are made of wood or bamboo and are covered with a
reed mat. Many Westerners visiting a Cambodian home for the first time
might be struck by an of bedding and surprised to learn that mats
are still used. Sometimes only parents have beds and children sleep on the
floor covered with a reed mat.
Some Cambodian customs and manners may seem unusual to a Westerner, for
example; Cambodians do not put their feet on the table while sitting with
others, because it is viewed as impolite. Cambodians may seemingly talk
around the subject before coming to the point, they do not "make eye
contact", look straight into someone's eye, out of respect. When Cambodians
answer "yes" to a question, sometimes it doesn't mean that they really
understand, but rather may be an attempt to be polite or because they are
afraid of losing face. Cambodians being offered food may say "no" the first
time, but they may accept after being offered a few times.
Older people's ideas are always viewed as the "right ones", while the
youngest ideas are seen as "immature" and may not be well accepted. Single
persons are always considered immature. It doesn't matter how old they are.
There are other customs worthy of note. • Touching one's head is seen as
impolite and offensive. •Women never sit with their legs crossed •Spitting
in front of someone means you are looking down on that person. •Cambodians
may not tell someone about a mistake directly, but will tell a second
person, because sometimes telling about a mistake directly can be insulting.
• Crossing over someone's feet is impolite. • Giving something to someone by
throwing is impolite. • Sitting higher than one's elder is impolite.
Cambodians are often resist change rather than absorbing change, and may
be slow and reticent to accept new ideas. For example; Cambodians may be
seen as immobile regarding a place of residence, wanting to live in one
place all their life, seeing no need to move.
Cambodians, particularly those living in rural areas, maintain very
traditional values regarding sexual behavior. Sexual matters are never
openly discussed, and parents generally refrain from specific sex education,
particularly with daughters. At the time of marriage, the bride may receive
basic instructions regarding sex from her female relatives.
Due to the importance given to the marriage, Parents usually arrange the
match, and the couple learns to accept each other. Cambodians do not "date"
each other. If two people are in love, the marriage will be arranged.
Marriage is arranged sometimes if the parents are friends, or they are in
the same economic level. It is not unusual for a Cambodian to marry his
cousin or niece, or her own uncle. The marriage is arranged after a few
steps are taken. First, a mediator meets with the girl's parents and they
agree. Second, an investigation by either the boy's parents or the girl's
parents is completed to find out that the chosen one is good enough. Third,
the engagement ceremony is held, including gifts of new clothes, jewelry,
etc. The wedding ceremony takes place at the bride's house. Traditionally,
the marriage was celebrated for three days, but after 1970, it lasted only
one day, because of security reasons.
Men usually marry between 23 and 30 years of age, women between the ages
of 16 and 22. Marital fidelity is considered more important for women than
for men. In fact, all sexual standards tend to be considerably more
flexible for men than for women. Divorce is legal but not common, and
usually discouraged. It is only after reconciliatory efforts of the husband
and wife have failed, and it is very rare to have the proceedings brought to
the courts. The divorce rate among Cambodians is very low.
LANGUAGE
Khmer (also known as Cambodian) is the official language of Cambodia and
is the mother tongue of the ethnic Khmer. It is quite different from
Vietnamese, Lao, and Thai. Khmer, unlike other languages of Indochina, is
non-tonal and has a number of two-syllable words. Because of the extensive
historical ties of the Khmer people to the culture of India, the language
has many loan words from Sanskrit, relating to administrative, political,
military, and literary subjects. The Cambodian writing system is complex.
There are 66 consonants, symbols, 35 vowel symbols, 33 superscripts, and 33
subscripts.
CUSTOMS, TRADITIONS, AND BELIEFS
Theravada Buddhism has been the official religion of Cambodia, and is
followed by about 85 percent of the population. Buddhism does not require a
belief in God and is compatible with other religious beliefs. It requires
its followers to take full responsibility for their own actions.
Buddhism influences every aspect of Cambodian life. The pagoda, or
temple, is the center of the community in rural areas. In larger cities,
due to the increasing influence of modern life, traditional practices have
decreased or taken new forms. In some remote areas, Cambodians practice
"animism", that some objects, such as trees and stones, have souls, and a
belief in supernatural beings, which included spirits of ancestors and
demons. Such beliefs, however, are becoming less prominent as Buddhism and
Western philosophy expand. Christianity is also found in Cambodia. In
1975, it was estimated that 30,000 Christians lived in Phnom Penh alone.
There are several religious holidays that call for every Buddhist to
prepare food and other offerings for a celebration at the pagoda in the
presence of Buddhist monks.
The biggest Khmer holiday is the New Year, a three-day celebration
beginning on April 13. This is a time for visiting relatives and friends,
taking food to the temple, and attending religious ceremonies and classical
dance performances. The most important ceremony for Cambodians, however, is
"All Souls Day". It is a day of prayer for the souls of those who have
died, and occurs on the fifteenth day of the seventh month on the lunar
calendar (September). Another important holiday commemorates Buddha's
birth, his subsequent enlightenment, and finally his death. This event is
celebrated on May 18th.
Weddings are also important occasions and are celebrated beginning with
a morning religious ceremony, followed by an afternoon party with large
gatherings of family and friends and plenty of food.
It is important to note that associated with Buddhism is the Four Noble
Truths, which are; • existence is suffering •suffering is caused by desire•
if you conquer desire the suffering will cease and • you follow the
eightfold path in order to conquer desire.
AFFECTIONS AND GREETINGS
One will never see men and women holding hands in the street or
touch in public. A Cambodian man cannot touch a woman, put arms around her
shoulder, hold her hands, kiss her on the cheek, in order to show friendship
or affection. Even Cambodian husbands and wives do not kiss each other in
public or in front of the children. Parents kiss only the babies, but
parents may tap children's shoulders or pat the back to show them affection
or love. Brothers and sisters never kiss each other on the cheek. Teasing
is sometimes the way affection and love is shown.
Cambodians greet each other is by putting their hands in front of
the chest, called "Sampiees". The older people are greeted first, and then
the younger ones. Men usually shake each other's hands for greeting.
Cambodians never shake hands with older people or women unless the latter
offers their hand first. Women never shake hands with another woman.
Sometimes men or women embrace each other as a greeting, but Cambodian men
never embrace or kiss women for greeting.
EXPERIENCES OF TRAUMA
All Cambodians, adults and children alike, have undergone
significant stresses and traumas, what they might call "much hardship".
Their country, once beautiful and peaceful, has been torn apart by war;
burned buildings and houses, destroyed bridges and bombed schools and
marketplaces. Many Cambodians were witnesses to the senseless killing of
innocent people and the complete destruction of their economic and social
systems. Many of those who tried to escape the killing, starvation, and
foreign domination were subjected to horrifying brutality, including robbery
and rape. In the face of these traumas, the Cambodian people have been
psychologically devastated. After having been resettled in a new country
with a new culture, they may begin to think and reflect about their many
losses and also begin to grieve for loved ones who have died or just
disappeared to places and fates unknown. They also remain gravely concerned
about the loss of their nation. There are sources available in the form of
books and articles which reflect some of these experiences and hardships (Szymusiak,
Welaratna)
Highly traumatized individuals are naturally at higher risk for
serious psychiatric disorders. The Khmer population in the United States
are survivors of multiple trauma; many have been tortured. Their traumatic
experiences fall into three major time periods: (1) the Vietnamese War; (2)
the refugee flight; and (3) the displaced person camp.
Conservative estimates have concluded that approximately 600,000
Khmer died during the American bombings of Cambodia. The Khmer Rouge regime
(1975-1979) was responsible for another million deaths. Following the
Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia, in December of 1979, massive numbers of
starving refugees entering the refugee camps in Thailand. The initial
mortality rates in the spring/fall of 1979 were very high.
Refugee Camps
It is important for clinicians to note that while most Cambodians
would have had an experience as a “refugee”, and spent time in a refugee
camp, the experience may have been vastly different from person to person,
and certainly was from camp to camp. A westerner may thing of a refugee as
only an "escapee", running to safety. However, some camps were the centers
of far more trauma than may have been experienced in the home country.
There were nine refugee camps in Thailand . Sakeo Camp ,
which may simply be seen as a “Cambodian run camp”, run by the Khmer Rouge
who were actually persecutors of other Cambodians.
Of the eight other camps, five were controlled by the Khmer Rouge.
Site B, also known as Green Hill was controlled by the Sihanouk
Liberation Front, and was considered to be the most well run of the camps,
but was not without its’ hardships. 007 camp was known as “a
smuggler’s paradise” (Ngor).
The most prominent of these camps was Khao-I-Dang, which
controlled by the Thai military, and was the only recognized settlement by
the Thai government (Ross). It housed anywhere from 130,000 refugees in
1979, to 21,000 eight years later in 1987). Haing Ngnor who earned fame for
his portray of Dith Pran in the movie The Killing Fields wrote of life in
the camps, (Ngor). Even in Khao-I-Dang, which was described as a show camp
(Ngnor, Sheehy) Ngor described the life at night as being filled with
revenge killings, robberies, and rapes.
There are some instances in the United States, where a Cambodian may
hide information about their experience in a refugee camp because they may
have had a job in a camp where they were actually one of the persecutors of
some torture. It must also be noted that the killing did not stop in some of
these camps. More importantly, some of these refugees may isolate themselves
from the community, or be isolated in the new homeland, for fear of
recognition and retaliation. for their role in a particular camp.
Clinical reports and community surveys of the resettled Khmer in the
United States reveal a wide range of traumatic experiences of this
population. Khmer psychiatric patients in the United States have
experienced numerous trauma events, some of which are considered torture by
United Nations criteria. The traumatic experiences of these patients
generally fall into four categories: (1) deprivation; (2) physical injury
and torture; (3) incarceration, brainwashing, reeducation camps; and (4)
witnessing killings or torture.
Almost 100% of the Khmer population living in the United States have
lost relatives. About one-fourth of Khmer women have lost their husband, and
about one-fifth have lost children.
Almost everyone in the Khmer community has considerable unresolved
distress over the death and disappearance of loved ones under the Khmer
Rouge regime. Some times the psychiatric process or other Western treatment
methods are seen as causing a re-victimization and re-traumatization which
prevent "culturally appropriate" healing and bereavement from occurring.
The impact of trauma on the Khmer is certainly severe with a prevalence of
major depression and of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), estimated as
high as 20% and 60% respectively, in the Khmer population.
The Western clinicians may not be acquainted with the unique
cultural meaning of some experiences. The term "torture" for example, is
different in Indochinese cultures. The meaning of torture in the Khmer life
is articulated through language and historical and culturally constructed
traditions. The word torture in Cambodian and English are strikingly
different. The English derivative of the term is from the Latin root,
tortum (i.e., to cause to turn, to twist, hence to physically torture).
Torture in the Western world has consistently been associated with the use
of physical or mental pain. The Cambodian term, in contrast, is derived
from the Sanskrit/Pali words "daruna" and "kama" (i.e., savagery, cruelty,
barbarism). The Cambodian term for torture is "tieruna kam" and is
associated with the Buddhist concept of Karma.
Karma, the idea that the sum of a persons existence, the Samsara or
endless cycle of birth and death, including his existence in a prior life,
effects the (present) future as well as future lives. Therefore it
important to conduct all your affairs with that in mind.
Cambodians who have been tortured generally feel they are some how
responsible for their suffering, because of their Karma. This is
particularly true of Cambodian women. It may seem amazing how much
suffering they may endure before they consider seeking some kind of release,
for they may see the suffering as a basic part of their Karma, their
destiny. Moreover, unlike Westerners, Cambodians may not "politicize" their
torture and subsequent impact on their lives, using it as an excuse for
their functioning. It is imperative, therefore, that the clinician realize
that a Cambodian woman may be "right to the edge of death" before she seeks
help or she is seen in an emergency room. Clinicians may not have more than
one chance and should not wait until a pattern develops.
A clinician may talk to a Cambodian client about their feeling "sad"
and label it depression, but the clinician may not fully understand what
this "sadness" means to them. However sadness, historically, socially, and
culturally constructed, is very different in Cambodian society than from
other Asian cultures, even in Vietnamese society, for example. While most
Cambodian patients may meet the DSM IV criteria for depression, these
patients may express sadness, depression, and despair in unique ways.
An individual's family life, personal life, education, and learning
often becomes organized around the trauma experience. You may see it in the
relationship with children, with family, and so on. Language, of course,
compounds these problems in identifying and treating trauma. It has been
important since coming to the United States to encourage Cambodian widows to
learn English. English as a second language has been introduced in most
communities. However, sometimes these women, already isolated from their
own society with no man as the head of the house, do not learn English and
never connect to the larger society. These Cambodian patients may have the
feeling that they don't have anyone to rely on, and may in fact be
accurate. Cambodians may express this feeling, despite the fact that many
are living in crowded houses with up to fifteen people. This is just one of
the problems of the trauma-related response.
The "trust" issue is also a common problem in family relationships.
As noted, Cambodians have lost family members (exiles also have this
problem). So just because someone is living in a crowded condition, doesn't
mean they are connected to the people and are receiving support. The
people they may feel connected to may be missing, or they may feel unwilling
or unable to get close for fear of the bad Karma around that effected those
they care for or those people being killed or leaving.
It is also important to consider and understand the meaning of
dreams and nightmares, especially as it relates to the diagnosis of post
traumatic stress disorder [PTSD]. It is a very controversial issue, whether
or not the individual has PTSD. Most Cambodian people experience sleep
disturbances and nightmares. What may be interesting is the degree to which
the nightmare acts as "a reliving" of the trauma event. Perhaps the only
way to get into the trauma story is through the "nightmare", because many
torture survivors will deny that they were ever tortured. An adolescent
Cambodian girl, for example, who had tried to commit suicide, reported
"everything's fine".
The clinician asks; "do you have any nightmares"?
Western clinicians often do not know what treatment is effective
and, if it is, how specifically did it help. Interestingly, they sometimes
learn in short term work (six months) that Cambodian patients had improved
significantly, "remarkable" because clinicians themselves never thought they
were doing that well. Some somatic problems, like headaches, however,
seemed to get worse. Hope, confidence, feelings of self-worth all
improved.
How does the Western clinician work with people who have unspeakable
horrors? It is not easy and is sometimes overwhelming.
Some Cambodian refugee clients, as with other Asian cultures, will
seek health care consistent with their cultural expectations and traditional
health-seeking behavior, as well as their trauma history. Indochinese
clients are generally unfamiliar with Western psychiatrists and mental
health practitioners. In general, physical symptoms are the appropriate
domain of medical physicians and native healers; emotional symptoms are most
appropriately brought to family, friends, and religious leaders.
The psychological dimensions of trauma and torture appear to have two
universal dimensions: (1) loss of control; and (2) "losing the world". We
use the term "losing the world" because it seems to be the most accurate
description of the Cambodian experience with the total loss of one's
reality.
When an individual has lost the world, he may become totally trapped
in his trauma story. In fact, the generally held cultural beliefs are
replaced by the only reality he has been forced to know, the trauma story.
In fact, many clients "become" their trauma story, plagued by traumatic
symptoms - nightmares, insomnia, and “waking memories”. They will often
describe these symptoms as causing them to be in living hell. These clients
live in a world of traumatic images and memories in which nothing exists for
them except the trauma story. Their psychological reality is both full and
empty. They are "full" of the past; they are "empty" of new ideas and
experiences. Social isolation and withdrawal are usually present. An
example of the trauma faced by a Cambodian woman was taken from an actual
child custody investigation to illustrate the enormity of the trauma faced
by some individuals;
Mother witnessed the beheading of one of her brothers by the Khmer
Rouge … that two of her brothers had died, her father, a Cambodian soldier
was shot when she was six, and that she also was involved in a confrontation
between the Vietnamese and the Khmer Rouge, [Mother] hid at the bottom of a
hill and saw the Khmer Rouge kill many people. Some died suddenly after
getting their throats cut, but some, including children, died slow, painful
deaths with no medical treatment. According to the Court Clinic report,
Mother had actually been separated from her biological mother and lived with
an aunt in a refugee camp, "run by the Khmer Rouge", from the ages of eight
to twelve, and did not know where her mother was. Later, she was able to
find her mother”.
The Americanization of Cambodian children
The so-called Americanization of children is another
significant problems which faces the Cambodians.
Issues such as dating and sex are particularly problematic in the
Khmer culture since it was not historically an issue in Cambodia where there
was no such thing as dating, and the duty of the parents was to find a
suitable match (Welaratna). Now, in America, dating also impacts on issues
of parental authority which is eroded.
Many Cambodian children experience a sense of alienation and
powerlessness because their families are unable to support them in ways that
they may observe with other (“American”) children. `Their parents come from
a rural background and most often are huddled now into urban areas, which is
all the children now know or remember. The children may very often act as
the conduit for communication between their parents and authorities such as
schools, hospitals, the police and courts. In this role the child may become
prettified or may opt to use the power and control {in providing
communication and information} of this role in an ultimately unhealthy way.
The Americanization of their children includes a seemingly
relentless economic pressure of pursuing an American lifestyle, only add to
the stress on the family.
There is additional evidence to suggest that Cambodian families
tension may erupt into problems with the children that lead to state
intervention; children running away, failing to attend school, sexual
activity, substance abuse (Weinstein-Shr).
Certainly exposure of and to one’s own culture into the society as
a whole, especially the communities to which these families have newly been
acclimated must be done in a safe way for children. As with most cultures,
when there is very little known about people coming to an area, suspicions
and misinterpretations often result in hostility toward them and their ways.
American publishers, however have certainly made that much easier for
educators and communities by expanding their holdings to include many
cultures including Cambodians. Marshall Cavendish Company, put out a series
called Cultures of the World, in which Cambodia is one of more than 70
cultures given their own book (Sheehan). In the Children's Press series
Enchantment of the World (Greenblatt), Cambodia is one of a hundred cultures
examined.
Gang Involvement
A sadder result of Americanization, is the exposure of many young
Cambodians to the effects of gang involvement. There is very little in the
way of information about the Cambodian involvement in gangs partially
because of the limited information on gang activity, but also because the
Cambodian adolescent may be lumped into the category of an “Asian gang
member”, or because although they belong to a homogeneous smaller group,
they may associate with a large group, such as the Blood Red Dragons, Asian
Boyz or Crypts, or adopt a name. While there are certainly exceptions, gangs
historically have developed along ethnic and racial lines (Boldinger-deUriarte).
The Tiny Rascals Gang, identified with their blue and gray
colors and “TRG” tattoos, are actually rivals of other Asian gangs, (the
Red Dragons), and while mostly males with members from age 12 to 26, have
female members. These gangs are often very violent and leave no way out for
a member.
Clearly some of the same reasons that exist for all teens to become
gang members are true in the Cambodian community, the sense of belonging
and identity, the need to have a sense of power and control which is
supported by the membership.
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has a positive impact on servicing and planning for these families.
Cultural competence is the subject of an increasing number
conferences and workshops, aimed at clinicians, faced with working with new
populations of immigrants and limited resources. Clearly a better
understanding of variations among different racial, cultural , and ethnic
groups,
Kim Vun Suos
In its' simplest form, ethnicity, is a context in which to better
understand, communicate, and ultimately service individuals and families.
The Cambodian definition of the term torture:
= tieruna kam
1. ( = tierun)
cruel, savage
2. ( = Kam, Kammea, Karma)
action, dead, act, activity, a work; calamity; fate; Karma; an
action or thoughts (often of an evil nature) in prior existence that
produce effects in subsequent existence.
"Yes, every night".
"What do you see in these nightmares"?
"My father is lying there next to me starving to death, and I give
him
some rice and he dies ".