Cambodian Subculture in Long Beach, California
Cambodian Subculture in Long Beach, California
Understanding how culture affects our lives helps us develop a sociological imagination (Kendal, 39). In 1954 the U.S. Agency for International development created a program to educate Cambodian nationals at American universities. Many of the 187 students who came settled in Long Beach and enrolled at California State University of Long Beach. The USAID program was latter discontinued due to the Vietnam War (Press-Telegram, 3). Cambodian history is filled with many horror stories and much pain. In April 1975, a French teacher Pol Pot, and his communist soldiers began systematically destroying Cambodia and its government. With the help of the North Vietnamese Pol Pot and his soldiers, which later became known as the Khmer Rouge, set out on a horrific journey to “ purify the Khmer race and create a classless society (Press-Telegram,3). The migration of Cambodians into the U.S. began in 1979.
Everyday in Long Beach, Cambodian families mix culture as they would a plateful of lemongrass, chicken, and rice (press-telegram, 5). Cambodian parents face a seemingly never-ending battle of traditional rules and culture correct behavior with their children. Westernized Cambodian- American children have become more abundant as years go by. Today, many say, that the most important issue facing Cambodian families is generation gaps. Traditional parents and Americanized children, more often than not, disagree daily with appropriate dress code, music, behavior, and education.
Many of Cambodians who escaped from Cambodia now find themselves in a land of few similarities. Many of these parents in Long Beach are happy to raise their families in a land free of war and dictatorship. However, freedom comes cuts both ways, says Jams Pok, a Cambodian pastor of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Long Beach. Sometimes, it means children feel free to disregard, destroy and ignore elders- behavior that would not be tolerated in Cambodian, he says (press-telegram,5). Some parents believe that when children are exposed to American values, it becomes problematic for parents to keep Cambodian traditions within children.
Take into consideration cultural rules and regulation traditional parent try to instill within their children. Cultural rules and regulations of Cambodians can be categorized into three parts: correct behavior of young males, correct behavior of young females, and correct behavior toward elders.
Many Cambodia families in Long Beach say that girls are more difficult to raise than boys (smith, 47). Cambodian parents believe that through sexual...