Deporting our Youths

In the article Deporting Our Souls and Defending Our Immigrants, we learn about how high the statistics are of crimes committed by southeast Asians. They are primarily committed by Cambodian Americans and studies have shown that that may have been from Post traumatic stress disorder. The refugees from Cambodia experienced severe trauma whiles escaping the Pol Pot regime. Kim Ho’s case is very interesting that he was going to get departed but could not because the United states had not formed a repatriation agreement with Cambodia. He appealed the federal court and won the release. Then later he was deported because an agreement was signed in 2002. It is shameful that he was granted the opportunity to stay but later it changed because of the repatriation. It is troubling that he had to be removed from a country he called home since the age of two and be taken to a country he had to flee as a child. It is important we help young youth in their transition in living in America. They have a cultural shock and do not have the support from their parents to adjust to being “Americanized.” We should follow the lead of a group called United Cambodian Community in Long Beach, CA because they are making efforts to keep the youth from joining a gang and promoting good habits such as studying and finding a job. We must not give up on our youth but support them and steer them in the right direction.

Sarak Ouch

Week 6