The Cambodian community in Philadelphia: Considerations when viewing folk arts
by William Westerman, Philadelphia Folklore Project, April 1993. Revised 1999.

Demographic issues: There are approximately 10,000 Cambodians in the greater Philadelphia area. Up to a million people left Cambodia between 1979 and 1992, of whom about 370,000 were eventually repatriated. Most stayed in refugee camps in Thailand and the Philippines for 2-6 years before being settled elsewhere. Most of these went to the U.S., France, Canada, Australia, and other countries. Up to a million people died between 1975 and 1982 in the civil war, Khmer Rouge labor camps, executions, and famine. Refugees began arriving in the U.S. in 1980 and continued to resettle here through about 1992.

Cultural issues: Most Cambodians in Philadelphia are ethnically Khmer. Some ethnic Cambodians came from the country of Vietnam, and they are known as Khmer Krom; they have a distinct accent and celebrate many of their own holidays and festivals separately from the greater Cambodian community. Other Cambodians in Philadelphia come from ethnic minorities within Cambodia, and speak different dialects of the language, Khmer. There is a significant number of ethnic Chinese from Cambodia. There are Cambodian communities in North Philadelphia, South Philadelphia and West Philadelphia. There are two Cambodian Buddhist temples in Philadelphia - one in North Philadelphia (Khmer Krom) and one in South Philadelphia (Khmer).

Stereotyping issues: Cambodians often fall victim to the "model minority myth," where the assumptions are that Asian kids are diligent, disciplined, hardworking, and economically well off (or if not, shrewd enough to become well-off within a generation). But, a large portion of refugee Cambodians are from peasant farmer backgrounds, unfamiliar with urban life even in Cambodia, and they came to this country as political refugees, not economic migrants. People may share similar values about education and becoming economically well-off, but may not, placing instead an emphasis on working for immediate cash income rather than investing in expensive education which may pay off many years down the road. Due to the legacy of colonialism, war, genocide and refugee experiences, many Cambodian youth in the United States come from families which were shattered by political and economic crises. Most Cambodian youth in our schools today either came to the U.S. at a very young age or were born here. What they know about the Cambodia of Chamroeun's memories is only as much as they have learned through family stories. And yet, because of their presence as a racially identifiable minority, many Khmer youth face the burden of assumption - assumption that they "know" about Asian culture and history.

Issues of particularity: It is important to recognize that there are many different kinds of Cambodian arts, and many different Cambodian cultures. Cambodian culture includes the emerging and mixed culture drawing from contemporary African American, popular cultural and Khmer traditions being developed by young people. It also includes the ancient classical dance traditions valued and practiced by Chamroeun in these entirely new contexts (and done in new ways). Depending on their class, gender, race, ethnicity, history and attitudes, Cambodians (and in fact all of us) practice different versions of culture. In fact, we all practice multiple cultures every day. An important point to remember is that not all Cambodian students should be expected to be familiar with all of the arts that Chamroeun knows and values.

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