One of the Few Female Cambodian Deportees from the USA Shares Her Story

YouTube · Post by **General Mackevili** » Wed Oct 28, 2015 8:43 pm

Here is a glimpse into the life a very cool Khmer-American who's been in Phnom Penh for many years.

She was born in a refugee camp in Thailand, spent her whole in the United States, had never even been to Cambodia until 2011, when she was probably about 22 years old.

Spent a year in prison in the US for a non-violent crime, then "deported home" to Cambodia, where she's never even been.

She started a GoFundMe account to raise some money to buy a plane ticket for her son in the States so that she can see him again.

She's off to a good start, already raising $585 towards her goal of $1,500.

Here's her story:

As many of you know or may not know, I am one of the very few females that have been "deported" to Cambodia for non-violent crimes that I committed growing up in the States. I've only been open with my story to those that I've come in contact with and only recently have become comfortable enough to share it with the public. Although my story in words is quite simple, the complications of being separated from family and the only "home" I've ever known is very difficult. I say that because I have never stepped foot on Cambodian land until I was put on a flight and landed in November of 2011. I was born in a refugee camp in Thailand and I was only a year and a half when my mother and I went to to the States, so America is the only home I've always known. My mother was a single parent and didn't speak a lick of English at the time so the only resources we had were from the government. Yes, I grew up in poverty, but I am not going to sit here and make any excuses for the bad choices I've made. I was old enough to know right from wrong, but never did I think I would be torn apart from my family because it never crossed my mind that I would have to call another place "home." We've all made mistakes. I have learned from mine and have forgiven myself so I can be a better person to not let those mistakes to continue to haunt me.

To make this long story short.. I grew up in America, committed the crime, did my time (one year in prison and eight months in ICE), was released under supervision, worked, paid taxes, stayed clean, then was sent to Cambodia four years after being released when they (ICE) received my travel documents. I was separated from my immediate family which included my mother (who is on dialysis and my biggest supporter), my son (who is now 12 years old), five brothers (two are in the Marines), three sisters (who are all beautiful strong women), six nephews, five nieces (three of them I haven't met since departing), and my step-dad. I miss them all very much and I've been ripped to pieces from my "world!"

...continued...

Jerry Atrick · Post by **Jerry Atrick** » Wed Oct 28, 2015 9:28 pm

What was she locked up for?

And why wouldn't you become a citizen of the "only country I'd ever known"?

cptrelentless · Post by **cptrelentless** » Wed Oct 28, 2015 9:47 pm

Jerry Atrick wrote:What was she locked up for?

And why wouldn't you become a citizen of the "only country I'd ever known"?

Most of them didn't fill in any naturalisation paperwork due to not speaking English. It's quite easy in the US to live in a ghetto with other people from your country, where you just speak Khmer or Spanish or whatever and are completely separate from the state. Technically they are still foreign refugees, unless born in the US like I guess her brothers and son who got citizenship by birthright, so when they commit an offence they are deported to their country of origin.

Anchor Moy · Post by **Anchor Moy** » Wed Oct 28, 2015 10:53 pm

First,I am ok with deporting foreigners who commit crimes, but I have a lot of sympathy for these people.
They arrived as displaced people in the US and it seems that they have remained so. They are not American-Cambodians, or Cambodian-Americans; they are Cambodian refugees with the right to reside in the USA, but they don't even know their status or their rights.They think they are Americans.

Deportees:

“I was 6 months old when I left this country – I’m American – but no one told us if we go to prison we could get deported back to Cambodia,” he said, his eyes downcast and his voice filled with anger...
...Few of those who arrived in the U.S. as traumatized refugees in the late 1970s and 1980s realized that asylum and residency were not the same as citizenship...

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation- ... 50811.html

YouTube · Post by **General Mackevili** » Wed Oct 28, 2015 11:24 pm

Yeah, I'm friends with a lot of them in my city back in the States.

I've always considered them American. I'm sure many just put the process on the back burner, and only remember how important it is once they get into some trouble.

The government makes it very easy for them to get citizenship, but until they actually claim it, they're not legally citizens.

Technically, I can't blame the gov for sending them "back" to Cambodia, but damn, that fucking sucks!

I would also assume that there are a LOT less these days that don't go through the process of stealing the deal with their American citizenship mainly because of all of these stories.

Surely by now every single one is fully aware of the risk they are taking by not doing it. Still sucks, but by now they should realize how important it is to follow through with.

YouTube · Post by **General Mackevili** » Wed Oct 28, 2015 11:25 pm

Jerry Atrick wrote:What was she locked up for?

No clue, but I can only assume she doesn't want everyone to know, as she didn't mention it on her public GoFundMe account.

qinjingyou · Post by **qinjingyou** » Thu Oct 29, 2015 4:41 am

Anchor Moy wrote:First,I am ok with deporting foreigners who commit crimes, but I have a lot of sympathy for these people.
They arrived as displaced people in the US and it seems that they have remained so. They are not American-Cambodians, or Cambodian-Americans; they are Cambodian refugees with the right to reside in the USA, but they don't even know their status or their rights.They think they are Americans.

Deportees:
“I was 6 months old when I left this country – I’m American – but no one told us if we go to prison we could get deported back to Cambodia,” he said, his eyes downcast and his voice filled with anger...
...Few of those who arrived in the U.S. as traumatized refugees in the late 1970s and 1980s realized that asylum and residency were not the same as citizenship...
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation- ... 50811.html

I was involved with the Khmer refugees in the US from 1975 on. Last time I talked with a Khmer-American was yesterday afternoon. This article and most others like it that I've seen are just BS. They're vague about the deportees criminal records and outright lie about the way refugees were treated.
The people who got deported are in a bad situation, but that situation is the result of their own actions.
I have some sympathy, because there was a lot of mental illness among the people who had lived under the KR, and it does look like an easy way to get rid of people who otherwise would be in jail. But it's unbelievable that they had any contact with the Khmer community and didn't see anyone discussing citizenship.

Jerry Atrick · Post by **Jerry Atrick** » Thu Oct 29, 2015 8:59 am

Especially as she went to school, speaks only English . . . There's no way she was not aware, or not reminded of, the fact she was not an American citizen.

And the way she utterly avoids mentioning her crime, except that it was "non violent" makes me think she has some nasty shit in her past.

Her name is terribly generic, hard to google her.

GM: you title this as her sharing her story, but all I see is a crowdfunding appeal.

rubberbaron · Post by **rubberbaron** » Thu Oct 29, 2015 1:18 pm

I had some contact with the overseas Cambodian community in the U. S. because of my wife and I would agree that most stories are BS, but you can't just lump them together like this. It is really unbelievable, though, she did not know about her status. She needed to get a drivers license, a social security number. Even questionaires in school ask for your race, though not your nationality; so it never occurred to her that being Cambodian also involves the issue of nationality? Hard to believe. On the other hand, you have quite a few Khmer who pay overseas Cambodian-Americans to marry one of their children so they can emigrate there. Once these people people got their green cards, they can't wait for the 5 years to be over for them to apply for citizenship so they can sponsor their parents. This has been going on for a long time and these people are not necessarily the most educated either. Why do these people know how to do things, but those deportees have all been in the dark about any legal issues. The minute they were arrested for a felony their nationality came up. And they still didn't know? Of course, the moral question about these deportations would be for the U. S. government to answer.

Kampong Spooner · Post by **Kampong Spooner** » Thu Oct 29, 2015 2:31 pm

rubberbaron wrote:I had some contact with the overseas Cambodian community in the U. S. because of my wife and I would agree that most stories are BS, but you can't just lump them together like this. It is really unbelievable, though, she did not know about her status. She needed to get a drivers license, a social security number. Even questionaires in school ask for your race, though not your nationality; so it never occurred to her that being Cambodian also involves the issue of nationality? Hard to believe. On the other hand, you have quite a few Khmer who pay overseas Cambodian-Americans to marry one of their children so they can emigrate there. Once these people people got their green cards, they can't wait for the 5 years to be over for them to apply for citizenship so they can sponsor their parents. This has been going on for a long time and these people are not necessarily the most educated either. Why do these people know how to do things, but those deportees have all been in the dark about any legal issues. The minute they were arrested for a felony their nationality came up. And they still didn't know? Of course, the moral question about these deportations would be for the U. S. government to answer.

At a guess, and from experience, because they are 'bangers' or, at a guess with this ladies 'non-violent' case, drug-addicts/dealers.

Compare, if you will, to western overstayers. The laws are straight forward, but some people still ignore them.

One of the Few Female Cambodian Deportees from the USA Shares Her Story

One of the Few Female Cambodian Deportees from the USA Shares Her Story

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