Camp Connects Cambodian-American Children to Their Heritage

 

Every summer for the past 15 years, Cambodian-American adoptees and their families have come from around the country to gather in the state of Colorado.

The families take part in a special camp in the Rocky Mountains. It is called the Cambodian Heritage¹ Camp. It is meant for people adopted from Cambodia as children as well as their adoptive parents.

Kunthia Porter and her sister Devin were adopted in 1999 by the Porter family of Spokane, Washington. Kunthia describes herself, her sister and other campers as “Khmericans.” They are people born in Cambodia but raised in America. They are shaped by their adoptive parents’ desire to have them know and understand both cultures.

Now 25 years old, Kunthia says she wishes she had stayed more in touch with the culture of her home country.

“Even though our parents really wanted us to stay connected with our culture, we soon learned English within a month and kind of left our culture behind and tried to get absorbed in the American culture. But as we grew up, we both kind of regretted that,” she said.

Each year, the Cambodian Heritage Camp has a different theme, such as the Mekong River. The camp’s classes are taught by Cambodian-American volunteers. The classes include subjects such as the Khmer language, history, dance, music and food.

Sar Titborey is a Cambodian-American volunteer. Titborey said identity is very important. “The most important word that we have been using for the past 15 years, even after the kids passed grade 12, is identity.”

Titborey added, “We want to make sure we do not forget our roots, so whatever we teach, we stress that.”

Connections continue as the years go by

The U.S.-Cambodia adoption² program has been suspended since 2001. That means there are no longer young people who are the right age for the camp.

But when the organizers announced last summer that there would be no camp sessions in 2018, parents were unhappy.

The families and counselors³ had already built a close group on social media. And the group was planning a reunion and a project trip for volunteers to Cambodia.

Kimsua Chay, who first volunteered as a camp counselor⁴ in 2004, said, “Nobody wanted camp to end.” He added that the camp is a way of giving back “to our country, where our parents were born.”

He is now a United Airlines pilot based in Los Angeles. He serves as counselor coordinator⁵. He is working on a program for the 2018 camp reunion.

Sharon Blender is one of the camp’s executive⁶ directors. She said the Cambodian-American counselors also learn about their heritage at the camp including rituals⁷ and traditions.

There are about 320,000 people in the Cambodian community in the United States. Those numbers come from the Center for American Progress. That is small compared to other Asian-American groups. Most are in California, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Washington and Texas.

The State Department says 2,355 Cambodian children have been adopted by American families. Many know little about their culture, and live in places far away from immigrant communities.

The families try to learn about their children’s heritage and Cambodia’s recent history. This includes the conflict of the Vietnam War and the Cambodian Khmer Rouge⁹ genocide in which between 1.7 and 2.5 million people died.

The Heritage Camps for Adoptive Families organizes the Cambodian camp. It also holds camps for 10 other adoptee groups including Chinese, Korean, Thai and Vietnamese.

Attendees say the camp is a valuable resource that families would not have otherwise.

Kimberley Lanegran is an associate professor of political science at Coe College in Cedar¹⁰ Rapids, Iowa. She adopted two children, one of whom is from Cambodia.

She has attended the camp for many years. “It’s nice to be with people who…know some of the same experiences that I’ve gone through myself,” she said.

Lanegran said of her Cambodian-born daughter, “We can’t make her like us and she is not like us.” But she adds, “We just help her know that she is American and she is our daughter, but she was born in Cambodia.”

I’m Mario Ritter.

Words in This Story

adopt –v. to legally become the parent of a child who is not your own

absorb –v. to become part of a larger group

heritage –n. the things that make up the history and traditions of a group

ritual⁸ –n. part of a formal ceremony that is done the same way every time

perspective –n. a way of looking at or thinking about something

1 heritage   

n.传统，遗产，继承物

参考例句：

• The ancient buildings are part of the national heritage.这些古建筑是民族遗产的一部分。
• We Chinese have a great cultural heritage.我们中国人有伟大的文化遗产。

2 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

3 counselors   

n.顾问( counselor的名词复数 )；律师；（使馆等的）参赞；（协助学生解决问题的）指导老师

参考例句：

• Counselors began an inquiry into industrial needs. 顾问们开始调查工业方面的需要。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We have experienced counselors available day and night. ) 这里有经验的法律顾问全天候值班。） 来自超越目标英语 第4册

4 counselor   

n.顾问，法律顾问

参考例句：

• The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。
• Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。

5 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

6 executive   

adj.执行的，行政的；n.执行者，行政官，经理

参考例句：

• A good executive usually gets on well with people.一个好的高级管理人员通常与人们相处得很好。
• He is a man of great executive ability.他是个具有极高管理能力的人。

7 rituals   

（宗教等的）仪式( ritual的名词复数 )； 例行公事，老规矩

参考例句：

• A cognac before bed is one of our little nightly rituals. 临睡之前喝点儿干邑是我们每天晚上的小习惯之一。
• Many of the tribe's customs and rituals are as old as the hills. 这部落的许多风俗、仪式都极其古老。

8 ritual   

adj.例行的，老规矩的，惯常的

参考例句：

• This was the monthly ritual.这是每月一次的例规。
• I realized that here the conventions required me to make the ritual noises.我意识到此时按照惯例我应该说些客套话。

9 rouge   

n.胭脂，口红唇膏；v.(在…上)擦口红

参考例句：

• Women put rouge on their cheeks to make their faces pretty.女人往面颊上涂胭脂，使脸更漂亮。
• She didn't need any powder or lip rouge to make her pretty.她天生漂亮，不需要任何脂粉唇膏打扮自己。

10 cedar   

n.雪松，香柏(木)

参考例句：

• The cedar was about five feet high and very shapely.那棵雪松约有五尺高,风姿优美。
• She struck the snow from the branches of an old cedar with gray lichen.她把长有灰色地衣的老雪松树枝上的雪打了下来。