Cambodian Refugee-History, Process, and Implication

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Cambodian Refugee-History, Process, and Implication 

The Kem family is greeted at the airport in San Francisco. The bag held by Mrs. Kim (on the right) contains all of the families travel documents. Her son (in center of photo) is holding the only personal possessions the family had when they arrived. After their arrival in San Francisco, the family moved to the Long Beach area (circa 1980).

Author: Sorya Or
Grades: 9-10

Suggested Amount of Time: 90 minutes
Area of Study: Cambodian Diaspora

Compelling Question

  • What is the Cambodian diaspora and refugee experience? 

Lesson Question

  •  What are the characteristics of Cambodian Refugees post 1975?

Lesson Objective

Students will learn why people seek refuge, understand what refugee camps are like and where they were for Cambodian refugees after 1975, grasp how resettlement impacts refugees and their places of refuge, and differentiate between asylum seekers and refugees.

Lesson Background

As the atrocities of the war unfolded, Cambodians started to seek refuge in camps that spanned throughout Southeast Asia from South Vietnam, Thailand, and to the Philippines. From the moment Cambodian people had to leave their home, their life, now as a refugee, changed forever. To understand how Cambodian refugees resettled and what their life was in those camps is to understand on a broader scale the effects of human migration, the trauma they carry, and their impact on the environment.

Students should have had a broad overview of the causes of the Cambodian War prior to this lesson.

Image Citation: Salazar, A., & Salazar, A. (2023e, November 14). The Kem Family - Historical Society of Long Beach. Historical Society of Long Beach - Where History Lives! https://hslb.org/the-kem-family/

Ethnic Studies Theme

This lesson connects to the ethnic studies theme of power and oppression from the Asian American Studies Curriculum Framework (Asian American Research Initiative, 2022). Students will consider war, migration and imperialism as contexts shaping citizenship and racialization.

Students will explore how the migration of Cambodians to the United States is connected to how the US designed its immigration and exclusion policies.

For additional guidance around ethnic studies implementation, refer to the Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (2022) https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/cf/esmc.asp.

Historical Thinking Theme

This lesson will facilitate student proficiency in historical perspectives, one of Seixas’ historical thinking skills (Seixas & Morton, 2013). To demonstrate the use of evidence to write historical fiction that accurately conveys the beliefs, values, and motivations of historical actors. 

It is important to avoid presentism - the imposition of present ideas on actors in the past. Nonetheless, cautious reference to universal human experience can help us relate to the experiences of historical actors. Students consider the experiences of Cambodian refugees during the resettlement process in the United States.

Handouts
  • Cambodian Refugees Infographic 
  • Link to handout
Readings
  • Settlement in a Global Context 
  • Khmer Rouge Survivors 
Videos
  • Escaping the Khmer Rouge 
Photos
  • Migrations Of Memory 
  • Toul Sleng Photos 
  • A Perfect Soldier: Year Zero
  1. Warmup
    1. Ask students to reflect on a time when they encountered a new situation.  It could be moving to a new area or changing schools.  Have them consider how they adapted and what challenges they faced.  
    2. The teacher can ask for a few students to share their responses.
  2. Tapping Into Prior Knowledge 
    1. Teacher will introduce the learning objectives and review the student's prior knowledge about the war. 
    2. Have students turn to a partner and share 3 facts they recall learning about Cambodian involvement in the Vietnam War. (Optional: Students can jot their three facts on a post-it note).
    3. Then, discuss it as a class. The teacher can use the lesson background to support the review. 
  3. Interaction with first source with multiple interactions
    1. Show students the following picture of a Cambodian Refugee Camp. https://english.cambodiadaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/cam-photo-refugee-campf.jpg
    2. Have students complete a “See-Think-Wonder” thinking activity with the photos. 
      1. Guide students to consider the age of the soldiers seen in the photo.
    3. Teacher will then guide students to discuss in groups, some of the characteristics of a refugee camp and what the daily life of a child their age would be like. Students can be guided to brainstorm together on a sheet of paper of these characteristics. 
    4. After five to seven minutes of collaborative brainstorming, each group will select one student to share their discussion answers out loud. The teacher will take notes on the board of what is being shared.
    5. Once all groups have shared, the teacher will go over the similarities and differences.
  4. Interaction with second source with multiple interactions
    1. Teacher should then show the following TedTalk to help students understand what it was like to be a refugee from Cambodia: https://www.ted.com/talks/sophal_ear_escaping_the_khmer_rouge
    2. In the first watch, have students note down what images or words stood out to them most. 
    3. In the second watch, have students jot down the following:
      1. Details/facts about the war
      2. Details/facts about the refugee camps (including living experiences, conditions, etc).
      3. Impacts on Cambodian refugees
    4. Review the three note taking categories as a class.
  5. Interaction with third source 
    1. Students will choose one of the following websites to further explore Cambodian refugee experiences. 
      1. Settlement in a Global Context https://ucdavis.box.com/s/g0izwnf5hlfruoxwh2inxmniv07mrfgs
      2. Khmer Rouge Survivors https://tpocambodia.org/khmer-rouge-survivors/ 
      3. Migrations Of Memory  https://petepin.com/projects/migrations-of-memory-i   
      4. Toul Sleng Photos  http://d.dccam.org/Archives/Photographs/Photos_from_Khmer_Rouge_Secret_Prison_S-21/index.html 
    2. They will continue to add onto their notes with information about the war, refugee camps, and impacts on refugees. 
    3. Once students have finished their analysis of a website, have them turn to a partner and share about their source and learnings. 
    4. Have a whole class discussion and solicit student responses from each of the website sources available. 
  6. Cultural Production and Lesson Assessment
    1. Students can decide between one of the following lesson assessments (Assessment instruction slides): https://ucdavis.box.com/s/9s0n49n5ra4xmf8on4ee0yl0jqmmq2if 
      1. Infographic: Using the sources provided in the lesson, you will create an infographic explaining the history behind the Cambodian refugee camps. You can choose the characteristics/perspectives you wish to describe (the camp itself, the refugee’s life, the routine, the aftermath of the camp, etc.) Be sure to include a citation page of resources used.
        1. This infographic can be done digitally (i.e: Google slides, Google Drawing, Canva) or on paper/poster.
        2. Make sure you have only the necessary and relevant information and at least two images/pictures/graphics.
        3. Include a title describing the area of focus for your infographic, ex: the life inside a refugee camp, etc.
      2. Artifact/Art Installation: Decide on an artifact that best illustrates the refugee camps/refugee experiences. You can also choose several photographs to analyze and display. Use an index card (museum style) to explain the artifact. Include a title/date and significance of the artifact. 
        1. Optionally: Type a 500 word essay explaining why you choose/created this particular artifact and why it is important for us to know about it.
    2. A rubric is made available in the handouts section. 
  7. Sharing and Reflection 
    1. Teachers will circulate among groups to check in, clarify, celebrate, or redirect as they finish their projects. 
    2. Once projects are complete, provide time to set up a gallery walk for students to see each other’s work. 
    3. Students can share one takeaway from this lesson project as a final reflection. 

Students can choose from one of the following options: 

  1. Infographic: Using the sources provided in the lesson, you will create an infographic explaining the history behind the Cambodian refugee camps. You can choose the characteristics/perspectives you wish to describe (the camp itself, the refugee’s life, the routine, the aftermath of the camp, etc.) Be sure to include a citation page of resources used. 
  2. Artifact/Art Installation: Decide on an artifact that best illustrates the refugee camps/refugee experiences. You can also choose several photographs to analyze and display. Use an index card (museum style) to explain the artifact. Include a title, date, and significance of the artifact.

Engagement: Consider the following method to support with lesson engagement:

  • Use activities that include a means by which learners get feedback and have access to alternative scaffolds (e.g., charts, templates, feedback displays) that support understanding progress in a manner that is understandable and timely

 

Representation: Consider the following method to support with multiple means of representation:

  • Provide written transcripts for videos or auditory clips
  • Embed visual, non-linguistic supports for vocabulary clarification (pictures, videos, etc) 

 

Action and Expression: Consider the following method to support in presenting their learning in multiple ways:

  • Provide checklists and guides for note-taking
  • Provide models or examples of the process and product of goal-setting

 

For additional ideas to support your students, check out the UDL Guidelines at CAST (2018) http://udlguidelines.cast.org.

Emerging: Consider the following method to support with emerging students:

  • Writing: Provide sentence frames with word and picture banks 
    • In response to a prompt, the teacher offers a sentence frame orally and/or in writing to support expression of student thinking. Frames are adjusted based upon specific grammatical structure, key vocabulary, content learning, and language proficiency level descriptors, etc. Frames are a temporary scaffold that require modification. 

 

Expanding: Consider the following method to support with expanding students:

  • Writing: Teach and utilize the writing process 
    • Construction of a prewriting outline of an informational report is scaffolded in three stages

 

Bridging: Consider the following method to support with bridging students:

  • Writing: Require academic writing and the use of target academic vocabulary 
    • Apply domain­-specific vocabulary and general Academic vocabulary in open sentence frames to perform functions, like describing or explaining, that target specific grammatical structures.

 

For additional guidance around scaffolding for multilingual learners, please consult the following resources:

Use the Khmer Oral History Project or email the Cambodian Embassy: 

  • https://mnhs.gitlab.io/archive/minnesota-immigrant-oral-histories/collections.mnhs.org/ioh/10000831.html
  •  https://www.dccam.org/homepage/health/survivors-stories/ 
    1. Listen to the testimonies, then write a reflection on the testimonies of how hearing from someone who was in the refugee camps helps to understand the Cambodian American experience. 
    2. Try to email or call some of these speakers and ask questions that were not addressed such as the healing process and the programs that were taking place in these refugee camps to help the Cambodian refugees cope. 
    3. Teachers will distribute a blank map of Cambodia https://d-maps.com/carte.php?num_car=144&lang=en and Southeast Asia, then have students label important geographical features and create a key legend for the location of the three main Cambodian refugee camps.

Asian American Initiative. 2022. Asian American Studies K-12 Framework.  

Britt, K. 2020c, May 11. English learner toolkit of strategies. California County Superintendents. https://cacountysupts.org/english-learner-toolkit-of-strategies/

California Department of Education & English Learner Support Division. 2012. California English Language Development standards (Electronic Edition) kindergarten through grade 12 (F. Ong & J. McLean, Eds.). California Department of Education. https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/el/er/documents/eldstndspublication14.pdf

California Educators Together. (n.d.). ELA / ELD framework. https://www.caeducatorstogether.org/resources/6537/ela-eld-framework

Cambodia free map, free blank map, free outline map, free base map boundaries, hydrography. (n.d.). https://d-maps.com/carte.php?num_car=144&lang=en 

CAST. 2018 The UDL guidelines. http://udlguidelines.cast.org 

Crothers, L. 2014, September 28. Old photos shed new light on refugee camps The Cambodia Daily. The Cambodia Daily. https://english.cambodiadaily.com/news/old-photos-shed-new-light-on-refugee-camps-68306/

Ear, S. 2009. Escaping the Khmer Rouge. TED.  https://www.ted.com/talks/sophal_ear_escaping_the_khmer_rouge?language=en 

Or, S. 2022, August 27. Settlement in a Global Context. Retrieved August 27, 2022. https://ucdavis.box.com/s/g0izwnf5hlfruoxwh2inxmniv07mrfgs

Pin, P. 2018. Migrations Of Memory I [photograph]. Retrieved August 27, 2022. https://petepin.com/projects/migrations-of-memory-i  

San Diego County Office of Education. (n.d.). Providing appropriate scaffolding. https://www.sdcoe.net/educators/multilingual-education-and-global-achievement/oracy-toolkit/providing-appropriate-scaffolding#scaffolding

Sexias, P. & Morton, T. 2013. The big six: Historical thinking concepts. Nelson Education.

TPO Cambodia. 2015. Khmer Rouge Survivors. TPO Cambodia. Retrieved July 28, 2022. https://tpocambodia.org/khmer-rouge-survivors/

Tulare County Office of Education. (n.d.). Strategies for ELD. https://commoncore.tcoe.org/Content/Public/doc/Alpha-CollectionofELDStrategies.pdf

Tuol Sleng. (n.d.). Toul Sleng Photos. Retrieved August 27, 2022. http://d.dccam.org/Archives/Photographs/Photos_from_Khmer_Rouge_Secret_Prison_S-21/index.html 

Um, K. 2018. “Diasporas and the politics of memory and commemoration.” Fischer, C., Cohen, R., & Um, K. (Eds.), Routledge Handbook of Diaspora Studies (328–335). Routledge. 

Supplementary Sources

Chang, Y., & Isle, J. 2018. Mapping Memories Cambodia. Mapping Memories Cambodia. https://www.mappingmemoriescambodia.com /

Documentation Center of Cambodia. Survivors’ Stories. Documentation Center of Cambodia. Retrieved August 27, 2022. https://www.dccam.org/homepage/health/survivors-stories /

Emde, S. 2013. “National Memorial Sites and Personal Remembrance: Remembering the Dead of Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek at the ECCC in Cambodia.” V. Pholsena (Ed.), Interactions with a Violent Past: Reading Post-Conflict Landscapes in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam (19–45). National University of Singapore Press.

Minnesota Historical Society. 2020. Khmer Oral History Project. Minnesota Historical Society. https://mnhs.gitlab.io/archive/minnesota-immigrant-oral-histories/collections.mnhs.org/ioh/10000831.html 

Tran, V. 2016. Famed Cambodian refugee camp reopens as educational centre. UNHCR. https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/news/latest/2016/5/574d5f1b4/famed-cambodian-refugee-camp-reopens-educational-centre.html 

Um, K. 2015. From the Land of Shadows: War, Revolution, and the Making of the Cambodian Diaspora. New York University Press.

Model Curriculum

Cambodian American Studies

Standard(s)

W.9-10.8 RI.9-10.5 HSS 10.9

Grade(s)

Grade 9 Grade 10