In Long Beach, a Health Fair in Khmer

The Khmer Parents Association in Long Beach, Calif., organized its 7^th annual health fair for Cambodian-Americans over the weekend, providing health workshops, vaccinations and tips for better living.

“Cambodian-Americans are facing complex health issues resulting from the Khmer Rouge regime, which badly tortured us, and we never had or didn’t know how or where to find the doctors,” said Chan Hopson, executive director of the association. “Most of us don’t seek doctors if we have even minor illnesses and wait until it gets serious. And many Cambodian-Americans die at a very young age.”

The health fair, held at the local St. Mary Medical Center, provided free health screenings, flu and whooping cough vaccinations and discussions on heart disease, Hepatitis B, nutrition, exercise and dental care, provided by professional doctors in the Khmer language.

The fair was put on with help from St. Mary, the Californian Endowment, the American Cancer Society and other local organizations.

Long Beach resident Sron Vy said healthcare was a major issue for Cambodian-Americans.

“Many of us here live below the poverty line, so we don’t know how to live and eat healthily,” she said. “When we are unhealthy, everything else is unhealthy. If I am sick, my children will be sick as well. To be healthy is to be happy.”

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In Long Beach, a Health Fair in Khmer

Long Beach Heralds Rabbit With a Parade

Cambodians in Long Beach celebrated the New Year earlier this month with a celebration aimed at helping a younger generation connect with its home culture.

The seventh annual cultural parade, the largest held in the city to date, opened with a “royal wishing dance” to help usher in the Year of the Rabbit. The opening dance was followed by a long procession of Apsara and other traditional dancers, grand marshals, the Long Beach police, and others, including the mayor of Long Beach.

The parade made its way down Anaheim Street, a main thoroughfare of the Californian city and home to Cambodia Town, a strip of boulevard dedicated to the tens of thousands of Cambodians who have settled here.

The Cambodian Coordinating Council, which hosted the parade, also held a celebration at El Dorado Park, the largest in the country, among other celebrations.

Sopheak Heng, a volunteer who helped prepare the ceremony, said the parade was a demonstration of Cambodians in the US “trying hard to preserve the culture of our nation.”

“We never forget this,” he said. “But at the same time, we need more help from the communities to make it better. If we only have ideas and lack contributions from people, it won’t work. And if we have people to help but lack finance, it won’t work either. Thus, it is very challenging to prepare such event.”

Sothy Soun, who came out to watch the parade, said he hoped it will continue every year.

“Even though I cannot go to Cambodia to celebrate Khmer New Year, I can still enjoy it here,” he said. “I live here alone away from my parents. I miss home and I feel grief. So this helps me feel less homesick. It’s better than nothing.”

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Long Beach Heralds Rabbit With a Parade