LOST HOMELAND: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC EXPLORATION OF COMMUNITY, IDENTITY, AND HEALTH IN LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA’S CAMBODIA TOWN

Abstract

In efforts to escape state-sanctioned genocide, many Cambodians fled their homeland and established lives as refugees in the United States. Out of this emerged distinctly Cambodian American diasporas, and consequently Cambodian American identity. This thesis examines Cambodian American identity and health in Long Beach, California’s Cambodia Town, a Cambodian diaspora community. Utilizing ethnographic fieldwork, including participant-observation at a local Cambodian-oriented non-profit organization, in-depth semi-structured interviews, and autoethnographic reflections, it investigates the formation of Cambodian American identity and the role of cultural community in health and wellbeing for the Cambodian refugee population.