HISTORY OF CAMBODIAN IMMIGRANTS - Essay Example

as well as their assimilation into the American society. The first batch of Cambodian immigrants arrived in the USA earlier than 1975 because of a study exchange program that the American government entered into the Cambodian government that allowed Cambodian students to pursue their studies at the California State University in the Long Beach, which resulted in a considerable number of Cambodians mainly students living in the neighboring town of Long Beach (Bunte, Joseph, and Wobus 2). The Cambodians presence in the U.S. can be traced back to the early and late 1970s when many students benefited from the America-Cambodia education exchange program and broke out of war in Cambodia, which resulted in the overthrowing of the government by the Communist rule.

In 1974, the US-backed government in Cambodia was overthrown by the Communist rule a situation that culminated in both political and military instability in Cambodia. The same scenario was replicated in Vietnam as the Communist rule also took over governance in the nation sending the two countries into turmoil. The international community had invested a considerable amount of support in the two nations as far as management is concerned to restore political stability and human rights in the Indochinese region.

The Communist rule in the Khmer Republic declared a ‘Zero Year’ an operation that was meant to cripple every aspect of Cambodia to its knees (Sou Chea slide 3; Needham, and Quintiliani). It was aimed at destroying the educational, social and economic aspects of Cambodia so as it can be viewed as a failed state with no standards or values (Operations and Readiness Directorate 19). In essence, the Communist Rule was aimed at destroying all the political, social and economic gains that Cambodia has made with the help of its international allies and thus creating a humanitarian crisis in the nation.

The period between 1975 and late 1976 saw close to two