Organization
Cambodian Crisis Committee
The Cambodian Crisis Committee (CCC) was a group in Amherst, Massachusetts, that helped Cambodian refugees resettle in the United States and reunite with their families.[1][2] It also worked to teach Americans about the situation of the refugees.[2]
History
A large part of the committee's work was opening more places for Cambodian refugees to come to the United States. It also helped families reunite, petitioned Congress and organized events for traditional Khmer holidays.[1] It had ties with immigrant assistance programs across the country, many of them churches. It worked closely with the Lutheran Services Association of New England and took part in its workshops.[1] In the early 1980s, seven churches in Western Massachusetts hosted Cambodian families and supported them through shared community effort.[1]
When refugees arrived, committee workers met them at Bradley International Airport and brought them to Amherst. The committee rented and furnished homes and apartments for the newcomers, mostly with donations.[1] With the help of a translator, it recorded each person's account of what they had lived through after fleeing Cambodia. In December 1986, written testimonies from three members of one family were sent to the Department of Immigration and Naturalization Services to support the family's immigration case.[1]
Teaching and outreach
The committee taught its American volunteers about the culture and history of the Cambodian people. It wrote long manuals on the basics of the Khmer language, and a packet called the "Khmer Mini-Course" was made for the volunteers who first greeted new arrivals at the airport.[1] Handbooks on Khmer history and culture went to committee workers and to the people of Amherst, and a "Guidebook for Teaching Cambodian Children" was written for schoolteachers.[1] Through these materials and through conferences, the committee helped newcomers learn about American culture without losing their Khmer heritage.[1]
In March 1983, members attended the Simon S. Shargo Memorial Conference at Smith College, which covered refugee acculturation, the selection of refugees for resettlement and public services. In February 1985 they took part in the conference "Southeast Asian Refugees in the Pioneer Valley," on refugee health, education, and social and cultural issues.[1]
Records
The committee's records, covering 1982 to 1990, are held by the Special Collections and University Archives at UMass Amherst.[2][3] As of 2010, its listed address was 28 Hulst Road in Amherst.[4]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 UMass Amherst Libraries, Cambodian Immigration and the Cambodian Crisis Committee (FLURA, 2011)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 UMass Amherst Special Collections and University Archives, Southeast Asians
- ↑ UMass Amherst Special Collections and University Archives, Cambodian Crisis Committee Records, 1982-1990
- ↑ UMass Medical School Library, Cultural Approaches to Pediatric Palliative Care: Cambodian (2010)