Cambodian Refugees in Ontario: Resettlement, Religion, and Identity

• Published in: Canadian ethnic studies 2014, Vol.46 (2), p.162
• Main Author: Soucy, Alexander
• Format: Review
• Language: English
• Subjects: Buddhism; Cambodians; Community Relations; Cultural identity; Employment; Ethnicity; Generational Differences; Immigration policy; Indochinese; Khmer; Land Settlement; McLellan, Janet; Minority & ethnic groups; Nonfiction; Observation; Participant Observation; Politics; Racial Identification; Refugees; Relatives; Religion; Religious Education; Social Capital; Vietnamese
• ISSN: 0008-3496; 1913-8253
• DOI: 10.1353/ces.2014.0026

While Chapter One describes the events in Cambodia that have made it difficult for the Cambodians to form a cohesive community, Chapter Two and Three look at the issues that have contributed to the Cambodian community's relative lack of success in Canada. Chapter Two looks at their arrival in Canada, resettlement experience and support (or lack thereof) that they received after arrival. Chapter Three deals with the internal divisions in the Cambodian community. These include class, education, employment, and political differences, but also a substantial disjuncture between the Khmer from Cambodia and the Kampuchea Krom, who are ethnic Cambodians who have lived for generations in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta. The latter, [Janet McLellan] argues, have been much more adept at establishing themselves in Canada and navigating this new culture because they were not as traumatized as their cousins in Cambodia, and because living in Vietnam gave them important skills for surviving as an ethnic minority (73-4).