For this week's reading, I chose the documentary, "Sentenced Home", by David Grabias and Nicole Newnham. In this documentary, Grabias and Newnham focus on Cambodian refugees, Lun and Kim Ho Ma, through their journey of deportation from the United States back home to Cambodia. It is important to note that the initial release of this film was 2006 but was aired in 2010, meaning that the presence of deportation of these post-war refugees has been around ever since then; however, in the present day, there are more deportations of the Southeast Asian community, specifically concentrated those to the Vietnamese-American and Cambodian-American community, more than ever before with the presence of ICE.
It is disheartening that these refugees seek refuge in hopes of a new beginning through their migration and diaspora. Keeping into consideration, these refugees face multiple challenges and barriers coming and assimilating to the United States. To disrupt the growing stability of these families and separating them from one another because of a minor accusation or crime is horrible when those who do such things but are of a different background face fewer or no consequences.
One of the issues that were discussed at an organizing conference for Southeast Asians that I attended to at UCLA was deportation. It is one of the topics discussed how though the United States has welcomed refugees decades ago, why is the trajectory or mindset changing to cause such unnecessary deportations?
We need to find a way to stop these deportations, of folx within our community as well as folx outside of our community, from happening.
Source: Over 100 Cambodian American Refugees Face Deportation after Targeted ICE Round-Up
(https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=http%3A%2F%2Freappropriate.co%2F2017%2F10%2Fover-100-cambodian-americans-refugees-face-deportation-after-targeted-ice-round-up%2F&psig=AOvVaw0W1eJO1K_FxDaXLLBbWOto&ust=1583167689521000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCIC4u7Td-ecCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD)
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