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Ethn 2: Circulations of Difference
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Bryant Thea
Boké Saisi
Monday 2pm
Ethn 2 Final Essay (Notebook 5)
My zine explores the American Dream of Asian refugees, particularly Cambodian refugees such as my father and showcases elements of resistance in the form of “Survivance”. Survivance is being able to thrive. It is the mode in which groups survive into the future and create opportunities for others in that group. My zine is an embodiment of resistance as survivance as is explores the cycle of Cambodian refugees chasing this “American Dream”. For immigrant groups migrating to the United States, the investment in whiteness is what controls their American Dream and how they shape their assimilation on this investment is what allows them to “thrive” in this country. The trend of Cambodian donut shops was initiated by one man with a dream and his success acted as blueprints for future immigrants to follow. The adversity of immigrants also displays aspects of resistance to Futurity, as they must provide for the success of their future, their family’s future and the future of coming immigrants. Resistance as “Survivance” and “Futurity” both depend on each other as the success of immigrants is shaped through their reception to racial formation and intersectionality. It is the framework of “Resistance” that is reflected through our zines; we are able to remember, and bring back many chronicles of history that are constantly left out of the conversation.
Through this course I have become aware and mindful of the multitude of frameworks that have shaped the history of this world and brought us to where we are today. It is factors such as prejudice and power that creates a tainted view of various cultures and backgrounds. By taking this course I have become more appreciative of my heritage and my parent’s endeavour to assimilate into this country and definitely have become more “woke”.
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Bryant Thea
A13200796
The tiger flag zine is a zine about the Tiger Flag originally used by the Tamil Tigers; a terrorist group in Sri Lanka that fought for an independent nation for Sri Lankan Tamils. This zine explores the evolution of the representation of the flag. Despite originating from a terrorist group, this flag has evolved as a symbol for the protests of Tamil refugees addressing human rights violations that have occurred against them.
B) “Persecuted at home and alienated abroad, they truly deserve better than what they deal with. This struggle is what the Tiger Flag symbolizes.”
I think that this quote/ idea of the flag giving them strength would produce a very nice visual. There can be an image of struggling refugees and a big tiger flag bestowing strength upon them
C) “As a refugee, it is very difficult to determine if you’re welcome in a place or not. This conflict is like debates going on today: with the Syrian refugee crisis, many innocent civilians and their families need to evacuate Syria to find safety.”
This is a good comparison and can be used for a page in the zine. There can be images/quotes/venn diagram comparing the Sri Lankan/Syrian Refugees and their experiences
D) The image of the tiger flag can be utilized in many ways. I believe that as this zine is exploring the evolution of the flag’s representation, maybe you can find images of the flag’s modifications throughout the years (if there are any) or any different versions of the flag and it’s individual context
E) In Notebook 3, “Sorrows of a Refugee” there was very good relational analysis on Sri Lankan and Syrian Refugees and their experiences in seeking haven in other countries. The struggles they faced were both tied to the potential host country being “fearful” of their culture leading to an large amount of rejection and persecution. I believe this connection is the most powerful part of the relational analysis. An idea to make this analysis stronger would be specific historical context of both instances where a Sri Lankan and a Syrian refugee has faced affliction and direct compare the two.
Source (tumblr of partner):
https://tigerflagzine.tumblr.com/
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Photo
“Filling in the gaps”
Rough Draft of Cover. Need to crop/edit images.
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Quote
"Some people can't write and can't tell the name," he said, "but they can smell the flour and they can make the doughnut. This is a good business for people who don't speak too much English. They can say, 'Good morning' and 'How are you?' and count the money."
Ly Yiv, a California donut shop owner
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Photo
Cambodian Donut Shop owners located in San Diego, California
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*NEW OBJECT :)
Bryant Thea
Boké Saisi
Monday 2pm
ETHN 2 Notebook 3
Focus & Changes:
I’ve decided to change my object from Cambodian dried fish to my father’s donut shop: Mr. T’s Donuts. I will still have my focus towards (Im)migration and Citizenship along with components from the theme of War and the Figure of the Refugee.
My father started his donut shop business a couple of years following his immigration into the United States. Immigrants like my father poured into the U.S. throughout the 1980’s once the U.S. government granted haven to Cambodians fleeing the genocide. My father was one of the thousands of Cambodian donut shop owners in the United States at the time. By the mid 1990’s, 80 percent of California’s donut shops were Cambodian owned. The reason for opening donut shops was simple; it was a good business for people who didn’t speak too much English. Knowing the names of donuts along with basic greetings, “good morning” and “how are you?” was enough to manage this business. Each donut shop tells a different story of immigration and molded the assimilation of Cambodian immigrants escaping the genocide into the United States. I’m planning on focusing on the representation of the Cambodian donut shop rather than the actual donut shop since it represents the cyclical nature of how Cambodian refugees took over the donut businesses of other refugees.
2. Relational Analysis:
“The American Dream”, although with many different connotations it is defined as “the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative.” The racial formation of Asian immigrants, especially refugees stemmed on this dream; to provide a better life for them and create opportunities for their kids to live better life than they had. Their assimilation is characterized by the grit and determination to succeed and make a better living for their families. One of the biggest disadvantages faced by Asian immigrants was the lack of proper english. Despite the barrier of language, Cambodians throughout the United States were able to start donut businesses and prosper due to the endeavors of Ted Ngoy. He fled the Cambodian genocide in the mid 1970’s and learned the “business of donut trade”. He began sponsoring visas and training Cambodian immigrants the “donut business”. Similarly, a group Southern Vietnamese women who fled the forces of communist leader Ho Chi Minh were supported by Hollywood actor Tippi Hedren who enlisted a beauty school to teach them the art of manicures. Many of these women began to settle in California, where they began their manicure services. Similar to the Cambodian refugees and donut shops, many Vietnamese-owned nail salons and parlors began to heavily form. Today, 80 percent of nail technicians in Southern California are Vietnamese.
Both Cambodian and Vietnamese Refugees created this domino effect of opportunity for other refugees. The success of one refugee fueled the entrepreneurial spirit of the next refugee and created a chain of success. This is the reason for the thousands of Cambodian-owned Donut shops and Vietnamese-owned Nail Salons. The fear and horror refugees faced from war and genocide raised their ceiling of diligence gave them motivation to create success for themselves and their loved ones. Despite formal business training and the lack of proper english, south-east Asian refugees were able to overcome the racial and social barriers that prevented them from making a living in the United States.
Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/26/us/long-beach-journal-from-cambodia-to-doughnut-shops.html
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2010/03/chinese-and-doughnuts-a-california-mystery/37319/
http://www.dailyyonder.com/cambodian-settlers-glaze-donut-trail/2008/02/19/1062/
http://www.takepart.com/article/2015/05/05/tippi-hedren-vietnamese-refugees-nail-industry
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Video
youtube
(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P64dGCnWOA)
The story of a Cambodian family running a donut shop
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Bryant Thea
Boké Saisi
Monday 2pm
ETHN 2 Notebook 2
My object is Cambodian dried fish known as “trie ngeat”. It is very similar to jerky and has a very salty taste. It is often eaten with plain rice porridge to counteract the saltiness. I am going to focus on it’s importance in the Cambodian diet, along with it’s context in the Cambodian genocide and how it has circulated to the U.S through refugees and has shaped the assimilation of my father in the United States.
Growing up in Cambodia, my father acquired the taste for the saltiness of dried fish and many other Cambodian dishes. He has always felt the need to bring back pounds and pounds of dried fish back to the U.S. every time he visited his family back in Cambodia. As this fish was a large part of his diet throughout his entire life it is as if my dad is bound to his country through his diet. The national bind associated with my father and Cambodia can be shown through his experiences in the Cambodian genocide. Once escaping the seize of the Khmer Rogue, my father was rescued and put into a refugee camp. They would feed the refugees the same meal almost every night: dried fish and rice porridge. It the most accessible and convenient meal in Cambodia. Post-genocide Cambodia saw a large flow of emigrants to the United States, due to many people wanting “out”. This brought the influx of Cambodian restaurants and businesses. One meal you can always have in a Cambodian restaurant is dried fish and porridge. I do not believe that my father eats it because it tastes good, but rather because he is sentimental of the taste.
In many aspects of Cambodian culture, it can be seen at “patriarchal”. A woman’s responsibilities were often to cook and take care of children, while a man was seen as the one who made all the decisions. This is very similar to the idea of “machismo” in which a man possesses power and pride. During the times of the Cambodian genocide the idea of superiority vanished through the fear of being killed. This was a time where men felt vulnerable and weak. While in the refugee camps, it was as though the fear of genocide made both male and female “equal”. Both male and females were treated fairly equally in these camps as they were given the same meals; dried fish and porridge.
Sources:
http://www.killingfieldsmuseum.com/khmer-culture.html
http://www.starchefs.com/NdeMonteiro/recipetips.shtml
http://endgenocide.org/learn/past-genocides/the-cambodian-genocide/
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Bryant Thea
Boké Saisi
Monday 2pm
ETHN 2 Notebook 1: An “object that circulates/circulated transnationally
The 1970’s was a great time of despair for the kingdom of Cambodia. The overthrowing of the country’s capital in 1975 lead to the rise of the Khmer Rogue: Pol Pot. Once in power, the regime of Pol Pot took immediate action by singling out anyone with an education. The blueprints to rebuild his new republic were known as Year Zero, a plan in which all of the country’s educated were sent to concentration camps or killed in order to restart and purify the country as new.
My father was a refugee of the Cambodian Genocide. In the refugee camps, my father would eat the same thing almost every night: dried fish and porridge. This dried, freshwater fish plays a vital part in the Cambodian diet especially during the times of refuge, due to it’s lastingness. Surprisingly, he never got tired of eating it. My father said that he always felt “safe” whenever he ate. It was a very strange feeling safety; it almost seemed temporary. Because, although being safe in the shelter of a camp, there was always this very small uncertainty that terror would arise once again.
To this day, it is still a meaningful part of his diet. Throughout my childhood, my dad would always bring several pounds of dried fish back to the U.S. whenever he went back to visit family. It seemed as though no matter how “assimilated” my father became, he always kept the habit of eating dried fish. This dried fish has circulated through the United States, as many Cambodian refugees began migrating to United States. Many Cambodian restaurants offer porridge and dried fish once a meal is over to cleanse and calm your stomach. The dried fish is symbolic of him being saved from the genocide and his tendency to always include it in his meals is a constant reminder that he is safe.
Sources:
http://endgenocide.org/learn/past-genocides/the-cambodian-genocide/
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