Khmerican talks to the creators of the hilariously profane ‘Stuff’ Cambodian Folks Say. Phanit Duong (Kosal Jivit) and Chantha Luk (Loc Bong Chluy) are planning a Hella Chluy Empire. Check out their videos at http://youtube.com/chluyfilms. 

“I want to learn what it means to be a Khmerican, so I can better understand what my wife and son experience,” says Will Koenig, a journalist who lived in Cambodia for three years, returning to the states in 2006.

Koenig didn’t have much contact with Cambodians until he went to the country and found various employment, including at publications, academic institutions, and development agencies. His communication and technical skills allowed him to earn his keep while experiencing the culture and meeting people who changed his life, including the woman he would eventually marry.

But he sees the relationship between America and Cambodia in terms of strides to be made abroad. “I think a lot of Cambodians look to Cambodian Americans for a hint at the possibilities the future holds. America offers a beacon for freedom and progress, and Khmericans will have an out-sized role to play in the development, in every sense, of Cambodia,” says Koenig. “That’s why Khmerican.com is so valuable, because it is a place to showcase the best and brightest.”

Koenig believes his involvement with Khmerican will be a chance to experiment with the possibilities of online journalism. He feels his long background in the profession is strength yet also a weakness, given the precarious position of news personnel as their industry changes dramatically thanks to technology. And how is his Khmer linguistic ability after his sojourn in the Southeast Asian kingdom? “Terrible.”

Even so, we welcome Will Koenig, based in Salem, Oregon, to our team. He brings to the table further multimedia competency, having initiated our podcasting, and an eye for copyediting, his day job. An ebook compilation of columns he has written about his adventures in Cambodia is available at http://khmr.cn/at-home-on-the-mekong 

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“One of the things I hope to achieve for myself while at Khmerican is to be more informed and active in the current happenings of the Cambodian American community,” says Darlene Ly, a grad student at Cal State Long Beach and seasoned participant in several local organizations. “Simultaneously, I hope that the Cambodian American community will utilize Khmerican as a great resource to stay connected and work collaboratively towards a common cause, such as developing better learning communities for the youth.”

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Oh word? Thanks, we ‘sralanh’ it a lot too! -__-

Donny Te has a passion for writing. Combined with his love of politics, he’s glad to be working as an editor for an elections news website in Arizona. Growing up around the Twin Cities in Minnesota, Te learned Cambodian values from his close-knit family and the considerable community there. Even so, it wasn’t always easy trying to fit in with mainstream society, and aside from family members, he knew of few figures that inspired Khmer pride.

But he believes that’s starting to change, thanks to social media. “I hope Cambodians can go to our website and discover things that they’ve never realized before. My goal is to reach out to the visitors and inform them of what’s going on,” says Te.

Another point of community contact that he has maintained is his visits to Buddhist temples, which his parents took him to in his early years and which he now seeks out for himself since his recent move to Arizona. He plans to get to know the local population better through involvement with two temples he now knows of with large gatherings of Cambodians.

His interest in politics partly results from feeling that “today’s generation isn’t that involved with how they could make a difference in their community.” In addition, Te especially enjoys covering athletics and once dreamed of becoming a sports writer. Although he has always found that writing comes naturally to him, Te expects to learn about things as well by becoming a part of Khmerican’s staff: “I want to become closer to my heritage than I was growing up. I hope that our visitors will do the same when they read our articles.”

“I want to write on a variety of issues concerning the Khmer community in the Phoenix area, from politics to entertainment and restaurant reviews.” Te will serve as Khmerican’s first reporter in the Mountain time zone, based in Tempe, Arizona.

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“I can try to express stories with my photography skills and hopefully help the younger generations to learn and not repeat history,” says Kenith Oun, a customer support technician by vocation but a photographer in his spare time. He hopes to turn that hobby into a full-time job one day, maybe even getting some of his shots published in National Geographic.

Oun believes there are plenty of role models for today’s Khmer American youth, but that those born here don’t fully appreciate or take advantage of the tremendous opportunities in front of them. “We who live here are so adapted to American customs that we don’t take opportunity seriously like people who live back in Cambodia.” Educational achievement is one area in particular that we take for granted, according to Oun, whereas many in Cambodia can only dream of having good schools to attend.

However, there is reason for optimism. Not only are there role models, but we can be whoever we want to be: “Most of us born in America can be raised properly and do so much for our future,” says Oun, whether becoming entertainers, researchers, or politicians. Indeed, by “declaring the success of Khmer people all around the world,” sharing their positive stories in online social networks, Khmerican can influence many in the US and beyond—this will give Khmer youth hope and proof that we do succeed.

Representing Lowell, Massachusetts, home to the largest population of Khmer Americans after Long Beach, Kenith Oun will be the fourth photographer to join our team.

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