So I saw this video on the Internet today during my usual Internet surfing (via Khmer440), and I thought I'd just share it here to see if it was of interest to anybody else.


Although this is an issue directly connected to US government policy, it was something I was completely unaware of until I came to Cambodia.  (It's strange all the things that can go on in this world and be completely off your radar until someone calls your attention to them.)

But I started hearing a lot about this issue when I was hanging out in expat circles in Cambodia.
Some of the Cambodian returnees hang out in expat crowds.  I was never good friends with any of them, but I talked to a couple of them briefly.
Most of my knowledge about this issue, however, just comes from talking to socially concerned NGO workers in Phnom Penh.  This was a favorite pet-issue of theirs.

The issue is that starting in 1996, the US changed its immigration laws, and Cambodian refugees convicted of crimes were deported back to Cambodia.  Many of these people were born in refugee camps in Thailand, and had never even been to Cambodia before.  Or, in some cases, they had been born in Cambodia, but had left the country when they were still infants.  In either case, they were for all intents and purposes culturally American and most of them didn't even speak the Cambodian language, and they had no idea how to survive in Cambodia.
What makes the whole thing particularly troubling was the way it was handled.  They were just dropped off at the Phnom Penh airport, and then left to fend for themselves.

My own views on the issue are pretty moderate.  So I'm more sharing this video as a point of interest rather than as an act of advocacy.
This may only be of interest to me, but this video does a good job of capturing a lot of the scenery in central Phnom Penh--the riverside promenade, where I used to do a lot of my walking, some of the popular expat restaurants (like the FCC), and just the general feel of Phnom Penh....For anyone out there who might be interested in what Phnom Penh is like.
Also, although it's very brief, you can see a bit how the growing economy and foreign investment in Phnom Penh has created this weird situation where you have luxury shops popping up in Phnom Penh right next to third world slums.

As for my own views:
 I think a distinction should be made between violent crimes and non-violent crimes, and between those over 18 and under 18.
I don't have a ton of sympathy for anyone over 18 convicted of a violent crime.

For non-violent offenders, however, I think this is way too harsh.
For example, there is the issue of Lundy Khoy, a young Cambodian woman facing deportation for drug related charges.  I linked to her story a few years ago, but I'll link to it again here by posting that video below.