LOG
Interview
Was working for 1Love your first choice as an occupation/ will you be doing this for the rest of your life?
Chanravy:
1Love wasn’t my first choice. Went to university. Studied Nursing and wanted to go into the Healthcare field. Want to go back into the field soon. Decided to be activist after cousin's suicide. Suicide is common for cambodian refugees so I wanted to stop that. Started at PRISM→ Executive Director→ 1Love. Didn’t pursue Nursing. Activist of Healthcare?
According to your interview with “America ReFramed” you work for a group called 1Love Movement. Can you explain to us what that is and how has it impacted not only you but others all across the country.
Chanravy:
1Love is based in Philadelphia. Organization that is based here in the United States but is going forwards to helping Cambodian refugees. Many of these refugees are being deported because they don’t have citizenship but this citizenship is currently very hard for them to obtain. US is just ignoring the fact they were in genocide and 1Love is trying to change that. People from Cambodia are doing everything they can to survive here even if it is working jobs Americans don’t want to do.
Cambodia today is still a very poor and unsafe environment. There’s the city part but the outskirts are something from a movie. Mom sold pineapple when younger and now others are doing the same thing. No Healthcare. Tourist only see the beauty of the country. Poverty in Cambodia v. Poverty in USA are two completely different things.
When did you find out both your parents were refugees from Cambodia?
My grandmother basically used to tell me when she was intoxicated early in my life. GrandMother was an alcoholic. Drank to get rid of the bad memories that she used to have in Cambodia. PTSD. Mother was born in camp so didn’t have full memories like Grandma. Aunts had rough time at these camps. Some of my aunts are only 4 months older than me because Grandma had kids starting at young age. Mom was pregnant at 18-20. Moved around a lot. Grandma told stories so that I can achieve more than what they had.