Diaspora Voices
The Diaspora Voices collection documents Cambodian diaspora oral histories, personal essays, and interview media. Each entry is a published piece — a radio commentary, a podcast episode, an oral history interview — that captures the Cambodian experience outside Cambodia.
This collection is part of KhmerConnection's cultural records, complementing the organization directory with the voices of the people who make up the diaspora.
Recordings
Collections
| Institution | Languages | |
|---|---|---|
| Cambodian Americans – Oral History of 1.5 Generation | Historical Society of Long Beach | |
| The CamCHAP Archive | Historical Society of Long Beach | English Khmer |
| Khmer Oral History Project | Minnesota Historical Society | English Khmer |
| Cambodian American Community of Oregon Oral History Project | Portland State University Library, Special Collections | |
| Asian Americans in Western Mass. Oral History Collection | Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries | English |
| Southeast Asian Archive (UC Irvine) | UC Irvine Libraries | |
| Cambodian Genocide Collection (USC Shoah Foundation) | USC Shoah Foundation | English Khmer |
| A City of Refugees, the Memories of Cambodia Collection | University of Massachusetts Lowell, Center for Lowell History | |
| Greater Lowell Oral History Collection | University of Massachusetts Lowell, Center for Lowell History | English |
| Indochinese Refugees Foundation Oral Histories | University of Massachusetts Lowell, Center for Lowell History | |
| Southeast Asian Digital Archive Oral History Project | University of Massachusetts Lowell, Center for Lowell History | English Khmer |
| Cambodian American 1.5 Generation Oral History Project | CamCHAP / Historical Society of Long Beach | English Khmer |
Source institutions
This collection draws from and catalogs oral history projects and media programs including:
- KQED Perspectives — daily listener commentary series on KQED Public Radio, airing since 1991
- CamCHAP — Long Beach community archive, parent of the 1.5 Generation Oral History Project
- Portland State University / CACO Oral History Project — 17 intergenerational interviews, 2009, full transcripts at PSU Special Collections
- Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute — Cambodian-American Women and Youth Oral History Project, initiated 1986 by Dr. Richard F. Mollica
- CSU Sacramento — Cambodians in California, 59 interviews, 1989-1992
- The Advocates for Human Rights — Khmer Oral History Project, Minnesota, born from 1990 mock trial, entered into Khmer Rouge Tribunal evidence
- Library of Congress American Folklife Center — Cambodia collections, including Lowell Folklife Project (1987-1988, 196 hours of recordings)
- BYU Cambodian Oral History Project — ongoing, housed at David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies
- Minnesota Historical Society — Asian-American Oral History Project (25 interviews across 5 Asian communities including Cambodian)
- Podcasts
- Khmer Voices — 42 episodes since 2024, Cambodian diaspora stories of careers and impact
- Khmer Tree — hosted by Chad Sammeth
- JorJek — hosted by Sopheak Neak
Contribute
If you know of a Cambodian diaspora oral history, personal essay, or interview that should be documented here, please see KhmerConnection:How to Contribute for how to submit an entry.