Address given to students graduating from the cultural adjustment program sponsored by the World Cambodian Congress - July 11, 1998 - Jeff McCormick, Staff Member, US Senator Slade Gorton.

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Greetings to all of you. It's wonderful to be here and a pleasure to have the opportunity to speak to you as a representative for Senator Slade Gorton. I would like to personally thank Woody Oung for extending the invitation to Senator Gorton. Unfortunately, the Senator could not join us today, so he asked me to make a few remarks on his behalf.

I first learned about the World Cambodian Congress less than a month ago, and when I read the written purpose of this organization, it came to mind, what a unique group of people. One word in the description of the WCC's purpose stood out more than others: Harmony. Promoting harmony among all families of Khmer heritage throughout the world. The WCC's intended objective in promoting that harmonious balance is to develop Cambodia into a modem society where democracy, good citizenship and human rights are respected and protected.

Here is an organization that successfully unites individuals of Cambodian decent who have been uprooted from their homeland by desperate circumstances, and offers them a chance to rebuild their lives after relocating half-way around the world. Most individuals who immigrate to the United States from other parts of the world leave behind everything and everyone they have ever known. They transition from one set of extreme circumstances into another - into a world completely unknown to them. A world in which they must adapt and conform - a very difficult task when done on your own - without the help of familiar faces.

Organizations like the World Cambodian Congress are established to give those who immigrate to the US the tools they need to become successful in their new lives. People like your parents and grandparents came here and were surrounded by people who they didn't immediately identify with. Strangers in a strange land - isolated, confused, and fearful.

But once they had finally met someone from back home, that distant place across the ocean, they began to believe that things here in this new land would improve. These recent immigrants now had a network of people who shared their background and language. They could communicate with their new found friends in this unfamiliar society where most people spoke a strange, confusing language. New ground had been broken and a renewed sense of confidence established because that unpleasant, intimidating feeling of isolation and confusion had been lessened.

It is associations like the World Cambodian Congress that provide the most assistance to people who have relocated to the United States and provide them with the resources to find work, housing, child care, and other essentials. These organizations, whose purpose is to provide these opportunities to immigrants, have incredibly important role 'in our society. They help people reestablish their families, their homes, their network of friends, and themselves. Such organizations give people the tools to break that new ground and to improve their self-esteem and their outlook so they can continue to break new ground and achieve success as they integrate themselves into their new communities.

But the new ground you have been breaking during the past months has not been the puzzling scenario I have just outlined, but something different. You have taken upon yourselves the 'incredible journey of going back into time to when your parents first came to this country. Unlike most of your parents when they first arrived here, you are fluent 'in the common language of your homeland. You are able to communicate with most of the people around you. You have not had to learn a second language to survive in a country that you immigrated to in order to escape the atrocities of tyranny. But you have done something equally honorable and courageous. You have made a conscious choice to identify with your ancestors and your parents who came to the United States to seek a better life. You have chosen to struggle with learning the Cambodian language and learning the essential customs of your heritage. You have chosen to preserve those traditions your parents and grandparents hold sacred. You have chosen to step 'into the shoes of your ancestors and to identify with the struggles your parents encountered when they immigrated to a new land and a new culture. We are here today to honor your choices and your efforts to identify with your heritage and your parentıs culture. In honor of your open-minded effort, Senator Gorton and I would like to applaud you. Please join me.

The attitude you have displayed during the past months speaks highly of your determination to preserve your heritage. Learning a foreign language is perhaps one of the most academically challenging tasks you may ever face during your formal education. Myself, I took two years of Japanese in school. I know intimately the frustration, the long, grueling, toilsome hours of study, the heavy burden this one course -carries in addition to your other school work, and the questions you ask yourself about whether it is worth it. And unlike Western languages, learning a language like Cambodian also carries with it the extra struggle of learning how to read and write the characters. Combine this with vocabulary, sentence structure and the proper use of verbs, and you definitely have your hands full.

But those of you whose parents have learned English will ten you of their trial by fire in being challenged by another of the most difficult languages to learn. English is widely thought to be the single most complex language on earth. So, learning English as a second language was probably just as difficult or perhaps more difficult for your parents as learning Cambodian is for you. Having been born into an English speaking society, you have always been able to communicate with most people around you. But remember, there was a time when your parents were not able to convey ideas, images or even simple words to most people around them. They were indeed strangers in a strange land. Isolated, confused and fearful of what their future might hold.

Several of you have been determined to learn the Cambodian language because your parents don't speak English. The communication barrier that once existed in your own house has now been eliminated to a large degree due to your motivation to learn the language your parents use every day. I know this immensely satisfies your parents, mainly because they are now able to effectively exchange with you the pride they have in your achievement, and the hope they have in your future. They are now able to counsel and mentor you in ways they had only dreamed about before these recent months.

For just a moment, if you will bear with me, I would like to address your parents. Now that your child has graduated from this course, he or she been given the tools to learn about their cultural heritage and they have devoted their Saturdays to learning the language you first spoke. Please, don't hesitate to tell them how proud you are of them. Tell them how satisfied you are that they have taken the steps they have during the past several months. How they have progressed and developed into such intelligent, energetic and wonderful individuals. Tell them how impressed you are with their growth in their school, and their classes, and tell them how delighted you are with other important aspects of their education: their character and personality, their relationships with other people, their persistence and motivation. Tell them how excited you are about their potential and about their future.

As parents, you are the most influential role model your children have.  The more positive feedback you give your children, the more encouragement you provide them, the more they will continue to grow and achieve. Raising a child in a positive environment will result in an adult who is fully prepared to effectively deal with anything the world may throw at them. Because you have given them the self-esteem to take risks, make choices, be 'individuals, be leaders, and achieve whatever goals they set for themselves, regardless how high, your child will have the confidence to be successful, to reach for the stars, and to contribute their own unique resources to society and humanity.

Once again, the Senator and I would like to commend each and every one of you who have made the choice to participate in this culture adjustment course. Each of you has something to be incredibly proud of. You have stuck it out and carried on to the bitter-sweet end. Because of your involvement 'in this course, you have successfully broken new ground. You took steps to become a more open-minded person. You have learned about what it means to be a good citizen in the world community. You have demonstrated your desire to achieve, learn and grow in order to improve yourselves and the world around you. And you have successfully bridged the gap between cultures, languages, and generations.

It has indeed been a pleasure to speak to you, the graduates of this wonderful program, to your parents and to the supporting members of the World Cambodian Congress. Senator Gorton and I congratulate all of you on your success in the Cambodian-American culture adjustment program and wish you all the best 'in the future. I appreciate your inviting me, as a member of Senator Gorton's staff, to attend your graduation today, and again, I wish you all godspeed and best wishes. Thank You.