They came to Long Beach as refugees, many of them penniless, grieving the death of family and friends, and in fear of streets that reminded them of the jungles of Cambodia.

More than 30 years later, the Cambodian community, its friends and supporters, and city and state dignitaries gathered to celebrate the third anniversary of Cambodia Town, Inc. on Friday, July 9.

On July 3, 2007, the City Council voted to officially designate the area of Anaheim Street bounded by Atlantic Boulevard and Junipero Avenue as Cambodia Town.

Phnom Penh
WITH their thudding alternative rock music, jerky dance moves and fancy hairstyles, it might have been difficult to tell what country the musicians playing at T&C on Monivong Boulevard last weekend were from. Thailand? South Korea? Japan?

None of the above.They were a group of five young Cambodians who one year ago formed their own band called Cartoon eMo with a commitment – rare in this country – to writing their own songs. Their live set at T&C was in celebration of the release of their self-titled debut album.

At the launch event on the weekend, lead guitar player Ny Noly said the band’s name was a play on the “emo” style of music and fashion that the group follows. “We are proud to use our own abilities to create new music, which we hope will help develop the arts scene in Cambodia,” he said. “We also hope young Cambodians will accept our original work.”

As I read stories after stories about The Redshirts, a Thai group determined to oust the current Thai Government, continue to risk their lives despite the impending violence and death of their fellow members and the Iran protest after Mahmoud Ahmedinejad won the election, my mind reflects to the situation in Cambodia. I wondered why Cambodians aren’t this brave. Why aren’t they risking their lives and limbs for the betterment of their future and children’s future?

First we have Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge solder who now is the Dictator posing as Cambodia’s Democratic Prime Minister. Think about that for a minute. A former Khmer Rouge solder now runs the same country that he helped caused the death of 2 million Cambodians and countless fatherless and motherless children. Can you imagine a former prominent Nazi soldier being the Prime Minister of Israel or Poland? He would not have even sniffed the country’s oceanic territory let alone rise to power in those countries. Why Cambodia allowed Hun Sen to be in power and remained in power for so long boggles my mind.

Phnom Penh
PHNOM Penh can seem, at times, like a city at war with its own citizens.

Aside from the ever-present danger of being run down in the street by SUVs, anyone who dares leave their apartment can also expect to be assaulted by a barrage of noises radiating from internal combustion engines, construction sites, Khmer wedding pavilions and loudspeakers of dubious quality.

It doesn’t help that the genres of music most likely to be heard blasting out of PA systems in Phnom Penh – Asian pop music in its various-lettered permutations (K-pop, J-pop, etc-pop), hip-hop, marginal expat-rock – seem designed to overwhelm the senses and prevent fresh ideas from entering the mind.

But the miscellaneous clamour of the city has also been a rich source of creative material for David Gunn, a UK artist and electronic musician currently in Cambodia working with four local musicians to create new forms of contemporary experimental Khmer music.

Koh Ker, Cambodia (CNN) -- Ponheary Ly has survived genocide, the murder of several family members -- including her father -- and life in poverty. Today, she's working to build a brighter future for the children of Cambodia -- by helping them go to school.

"Education is important for me," says Ly, "because my father was a teacher."

Primary schools are free to attend in Cambodia, but not all children go. With most of the population living in rural areas, children often lack transportation to get to school -- and many families keep children home to help on the farm and earn money, said Ly.

Those able to go often must pay a small fee -- around $20 a year -- to buy uniforms and supplies, and many families can't afford it.