The 18th annual Cambodian Parade and Festival was in full swing at the Trade Technology and Community Learning campus on Saturday, where traditions and community came together for a day of celebration with food and dance; including the “Stop the Hate” dance routine led by Sithy Yi, a Cambodian- American who fled Cambodia at an early age and later settled in Long Beach.
“Stop the Hate” is a free self-defense workshop for older Cambodian adults and women offered by Pacific Asian Counseling Services and Cambodia Town, Inc. and hosted at the Long Beach Salvation Army.
Yi has been a long-time volunteer with Cambodia Town, Inc., and this is her third year leading the choreographed event in honor of her community’s resilience in the face of surviving a genocide.
Members of “Stop the Hate” Cambodian dance group performing for the third time at the 18th Annual Cambodian Festival at the Trade Technology and Community Learning campus on Saturday. (Kiona Jones)
Dancers performed traditional Cambodian moves with precise hand and foot movements while wearing white button-up blouses, ankle-length red skirts, and light brown flats. Their blue and white checkered sashes read “Stop the Hate” on one side and had the United States flag on the other.
But it wasn’t easy. Just two weeks ago, Yi was sitting in the Adelanto Detention Center in San Bernardino County after having been detained during what she thought was a routine check-in on January 8.
“I don’t do anything wrong. I’m not violent or anything. They just detained me. I went in to check up on my visa application. Next thing I know, I was in handcuffs,” said Yi.
Yi fled Cambodia with her family in 1981 and arrived in the United States with $10 to their name.
“I was so young and so scared. I ended up getting into bad trouble with my boyfriends, and I ended up getting arrested in 2011,” said Yi.
An unfortunate series of events that astonishingly ended with Yi finally getting the mental health services that she’d so desperately needed.
“They helped me understand that I was still carrying all that pain from what happened to me in Cambodia and how I was forced to leave my home,” said Yi.
Sithy Yi, volunteer with Cambodia Town, Inc, and leading member of “Stop the Hate”,a leading member of the group “Stop the Hate” performing for the third time at the 18th Annual Cambodian Festival at Trade Technology and Community Learning campus on Saturday. (Kiona Jones)
When Yi was detained by ICE, her sister, Sithea San (Chair of Cambodia Town, Inc.), was with her every step of the way, along with Yi’s lawyer, Kim Luu-Ng.
“I was so scared,” she continues. “It reminded me of being in Cambodia after I was taken by Khmer Rouge. If it wasn’t for my sister, I would’ve survived like I always do, but it would’ve been very hard,” said Yi.
San explains that Yi kept up her spirits by teaching traditional Cambodian dances to fellow detainees.
“We learned the hard way how to keep going in times like this. But she used dance to survive, and that’s why this event is so important. When you see people enjoy themselves and when you see little kids wearing traditional [Cambodian] clothes, that’s what it is. That’s what keeps us coming back every year, ” said San.
Long Beach local and attendee, Aaliyah Phok, recalls Yi’s experience and how often it touches home within the community.
Members of the “Stop the Hate” performing for the third year in a row at the 18th Annual Cambodian Festival held at the Trade Technology and Community Learning Campus on Saturday. (Kiona Jones)
“I knew a little about Sithy Yi’s story, but I didn’t know everything. At the same time, I’m not surprised. Everybody who’s Cambodian knows someone with a story like that,” said Phok.
Many people across America have endured similar traumatic experiences in recent months related to ICE.
Still, Yi’s ability to overcome adversity and continue to spread awareness within the Cambodian community in Long Beach sheds some light on how we can all learn from her resilience.
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