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Deportees

Torn apart

The US has deported more than 500 former refugees back to Cambodia for criminal activity. Southeast Asia Globe tells the story of Ly Hov Kol, who has found himself living in a land he barely knows, far away from his family

October 25, 2016
Torn apart
Desperate: Ly Hov waits at Phnom Penh International Airport for his wife and daughter to arrive from the US
Elizabeth Beach and her daughter Kathleen lie in bed together in St.Augustine, Florida, where they are visiting Ly Hov’s uncle who he fled Cambodia with as a young child
Snuggles: Elizabeth Beach and her daughter Kathleen lie in bed together in St.Augustine, Florida, where they are visiting Ly Hov’s uncle who he fled Cambodia with as a young child

On a wintry day in December 1984, Sokhoeurn Kol and her two sons arrived in the US city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – a foreign land they would come to call home – as refugees from a genocide and protracted civil war in Cambodia.

More than 3,000km away in Dallas, Texas, four-year-old Elizabeth Beach was unaware that her future husband had just touched down in the US, a country where they could never be together.

An estimated 1.7 million Cambodians died during the Khmer Rouge regime, which ravaged the country between 1975 and 1979, a period of devastation that was followed by a decade of civil war. More than 100,000 Cambodian refugees were resettled in the US as a result – many in poor, crime-riddled neighbourhoods where some turned to crime to survive.

Now, some are being forcibly sent back to the land they fled.

Legislation passed by the US Congress allowing for non-citizens to be deported for committing certain crimes – even if they were perpetrated before the law came into effect – has led to more than 500 people being deported back to Cambodia, according to the Returnee Integration Support Centre. On average, eight Cambodian-Americans are deported back to Cambodia every month. Many have few memories of the country, having left as small children.

Sokhoeurn’s eldest son, Ly Hov Kol, was deported to Cambodia in 2010 aged 36, for gang-related crimes he had committed as a teenager in 1996. After serving a 13-year prison sentence he became a prominent community member, but the life he had built was ripped away from him when US authorities carried out the deportation order.

In Phnom Penh, Ly Hov crossed paths with Elizabeth Beach, and the pair fell in love. They married in 2011 and had a child, Kathleen, the following year. But this family unit is now torn as well, as Beach felt unable to live in Cambodia long-term. After much toing and froing this has resulted in the family moving to South Korea but with long periods spent apart. Ly Hov follows his family wherever they go, as long as he can travel there legally, as they search for a long-term solution.

After spending most of his childhood in a Thai refugee camp before moving to the US, Ly Hov feels he has been doubly sentenced – leaving one prison for another. “I’m more American than I am Khmer,” he says.

From Dallas, Texas, Beach and Kathleen sing a song on Skype to Ly Hov in Phnom Penh. Being apart for half a year, the family talk on Skype almost every day
Worlds apart: from Dallas, Texas, Beach and Kathleen sing a song on Skype to Ly Hov in Phnom Penh. Being apart for half a year, the family talk on Skype almost every day
Beach fixes Kathleen’s shoe on an outing to St. Augustine’s beach in Florida. “This is where we would live if Ly could come back. This is where we both feel like we have family,” she says
Going solo: Beach fixes Kathleen’s shoe on an outing to St. Augustine’s beach in Florida. “This is where we would live if Ly could come back. This is where we both feel like we have family,” she says
Beach makes copies of Ly Hov’s court documents at the courthouse in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Ly Hov served a 13-year sentence for a crime he says he did not commit and where there is no evidence placing him at the scene
Fighting: Beach makes copies of Ly Hov’s court documents at the courthouse in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Ly Hov served a 13-year sentence for a crime he says he did not commit and where there is no evidence placing him at the scene
Beach and Ly Hov’s family look through his old legal documents. Beach is preparing to meet with a new lawyer. “I do believe that Ly had ineffective counsel,” she says
Searching for justice: Beach and Ly Hov’s family look through his old legal documents. Beach is preparing to meet with a new lawyer. “I do believe that Ly had ineffective counsel,” she says
Kathleen plays with her mother’s phone in her bed in Dallas, Texas. At three years of age, Kathleen has already lived in three different countries: the US, Cambodia and South Korea
Waiting for dad: Kathleen plays with her mother’s phone in her bed in Dallas, Texas. At three years of age, Kathleen has already lived in three different countries: the US, Cambodia and South Korea
Sokhoeurn Kol, 60, looks at her old plane ticket to the US. After spending years in a refugee camp, Sokhoeurn and her family arrived in the US on 5 December 1984
Memories: Sokhoeurn Kol, 60, looks at her old plane ticket to the US. After spending years in a refugee camp, Sokhoeurn and her family arrived in the US on 5 December 1984
Beach, Kathleen and Ly Hov dry off after spending an afternoon at a swimming pool in Phnom Penh
Longing: Beach, Kathleen and Ly Hov dry off after spending an afternoon at
a swimming pool in Phnom Penh
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