Why So Many Cambodians Own Donut Shops | AJ+

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Southern California is known for its abundance of doughnut shops, and many of those businesses are owned by Cambodian-Americans. But why? The story of their success is about thriving after surviving a brutal war that left them with nearly nothing.

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There’s a reason so many doughnut shops use pink boxes, and it basically traces back to one man who used his business acumen to help Cambodian refugees find their versions of the American Dream.

*Learn more here:*
Pew Research Center. ā€œU.S. Public Seldom Has Welcomed Refugees Into Country.ā€ http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/11/19/u-s-public-seldom-has-welcomed-refugees-into-country/

Slate. ā€œA Khmerican Tale.ā€ http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/roads/2017/07/u_s_raised_cambodians_are_deported_back_to_a_homeland_they_ve_never_known.html

Wall Street Journal. ā€œEven Jimmy Carter Was Cautious About Admitting Refugees.ā€ https://www.wsj.com/articles/even-jimmy-carter-was-cautious-about-admitting-refugees-1485821291

Encyclopedia Britannica. ā€œKhmer Rouge.ā€ https://www.britannica.com/topic/Khmer-Rouge

*Presenter & Senior Producer*: Imaeyen Ibanga
*Shot by: *Michael Nguyen
*Edited by: *Michael Nguyen and Brian Joseph
*Animations by:* Chia Liu
*Executive Producer:* Sarah Nasr

Music tracks courtesy of APM.
Footage and images courtesy of Getty Images and Reuters.

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33 COMMENTS

  2. True story. My family first own a donut shop back in 1983 in Valencia, California. We then move north to Fresno, Ca and owned 3 donut shops in 1990 and 1 in Tulare. I used to work there along my family. Even becoming a baker and managing the shop in High School. It was a very tiresome occupation with long hours and very labor extensive. However I am still proud of those years because it instill in me a good work ethnic and taught me the value of hard work.

  19. I remember my uncle from L.A will visit us he would hand carry a box of donuts take a flight spend the holidays with us, we lived in queens NY, those donuts were mighty delicious and tasty! I was so excited waiting for those donuts, LOL

  30. I personally known exactly one person from Cambodia in my life. At that time I didnā€™t know anything about Cambodia and it was kind of devastating to me when I heard about his time as a refugee from the Khmer Rouge.

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