Ambiguous Loss for Cambodian American Deportees and Their Families

Bibliographic Data

ID5711239
AuthorsVichet Chhuon (University of Minnesota, corresponding author), Marina Aleixo, Marina B Aleixo (University of Minnesota), Catherine Solheim (0000-0002-8957-2288, University of Minnesota)
Year2024
Volume22
Issue3
Pages573-585
Publication date2024-07-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1556-2948 • E-ISSN: 1556-2956
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/15562948.2022.2061668
OpenAlexW4225586445
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited15

Through an Ambiguous Loss framework, this study examines how family members in the United States and in Cambodia process grief and cope with deportation and separation. The ongoing sense of loss can result in families feeling stuck, continually dealing with the ambiguity of whether their deported family member is in or out of the family. Individual and group interviews conducted with family members in the United States and in Cambodia revealed the following main themes: frozen grief- inability to move on, ambiguous loss compounded by unclear roles and boundaries, and sense of betrayal. This research examines life after deportation and seeks ways to improve the conditions for families. These findings recognize the painful irony that exist for families dealing with loss from deportation

Ambiguity · Betrayal · Criminology · Deportation · Family member · Feeling · Genealogy · Grief · Immigration · Political science · Psychotherapist · Resentment · Sociology · Asian Geopolitics and Ethnography · History · Law · Migration and Labor Dynamics · Migration, Refugees, and Integration · Psychology · Social Psychology