Mayor Robert Garcia made history when he became the city’s first sitting mayor to visit Cambodia last month.
His visit to the country was part of a trade delegation to Southeast Asia organized and funded by the Port of Long Beach. However, what was considered to be a momentous occasion meant to unite the two cultures through trade and tourism also raised concerns amid some members of the city’s Cambodian community.
“When I see the mayor [taking a trip to Cambodia] it hurts and I feel hopeless,” said an emotional woman in Khmer during a small gathering Monday night at a church in Cambodia Town.
