In honoring Asian American and Pacific Islander (API) Heritage Month, U.S. Rep. Karen Bass (D-California) honored a Park La Brea resident who has been instrumental in supporting Thai Americans and other API residents in Los Angeles.

Congresswoman Karen Bass (right) recognized Chancee Martorell, executive director of the Thai Community Development Center. (photo by Aaron Blevins)

Chancee Martorell, the executive director of the Thai Community Development Center, received written honors from Bass that will be included in the Congressional record. Bass noted Martorell’s work on several human rights cases, including those involving Thai victims of human trafficking.

“An expert advocate on modern day slavery issues, she co-founded the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking and the API Small Business Program,” Bass said. “Mr. Speaker, we are very proud to have such an … inspirational community leader as a part of the Los Angeles community in the California 33rd Congressional District.”

Martorell was appreciative of the honor, especially since it helps recognize the contributions of a Thai American who is a part of the diverse API community. She said Thais can sometimes feel like minor minorities.

“Although our community’s history in the U.S. is relatively brief, spanning only 50 years compared to other API communities, our growth has been a rapid one, and with the proliferation of Thai owned businesses, Thais have become an integral part of this country’s workforce contributing to its economy,” Martorell said. “This recognition is also important because it is declaring to the broader community that the Thai community exists, we have a presence, we occupy a space, we have a history associated with a place, and we count.”

She said the honor also spotlights the disproportionate amount of Thai Americans who are affected by “society’s social ills.” Martorell noted that Thais are the largest population of trafficked victims, and that 69 percent of Thais are “medically indigent” or without insurance. Peptic ulcers, which are treatable, are the second leading cause of death for Thais, she said.

“That is the reason why the Thai Community Development Center exists today,” Martorell said.

She said the organization’s existence stemmed from several events in the 1990s, including the L.A. riots, the Northridge Earthquake and the El Monte slavery case in which dozens of Thai immigrants were discovered to be in forced labor and liberated.

“This center would go on to address the intractable problems of housing, jobs, healthcare and economic opportunities for the poor and human rights for the super exploited,” Martorell said.

Although API residents are united, they still have adversities to overcome, she said. Media outlets and legislators rarely shine light on the “invisible class” of Asian Americans, such as the unemployed and welfare dependent, Martorell continued.

She said Angelenos who hail from Southeast Asia understand being a “minor minority.” This is evidenced by people incorrectly assuming that Thais are from Taiwan and not Thailand.

While it is important for API Angelenos to discover their own identity, they must unite with the “larger API identity,” Martorell said. Such unity will help Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders become a majority, she said.

“It is imperative that you think, reflect and ponder critically about your Asian identity, and the struggles that your less fortunate brothers and sisters like the Vietnamese, Lao, Khmer, Thai, Hmong and other Southeast Asians encounter in their daily lives,” Martorell added.

Uniting the Asian community can be accomplished by the preservation of shared cultural identities, she said. The Park La Brea resident referenced the Thai Cultural Day and the Thai New Year Songkran Festival, as well as the establishment of Thai Town in East Hollywood.

“It was the first step of a multi-faceted economic development strategy while enriching the city’s cultural and social fiber,” Martorell said. “The designation of Thai Town was not about signage, but rather about a community building process.”

Bass said it is important for people to learn about the dark periods in their collective histories as they progress into the future.

“Each of us in our very separate backgrounds can pinpoint those time periods that were not so positive,” she said. “But I do think that if we look at where we are today, we know that moving forward, it’s those dark periods that make us who we are today and give us the strength that we have.”