NAMED NATIONAL FOUR-YEAR DAILY NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR FOR 2020-21 IN THE COLLEGE MEDIA ASSOCIATION’S PINNACLE AWARDS
Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022
Volume 159 No. 36 SERVING SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1934
WWW.SJSUNEWS.COM/SPARTAN_DAILY
19 years in prison: ‘I wanted to help people come home’ By Vanessa Tran STAFF WRITER
Peejay Ai, a former “juvenile lifer” and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainee, met with some San Jose State community members over Zoom Thursday to break down his advocacy work since being released from prison. Ai dove deep about his time migrating and living in America, how he ended up sentenced to a juvenile detention center for life and how he was able to turn his life around after 19 years incarcerated. Ai is a Cambodian immigrant who escaped with his family from the genocide in Cambodia after the country became unstable. “Most refugees come to a country where there is no English,” Ai said. “It’s very difficult to adjust, right? And that was one of those stories that came during the time during the ’80s.” He said it was hard for him to adjust to the environment because he felt like people didn’t like him because of his lack of English. “So I didn’t really understand the culture,” Ai said. “I had a hard time adapting to school. I had a hard time fitting in and it got to a point where, well, I always felt discriminated against and I understand why, you know, people actually, like, went up to you and said, ‘Hey, go back to the country.’ ” He said he joined a gang in high school because it made him feel protected from bullying. Ai said he saw his gang members
as a family and did whatever they asked him to, which led him to be incarcerated for nearly two decades. “Eventually I just join a gang to find protection, to find a sense of binding, to find some stuff, you know, family, and I guess that’s a common story of a lot,” Ai said. He said he was scared to serve time because of experiences he heard of and seen in movies – he was fearful of being killed, raped and abused in jail.
person,” Ai said. “You know, I felt like all the hardship and the experience of the trauma I grew up with was gone.” Ai then joined White Bison, a program that helps indigenous individuals find sobriety help. He said he was able to get involved in restorative justice through the program and change his life around. “Going through this process to learn it, right, and I think the system is repeating itself the same
I changed my life around, I walked away from the gangs, walked away from all the negative stuff on the yard. No people wanted to because in the prison politics, you can’t walk on your own right, but I was able. I was fortunate. Peejay Ai Asian Prisoner Support Committee member Ai said he became friends with a lot of older Native American inmates because they all practiced spirituality, in which he finds passion. He said together, they performed cleanses and practiced releasing bad energy. “You know this hardship, you can come out of there as a new person and so I went through the ceremony and came out feeling like a different
way, like you can’t punish people and expect something better to come out of it,” Ai said. I think the idea of restoring is communication and allowing people to take accountability and understanding where that comes from and who is responsible.” Ai said that awakening gave him hope and inspiration. “I changed my life around, I walked away from the gangs, walked away
from all the negative stuff on the yard,” Ai said. “No people wanted to because in the prison politics, you can’t walk on your own right, but I was able. I was fortunate.” Ai said he was afraid when he was released because he didn’t want to be deported. He said he was later detained by ICE. “Now it’s like I’m choosing to stay in prison, because I don’t want to sign to get deported, you know, cause I’m afraid to get deported and I don’t want to be separated from my family,” Ai said. “So I’m choosing to fight my case, I’m choosing to be detained and it eats you up inside, you know, and the condition is horrible.” Ai said the facility was cold and that he didn’t have anything but one blanket that was used to cover his bed. He said there were bugs from the blanket because it was out in the yard for months. Ai said the facility’s environment and circumstances made him want to give up, but receiving letters from the Asian Prisoner Support Committee motivated him to keep going. “I feel like the community has my back, you know, and I’m not alone even though I looked around and felt alone. But getting those letters, knowing those feelings, I’m not alone anymore,” Ai said. The Asian Prisoner Support Committee has been spearheading programs in prisons to help organize anti-dep or t ation camp aigns, INCARCERATION | Page 2 IMAGE FROM CANVA
SAN JOSE MAYOR RESULTS DATA AS OF 12:53 A.M. TUESDAY Cindy Chavez 105,221 votes or 49%
Matt Mahan 109,477 votes or 51%
SOURCE: NEW YORK TIMES LIVE SAN JOSE MAYOR RESULTS