Also a Chinese/Cambodian American as well - sort of. We're Chinese, but my parents were born in Cambodia and got out shortly after your folks (1985, I think). They also went to Thailand, but then came to America. There's actually quite a few of us in LA (but maybe I just feel that way because a lot of my parents' friends fled here as well).
My parents used to tell us stories when we were younger, probably because it was still on their minds so much.. but in the last decade or so, the stories only come up when relatives visit. My brothers actually went with my mom to Cambodia a few years ago; they took pictures of some of the places my parents were kept. I remember hearing that the entire family sat and cried when my brother showed them some of the pictures of the untouched fields - mostly a picture of a tree covered in blood. They later told me that guards used to swing babies against the trees to stop them from crying.
Good on you for doing what you can to help your mom. Hopefully you can raise enough money and find time to go with her.
nerujin21 karma
Also a Chinese/Cambodian American as well - sort of. We're Chinese, but my parents were born in Cambodia and got out shortly after your folks (1985, I think). They also went to Thailand, but then came to America. There's actually quite a few of us in LA (but maybe I just feel that way because a lot of my parents' friends fled here as well).
My parents used to tell us stories when we were younger, probably because it was still on their minds so much.. but in the last decade or so, the stories only come up when relatives visit. My brothers actually went with my mom to Cambodia a few years ago; they took pictures of some of the places my parents were kept. I remember hearing that the entire family sat and cried when my brother showed them some of the pictures of the untouched fields - mostly a picture of a tree covered in blood. They later told me that guards used to swing babies against the trees to stop them from crying.
Good on you for doing what you can to help your mom. Hopefully you can raise enough money and find time to go with her.
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