The Camps: 1979-1981

I work in orphanage camp, take care of thirty kids. Heaven . still miss my kids but not so bad because so many die.
first they give me baby and I know boy we grew up together he escape. Hoot. 10-15 years younger than you, neighbor kids…. I wish I go there.
After the war he went back home, his father sends money to people to bring him to the camp.
Hoot lives with me in orphanage. Every day he go to Red Cross bulletin board look for news from families. One time he brings letter to me. “I find your brother,” he says. Hoot knows brother too, Grew up together.
It feel so good, I want to find my brother in thailand. Father in Church whatever you want to find you send a letter. Catholic. They delivered the letter to the red cross. I sent him a letter. I am alive and he was so happy and he mail me money from french church to live on.
I eat a lot now. Gain waight. Get my teeth fixed.
Live there and they pay me one can a day as salary. Eat there, sleep there. Sardines 30 kids. 5-15.. 3 meals for them. We play sports, exercising at night we play build big red cross.


Chumrumcha- 1st camp.
Chum rum tmi 2nd camp tmi means new

Lst camp.

When my aunt come
Every day feel so good because we go shopping she havde a lot of gold and diamonds, daughter and me go buy food, go to border of thialand to buy stuff. By that time things are so cheap, just a little bit money. We have money to spend now. People speak the same language. Thai and Khmer. We eat almost the same food too.

We stay there one month. The Cowidan camp is open. The UN Red Cross start camps and thousands of thousands each day. It is like a town, we know a little people, but still I take care of my aunt’s family.

My aunt make a friend with some of the tahi people on border and at ngiiht we h ear the gun a lot but it is not that bad. My aunt is about 60 every night she not sleep with us in camp. She go there to sleep. A friends house. She felt safer. She has money and she want her daughter and son to US and she have money to p ay and then onetime I went to see her she say they take about a couple thousand bucks to take kids to camp; you I love you but I don’t have money to pay for you.
“It’s okay, it fine.” I find new family to be with. That day the daughter and son didn’t come home and that day I knew it was something but by that time I live with 2 familiy her neice and nephew real. We live together. And then that day … one of the neighbors told me.
“Hey, you don’t want to go with them.?”
‘ Go where? ‘
“ they have the bus come to the temple in thailand. If you go there they take you to the camp.”
“I don’t have money I cant go.”
“ You don’t need money because the bus come pick you up and you go.”

My neice and nephew. They say don’t go. Leave with me b ecause I am not going b ecause they don’t like my aunts son because he told them you need money. They doh’t believe man. No, I want to go find my brother.

We make a business here…. My neighbor say ok you go you have tgo run in gthe morning… it is not only myself I carry the rice cooker, plate, in a bag and run. Shooting. This belongs to my aunt. I give this to her if she in camp.

Next morning I take rice cooker aunt leave behind and run from camp with a lot of men. We cross the border. I with the man who took me to the temple. See lots of busses and then I see aunt’s face in window of one of the busses.
“Bong, come come come, aunt waves to me to hurry but Sealion shaking head no, wave me back.
“Why you here?” he ask. “Go back, Mi no money pay for you. Go back.”

Bus driver yells for me to get on. I walk to family.
“I don’t want to come to stay with you,” I say. “I want to find my brother.”
The driver says come come I don’t want to come to stay with you I want to find my brother.

My sister love me. I come with

My aunt neice and nephew don’t want to come you don’t come becausde my mom don’t want to support you. They wenht back to cambodia. I saw them last year one of them is so so poor.

“Come with me I heard it free. The bus take you to the camp you don’t have to live with them”.
“No no you live w/me when I find my brother. He support you.”
I sit next to daughter for the bus ride, a coule hour. There is a line of busses making the trip.

The camp is open three days already. When bus stops together again with many old friends. So many people we know before already here.
Sealion not talk to me when we get off bus. But daughter and I we not care because she love me.
Group leader ask, “How many in your family” and daughter says “We have four.” Group leader tell us to build own place to sleep, shows us where to go.
Sister and me go through jungle and cut bamboo. Sealion he do nothing.
Every ten families has one group leader. Main thing still rice. Every day Red Cross deliver fresh water, canned foods, some vegetables, fish, somemeat. Families build own fires to cook meals. Lots of stones around. Find firewood and
Me and the sister we go through the jungle cut same bamboo pick
Sealion just sleep hammock but aunt and sister very happy we together again. Everything okay for a couple months until sister tell me Sealion not want me to live with them anymore. I have to move somewhere else.

I find work with CARE. I help them giving out fresh water. Daytime I gone but still have to go back to sleep with Sealion and family. I help them a lot with water. Every night I tell sister to come and get fresh water. She is the one who is carrying the water. He smoking. Lot of friends.
CARE pay my salary with canned food. Every afternoon I eat at CARE but more and more the sister say “I don’t know what to do for you because my brother don’t want you to stay here anymore.”
Then I hear they open orphanage. go to orphanage office. I have experience. I can take care of a lot of things. Whatever you want me to do I do it. They say its okay because they have a small baby. I have to live here too. Okay you can live here too. I born again.
Okay, I got a job, I don’t have to come home now. You need water, shower, you come to find me. By that time I am very lucky. I have job, food, water, place to sleep.
Sealion start coming to see me and I feed him. He start liking me again. One time my aunt have a grand nephew who I take care of in orphanage, always come to see aunt. He call me aunty.” Hey aunty, grandma want to see you.” He like a mailman.
“Why she want to see me? “
So I went there, a cople of blocks and when I get into the house I saw a man who is so handsome and he come to hug me. It is Billy. He came from America to find his mom. Billy, oh my god, you are alive. Oh wow, he look like a god.
Billy tell me he has money to sponsor me to go to USA. He give money now to his mom and sister. Come later with money for me.
“I am going to sponsor you,” he says. “You are my cousin.” Whatever. I think my life so much better now. Everything I need right here. Why I need to go anywhere else?

Aunt’sHer husband was killed by KR.

Sister come to orphanage every ngiht, carry water home, she work hard and me I don’t carry the water but I don’t want to get caught. When w ein camp she always come to see me. One day again the mailman come again and auntie, grndma want to see you again. You in trouble.
When I went there she got so mad at me. Start yelling at me.
“ I raise you so many year, I give you so much to eat. Someone be nice to you and you throw it away. You breaking the house. Cause trouble. Like someone be nice you supposed to be nice back.”
“I don’t understand. I very grateful. I never forget until I die. I love you, respect you, more than my mom. Just tell me what did I do.”
“Look at these letters my son send to you. Billy. You know he married.”
“Look at this. He say you are family. When we live in KR they don’t call girlfriend, wife, we call “
Aunt thought word meant girlfriend, she thought he was telling them he was going to marry me because he sponsor me like his family and my aunt say that family means wife, girlfriend. Because long long time when I was young her husband want Billy to marry me when he was little and then when he come to US he so far away. Between him and me he look like heaven and earth. He live in US, I live in a camp. He look like movies star. You misunderstood him. Billy still sponsor me and he don’t want to upset his mom and I swear to my aunt you don’t worry I’m not going to love him, not going to mary him. He married alredy. I not going to break up his family. Don’t worry about that … I am not going to do something like that…. Look at me….. he hugged me , a european way run and come hug me
Since then she still talk to me but not so friendly anymorel I am nothing, auntie. I don’t know that I come to the US. I don’t dream to come to US. You want to go because you real mom. I am just like cousin.
Three months later aunt and Sealion and sister leave camp to fly to US. They going to San Francisco. I come to the bus and I just cry. I am not going tyo see them again.