Death in Cambodia, Life in America

Robert scrambles to find a way to get 30k through his family and friends to buy his first donut shop. After getting the money... in cash, he marches over to the real estate office and drops off a trash bag of money to purchase the store. Stunning the entire office, Bob Burton asks him if he has a check, while Robert responds he doesn't even have a bank account! Within the first week, Robert a...

Robert immediately decided that it was time to change his lifestyle and dive headfirst into donut shops. He left his company and volunteered to watch over his uncles financials. After working there for about 6 months, he decides he wants to have his own. Robert gets really close with a regular customer named Bob Burton, who happens to be a commercial real esate broker. Together they find Robert&ap...

In this epsiode, Robert found work in LA and starts to make some friends in this new city. He would be out drinking, and living for the weekends as most 20's somethings do. One day he decides to visit his auntie about 30 minutes away from town. Since arriving to their front doorstep, he was treated with disrespect and looked down upon. Without even being offered dinner in their howe, he felt...

In this epsiode we follow Robert and his push to master the English language. He noticed immediately that without the language, you would not be able to get a good job other than a farmer or a janitor. He also started to make American friends who showed him the culture in America. Robert enjoyed the independent way of life because he truly felt it was similar to his natural independent nature. Aft...

Robert has now started to learn more about how different life is like in America. I starts to learn that here in this country, people who work hard regardless of social status and birthright, can be successful. The family also decides that is probably best to move somewhere closer to a stronger Cambodian community, so they move to Portland Oregon. There, Robert was able to make friends and start g...

Robert starts to assimilate into America and gets his first job picking berries in the fields. Later, he gets a job as a janitor in JefCo. Since there was no transportation to and from work, he got to work by walking miles. One day, Robert found a broken bike behind a trashcan. Excited, he takes it home, asks Bill Hoffman his sponsor to get him new wheels.. and BOOM, his first mode of transportati...

Welcome to Season 2! Here are my goals for this new chapter of the podcast. We will be discussing the following topics:  What was the refugee experience like?  The process of how Robert obsessed over his American Dream Why was Robert so successful? What did he fail at?  The rise and fall of Golden Bake Food Products  What is generational trauma? How has the khmer rouge effected second and third ge...

Robert arrives and lands in Portland Oregon in the middle of the night. He has absolutely no idea what his sponsor looks like, and gets lost in the airport. He ends up sleeping next to his gate until a janitor wakes him up. Bill Hoffman finally picks him up, and he drives him to his house. Robert spends his first night in America and experiences an American breakfast for the first time.  Music Wri...

Ken Swann was a Field Representative for the IRC, was on the field working directly with the refugees in the main refugee camps. His job consisted of helping transport doctors and nurses to the correct camps, run errands for medical staff, and towards the end helped compiled the "Unaccompanied Minor Handbook" which helped reconnect kids with their parents in the camps. His work was incre...

John was a stringer for the Time Magazine and Washington post from 1979-1980’s, covering on the ground exactly what was happening in these Cambodian refugee camps. He has had first hand experience and was on the grounds of the camps, witnessing everything going on from starving people marching out the forests, to being there the day of First Lady Carter Visit in November 1979. I couldn't pass...

Unscripted: The Power of Storytelling  This episode was captured as I secretly pressed the record button during a talk I had with my dad about how he felt the podcast has impacted him. Sometimes when my dad knows he's being recorded, he tenses up. But this talk was just us two chatting about how he truly felt. I am so glad I captured this piece, and wanted to share with you all. We talk about...

Robert spends his last several days at Longpenny camp in Bangkok dreaming about his future in the new land. He learned that he was sponsored by a man in Portland Oregon, and he was going to be the first of the family to head to America.  Everyone was handed a plastic bag with their refugee paperwork. Robert learned that toilets in America were meant to be sat on, and water inside was not meant for...

Robert takes this beautiful greyhound bus to a camp called Longpenny in Bangkok Thailand. This camp is filled with a bunch of refugees who are specifically dedicated to fly to America. Everyone here is very excited for their new lives. Here is where Robert and the family register, take photos, and finalize paperwork being heading to America. Robert remembers feeling so much hope for this future, f...

Robert finally reunited with the rest of the family and lives life in Nong Chan. People start gossiping about  which country they are going to go to, and dreaming about life after this camp. Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations come to the camp to take pictures, news reporters from all over the world are documenting what is happening. One day, there were about 10 buses that came to pick...

This epsiode we will travel back in time and see how Amanda and the rest of the family escaped after Robert had made it alive in Thailand. After the family learns about the axe coming back - proving there is an escape route out of Cambodia, Amanda runs back to grab Mama to get the whole family together and out.  Music Written By: Acerylio Chen

Robert has arrived to Nong Chan camp and is one of the first 30 refugees in this Thai camp. Prior to the Red Cross and humanitarian organizations, children specifically girls were preyed on for human trafficking, rape, and prostitution. Without the regulation of other orgs, the refugees were taken advantage of. This was absolutely  terrible as Robert witness girls taken away. Imagine, people just...

OPTIONAL LISTEN All the music used on this podcast is originally produced and composed by a creative soul in our family. He composed  a small snippet that accompanies the scene of Robert's group finding their way through the jungles of Thailand. Completely optional, but hopefully this can add a soundtrack that will contribute to your overall experience as you listen to Robert's story. 

Roberts group of escapees follow the roosters crow and creep towards what seem to be a village. They create the plan and Robert leads the pack in. What they found is a quaint Thai village and stumbled upon some locals who immediately assume this group are Khmer Rouge soldiers. Because of this lack of trust, Robert's group is thrown into jail and tortured to get information. Yes they are in Th...

Robert’s group of 5 walk towards the forest and follows their leader. They all agree to never let this guy out their sight, it fear that he would take the money and run. About 1/3 of their way into the forest, they encounter a massive storm. This rainstorm, ended up saving the groups lives. They end up getting lost and encounter dangerous animals and lack of food and direction.  Growing up, my fat...

The Vietnamese have officially taken over the country, and everyone is flooding the Thai border in hope to get out of the country. The street is not opening, and people are starting to consider walking through the dangerous forest to reach Thailand. There are lots of criminals who took advantage of this demand, leading people into the forest to be stranded. Robert finds a trustworthy guy, gets a g...

Robert reunites with the family but understands that there is just not enough food to stay on the side of the road forever. Robert gets a group together and they all decide to walk towards Nimitt to pick up scraps left after the massacre. At the time, the Vietnamese soldiers were still fighting the Khmer Rouge. Since there was no food left, Robert sees a warehouse storage in the middle of the batt...

Episode 19 - The Massacre at Nimitt  The majority of the Khmer Rouge soldiers are now back at their “home base”, in the jungles between Thailand and Cambodia, which happens to be where more and more refugees are trying to cross in order to escape their country. There are a few Vietnamese soldiers are guarding the town of Nimitt, however not enough to truly protect the thousands of people who are f...

Epsiode 18: The war is upon us, and Robert makes the decision that he needs to escape to the Thailand border. The Khmer Rouge soldiers seems to be gone, leaving it wide open for people to leave as they please! He keeps walking and starts realizing that many people are trying to cross the border. He is so hungry and meets a nice family that offers to be with him and share food since he is alone. Ro...

Episode 17 - Vietnamese Invasion 1978 Robert starts hearing more and more bombs in the distance. All the people in these labor camps had no idea who was bombing who - but they did know they have been waiting for a change for the past 3.5 years.  People know that something different is happening, which is exciting. As the Khmer Rouge soldiers get more scared of the situation, they kill more people...

Episode 16 - The Best Day in His Life  While Robert is being fed at another camp location under a new leader, Robert runs into a familiar face who also recognizes him. He is a distant relative who was lucky enough to marry a Khmer Rouge solider - therefore has protection. He secretly tells Robert to come meet him at his place to get more food and medication that he would need to stay alive. Robert...