Death in Cambodia, Life in America

Mama has become such a powerful character in our story, that it wouldn't feel right to not officially introduce her. In this epsiode we will learn more about where she was born, how she grew up, and a small clip of Auntie Amanda recalling her mother's strength.  RIP Mama, we miss you and love you dearly.  Music Written By: Acerylio Chen

Episode 15: Robert leaves the hospital and gets an assignment to pick up herbs close to where Mama’s camp was. He made the executive decision to use this opportunity to visit Mama, regardless of the risk. At this point he has slowly started to loose hope that there were going to be future chances for him to see his mom. While he was with Mama, she secretly rubbed some sugar on his body so he would...

Episode 14: The Guardian Angel - Robert has been back at this camp for over 3 months, and again had now gotten really sick from eating rats. He is extremely weak and is sent to another hospital where he is basically to rest until he dies. He gets weaker and weaker, with no hope in sight. For the first time in all this suffering, he says he lost all hope. He is 100% sure that this is where he is to...

Episode 13: Straight From Hell - Robert has now safely assimilated back into this original camp, away from Mama and Auntie Amanda. He describes how women were forcibly married to Khmer Rouge soldiers, the many holes he had to dig for people who were killed, and the more horrific time he experienced in the camp. He remembers a group who had tried to escape and got caught in the process. The consequ...

Robert is walking back into the first labor camp when he meets an old friend who gives him a banana. He has accepted that he may never see his family again and that his was his life moving forward. He has arrived to the labor camp that we was originally sent to, and has safely integrated back. He remembers one night when a bedside friend was pulled out and beat to death.. Robert couldn't slee...

Robert enjoys his time with Mama and Auntie Amanda in hiding, and finally starts to feel like he has a sense of family again. His health also starts to improve as he gets more rest. Through it all, he still feels that this kind of luck in dodging the Khmer Rouge in this camp isn't going to last forever.  Robert makes the very important that was pivotal in saving his family's life..  Musi...

After recording last weeks episode, I realized that I wanted to spend a little more time diving into that creepy hospital! I mean seriously, I couldn't even begin to imagine a place like that! We take a step back and go day by day. In this episode, Robert opens up more about exactly what he experienced and saw, and my goodness... If you like scary movies, you definitely want to tune into this...

Robert  is sick with asthma and can't continue working, so the Khmer Rouge solider send him away to a local "hospital". On his way there he almost passed out of weakness, and when he finally got to his destination, the hospital wasn't as he imagined. He was tested to his limits, and had some of the most painful experiences here. He makes another very important decision and ends...

Episode 8: Poison and Life in the Jungle– Robert continues to work and hunt for food whenever he can. One day, another guy in his group accidentally ate a bunch of poisonous berries out of deep starvation. He immediately became sick and Robert and some other group members needs to deal with the situation. Life in the jungle was so hard that Robert truly started to question his will to live.  Music...

Episode 7: Deadly Malaria– Because Robert was set in a labor camp in the middle of the jungle, there were many workers that not only died of starvation and overworking, but also sicknesses like Malaria.  Robert pulls a memory stuck deep in his past about one of the guys who slept next to him during this time at this labor camp. It was a sad night and he was left to make an important decision to he...

Episode 6: Separate the Kids – Robert gets separated from his family and starts walking towards an unknown destination. On the way, the Khmer Rouge pulls other kids to join. They finally arrive to a new camp that is close to the Thai Border. He planted rice fields by himself, and was constantly tired and hungry. Every night before going to bed, there was a meeting by the Khmer Rouge that enforces...

My aunt Amanda had a very different experience during the Khmer Rouge. She was hidden by my grandmother in fear of being taken away, therefore most of her time was spent in hiding. She talks about how life was like in the camps back where grandma was, and how grandma did what she had to do to keep her alive. This special episode is a fascinating  look into what had to be done during the Khmer Roug...

Episode 5: Mama's Big Pockets – Robert’s mom (my grandma aka “Mama”), luckily gets assigned to work in the community kitchen giving her access to food. Mama lies to the Khmer Rouge soldier and registers only 5 people, when in fact she had 6. She hid my Aunt Amanda out of fear of having her getting taken away. Mama used her big pockets to steal food from the kitchen for her kids. During this t...

 Episode 4: Labor Camp 1 – The Khmer Rouge starts organizing and registering people into groups. Robert’s uncle gained trust with the Khmer Rouge which helped protect the family for a while. People were forced to give up their own food and only eat at organized camp “cafeterias”. They organized the wealthy, educated and high - ranking folks from the others and killed them. Music Written By: Aceryl...

Episode 3: The Checkpoint – Robert gets home and the family is franticly trying to figure out the next game plan, however the Khmer Rouge soldiers take over faster than anyone can leave. They force everyone out of their own homes and force them into the countryside. Robert’s family decide to move back to grandma’s farmhouse. On the way, Robert recognizes his old friend in Khmer Rouge clothing who...

Episode 2: The Beginning – Robert’s family was wealthy at the beginning of the Khmer Rouge. When he started hearing about political turmoil, his parents told him to cross the border to Thailand or come home. In Battambang, he had his first violent encounters with the Khmer Rouge and witnessed the beginning of group slaughters. That’s when he decided he couldn’t stay in the city Battambang and need...

Episode 1: Robert Childhood - was born in 1959 in Mongol Borey, Cambodia. Because his parents were living in another city, working, he stayed with his grandparents. During this time, he experienced loneliness and didn’t quite understand why his parents left him alone to live far away from his siblings. Because of this, he had to learn how to take care of himself, to be strong minded and to be inde...

Labor Day 2020, I shoved a mic in front of my dad and tested the podcast set up. This is the very first clip we ever recorded. "Testing Testing... 123 Testing".   Are you ready?