opportunity. And I am here.”
I climbed down the airplane’s stairs and stepped onto the ground. At that moment, I knew that I wastruly beginning my new life in the United States of America. I felt scared, but excited. For the first time, I looked forward to making my own future.
AFTERWORD
Nawuth wasted no time in building a life of his own in the United States. At first he lived with “Mom” and her children. He was given a monthly welfare check of $300, and he got a job working as a dishwasher for $3.17 an hour. He gave “Mom” all his money. At home he worked, too, cleaning up the house and doing the dishes while the other kids had fun. He felt like the family’s servant.
When he learned that Chantha, Van Lan, Vibol, and Bunna were living in a refugee camp in Indonesia, he asked “Mom” for ten dollars of his earnings to send to them. But “Mom” refused. Enraged, he left “Mom” and moved in with his great aunt, whom he had discovered lived not too far away, in Oregon City.
In 1983 he wanted to enroll in the local community college to improve his English, but the counselor advised him to go to high school instead. He felt like an orphan with no identity, so he created his own. He enrolled using a name he chose for himself, Nawuth (NA-wooth.) In Cambodia he had attended school for only a few years. In spite of his lack of formal preparation, he graduatedfrom Oregon City High School with an “A” average in only three years.
He married his high school sweetheart Rany Prak, also a Cambodian immigrant. They moved from Oregon to San Jose, California, to be near her mother. At San Jose City College, Nawuth completed a certificate program as a machinist. He found employment as a machinist during the day, and he worked the night shift at a donut shop, too.
Nawuth and Rany (who now goes by “Kelly”) have three children—Brian, Anthony, and Stephanie. Nawuth tells them, “Nobody loves you like your parents do. I know because I’ve lived in situations where I never got the love that you know you can count on.”
Chantha, Van Lan, Vibol, and Bunna made it to France. They settled in the city of Lyons. So did Van Lan’s nephew, Ang. Since then, the family has stayed in close touch, and they have visited each other’s homes on opposite sides of the globe.
Still in Cambodia, Nawuth’s oldest sister Chanya remarried and had three children, now grown. Her husband left her and then died in an accident. Chanya works in a military hospital in Pursat.
Chanty, Nawuth’s youngest brother, went to France to live with Van Lan and Chantha but then returned to Cambodia. He got married, and he and his bride moved to Stockton, California, about an hour away from Nawuth. They have one son.
Van Lan told Nawuth that he heard from friends in Salatrave that Zhen and his son built a house on thespot where Nawuth’s family used to live. Zhen’s son lives there now.
In 2004, Nawuth bought a ticket to America for Hackly, who suffers from chronic medical problems. In Cambodia he got very sick from eating pork that was not properly cooked. The disease affected his brain, and he suffers from seizures. Now he’s living with Nawuth and getting treatment. To simplify his name, people call him Lee.
In 2007, Nawuth and Kelly moved to Hollister, about 25 miles (40 km) south of San Jose, where they bought a bagel shop. Lee helps them as much as he can. Nawuth has kept his machinist job, too, about an hour and a half away. With the long commutes and the two jobs, most nights all he can get is five hours of sleep. “I work seven days a week,” he says, “but I have no complaints.”
When Nawuth bought a new car not long ago, he said a friend complimented him on it and asked, “Did you always dream of coming to America and driving a new car?” Nawuth chuckled and explained, “When I lived in Cambodia, nobody in my village dreamed of having any car at all. At one point, my dream was to have three meals a day, and then to have
I climbed down the airplane’s stairs and stepped onto the ground. At that moment, I knew that I wastruly beginning my new life in the United States of America. I felt scared, but excited. For the first time, I looked forward to making my own future.
AFTERWORD
Nawuth wasted no time in building a life of his own in the United States. At first he lived with “Mom” and her children. He was given a monthly welfare check of $300, and he got a job working as a dishwasher for $3.17 an hour. He gave “Mom” all his money. At home he worked, too, cleaning up the house and doing the dishes while the other kids had fun. He felt like the family’s servant.
When he learned that Chantha, Van Lan, Vibol, and Bunna were living in a refugee camp in Indonesia, he asked “Mom” for ten dollars of his earnings to send to them. But “Mom” refused. Enraged, he left “Mom” and moved in with his great aunt, whom he had discovered lived not too far away, in Oregon City.
In 1983 he wanted to enroll in the local community college to improve his English, but the counselor advised him to go to high school instead. He felt like an orphan with no identity, so he created his own. He enrolled using a name he chose for himself, Nawuth (NA-wooth.) In Cambodia he had attended school for only a few years. In spite of his lack of formal preparation, he graduatedfrom Oregon City High School with an “A” average in only three years.
He married his high school sweetheart Rany Prak, also a Cambodian immigrant. They moved from Oregon to San Jose, California, to be near her mother. At San Jose City College, Nawuth completed a certificate program as a machinist. He found employment as a machinist during the day, and he worked the night shift at a donut shop, too.
Nawuth and Rany (who now goes by “Kelly”) have three children—Brian, Anthony, and Stephanie. Nawuth tells them, “Nobody loves you like your parents do. I know because I’ve lived in situations where I never got the love that you know you can count on.”
Chantha, Van Lan, Vibol, and Bunna made it to France. They settled in the city of Lyons. So did Van Lan’s nephew, Ang. Since then, the family has stayed in close touch, and they have visited each other’s homes on opposite sides of the globe.
Still in Cambodia, Nawuth’s oldest sister Chanya remarried and had three children, now grown. Her husband left her and then died in an accident. Chanya works in a military hospital in Pursat.
Chanty, Nawuth’s youngest brother, went to France to live with Van Lan and Chantha but then returned to Cambodia. He got married, and he and his bride moved to Stockton, California, about an hour away from Nawuth. They have one son.
Van Lan told Nawuth that he heard from friends in Salatrave that Zhen and his son built a house on thespot where Nawuth’s family used to live. Zhen’s son lives there now.
In 2004, Nawuth bought a ticket to America for Hackly, who suffers from chronic medical problems. In Cambodia he got very sick from eating pork that was not properly cooked. The disease affected his brain, and he suffers from seizures. Now he’s living with Nawuth and getting treatment. To simplify his name, people call him Lee.
In 2007, Nawuth and Kelly moved to Hollister, about 25 miles (40 km) south of San Jose, where they bought a bagel shop. Lee helps them as much as he can. Nawuth has kept his machinist job, too, about an hour and a half away. With the long commutes and the two jobs, most nights all he can get is five hours of sleep. “I work seven days a week,” he says, “but I have no complaints.”
When Nawuth bought a new car not long ago, he said a friend complimented him on it and asked, “Did you always dream of coming to America and driving a new car?” Nawuth chuckled and explained, “When I lived in Cambodia, nobody in my village dreamed of having any car at all. At one point, my dream was to have three meals a day, and then to have
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