In part one, we flashed back to the horrific suffering that Monica\u2019s mother experienced in Cambodia\u2019s \u201cKilling Fields.\u201d In this post, we chat with Monica about her own childhood and coming of age in Long Beach\u2019s Little Cambodia.<\/i>
\n<\/p>\n
\u201cGod, you must not like my family,\u201d<\/b> a six-year-old Monica thought as her family struggled to survive the poverty and gang violence that wracked their neighborhood. Her mother\u2019s sentiments at the time were similar: \u201cI came from the Killing Fields to this. There\u2019s still no break for me,\u201d Monica recalls her saying.<\/p>\n
Just several years before, in early 1979, Monica\u2019s mother, elderly grandfather, and three other relatives had fled for the Thai border – and freedom – as the Khmer Rouge regime crumbled in Cambodia. But though they escaped the insanity of the Killing Fields, they did not find freedom from the poverty that had shackled them from the moment they were forced from their homes.<\/p>\n
The journey from the refugee camp to America had begun well enough, full of hope and promise. An American church sponsored Monica\u2019s mother and relatives to travel to Kelso, Washington, where she eventually married. The couple finally settled down in Long Beach, joining the thousands of other displaced Cambodians who had congregated there. But their family, which soon grew to include Monica and the first of two brothers, now had to endure a constant struggle to provide for life\u2019s most basic necessities.<\/p>\n
Finding shelter was just one of their challenges; one night, they even resorted to sleeping in an office building. When they did have a regular place to stay, the family of four crammed into a one-bedroom apartment, though that didn\u2019t provide them with much security. \u201cWe were robbed at gunpoint in our home – and they stole everything that we didn\u2019t have!\u201d she says, laughing softly at the tragicomedy of losing what few valuables they had. \u201cAnd there would be shootings. My family would move every two years or so because we couldn\u2019t afford rent, or the neighbor died in another drive-by shooting, things like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her mother tried to protect the children from anxiety and fear by helping Monica and her brother to make the best of their situation. Monica recalls that at the time, \u201cMy idea of a vacation was taking the 7th Street bus – which did not go through a great neighborhood – down to the mall to window shop.\u201d Her mother would then buy a Carl\u2019s Jr. Famous Star burger for her to share with her brother. \u201cWe didn\u2019t get our own; we shared it,\u201d she explains. \u201cAnd still then I was like, \u2018Oh, treat!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
But even with government assistance, they barely got by. She says, \u201cWe couldn\u2019t get out of the cycle. When you\u2019re living in poverty, you can\u2019t really get out because you\u2019re not given the resources. We didn\u2019t even know of the resources, because my mom didn\u2019t speak English.\u201d <\/p>\n
And as she got older, Monica began to feel the sorrow and shame that frequently characterizes impoverished youth. She remembers that on one occasion, after someone in the family made a reference to Santa Claus, her mother softly said to herself, \u201c\u2018If Santa only knew to get us money for food.\u2019\u201d Monica reveals, \u201cAt six years old, I knew what that meant, and I felt bad.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, Monica\u2019s mother persevered. \u201cThere\u2019s a Cambodian word, pronounced thaw-soor,<\/i> that means \u2018strive.\u2019 You strive, no matter what,\u201d Monica says, explaining the core principle that kept her mother going. \u201cShe had two kids and she had to take care of us. No matter what, come hell or high water, her kids would be taken care of. She was like, \u2018My kids will eat; if I don\u2019t eat, they will still eat.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Her mother\u2019s strength would be put to the test many times in the years that followed. Monica observes, \u201cMy mom always tried to provide as much as she could to give me a \u2018normal American life.\u2019\u201d When Monica won a place on her high school cheer squad, distinguishing herself so much that she was named squad captain, her mother faced an even larger financial challenge due to cheerleading\u2019s inherent costs. But she was determined that a lack of money wouldn\u2019t prevent Monica from participating. Her successful efforts amazed Monica and impacted her deeply. She affirms, \u201cMy mom has always made me feel like I\u2019m worth something.\u201d<\/p>\n
Possessing a confidence nurtured by her mother, Monica attended and graduated from Cal State Long Beach. But soon afterward, a message from an unexpected source helped her find a fresh purpose in life. This life focus would begin to bring a small, yet meaningful measure of redemption to her mother\u2019s years in the Killing Fields. It would also land Monica in the 2013 Miss Long Beach pageant.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ll hear about that message, that new life focus, and that pageant in our next post. Click here<\/a> for the conclusion of our visit with Monica Samreth!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In part one, we flashed back to the horrific suffering that Monica\u2019s mother experienced in Cambodia\u2019s \u201cKilling Fields.\u201d In this<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11068,"featured_media":72448,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[1012],"tags":[2120],"class_list":["post-15696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel","tag-travel"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u-113x150.jpg","medium":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u.jpg","medium_large":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u.jpg","large":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u.jpg","1536x1536":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u.jpg","2048x2048":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u.jpg","colormag-highlighted-post":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u.jpg","colormag-featured-post-medium":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u.jpg","colormag-featured-post-small":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u-113x90.jpg","colormag-featured-image":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u.jpg","colormag-default-news":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u-113x150.jpg","colormag-featured-image-large":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u.jpg","colormag-elementor-block-extra-large-thumbnail":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u.jpg","colormag-elementor-grid-large-thumbnail":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u.jpg","colormag-elementor-grid-small-thumbnail":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u.jpg","colormag-elementor-grid-medium-large-thumbnail":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u.jpg"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"In part one, we flashed back to the horrific suffering that Monica\u2019s mother experienced in Cambodia\u2019s \u201cKilling Fields.\u201d In this","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["Travel"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":140,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":5,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u.jpg",113,170,false],"medium":["https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u.jpg",113,170,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u-113x150.jpg",113,150,true]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"","author_link":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/?author=11068"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"Travel<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/11068"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15696"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15696\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/72448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}