Mr. Eang's Multimedia

Introduction – Brandon Eang

 

I am a Multimedia teacher at Westford Academy. 

2000 – Present
 

Surviving the Work Camps of the Khmer Rouge

I was born in Cambodia in 1970 in a small village 60 miles from Vietnam. Due to the destruction brought about from the Vietnam War, my family left Prek Temeak and moved to a bustling city called Battambang for the first five years of my life. My father was a professor at the University. We lived comfortably as a middle class family until the Khmer Rouge took over in 1975. were brutally removed from their home by the Khmer Rouge and brought to a work camp. We were subjected to the brutal actions and force of the Khmer Rouge work camp from 1975 until 1979. During that time, my siblings and I were beaten, starved, and forced to do hard labor. Two of my siblings were brought to their demise due to these harsh conditions. I was at the brink of death when a soldier tossed me into a lake. I fought to survive by dragging myself out of the water until I was physically exhausted. My lifeless body was miraculously supported by the leaves of the lotus flowers that were growing in the water.

 

After the fall of the Khmer Rouge, my family spent the next two years in a refugee camp. This was a transitional location where the survivors were brought to try and locate other family members. I remember the camp being sectioned off with the names of the survivors posted in each section. My mother and I did not reunite with my father until 1980. We thought he was dead until one day I spotted him by chance in the camp. My father had never stopped looking for his family. We were finally together, all but the two siblings that did not survive the horrific ordeal.
 

When I was 12 years old, my family was sponsored to Aurora, CO. My mother’s uncle had escaped the genocide and relocated there. After two years stint we then moved to Houston, Texas. My father chose Houston because he thought the weather was appealing. We lived in an African American “ghetto” because the rent was affordable. In 1984, my family moved to Long Beach, CA. There where I finished my high school career from Lakewood High in 1989.

 

Surviving Public Education

 

I attended public schools and graduated from Lakewood High School in Long Beach, California where I lived for eight years. I remembered my Graphic Arts teacher fondly. He made a “huge impact” on me. He was able to see my talent and believed in my abilities.

 

My siblings and I didn’t know any English when we came to this country. We had to learn English at school along with their other subjects. We were exposed to Christianity and a multitude of ethnicities. We lived at a low income to poverty level. We shared an apartment with extended family members and had to section off the refrigerator to distinguish between who owned what. We lived in dangerous neighborhoods because it was all they could afford. We stayed inside to be safe. It was this poor lifestyle that convinced me that I would live a better life. I knew that education was the “key to getting out”.

 

Cambodia to the United States

 

My family and I immigrated to the United States in 1981. We came to the United States after the genocide of the Cambodian population at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. When I came here, my family expected a better life. I remembered thinking of the United States as a land of promise, and felt resentful when I was faced with so many hardships and violence during my childhood. The biggest challenges for me were learning a new language, living in poverty, and dealing with social conflicts. I had to learn English and the culture to survive. I chose to learn how to make a better life for myself by continuing my education all the way to the master’s level. Due to my strong family structure and beliefs, I chose not to engage in violent cultural groups.

 

When you think of childhood, you think of innocents and simple pleasures. I only experienced 5 short years of childhood. I went from one hell in Cambodia to a different kind of hell in the United States. Being forced to grow up so quickly has made me street-smart. I know that life isn’t easy. It takes hard work and survival skills to make it. Even after all that life has thrown at me, I have retained my family values, good-hearted, and positive attitude.