Thao Nuon:
A journey back to Cambodia
Twenty-eight years of waiting:
His search for a brother left behind in Cambodia ended in a grave
By Heidi M. Pascual
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Background:
In 1975, when the dreaded Khmer Rouge led by Pol Pot took over the reins of government in Phnom Penh, many Cambodians
lost their lives in the so-called "killing fields" because they were either educated, pro-Lon Nol government, or they were
attempting to escape. The Khmer Rouge was the Cambodian version of a communist party that was initially closely tied to then
North Vietnam's Hanoi government. Cambodians who were unable to flee the regime, most of whom were poor and
uneducated, suffered untold hardships as they were stripped of their lands and forced to work in the fields while their children
were denied education and were trained as soldiers. Armed conflicts between the Khmer Rouge and Vietnamese forces started
with border disputes that ended with the Khmer Rouge severing diplomatic ties with Hanoi and demanding the ouster of
Vietnamese troops in Cambodia. The year was 1977. A year later, in December 1978, Vietnam invaded Cambodia and
installed the anti-Khmer Rouge communist faction, Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Council (KPRC) the following month./It
was around this time that Thao Nuon's family -- mother, stepfather, and eight children (seven brothers and one sister) ran for
their lives and found their way to freedom through Thailand. All of Nuon's family made it to the United States, except for one
brother, Mao Savanarith, who went back to take up arms against the invading Vietnamese forces.
Nuon went back to Cambodia this past May to look for his long-lost brother, and found his brother's grave and orphaned
children. The reunion of relatives whom Nuon never knew was bittersweet. The time to give back to his homeland and his
brother's loved ones has come.
The memory of his birthplace is almost non-existent, but Thao Nuon remembers how his late father -- a military general --
moved his family from one place to another as he moved his troops. "I was born in Ratakiri in 1963," Nuon began as we sat in a
conference room at his workplace in Madison. "I went to school, but we didn't stay in one place because my father was in the
military police and he moved his troop every two months." Later, he was schooled in a Buddhist Temple for six months then the
family moved consistently again.
When Gen. Lon Nol staged a coup d'etat against Prince Norodom Sihanouk, Nuon's father took Lon Nol's side and kept his
job in the military. "When Lon Nol took over in 1966-67, his regime changed the system to democracy," Nuon said. "He was a
good man; he ran the country really well. My father became a two-star general."
The Pol Pot regime, however, erased all prospects for a better future for Nuon's family. "My father wasn't captured by the Khmer
Rouge," Nuon reflected, "he died fighting. He died fighting for our land!"
When the Vietnamese army succeeded in toppling the Khmer Rouge, Nuon's family decided to leave Cambodia, except one of
Nuon's brothers, Mao Savanarith. He was going to fight, not for himself, but for his country. "My brother was captured and put in
prison by the Vietnamese," Nuon said. "We never heard anything about him -- although we tried our best to find him all these
years -- until very recently."
For almost three decades, Nuon's family has been in the United States. Most members of his original family settled in
California, while he decided to stay in Wisconsin where he found his love. "In 1984, I met my wife along State Street," Nuon
recalled. "She's Irish American. I was doing some funny stuff, dancing, and people liked my dance and that's how I met her --
and we fell in love. We have two kids; one is 19 ½ years old and in college; the other is 13 years old and an honor student."
Prior to starting his own family, Nuon struggled with cultural adjustments and the language barrier, just like any other refugee
from Southeast Asia, but he was grateful to their American sponsors, Christ the King Church in McFarland, for the freedom and
the much better life they now enjoy. "I came back to school with the help of our sponsors," Nuon said with gratitude, "They truly
helped me get my education. I took that option and I'm glad I did."
He was placed in an ESL class and completed his GED at the same time he completed his engineering course at MATC. "I
got both in 1995," Nuon said with pride. Today, Nuon works at RenewAire, a firm that manufactures ventilators for homes and
offices./Life in the United States has been good to Nuon and his family, but he has not forgotten his long lost brother. Last May,
Nuon took a journey back to Cambodia to finally discover what happened to Mao. "I had to do it," he said. "My mother is sick and
she wants to know. Dead or alive, I had to find my brother."
The "break" came after Nuon's family made many inquiries of Cambodians -- friends and their relatives -- from Wisconsin to
Massachusetts to Cambodia. "I contacted an uncle who retired in Cambodia, but with whom I've not spoken in 12 years," Nuon
recalled, noting that he sent his uncle to their birthplace, Ratarakiri, to gather information. "He found out that my brother passed
away. So I knew already he was gone even before I went back. But I had to find out for myself and for my mother. And I did it."
When he reached Cambodia, Nuon went straight to his brother's grave. "I didn't want to see no temple, no house; I got there
right away," he narrated. "My niece (brother's daughter) took me there. I broke into tears." Nuon's brother left four grown up
children aged 22, 20, 18 and 14, living in poverty. The eldest daughter has two small children. "Nobody is taking care of them.
Their mother passed away in 2004. My brother was 49 when he died. I learned that when he was in jail in Vietnam for three
years, they gave him an (intravenous) shot of something that gave him a disease, similar to the AIDS virus, which he
subsequently transferred to his wife."
While his journey back to Cambodia was full of grief, Nuon realized that meeting his brother's children, grandchildren, and
other relatives was a moment of extreme happiness for everyone. Then reality set in. "Over here in the U.S. we're doing great;
we're making money," he said. "Back there, my brother's family lives in poverty. They didn't have enough food to survive. All their
land and property had been sold to pay for my brother's and his wife's medical treatment. They lead a hard life."
Nuon has made a commitment to help his brother's family. "My mind is 90 percent in Cambodia," he admitted. "I will go back.
My mission is to get our land back, build my house in less than two years, and start businesses for my niece and nephews.
They wanted to have a mini-gas station, a grocery store, and a battery charger for my nephew. They're asking for a used scooter.
That's what they're asking. That's a lot to them but to us, it's not that much. I will help to make their future better."
Today, Cambodia's governing power is a "multiparty liberal democracy under a constitutional monarchy." Regardless of the
type of government Cambodia has now, Nuon is more concerned about the basic needs of his late brother's family and other
relatives. The constant bloody change of rulers in the past 30 years destroyed people's lives in Cambodia, including those of
Nuon's father and brother. He hopes and prays that the ongoing peace remains for those they left behind.
Thao Nuon (above) recently came
back from Cambodia where he found
his late brother's grave (left) and
orphaned children in abject poverty.
He led a prayer group (far left) to
honor his brother's memory.