| SarithOu: Leading the Khmer in Wisconsin By Heidi M. Pascual |
| took over because I studied about them." He was lucky, he said, for he was not included in the thousands of Cambodians killed by the regime and buried in mass graves. "At that time, there were no Cambodian refugees in Thailand yet," Ou said, sure of his statement. "I crossed the border illegally so the Thai government put me in prison, and the court sentenced me to 150 years!" Ou had no way of defending himself so he was more or less resigned to accepting his fate, grateful for a lease on life, compared to a sure sudden death in the hands of the Khmer Rouge had he stayed in Cambodia. At the back of his mind, however, he was hoping for a miracle to get him out of jail. After almost 30 days in prison, Ou was called to court again, and fear of death suddenly overcame him. "I thought they would kill me," he confided, "but they told me instead, 'Oh, we cannot hold you in prison anymore because so many people from Cambodia have crossed the border and escaped the Khmer Rouge!" Ou said he was sent to join other Cambodian refugees in a camp and later he joined an American volunteer organization in Bangkok that assisted refugees in finding sponsors in the United States so they could emigrate. It was in Thailand where Ou met his future wife with whom he now has three children. Ou, together with his family, was able to come to the U.S. in 1979 through a sponsorship by a Lutheran Church in Cambridge, Wis. He said that upon arrival, he was awed by the fact that -- the trees of this country had no leaves." He later learned that because it was November, leaves fall. He has been in Wisconsin since, admiring season changes. Patience and perseverance helped Ou chart a future for him and his family. "I worked at a furniture factory in Jefferson, then I attended school there to get a GED equivalency for a high school diploma," he vividly recalled with a smile. "After that, I moved to Madison, worked for the Madison Metropolitan School District and attended Edgewood College. I graduated with a bachelor's degree in political science." Ou has come a long way. He has been working at MMSD for more than two decades, making a difference in the lives of kids as a "cultural broker," his term. Very meaningful and significant to him as a Cambodian, however, is his involvement in the Khmer Association since 1982, when Cambodians gradually grew in number as refugee camps in Thailand were being closed. Ou was its president for 10 years, a testament of his leadership and commitment to the Cambodians' cause. His mission, which is essentially the mission of his association, is to help Cambodians adapt to the American culture and help them with anything they need, if possible. "I hope for a better future for my people here in the U.S. and most especially, those left behind in Cambodia," Ou concluded. Well said and indicative of pure hope with action from someone who experienced how it was to be a Cambodian and a refugee in the '70s. |
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| There was a well-founded fear of persecution when Sarith Ou, then 26, crossed the Cambodian border to Thailand immediately after the Khmer Rouge took over Phnom Penh in 1975. Ou was an army soldier under Lon Nol, the coup leader who overthrew Prince Norodom Sihanouk on March 18, 1970. When the local communist group Khmer Rouge seized power five years later, Ou figured he should run for his life right away. "I didn't wait for the Khmer Rouge to fence the border," Ou began his story. "I knew what they would do when they |