Amanda R.
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Title
Amanda R.
Description
Her family lived through harrowing events in East Asia in the 1970s only to later face the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
Creator
Amanda R.
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Text
Amanda R.
My family and I have been very affected by events occurring after the end of World
War II in 1945. In fact, if it were not for the United States practicing containment so heavily
in the era of the Cold War, I probably would not be here today. This is because my mom,
her parents, and her siblings only came to America because of Khmer Rouge taking over
Phnom Penh during the Vietnam War. In addition, my mother’s second experience as a
refugee as well as my first experience influenced our move from New Orleans to Northern
Virginia in 2005. These events, the Vietnam War and Hurricane Katrina, have been two of
the most significant, deciding factors in how my life has played out today.
Born in Cambodia to Chinese parents, my mother was only 17 years old when
Khmer Rogue invaded Phnom Penh. On April 9, 1975, her father and my grandfather, an
employee at the US Embassy in Cambodia, announced to his family that they had to
evacuate to Thailand for one month. They packed as little as possible in order to move
quickly, but soon found out that their belongings back home would never again be with
them. On April 17, only eight days later, they became aware of Khmer Rouge’s invasion in
Phnom Penh; it was clear that they would not be returning anytime soon, but they were
also not staying in Thailand. Because of my grandfather’s job at the US Embassy, he and his
immediate family were taken to California, where a family in New Orleans soon sponsored
them, thus influencing my life greatly, of course. Unlike my family at the time, many
Cambodian families were left, facing imminent death by the communists. While, of course,
the tragic occurrences that moved my family to the United States in the first place also
caused many other families to relocate to the US and other countries, such as Australia
(where I actually do have relatives that evacuated from Cambodia), it had a colossal
devastation in those Asian countries, which does not compare to the societal impact in
America in the same way. This tragic event is always hard to read about, and knowing that
my family and their extended family were so very close to this makes it all the more real as
well as scary. In this event, my mother and her family experienced being a refugee for the
first time.
In 2005, my mother, for the second time in her life, and my family experienced this
when Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, a city backed by a poorly prepared US
government. Due to this disaster, one that has been huge in global history and news, my
family and I evacuated to Northern Virginia, where my mom had relatives. We lost the
majority of our possessions and found that reparations for our damages were rare because
of the numerous mismanagements occurring in government agencies meant to deal with
disaster recovery. For this reason, we were forced to relocate to Northern Virginia and
start our lives over in a new place.
After writing about these events that have greatly influenced the lives of my family
and myself, it has become so obvious that the actions of the US government have an
extremely large impact on what happens in the world over a period of time. While looking
at the surface of these situations, it may not add up that the government had such a massive
impact on the outcome; but that is simply not the case. The Vietnam War and the events
that went with it left a huge impact on the world – not just American society. The Vietnam
War, a war that did not take place on American soil, was influenced by US foreign policy at
the time and largely influenced global events. It is clear that the United States government
has made many decisions and acted in many different ways that have left profound marks
on both the world and my family.
My family and I have been very affected by events occurring after the end of World
War II in 1945. In fact, if it were not for the United States practicing containment so heavily
in the era of the Cold War, I probably would not be here today. This is because my mom,
her parents, and her siblings only came to America because of Khmer Rouge taking over
Phnom Penh during the Vietnam War. In addition, my mother’s second experience as a
refugee as well as my first experience influenced our move from New Orleans to Northern
Virginia in 2005. These events, the Vietnam War and Hurricane Katrina, have been two of
the most significant, deciding factors in how my life has played out today.
Born in Cambodia to Chinese parents, my mother was only 17 years old when
Khmer Rogue invaded Phnom Penh. On April 9, 1975, her father and my grandfather, an
employee at the US Embassy in Cambodia, announced to his family that they had to
evacuate to Thailand for one month. They packed as little as possible in order to move
quickly, but soon found out that their belongings back home would never again be with
them. On April 17, only eight days later, they became aware of Khmer Rouge’s invasion in
Phnom Penh; it was clear that they would not be returning anytime soon, but they were
also not staying in Thailand. Because of my grandfather’s job at the US Embassy, he and his
immediate family were taken to California, where a family in New Orleans soon sponsored
them, thus influencing my life greatly, of course. Unlike my family at the time, many
Cambodian families were left, facing imminent death by the communists. While, of course,
the tragic occurrences that moved my family to the United States in the first place also
caused many other families to relocate to the US and other countries, such as Australia
(where I actually do have relatives that evacuated from Cambodia), it had a colossal
devastation in those Asian countries, which does not compare to the societal impact in
America in the same way. This tragic event is always hard to read about, and knowing that
my family and their extended family were so very close to this makes it all the more real as
well as scary. In this event, my mother and her family experienced being a refugee for the
first time.
In 2005, my mother, for the second time in her life, and my family experienced this
when Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, a city backed by a poorly prepared US
government. Due to this disaster, one that has been huge in global history and news, my
family and I evacuated to Northern Virginia, where my mom had relatives. We lost the
majority of our possessions and found that reparations for our damages were rare because
of the numerous mismanagements occurring in government agencies meant to deal with
disaster recovery. For this reason, we were forced to relocate to Northern Virginia and
start our lives over in a new place.
After writing about these events that have greatly influenced the lives of my family
and myself, it has become so obvious that the actions of the US government have an
extremely large impact on what happens in the world over a period of time. While looking
at the surface of these situations, it may not add up that the government had such a massive
impact on the outcome; but that is simply not the case. The Vietnam War and the events
that went with it left a huge impact on the world – not just American society. The Vietnam
War, a war that did not take place on American soil, was influenced by US foreign policy at
the time and largely influenced global events. It is clear that the United States government
has made many decisions and acted in many different ways that have left profound marks
on both the world and my family.
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Citation
Amanda R., “Amanda R.,” Historical Memory:, accessed October 30, 2024, https://memory.ctevans.net/items/show/2.