The RESILIENCE of My People: A Cambodian’s Story

The pain of the ILLEGAL bombing by the u.s. military that ravaged my homeland in the 1970s is something I reflect on often. To speak of it is to relive the terror, the grief, and the endless struggle to survive. For us Cambodians, that time was not just one of devastation, it was a test of our very humanity. Our RESILIENCE was pushed to its absolute limits, yet, despite the overwhelming odds, we survived.

We lived in constant fear. Imagine hearing the terrifying roar of a B-52 bomber overhead, knowing that in a few moments, everything you knew, your village, your family could be obliterated. Entire communities were wiped out in the blink of an eye. It wasn’t just the bombs that destroyed us, but the fear of what was coming next. The constant uncertainty. We never knew if we would see another day.

But despite it all, we endured. The bombs came down and reduced our villages to rubble, yet we learned to adapt. Farmers, whose crops were destroyed by the bombs, didn’t give up, they found new ways to plant their rice, to make a living. We hid our fields, our homes, in whatever way we could. We lived with the scars of destruction, but we didn’t let it break us. We kept going, day after day, because what other choice did we have?

So many of us had lost so much. Fathers, mothers, children & friends. Homes turned to dust. But even in the depths of that loss, we found something stronger than the bombs that fell from the sky: our will to survive. Every loss we faced, every piece of our world that was shattered, only made us stronger. We clung to each other, we clung to our land, and we clung to our KHMER spirit.

It wasn’t just a fight for survival. It was a fight for WHO WE ARE. For our KHMER identity as Cambodians. The u.s. bombers tried to break us, to erase our history, to silence our people but we did not give in. The bombs fell, and we endured. The world may have turned its back on us, but we never turned away from each other. We rebuilt. We carried on. And in doing so, we carried the knowledge that no matter how much violence was inflicted upon us, they could never take away who we are.

The destruction wasn’t just physical it was a blow to our very soul, to our KHMER spirit as a people. They bombed our homes, our villages, but they could never destroy our heart. We are still here. We are still CAMBODIA.

Through it all, we learned something that has shaped us for generations: Our spirit is unbreakable. No amount of bombing, no amount of loss, can ever erase what we hold dear. Our holy land, our KHMER culture, our love for each other. That is our strength.

And though the world may have forgotten our suffering for a time, we remember. We honor the lives lost. We honor those who fought to survive. And we carry on, because no matter how much they tried to destroy us, they could never destroy the heart of Cambodia.

We are still here.