Intergenerational trauma cambodia free#

This narrow view of who we are erases stories of our quotidian lives and how we navigate memories of violence, participate in cultural revitalization efforts, and create opportunities for our families amidst a history of genocidal violence in Cambodia and structural challenges in the U.S.” We are more than the trauma inflicted upon our families. What I wish the world would understand about one and a half-second generation Cambodians and our families is our identities extend beyond being simply research participants, psychological health patients, or social service recipients.

Paradoxically, while this renders my community invisible, I also saw in college how Cambodians are simultaneously hyper-visible because the community tends to be the focal point of examination for trauma and genocide studies. Oftentimes, people didn't even know where Cambodia was or what Cambodian/Khmer is. student studying generational trauma in the Cambodian diaspora at UC San Diego, shares her journey of reclaiming her identity, “As a second-generation Cambodian American, I grew up noticing how my people's history is rarely acknowledged in school. With that, I acknowledge that collective sharing is key to transformational healing and my voice could help others as much as others' helped me.” Many of us began our healing journey by ourselves, but as we became more embodied through advocating for ourselves, we started to connect with others who experienced the same pain and healing, moving together from breakdowns to breakthroughs.Īmira Noeuv, a Ph.D. Listening to others' stories validates how wrong and unhealthy my inner voice perceives of myself.

Hearing others' voices gives me the support my inner-self could not provide. In the world my inner-self creates fosters its own comfort to trauma that it takes so much more than positive self-talk to really change and encourage it to heal. Social media helped us find each other, helping us feel less lonely on this complicated path of seeking wholeness in our Cambodian identity.įirst-generation Cambodian American, Sopheak Neak, host of JorJek podcast, a platform he uses to amplify Cambodian voices, shares how he forged his path through using his voice, “I was and still am scared to use my voice sometimes, but I accepted I cannot heal alone. We finally feel safe to share our stories, the stories of Millennial and Gen Z cycle breakers. We have lived through chapters of not accepting ourselves and seeking belonging. My story is like those of many other first and second generation children of the Cambodian diaspora on their healing journey.

Intergenerational trauma cambodia free#

I made the decision to heal, to break free from the narratives enmeshing me in trauma. Unprocessed trauma was woven into Cambodian culture, beliefs, and stories, trauma which survivors passed down to their children through intergenerational trauma.Ĭomplex trauma from my chaotic upbringing finally reached a breaking point. The genocide displaced survivors all over the world, from France to Australia to America. I grew up normalizing my family’s story of surviving the Khmer Rouge Genocide of Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, during which time an estimated of 1.7 million Cambodians were killed by Pol Pot's regime.Ĭorrupt Cambodians killing their own people for being highly educated or creative.Ĭorrupt Cambodians killing their own people who fully expressed themselves through thought leadership. My complicated upbringing in America erased my Cambodian identity. My family's trauma made me feel like a burden. I am the daughter of Cambodian Genocide survivors. It has taken me nearly thirty years for those words to feel liberating, not like a burden. I am a second-generation Cambodian American.