Resilence

In my last blog, I mentioned Ronnie Yimsut, our partner in Cambodia and his resilience.

This story is taken from my book Creating Opportunities:  

“Ronnie suddenly went silent and his face grew tight as our narrow little propeller-driven boat chugged along the river.  I wondered if something was wrong.  There was.

We were nearing the site where Ronnie, in 1977, was the sole survivor of the Ta Source Hill killing field massacre.  His mind had flashed back to when he was only 15 years old and awoke to see 100 people around him dead, including many family members.  All had been killed by the Khmer Rouge.  This was only the second time he had passed this way since then.

Ronnie had pulled himself through the bodies and into the thicket fearing that he would be number 101.  Slowly he made his way forward fearing a shot and not knowing what to do.  These were his first steps towards the refugee camp at the Thai border.  Along the way, he met up with several older men also making their way out of this dreadful situation.  Together, they dodged Khmer Rouge soldiers, walked through jungles and over mountains, hiding in barns along the way.  Many hundreds of miles and 31 days later, they arrived at the Thai border.  Ronnie had no papers, so he was thrown in jail instead of a refugee camp.

As chance would have it, he was discovered and interviewed by CBS.  Learning that he was only 15, below the Geneva Convention’s minimum age to be put in prison, Ronnie was allowed to go to the refugee camp.  A cousin in the U.S. recognized Ronnie when she saw the interview on television and eventually sponsored him to come to North America.  He was also helped by Judy Kocher, who worked for the International Rescue Committee.  Life was not all roses in the United States.  He had a difficult time adjusting, and living with his post-traumatic stress disorder.

Ronnie eventually finished university becoming a landscape architect.  He lives and works in Milwaukee for the U.S. Forestry Service and in 2009 was named as one of Milwaukee’s most influential people.

Nina Cole, a Rotarian and professor at Ryerson, and I met Ronnie over the phone when we were looking for a sweat equity project in Cambodia.  Nina had been on several sweat equity trips to Tanzania and while on sabbatical in Cambodia suggested some sweat equity possibilities there.  As it turned out, none of the suggestions worked out, but somehow, we ended up talking to Ronnie who was dreaming of starting a vocational school on some old family land in Rollouts Village outside of Siem Reap.  Ronnie chronicles his story in a book that took him 13 years to write called Facing the Rhmer Rouge: A Cambodia Journey.”

Nina and I were correct in thinking this would make a great project.  Over a nine-year period, 70 people paid their own way to Cambodia to help build the school, which we completed in December 2018.

We had our own frustrations and huge obstacles to overcome, including endemic corruption, resulting in legal charges and court hearings. In the end, the resilience and determination shown by Ronnie, not just in his escape to the refugee camp, but also in overcoming these obstacles, kept us going.    

Till next time.  

Chris Snyder