Former U.N. ambassador speaks at CSULB

Sichan Siv, who survived a rebellion in Cambodia, was awarded by President Alexander for the establishment of Cambodian communities.

Joanne Tucker

Former U.S. Ambassador for the United Nations Sichan Siv spoke on Wednesday at Cal State Long Beach on his upcoming book "Golden Bones" that describes his survival of the communist Khmer Rouge rebel occupation of Cambodia.

Karen Quintiliani, assistant professor for the department of anthropology, commended Siv as "putting Long Beach on the map in a whole new way." She noted that he helped establish Cambodia Town in Long Beach, which is home to the largest Cambodian community outside Southeast Asia. CSULB President F. King Alexander also presented a gift to Siv for his encouragement and hope for the Cambodian communities.

Siv described his book, which will be released July 1, as a memoir and history of the Khmer Rouge occupation. "By the early '70s I began to see so much death and destruction," Siv said. "I saw a lot of markets where civilian lives were lost."

Siv was offered a flight out of the country by the American Embassy on April 12, 1975. He missed the opportunity but remained at the embassy with his mother, brother, sister and their families. After only five days, all of them were kicked out and they ended up in a forced labor camp.

"I knew my background put everyone, my family, in danger," Siv said, who had worked for an American organization, CARE. "My mother gave me her blessing," Siv said. He left his family to journey through Cambodia on a bicycle for three weeks before being captured by the Khmer Rouge. In order to avoid persecution and death because of his education and background, he convinced the Khmer Rouge that he was a former truck driver.

Siv is the only survivor out of the 16 family members. "Whenever I went to bed I never knew if I would be alive the next day," Siv said, adding his goal was to eventually travel to Thailand for refuge. On Feb. 13, 1976, Siv found a chance to escape. For three days he traveled through the jungles of Cambodia without food and drink avoiding patrols of the Khmer Rouge. After finally reaching Thailand, he was jailed for illegal entry and put into a refugee camp.

"I was exhausted, but I was full of hope," Siv said.

On June 4, 1976, Siv arrived in America with his refugee sponsor family in Connecticut. "I carry a $2 bill because that was the amount of money I had in my pocket when I arrived here," Siv said. In 1977 he moved to New York City and became a taxi driver, and eventually was awarded a scholarship to study at Columbia University. He became a U.S. citizen in 1982 and in 1988 he volunteered for George H.W. Bush's presidential campaign. Little did Siv know his work would take him much higher.Siv served as deputy assistant to Bush from 1989 to 1992, and served as the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. from 2001 to 2006. Peter Long, president of the Cambodian Coordinating Council, said it was important for Siv's story to be told.

"Students get to see where he is coming from. He almost died and he lost everything," Long said. "This is something that, as a community, inspires us to get out more and make a better place for everybody.""This is an amazing opportunity," said Diana Chea, president of the Cambodian Student Society of CSULB. "He came here for free in a high-time of the Cambodian New Year it's just a good time to get together and promote our culture."The Cambodian Coordinating Council has organized the New Year celebration in El Dorado Park every year since 2000, and will hold this year's celebration on April 19.