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| Buddhism in Action |
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| "My Second Home" |
| By Tieng Kha, France |
My childhood was golden. I lived in a huge house in Phnom Penh surrounded by my extended family. When war broke out in Cambodia in 1970, I was 10 years old.
In the face of the rising danger, my parents decided to send two of us to France, where my uncle and great-aunt lived. My older sister and one of my brothers were chosen to go. Just before their departure, it was decided that I would be sent instead of my sister, as her health was too fragile.
One month after our arrival in France, in 1975, the Khmer Rouge seized power in Cambodia. The country descended into horror and remained completely cut off from the outside world for several years. This was a terrible shock for us, as that first separation from our parents became interminable.
For a year we lived in Paris with my uncle. Studying French at night classes, we tried to survive by doing odd jobs, but this was illegal because of our age.
A French-Cambodian association placed my brother in a family where he could continue his studies. As for me, after three years of studies and apprenticeship in the electrical field, I won my professional diploma and the chance of work. But my uncle felt that I had the capacity to study further, and thanks to his encouragement I continued.
On my daily commute I noticed a smiling young Asian woman. I discovered that she was a Cambodian expatriate like me, and that she practiced Nichiren Buddhism. She invited me to an SGI meeting where I was surprised to see Europeans talking about Buddhism. Afterwards I felt full of joy and hope, as if I had been freed from a weight which had been pressing on me since the separation from my parents.
News at Last
My new friend told me one day that she had received news from her family in Cambodia and that they were all still alive. She encouraged me to chant in order to find my family. In February 1980, five months after starting to practice, I received a letter from my mother with news that she and my other brothers and sisters were refugees in a camp in Thailand. This was an unbelievable joy, but I also learned that my father was missing and that my sister who should have come to France had died, as had my youngest brother.
I continued to practice Buddhism, and in spite of many difficulties, many "impossible" dreams came true --my family was finally able to join me in France, and we found an apartment together. I found work with a TV production company and meanwhile continued to study up to master's degree level. I now work as an audiovisual engineer overseeing the recording of political debates at the French National Assembly.
But these are not miracles--rather, through my practice I have gained energy, courage and the perseverance needed to overcome all the difficulties I faced.
I always looked for a way to assist my country. I visited Cambodia in 1997 and met a Cambodian friend recently returned from France who had set up a center for orphans. He was teaching them the old tradition of shadow puppets. On my return to France, I decided to do something to help them.
In 2000, we arranged a tour of the children's shadow puppet show in France. The public, French and Cambodian, were enraptured, and another tour will take place this year.
In 2002, an SGI center opened in Phnom Penh. I was able to join the opening, see the SGI "World Boys and Girls Art Exhibition" held in partnership with UNESCO, and help welcome the 4,000 Cambodian children who came to create their own paintings. I feel my life blossoms every time I do something for Cambodian children.
I feel very proud today that I have experienced being an immigrant to France. I have learned so much about European culture and chosen the best aspects to complement my own Asian background. I have created my own personality without being dominated by one culture or the other, and I feel that I am genuinely a citizen of the world.
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| [ Courtesy October 2003 SGI Quarterly ] |
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