EP 14 Veesna Roen becoming an American Citizen cover art

EP 14 Veesna Roen becoming an American Citizen

EP 14 Veesna Roen becoming an American Citizen

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Ingrid Centurion interviews Veesna Roen, first generation Cambodian, killing fields refugee. He shares his journey to become an American Citizen. An inspiring story from a refugee camp to entering the US Army to fighting for Cambodian Americans. Veesna's family survived the killing fields where collectively more than 1.3 million people were killed and buried by the Communist Party of Kampuchea during Khmer Rouge rule from 1975 to 1979, immediately after the end of the Cambodian War (1970–75). The mass killings were part of the broad, state-sponsored Cambodian genocide.

The Khmer Rouge regime arrested and eventually executed almost everyone suspected of connections with the former government or foreign governments, as well as professionals and intellectuals. Veesna shares where he was on September 11th, Fort Dix, NJ at a live fire Infantry training exercise. Veesna brought a radio walkman even after he was told not to. So the whole company listened on the radio that the Tower and Pentagon were hit. Then he deployed to the Balkans and volunteered to go to Afghanistan, as part of provincial reconstruction team in 2006. He almost did not become an American Citizen due to a fire fight in war. Hear straight from the combat veteran infantryman, Veesna Roen.

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