Recording
Roeun Chea oral history interview
The Roeun Chea oral history interview is a 2018 video interview with a Springfield teacher who survived the Khmer Rouge years and resettled in western Massachusetts.[1] It was recorded on December 19, 2018, for the Asian Americans in Western Mass. Oral History Collection at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.[1]
About the recording
Roeun Chea was born in Cambodia. Under the Khmer Rouge he was forced into a concentration camp, where he remained for three years. He then spent another three years in a refugee camp in Thailand before resettling with a foster family in western Massachusetts, about 30 years before 2019.[1][2] He speaks of his continuing struggle with his traumas and with his Cambodian identity.[1]
At the time of the interview, Chea was 50 years old and taught art and mathematics intervention at Springfield Public School.[1] He hoped that sharing his experience would help Cambodian and non-Cambodian viewers understand the importance of community and of accepting oneself.[3]
The collection
Chea shared his story with Professor Richard T. Chu's History 253H class, an Asian-Pacific American history course that records oral histories in Springfield and Amherst.[3][2] His interview was presented at the course's closing event at the UMass Center in Springfield on December 8, 2018.[2] The project is co-sponsored by the Asian American Commission of Massachusetts.[1]
The project works with several Asian American communities in Springfield and the Pioneer Valley, among them the Cambodian American community of Amherst. Its organizers see oral history as a way for communities little known to the majority to make their experiences heard. They also hope to keep younger generations from losing their ties to their Asian or ethnic identities, which can happen when the voices of older generations are not kept.[2] The interviews are meant to support public research, a wider understanding of Asian American lives in the Pioneer Valley, and a fuller local history of Springfield and the surrounding region.[2]
Credits
Roeun Chea is the narrator. Lily Tang, Richmond Amoako, Noelle McManus, Mae Humphreville and Christine Yao are the interviewers. The recording is a film or video in English, running 33 minutes and 33 seconds.[1]
Access
- Recording: Credo, UMass Amherst Libraries
- Digital Commonwealth item record
- Requests to publish, redistribute or copy the material are handled by Special Collections and University Archives at the University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries.[3][1]