AsiaLIFE

Many returning Khmers share one thing in common–they have all moved to a foreign culture, their own. Anvaya is a networking group that helps Khmers raised overseas but now working here to realise they are not alone. Words by Dorine Schreiner.

Cambodians have settled in foreign countries for various reasons over the years. Those who left before 1970 were often part of the elite. Well-educated they found asylum in France. Between 1970 and 1975 another group of educated people left Cambodia, mostly heading to the USA and Australia. After 1975, refugees fled to any country available to them. While some travelled with their Cambodian families, others were adopted as children and have now come to Cambodia to settle in a foreign culture.

Despite the different routes they took, many Cambodian returnees share one thing, a feeling of otherness upon returning to the country of their birth.

About once a month, members of the Anvaya network meet. Meaning family, ancestors and lineage, the word ‘Anvaya’ sums up what it stands for: a network of Khmers with a similar heritage, who were born or raised in a foreign country and have now returned, seeking a role in the future of Cambodia.

Feeling outsiders in the country they grew up in as well as in Cambodia, the organisation provides an opportunity to share their sense of belonging and bond with others in the same situation.

“Anvaya brings together people who might have not met otherwise,” says Soreasmey Ke Bin the organisation’s founder. “One of the goals is to exchange information between us.”

The number of members is increasing to about 150, most between thirty and forty years of age. The majority live in Phnom Penh, but some are from Siem Reap and Kep as well.

Each one has a personal story.

In April 1975, Julie Thai’s family left Phnom Penh and made it to France, where she was born. She heard many stories about the beauty of Cambodia, but the family was never able to go back. In 2002, when she was 23, she went on her first trip to the old kingdom.

Although she had never been to Cambodia and was raised in a different culture, she decided to settle in the country of her roots.

“The funny thing is that the family was pretty scared when I decided to settle here, and at the same time very proud,” she says. “Now, they all want to visit and once they have, they keep telling me I was the smartest one to come back here. One very touching, almost magical moment was to see my grandmother, who never went back to Phnom Penh, and my daughter speak Khmer together.”

For Julie, Anvaya provides an opportunity to meet people with Cambodian roots who have the same passion for Cambodia, even though they might have developed this feeling later on in life.

“Somehow, none of us feels like complete foreigners, but we’re not Cambodian either,” Julie explains. “All of us are trying to fit in between local Khmers and expats, but which group do we belong to?”

Chariya Preap sees Anvaya as a bridge that allows Khmers from abroad to seek support. Making the drastic transition from Boston to Phnom Penh was an emotional decision for her. The journey to find answers about her heritage was not a glorious one. She discovered family members who were victims of brutal executions, and one who was a Khmer Rouge officer.

“I struggled with the knowledge of this evil, but without him, my parents wouldn’t have made it out alive,” she says. “There are struggles we undergo as Cambodians who were fortunate enough to win a lottery ticket to leave the camps, but it’s not all luxury, the survivor’s guilt of leaving loved ones behind has entrapped me for as long as I can remember.”

It’s not just heritage, but being brought up between two cultures that can be confusing. Stephanie Seng grew up in France, but as a young adult she came to Cambodia each summer, before moving to Phnom Penh in 2006. Her sense of belonging is divided between her two cultures. “Through Anvaya I wanted to meet people who have this same feeling,” she explains. “I wanted to know how they were dealing with living in two different cultures.”

A convenient way to meet new people, share experiences and get to know each other better, Anvaya also serves as a good social and business network.

“The idea is to get all overseas Cambodians here to get together,” says Soreasmey Ke Bin. Once a little community is established, a more specific event will be organised, dedicated to people who are working in the same field or interested in the same subjects.”

To register with Anvaya, at least one grandparent has to be born in Cambodia, and you must have spent most of your life abroad before returning to Cambodia. For more information, visit: www.anvaya.info