circus people - written summer 1998

I went to the 17th birthday party of one of the teenagers working with Make*A*Circus. This guy that is kinda dangerous to work around because he has a bad leg and arm. He often drops things, so you have to watch where he's going with things and stay clear of him, and if you work with him, you have to be sure that anything he's carrying with you is something you can safely handle on your own if necessary, because he may drop his end.

I wondered what his story was, as he is Cambodian and was adopted here. Turns out Samnang's arm and leg were broken by his father. His father had been in the killing fields - which may explain the father's violence. The breaks were never set - unfortunately, he now is a bad arm and leg, although they have improved. Samnang begged on the streets from age 10 through 13. He is very handsome, and was able to do well enough begging to help support a bunch of other beggars who had lost limbs from land mines and the like - these folks weren't as cute, so they didn't do as well begging. Unfortunately, Samnang became sick - had pneumonia. He had been left in the "dying room" of some Cambodian hospital - where they don't feed folks, and let them just die. Somebody found out about him, and alerted an adoption agency. A woman was writing up Samnang for adoption placement. She went home, thought - "I'm going to adopt him" and did. Samnang was apparently more or less smuggled into the US - his passport was sketchy, and apparently INS is not eager to admit street kids with serious health problems. However, his stepmom is very resourceful, and Samnang is now a US citizen. Samnang's stepmom is a very dynamic New York Jewish type, and his stepdad is an older Englishman - used to work on ships as an electrician, and is now a contractor. The stepparents have had over 10 foster kids. Samnang had little or no experience with electricity before coming to the US. Now he is a DJ - admittedly one who has a long way to go in understanding what he's doing - he was busy trying to shove a grounded plug into a two-prong receptacle at a recent party - but I was glad to learn what he came from, and what a sweet kid he can be.

I really am glad I have a chance to meet kids like him, and hear their stories.

 

e-mail: kurt@ribak.com

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