Carrying Wounds Of Genocide

Rortanak grew up in a very abusive home, where dad was drunk most of the time and would always threaten his mom’s life. At times, he remembered that when his dad couldn’t find a knife, he would just beat his mom. All of the siblings felt helpless, and all they could do was cry and plead for their dad to stop beating their mom. This created anger towards their dad, but Rortanak started to understand that due to the Khmer Rouge takeover of Cambodia back in 1975-1979, his father had a lot of trauma, and there was just too much shame to share one’s fears or hurts with professional help.

One time, Rortanak almost had to confront his dad with physical blows after he heard one of his younger sisters come out of the apartment with a scream. Rortanak looked at his dad face to face, and he was ready to protect his mother at all costs but he was relieved when his father walked away. This has been his family’s life since he could remember.

gang-life in southeast Fresno

Growing up in Southeast Fresno, in the middle of rival gangs, it was not hard to be a victim of happenstance. In middle school, he also found out that one of his cousins from Massachusetts was stabbed and killed by his girlfriend. Then, a week later, one of his good friend’s older brothers got shot and killed due to gang violence. As a sophomore at Sunnyside High School, Rortanak and a group of friends fought another group, and due to the opposing group having a knife on them, Rortanak, along with his low grades, was expelled permanently from Sunnyside High School.

FINDING HOPE NOW

He was introduced to Hope Now because he didn’t want to end up dead like one of his friends who died because of an overdose or from the gang violence that was all around him.

So, he made his way to Hope Now in 2014 after a stint in Santa Clara County Jail for growing marijuana. He got eight years of informal probation and recently completed probation in 2021. Despite all of this, Rortanak proved to Hope Now that he is ready to join the team. His focus for the next year is to bring guys off the streets with a chance to change their lives through a job and caring relationships.

Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Your rod and staff comfort me.

Psalm 23

Throughout this whole time, Rortanak has taken Psalm 23 to heart. With the same hope given to Rortanak, he is now charged with showering the streets of Fresno with the Hope Now flyer.