A Minnesotan nurse saved my refugee family's life. Four decades on, we watched the news together in horror | Rathana Chea

"Four decades ago, my parents were Cambodian refugees. As high school students, they were thrown into one of the darkest chapters of humanity's history, surviving nearly five years in forced labour camps under the Khmer Rouge genocide. An estimated 2.7 million of my kin perished during that time. Fortunately for my family, they were accepted under Australia's humanitarian program and arrived in Australia on 26 January, a date heavy with complexity for Australian identity, and our refugee story became another layer within it."

"Our journey began when my mother discovered she was pregnant. Together with my father, they decided to flee on foot through landmine-ridden jungle toward the Thai-Cambodian border, carrying nothing but their lives and the hope that their unborn child might escape the suffering they had endured. It was there I was born. In a refugee camp shaped by loss, fear and uncertainty."

"Volunteers from around the world stepped into the chaos where states, borders and institutions had failed. Among them were nurses from the US who gave their time, skill and care in conditions few would willingly choose. One nurse, in particular, took my parents under her wing. She helped them navigate medical checks, paperwork, survival and dignity. She cared for them, and for me, as if we were her own family. She was from Minneapolis, Minnesota."

Parents survived nearly five years in Khmer Rouge forced labour camps during a genocide that killed about 2.7 million people. They fled on foot through landmine-littered jungle toward the Thai-Cambodian border after learning their mother was pregnant, and the child was born in a refugee camp marked by loss, fear and uncertainty. Acceptance into Australia’s humanitarian program led to resettlement on 26 January. Volunteers, especially nurses from the United States, provided medical care, paperwork assistance and emotional support where states and institutions had failed. One Minnesotan nurse became like family. Decades later, another Minnesotan nurse, Alex Pretti, died while aiding migrants.

Read at www.theguardian.com