103-year-old Khmer Rouge survivor earns her stars and stripes
Hong Inh came to the United States when she was about 97 to join a daughter and other relatives.
A 103-year-old Cambodian woman who survived starvation, suffering and war in her native land has become a US citizen.
Beaming and waving a tiny American flag, Hong Inh was the oldest of more than 10,000 people who took the oath of allegiance at the Convention Centre in Los Angeles.
She came to the United States when she was about 97 to join a daughter and other relatives and three generations of her family, from her 80-year-old daughter Hieng Meng to 13-year-old great-granddaughter Melissa Tea, were on hand for the ceremony.
Relatives helped Hong Inh up from a wheelchair and she stood with a flag in her raised hand to receive the oath.
Her grandson spoke the words but she joined in the roar of applause at its conclusion.
“She says she’s so excited and happy,” said granddaughter Siv Taing, 40, of Orange.
Later, Hong Inh stood again, with her hand over her heart, for the Pledge of Allegiance and a singer’s rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner.
Hong Inh, who has 30 grandchildren and great-grandchildren living in the US and Cambodia, survived years of war and violence under the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime of the 1970s.
“During that time she was so suffering. They didn’t have anything to eat,” her granddaughter said.
She always wanted to come to America and it was “just a dream because she wished to live in a peaceful country”, said grandson, Kim Ngoun Taing, 36.
Relatives were able to bring her to the US five and a half years ago. She had to be a legal permanent resident for at least five years to apply for citizenship.
“Our family is so proud and amazed. It’s so unbelievable that my great-grandma achieved one of her dreams,” Melissa Tea said. “She really likes it. She likes how she can do a lot of things freely. She can watch Chinese dramas by herself.'”
Hong Inh was presented with her naturalisation certificate by Donna Campagnolo, director of the Los Angeles district office of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services.
“She’s just an absolute joy,” Mr Campagnolo said. “I think the glow and the smile on her face are just inspirational, really.”
Hong Inh is not the oldest person to become a US citizen. Manik Bokchalian, a Turkish immigrant who lived in Los Angeles, was 117 when she took the oath in 1997.
