via Khmer NZ
By Bill Lohmann | TIMES-DISPATCH COLUMNIST
Published: August 11, 2010
You can only imagine the nightmares Sam Meas endured when he closed his eyes at night as a child in Cambodia.
Maybe he saw his father taken away, or maybe he relived being separated from his mother and siblings when invading soldiers overran their camp.
Maybe he smelled the stench of corpses he had to step around in Cambodia's killing fields, or maybe he felt the explosions of rockets and shells raining down on him.
Maybe he agonized over where his next meal would come from, who would take care of him, whether he would survive.
Meas was at an age when many kids in America have nothing more serious to worry about than the color of their lunchboxes. Then again, Meas didn't know exactly how old he was, birthdays and birth records being among the victims of war.
But Meas did indeed survive. He came to America -- Richmond, in fact -- as a teenager and found two families who loved him. He pushed himself to excel in school, a place he'd never been, in part by sleeping only four hours a night, and won a scholarship.
He bagged groceries for pocket money, bought an old orange Ford Pinto for transportation. He graduated from Virginia Tech and launched a successful career as a successful financial adviser. He became an American.
All of which is to say: You want experience in Congress? This guy will give you experience.
"I'm enjoying my American dream," Meas said by phone from Massachusetts, where he's running for the Republican nomination in the state's 5th Congressional District, aiming to become the first Cambodian-American in Congress.
Meas has a knack for pleasing people and making friends. It's how he survived alone in a refugee camp in Thailand after fleeing Cambodia.
He attached himself to one family after another, ingratiating himself by hauling water, babysitting, doing whatever chores needed doing. He befriended Thai officials and older Cambodians, shining boots and running errands, assuring him food to eat and a place to sleep. He was never abused, he said, and he learned a little English in the bargain.
"He was so self-directed," said Susan Morey, who brought Meas into her Richmond home as he was about to enter high school and adopted him. "He's always listening, watching. He wanted to learn."
Meas was one of four refugee children adopted by Morey, who volunteered at the time with Catholic Charities' refugee resettlement program and now works as an assistant professor of human resource management at the American University of Sharjah in United Arab Emirates. She's in Richmond for the summer.
He attended Albert Hill Middle School and Henrico High School, and he ultimately won a scholarship to Trinity Episcopal School, contributing not only his winning personality but a powerful dose of perspective. In Rob Short's human-biology class one day, a number of students were complaining about the stress of upcoming tests and papers they needed to write.
"Sam was a quiet kid," recalled Short, now assistant head of school at Trinity, "but he stood up in the middle of class amid this back-and-forth whining and he said, 'You don't know the meaning of stress.' I didn't have any trouble with that class the rest of the year."
Meas moved to New England after graduating from Virginia Tech in 1996 with a degree in finance. He's married with two young daughters.
He was always interested in American history and politics, but it wasn't until he went to vote in the 2008 election that he decided to become involved. He was pleased to witness the historic moment of Barack Obama being on the ballot for president, proving to him that America is "truly an open society where anybody can achieve anything."
But he was dismayed by the lack of competition in local elections where he found only Democrats running unopposed. Immigration reform is one of the cornerstones of his campaign.
"I know it's a most difficult thing to do, an uphill battle," he said of his congressional effort.
The Republican primary, in which Meas is running against three other candidates, is Sept. 14. The winner will face Democratic incumbent Niki Tsongas, widow of Sen. Paul Tsongas. No Republican has been elected to the seat since 1972, but at least 30,000 Cambodian-Americans live in the district.
Meas has a long road to Congress, but wouldn't it be something if he wound up there next January?
"It surely, surely would," Morey said.
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Contact Bill Lohmann at (804) 649-6639 or wlohmann@timesdispatch.com. Follow him at http://twitter.com/wlohmann .
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