Chhun Vanna

Chhun Vanna ឈុន វណ្ណា Was A Golden-Age Cambodian Singer. She Was Born In Kampuchea Krom But When She Was A Child She And Her Mother Escaped The Control Of Vietnam Over Kampuchea Krom To Live In Phnom Penh. Her Mother Was An Ancient Lakhorn Performer. Chhun Vanna's Mother Did Not Allow Her To Learn To Read Or Write In The Khmer Language As A Way To Prevent Her From Writing Or Receiving Any Love Letters. After Her Mother Died Chhun Vanna Lived With Her Uncle Meas Chorn Who Was A Famous Boxing Arbiter In Phnom Penh. Chhun Vanna Started Singing Since She Was Ten Years Old. Being So Interested In Singing She Started Singing For Ministry Of Broadcasting Krosuong Khousana Kar For A Monthly Salary Though She Hid This Fact From Her Uncle . Chhun Vanna Was Married To Chin Sakhorn And Had 8 Children. During The Lon Nol Regime Khmer Republic She Attended The You Thea Phirum 2 Group Army Singing Group . Her Singing Career Continued Until The Fall Of Phnom Penh On April 17 1975. Chhun Vanna Was Separated From Her Husband While He And Sinn Sisamouth Were Called By The King To Sing For Him. Living In Kbal Thnol Area She Was Evacuated From Phnom Penh To Svay Rieng Province With Her Eight Children. To Live In Pol Pot Regime She Hid Her Background To Live As A Simple Citizen And Told Khmer Rouge Officers That She Was A Street Greengrocer. However The Khmer Rouge Already Suspected Who She Was And Tortured Her To Try To Make Her Confess About Her Identity. After Three Months Without A Confession She Was Released. In This Regime She Lost Her Husband And Five Of Her Children Because To Hunger. In 1979 She Was Advised By Her Adopted Younger Sibling To Flee The Country With Her Son And 2 Daughters To The Cambodia-Thailand Border. There They Lived In Khao I Dang Camp For Over A Year Getting Supports From The United Nations. Because She Could Not Read Or Write Singing Was The Only Way To Earn A Living. The Cambodian Citizens In Khao I Dang Also Helped Her. Chhun Vanna Changed Her Name To Vanna Sen. Her Son's Name Is Sen Sithon And Her Daughters Are Sen Sitha And Sen Theary. In 1981 A Man Named Mr. Kang Guaranteed To Take Her To The United States With The Intent To Marry Her But She Refused Since She Was Already Old And Thought Of Him More As Brother. She Came To Seattle Washington As A Refugee With Her 3 Children But She Was Miserable Due To The Cold Weather And Her English Illiteracy. She And Her Children Had Never Experienced Weather Like This In Cambodia And She Did Not Know How To Turn On The Heater In The House Until Khmer Neighbors Came Over To Her House To Help. Since She Could Not Adapt To The Cold Weather In Seattle Her Family Moved To Stockton California. After Escaping The Cold Her Trouble Learning English Still Lead To Some Minor Embarrassments And Hardships. After Bumping Into Someon On The Bus She Wanted To Say "sorry" But She Forgot The Words And Said "Kiss Me" Which Made People Look At Her Like She Was Crazy. Also When The Church Came To Provide Housewares To Her Family She Said "Yes" For All Help Except For The Provision Of A Bed Which She Mistook For Something Else And Said "No". The Church Took Back The Bed So Chhun Vanna Tried To Stop Them While Her Neighbor Tried To Explain To Her "You Said "No" So They Took It Back". Therefore Her Family Lived There Without Bed For Nearly 1 Year. After That Her Friend Narin Took Her Children To School. Still Having A Passion For Singing Chhun Vanna Rode A Bus From Stockton To Oregon To Sing A Song At IN Tyly's Place Since He Had His Own Studio Where She Became The First Khmer Singer To Record Some Of The Old And New Songs Again In Early 1980's In The United States. She Remained In Touch With Some Of Her Colleagues Alive After The Pol Pot Regime Including Chhuon Malai Seang Dy And So Savoeun. Chhun Vanna Continued To Sing To Entertain People In Stockton. Unfortunately Her Health Was Not As Good As Before Since She Got Stomach Aches Diabetes And Hypertension. She Passed Away At 6 00 Pm Thursday January 17 2019 Aged 80 Years Of Age In Stockton California. read less