Reporting

Photographer Omar Robles and I witnessed many emotions during our recent trip to Beardstown in central Illinois. However, an emotion seemed to underpin many of the interactions we had with the residents there: fear.

<p>When Redskins tight end Chris Cooley swung by Orr Elementary School in Anacostia last Thursday, he explained to the 100 kids circled around him that he'd already exercised that day. "So hopefully I can keep up with you," he said. Fat chance of that.</p>

<p><span>As Cambodian-Americans and children of refugees, Sin and Em carry a difficult legacy. Thei</span><span>r families display many classic symptoms of PTSD. <br /></span></p>

<p>Nearly 40 years later, Cambodian refugees who can bear telling their stories recall atrocities in vivid detail, with an immediacy that is palpable.</p>

<div><div>Day or night Sam Keo would be visited by his late mother and dead baby brother.&nbsp;Problem is, it was more than 15 years since Keo's brother had died at the age of 3 from malnutrition and eight years since his mom had died of ovarian cancer.&nbsp;</div></div>

<p><span>For many refugees of the Cambodian genocide, the horrors didn't end when the shooting stopped. Nor did they end when the immigrants came to the United States in search of new lives.</span></p>

<p><span>Sath Om is the lone survivor. But each night she says they come to her: the spirits of her family asking for her help asking for justice.</span></p>

<p>Arun Va was a young man at the time and recruited by a Khmer Rouge cadre leader to accompany him and four women to travel to the lake. Today he almost shudders when he realized how narrowly he escaped becoming a killer.</p>

<p>We may have plenty of clean water for our own needs, but if anything that has only spurred more interest in helping the rest of the world.</p>