Saravuth Inn inviting a player to a chess game in Union Square. (Photo by Aidan Gardiner)August 19 - 25, 2010
By Aidan Gardiner
The Villager (San Francisco, California, USA)
Volume 80, Number 12
Saravuth Inn crooked his hand over the board and let it hang for a moment. He slapped his knight down and as suddenly, snatched up the enemy pawn.
“I love chess,” he said. “To be able to be omnipotent. To be able to do many things in one shot. Freedom. Control. Flexibility.
“Chess allows you to do that when in life, you can’t,” he added.
Inn, 49 and Cambodian-born, is fighting his way out of legal limbo and into proper citizenship. He’s been making a living playing chess in Union Square for the past two years. After Christmas, he plans to finally visit the Department of Homeland Security to get a naturalization number, which will enable him to get a steady job. However, he fears officials may deport him to Cambodia instead.
“I will not accept that as an option,” said Inn, who was brought to the United States during Operation Babylift in 1975. “I’m an American. This is my home.”
Inn’s father taught him chess as a boy, before the Khmer Rouge killed his family when he was 13. He was living in an orphanage when American soldiers found him and took him to the U.S. A family in New Jersey adopted him, but then began abusing him. Inn played the tournament chess circuit throughout high school. He later attended Rutgers University between 1984 and 1987 and studied literature and classics.
“Ulysses is hilarious. Back then I didn’t think so. But now — oh God, I’m laughing!” he said, leaning back, grinning, with his eyes wide. “It’s the way he mastered everything and expressed it the way he does. It’s wonderful.”
Inn comes to Union Square every day and perches over his chess mat rolled out flat on a piece of plywood. Usually, he’s surrounded by a crowd. Some are his supporters who come to keep him company. Others are passersby looking to watch a quick game. Though his daily revenue varies, Inn’s supporters, mostly students, always come play and donate about $5 each. He said it’s enough to pay his modest rent.
Two years ago, border agents temporarily detained Inn during his return from Montreal. He had been making a living playing guitar on the street after his wife left him, citing their worsening financial situation. A bag containing all Inn’s most important belongings had been stolen from him sometime before, so he had no documentation proving his citizenship.
“I was captured by Calypso,” Inn said, referring to “The Odyssey” and Ulysses’s, a.k.a. Odysseus’s, journey. “Except I don’t have a dog to recognize me coming back.”
After some questioning, agents handed Inn a slip of paper, and let him in. He pocketed it, not knowing what it was for, and forgot about it.
A.J. Abucay, a documentarian making a film about Inn’s life, said that the paper allowed Inn’s re-entry on the condition that he turn himself over to Homeland Security at Newark Airport’s Terminal B by the following month.
“It was not until he allowed me to look through all the documentation he had in his possession that I discovered this piece of paper,” Abucay said. “It was already late 2008 or early 2009, way past the date he was supposed to appear.”
When Inn consulted Ana Pottratz, a pro-bono lawyer, she told him not to go because he might be deported back to Cambodia.
Inn said that he’s tired of scraping together a living and would like to go into teaching.
“I don’t want to continue this,” he said. “I want to have rights, to at least be able to work at McDonald’s.”
Inn seldom discusses life in Cambodia, but still remembers his family’s death. They were living in Phnom Penh, the capital, when Cambodian troops forced his family into a truck.
“They gathered us like we were going on vacation,” Inn said.
They drove for an hour to an area outside Oudong. When his family exited the truck, the troops shot each of them. Saravuth was the only person to survive.
Inn is covered in bullet holes, like pink fingerprints all over his body.
“I can’t even count them all anymore,” he said. Inn also has a piece of shrapnel lodged in his brain that causes him to suffer occasional seizures.
Brother Mike, a monk, found Inn wandering the streets and brought him to an orphanage.
“Unfortunately,” Inn said, “I’m the character of my own story.”
Inn leaned back in his chair, took a drag from his cigarette, and let the smoke dribble out of his mouth.
“Chess is a war game,” he said. “You’ve got to have that conniving and crushing instinct in you. I have a lot of anger and I express it in that.
“I use a defense when I’m playing as a black,” Inn added. “It’s very aggressive. It expresses a lot of emotion, a lot of anger. It’s called Sicilian Dragon. And I’m good at that in the game chess, but in life I need to slow down.”
Inn leaned forward and quickly pushed his rook forward two squares knocking over an enemy bishop. For him, the board is a playground, a space to move freely and dance with power, even while he’s caught in a bureaucratic maze.
“I used to be vicious,” Inn said. “Now, I just enjoy chess. Like with Ulysses, I was too academic. Now I look at it and I’m laughing.”
“I love chess,” he said. “To be able to be omnipotent. To be able to do many things in one shot. Freedom. Control. Flexibility.
“Chess allows you to do that when in life, you can’t,” he added.
Inn, 49 and Cambodian-born, is fighting his way out of legal limbo and into proper citizenship. He’s been making a living playing chess in Union Square for the past two years. After Christmas, he plans to finally visit the Department of Homeland Security to get a naturalization number, which will enable him to get a steady job. However, he fears officials may deport him to Cambodia instead.
“I will not accept that as an option,” said Inn, who was brought to the United States during Operation Babylift in 1975. “I’m an American. This is my home.”
Inn’s father taught him chess as a boy, before the Khmer Rouge killed his family when he was 13. He was living in an orphanage when American soldiers found him and took him to the U.S. A family in New Jersey adopted him, but then began abusing him. Inn played the tournament chess circuit throughout high school. He later attended Rutgers University between 1984 and 1987 and studied literature and classics.
“Ulysses is hilarious. Back then I didn’t think so. But now — oh God, I’m laughing!” he said, leaning back, grinning, with his eyes wide. “It’s the way he mastered everything and expressed it the way he does. It’s wonderful.”
Inn comes to Union Square every day and perches over his chess mat rolled out flat on a piece of plywood. Usually, he’s surrounded by a crowd. Some are his supporters who come to keep him company. Others are passersby looking to watch a quick game. Though his daily revenue varies, Inn’s supporters, mostly students, always come play and donate about $5 each. He said it’s enough to pay his modest rent.
Two years ago, border agents temporarily detained Inn during his return from Montreal. He had been making a living playing guitar on the street after his wife left him, citing their worsening financial situation. A bag containing all Inn’s most important belongings had been stolen from him sometime before, so he had no documentation proving his citizenship.
“I was captured by Calypso,” Inn said, referring to “The Odyssey” and Ulysses’s, a.k.a. Odysseus’s, journey. “Except I don’t have a dog to recognize me coming back.”
After some questioning, agents handed Inn a slip of paper, and let him in. He pocketed it, not knowing what it was for, and forgot about it.
A.J. Abucay, a documentarian making a film about Inn’s life, said that the paper allowed Inn’s re-entry on the condition that he turn himself over to Homeland Security at Newark Airport’s Terminal B by the following month.
“It was not until he allowed me to look through all the documentation he had in his possession that I discovered this piece of paper,” Abucay said. “It was already late 2008 or early 2009, way past the date he was supposed to appear.”
When Inn consulted Ana Pottratz, a pro-bono lawyer, she told him not to go because he might be deported back to Cambodia.
Inn said that he’s tired of scraping together a living and would like to go into teaching.
“I don’t want to continue this,” he said. “I want to have rights, to at least be able to work at McDonald’s.”
Inn seldom discusses life in Cambodia, but still remembers his family’s death. They were living in Phnom Penh, the capital, when Cambodian troops forced his family into a truck.
“They gathered us like we were going on vacation,” Inn said.
They drove for an hour to an area outside Oudong. When his family exited the truck, the troops shot each of them. Saravuth was the only person to survive.
Inn is covered in bullet holes, like pink fingerprints all over his body.
“I can’t even count them all anymore,” he said. Inn also has a piece of shrapnel lodged in his brain that causes him to suffer occasional seizures.
Brother Mike, a monk, found Inn wandering the streets and brought him to an orphanage.
“Unfortunately,” Inn said, “I’m the character of my own story.”
Inn leaned back in his chair, took a drag from his cigarette, and let the smoke dribble out of his mouth.
“Chess is a war game,” he said. “You’ve got to have that conniving and crushing instinct in you. I have a lot of anger and I express it in that.
“I use a defense when I’m playing as a black,” Inn added. “It’s very aggressive. It expresses a lot of emotion, a lot of anger. It’s called Sicilian Dragon. And I’m good at that in the game chess, but in life I need to slow down.”
Inn leaned forward and quickly pushed his rook forward two squares knocking over an enemy bishop. For him, the board is a playground, a space to move freely and dance with power, even while he’s caught in a bureaucratic maze.
“I used to be vicious,” Inn said. “Now, I just enjoy chess. Like with Ulysses, I was too academic. Now I look at it and I’m laughing.”
16 comments:
That is a funny story!!!!! the guy is a fool or the writer is?
If you are a naturalize citizen is easier to track down your record!
Amd if he is mary they can tract down by his marry licent!
Toscghoolthey can tract down his social security # and from that every thing OK!
I event lost pasport in foreigne countries and they give me a passport in one day!
It is a computer age FOOL!!!!
How can they prove he was a Cambodian????????with no fucking paper!????? No fucking record in Cambodia if the fucking American can not track down his 10 finger prints!
IS an CIA try to sneek into Cambodia???
Why don't you go back to Cambodia ?
You would be more useful there,
in USA you're a piece of shit, useless, just a trouble for every body.
Go to Cambodia,
find a Cambodian woman,
teach English to Cambodian children and
your life would be a lot better than today.
Hey! he can play chess with Hun Xen!
You're too stupid why your wife leaves you.
Your children ?
If you don't have child,
you have no reason to live in USA,
go home and start another life..
Hey! the guy just want to play chess in New York!!!!!
Wow!!! American citizens! hold tight on your doccuments !!! OK! if you don't end upon the street and send to the moon!
I better satay in Smer we need no papers! Do ma may ah Ho Chi Mind!
After Christmas, he plans to finally visit the Department of Homeland Security to get a naturalization number, which will enable him to get a steady job. However, he fears officials may deport him to Cambodia instead. "
WOW! Ithought they ask for SOCIAL SECURITY # TO get a job in USA!
What kind of aticle is this! all information are wrong, KI!????
Is he David Mam?????????
Don't want to judge or kick my Cambodian brother while he's down, but his story doesn't add up... But hey, if he's making ends meet playing chess, power to him!
This story is a fake. No social security number or nothing, and he even attended college. Oh brother. what a fake stupid story.
people get on fire and lost document all the time in USA! do they all were deported to the moon?
This country has laws and when you ask for copy of document they have to give you in less than two week or a month ! If you can prove that you would die or in emergency need they will provide you in a day with reasonable cause by law!
Hello everyone. I was the pro bono attorney named in the article in question who met Mr. Inn. While I cannot discuss the specifics of Mr. Inn's case per attorney client privilege, I do not appreciate the over-simplified discussion of the advice I gave to Mr. Inn where it appeared as though I may have advised Mr. Inn to do something illegal, i.e. not report to DHS when he was required to do so. Such statements are damaging to my professional reputation, and you should not have used my name in connection with this story without asking my permission or asking for more details about my meetings with Mr. Inn. For this reason, I ask that my name be removed from this article.
"Under Operation Babylift a total of 19 Cambodian orphans were nine years of age or older, and are the subject of ongoing Immigration and Naturalization legal problems." http://www.forensicgenealogy.info/images/babies_report.pdf
Read and share the legend of Saravuth!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1654203882
This story is not fake. I met Saravuth when he was 15 yrs old in NJ after sharing the gospel with him on the boardwalk of Seaside Hts. I had him to my home for dinner with my husband several times. He was a remarkable young man and his story about his life in Cambodia is true. I knew he would never be able to drive because of the bullet that had to be left in his brain. He did go to Rutgers.
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