My father's father, Ledong, was elected Cheif of Kayan tribe. Although the stories are limited, it was reported that Ledong died via drowning in the Rejang River although he was known to be an excellent swimmer. The first two pictures show my father and his father together in the only document I have to chronicle Ledong's existence.

My father, Ajang Ledong (Ajang son of Ledong), shown in these photos during his time in the Malaysian army as well as captures of him hanging out and studying photography in college. Although he has many artistic interests including photography and music, Ajang earned various masters degrees in International Business and Management.

Enter Lerong Ajang (Lerong son of Ajang), who is the troublesome child shown on the last two photographs.

I remember being extremely angry and saddened with the news of my parents decision to leave Borneo. I didn't care where the plane landed, I simply wanted to remain at home, in the jungle or city of Borneo with my family. The flight took three days.
When I had left the school systems of Malaysia, at the age of five, I was already in the third grade, and, of course, somewhat bewildered to discover that, in America, I would have start all over again because children did not begin schooling until they turned five in the States.

The first decade, at least, in the United States of America are forever imprinted in my mind as a torturous and tumultuous flight through the icy layers of hell. My father, previously a manager in an oil and fertilizer company in Malaysia, despite his optimism to gain opportunities in "the land of the free," had to work at McDonald's because many businesses and corporations in '80s, particularly in southern Ohio and West Virginia, would not hire "his" type. Despite that, he shortly became the manager of that McDonald's through his persistence and hard work. Some of the photos chronicling his time there can be noted above.

In fact, a columnist wrote an article about my father detailing the irony of how such a well-educated and hard working employee had received negativity and bigotry in lite of his well-natured efforts. If I'm able to locate that article, which is surely hidden storage, I'll post it online.

Within a very short period of time, it became pretty clear that we weren't welcomed in America, and, at the time, I wanted to be elsewhere too.