A Khmer Rouge survivor speaks out

I was that child too. I was playing outside on the street while thousand of people flocking the street with guns, bombing and noise and people are running for theirs lives.  I remembered so well that I can't never forget the horrific times of my life.  I am in my late 30 and yet still so much pain for me to forget and move on with my life.  I couldn't understand why it happen to my country. Why we are forced out of our home, our families are separated.  We done nothing wrong and yet we were forced to leave our home, our jobs, school and our families are scattered everywhere.  Within 4 years times, over 2 millions were executed, starve to death, malnutrition, died of sickness but worst of all innocent people were executed specially if they are educated.  I realized all this horrible things happen the American were not inform or they were watching us suffered?  In the back of mind I still have that question after 20 something years later.. I prayed everyday that I will never have to face what I had face 32 years ago. I still have night mare because I witness people being executed in front of me, I still have nightmares because a mother carried her death son walked across me, a Monk who got shot in front of me. I tried to move on but it is so difficult, many of my people tell me they are the only survivor out of 100 members.  I am crying in pain sometimes because of the lost of my grandma.  Only God heard my sadness and my cries. 

Sovath Nhar works for the Socio-Economic Development Center for Southeast Asians in Providence, RI. She is a survivor of the Khmer Rouge

Comments

[Sophear]

Dear Ms. Ung,

Thank you so much for your inspirational books. I love both books dearly. I learned a lot about family love through “Lucky Child” and I am so much more aware of how lucky we are to be in America. I love the personal details in your book. I really enjoyed how description it is. I also want to thanks you for your first book. I never knew that the Killing Fields was about ethnic cleansing. I always thought it was about class. You pointed it out so now I have learned so much about my own history and country. You are so amazing. You manage to hide your origin of being Chinese-Cambodian during that era. It is enlightening to know that you did not fear for your life because your father was a High Ranking Official in the Lon Nol army and they may want to kill your family because of it. Instead you tell us that because you are Chinese-Cambodian, you were afraid for your life. Ethnic cleansing is such a horrible thing. Thank you so much for making us aware of it. I also did not know that the words Pok and Mae is derogatory. I just thought that the people from the countryside use it and people from the city like us use the words Mak and Pa. Now that I know I will be sure to educate my children not to use such derogatory words. Thank you so much for all your education. You truly are an inspiration. I have met some people who claimed that the words Pok and Mae are not derogatory and that they are merely terms used by farmers, but I know they are ignorant. You are the inspirational writer so I believe you instead. Thank you, again.