Just Go Places Magazine Cambodia Cambodia | Page 10

Flight

A Cambodian-American’s Story

impending American bombing. We were told
We were a middle-class family
to flee further and further from the city
in the provincial city of Battambang. My
Eventually my family stopped at a village
father was an investigator with the local
north of Battambang. Pretty shortly, just like
police. My parents had 5 children (4 sons,
everyone else, we ran out of food and water.
1 daughter) and I was the youngest. That
We tried to buy food but there was nothing to
fateful summer, my oldest brother was at
buy. Money was worthless even if you had it. 
university in the capital, Phnom Penh, another
I remember rich people setting themselves
brother was at a local college and my third
and their money on fire in desperation and
brother was visiting relatives. My sister and
hunger. At least though, they got to pick their
I were at home for the school holidays.
time and method of dying.
Although our country was in crisis, our city
My mother and I went back to our home in
remained unaffected until 1975. When the
Battambang to get our dog during this
soldiers came to our door, they told us to
time. We found our dog had been killed and
leave immediately. My parents, my sister and
our house burned to the ground. Formerly
I left with the clothes on our back, some food
full of life and noise, the entire city had
for a couple of days and some money. We
become a ghost town and the silence was
were not allowed to get our brother at college
eerie. There was nothing left for us in
even though he was only a mile away. We left
Battambang so we returned to the village
our dog behind at our house as well. I would
where we had sought shelter.
find out later that my brother had returned to
our house from college to find everyone had
left. He fled with everyone else too. We didn’t
The Khmer Rouge came
see him or my brother who had been on
for me one night. We knew it was going to
vacation for another couple of years. 
happen because every family was eventually
We never saw our oldest brother again. 
separated. The Khmer Rouge believed that
In all likelihood, he was killed because he
the parents were tainted by Western influence
was very light-skinned (a mark of a nonand removing the children made them easier
farmer) and also attending university. The
to indoctrinate into communists. Of course,
Khmer Rouge eradicated the educated and
people are also easier to control when they
the non-farmers without mercy. When the
are isolated from their family and friends. 
soldiers arrived in our city, they asked the
Still, I was terrified when I was bundled into
teachers, lawyers, police and anyone with
the back of a buffalo cart. The night transfer
an education to make themselves known so
made it too dark to see where I was going or
that they could receive their reward. Many
which way I was being taken.
people came forward but the reward turned
I was taken to a work camp with children
out to be death.
around my age. In the beginning, we slept
Luckily my father did not believe anything
outside in the cold and the rain. Eventually,
the soldiers said. He knew he had to hide the
after they built huts, the children were
fact that he was fluent in 6 languages
packed onto the floor like sardines, toe to
(Cambodian, Chinese,
toe, shoulder to shoulder.
English, French, Thai and
I learn quickly which proved a
Vietnamese) and was a
blessing. The children were put
career policeman. 
to work digging canals to make
He told us to pretend that
rice fields and planting rice in
we could not read or write. 
Khmer Rouge mot to
these fields.  I learned to plant
(referring to the educated and cit y dwellers)
In the summers, we had
rice which is something I
usually gone to our aunt’s
hadn’t done before. You need
house to help her with her
to learn quickly how to do it
farm. My father told us to remember all the
efficiently or you will stand out as a child of
details of our summers so that we could pass
non-farmers. Death would be certain if they
ourselves off as the children of farmers.
thought you were a city kid. The leaders
The exodus from Battambang was a throng
were standing around watching the children
of panic-filled people. The streets were
work and looking to weed out the children of
packed with cars stuck in traffic and people,
the enemy.
all fleeing the horror of the supposed
continued on page 12

SURVIVAL

b y S ovo n g Vo e u k

I was 9 when my childhood ended. In the summer of 1975, Khmer Rouge
soldiers came to the door of my parent’s house and forced them to evacuate.
We were told the Americans were going to bomb our city and we needed to
flee. To emphasise their commands (as if the guns weren’t enough), leaflets
were dropped on our streets from helicopters warning of the threat of American
bombs. We were told we could return to our home in 3 days. They lied.

ph o to : s avo n g vo eu k

10

ph o to : h tt ps :/ /fl ic .k r/p /6 cNBtc

“To keep you is no benefit.
To destroy you is no loss.”

11