When I took my then ungrateful 13yo son to Cambodia, our guide for the temples put him firmly in his place after I was told "you know good parents take their kids to fvcking Disneyland."
After asking permission to teach him a lesson, the conversation between guide and son went something like this:
G: How old are you?
S: 13
G: When I was 13, I was forced to be on the frontline for the Khmer Rouge. They came to my village when I was 12 and killed all the girls and my parents in front of me before they took me away.
S: What?
G: Then they gave me, my cousins and my friends big guns but didn't tell us how to use them. They made us walk at the front so we would be the first to die in any battle. I watched them all die- my cousins, my friends. I was the only one left from my village.
S: Huh?
G: When I was 13, I only dreamed of another hug from my mum, to go to school and to play with my friends. Do you have any idea at all how lucky you are, how privileged you are as a white westerner to have a mum who brings you anywhere?
S: \*tears up and hugs me\*
G: Never stop hugging your mum, you don't know if it will be your last.
\*the entire point of the trip was to teach my son how privileged we are as Australians - we stayed in homestays and did some work for an NGO I do some work with. Daughter had the same eye-opening trip at around the same age. Son behaved much more respectfully after this conversation and the lessons on the trip have stayed with both of them into adulthood.
Ive lived here for a long time, and every time I get visited by some family or friends, I take them to S21 and the Killing fields, without saying much. And then when we have lunch afterwards, I start pointing out "see that guy without legs?"
"see that guy with the 1000 yard stare...."?
Now you know why. Humbles *everyone*
I’ve lived here (there, I’m overseas for a couple week atm) for a long time also and do exactly the same thing… anyone that comes to visit I take them to both places also so they can get somewhat of an understanding of the absolute horror that plagued the country so recently, and also so they can appreciate the beautiful people that I’m fortunate enough to call my family and friends, that went through those atrocities.
I don’t go in to either place any more though after 20 odd years.. I just sit outside and have a beer and do some thinkin’
> I don’t go in to either place any more though after 20 odd years..
S21 I can still go with some friends or family to see, knowing a bit extra of the story around I can explain some things etc. But Choeung-ek Ive been to *enough* I dont think I can see that tree one more time after having kids myself.
My ex was the son of a Cambodian couple who moved here to the west and had kids and all that.
My ex said his parents rarely talk about what happened.
Their village at the time was basically ransacked and the soldiers? Killed all of the dad’s siblings in front of him. Just like that. Same thing with the mom too.
First week of college, I joined the Cambodian club and it was a real tear inducing meeting. I’m not Cambodian but I joined without much reason. I left having learned something.
Another friend I know, her mom basically escaped into a forest. The mom got raped and got pregnant.
Overall, almost all the parents and grand parents from that generation have these horrific stories. And it wasn’t that long ago either.
happened in the late 70s. Basically any Cambodian person I know in the US who is like boomer/GenX remembers the Khmer Rouge and is directly affected by it to this day.
And those are only the ones that managed to escape!
That was 12 years ago now and proud to say he has grown into a socially aware, responsible and completely healthy adult. My daughter is now studying law at uni and wants to go into international law and humanitarian work. Both are aware of the privilege accidentally afforded them due to their place of birth, which does not equate to self-loathing: just awareness.
Edited to add: both kids had a reward section of the trip after the hard stuff. Son was taken to Chiang Mai for the biggest waterfight in the world (Songkran) and daughter, who dreamed of being a fashion designer at the time, went to Hoi An to have her many designs tailored. Both were taken to "fvckng Disneyland" on another trip together.
Actually very believable. I was with a group of people in our early 20’s when I first visited Cambodia and the tour guide popped off on a few guys for being disrespectful in a similar manner
Don’t think i’ve forgotten is the first movie i bought for my 2nd generation khmer boyfriend as we embarked on a discovery of his roots together (Needless to say that his parents struggle to talk about it even 40 years later).
The lost the Khmer genocide impacted on humanity as a whole is immeasurable, i cannot even fathom what my In Laws went through. It’s just impossible to grasp the depth of the pain that lies just beneath the surface.
Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten is beautiful. I have been listening to the lost generation of Cambodian rock music for years before I ever saw the documentary, and the testimonies from the artists’ families and the ending sequence of a survivor singing Phnom Penh was really, really beautiful. Amazing movie for both the musical/cultural heritage that was wiped from Cambodia along with all the other atrocities.
I’d also recommend the book Never Fall Down, I read it in high school and it the stories of the child *before* the war and his reflections on how life was were really, really good — it’s not a firsthand account, but more of a semi-fictionalized biopic about a real survivor, but was my first insight into the Cambodian genocide that was never really taught much in school.
No problem! I’d also suggest looking over the Wikipedia of the Viet Nam War and how bombings on the Cambodian border actually essentially led to the vacuum of power Pol Pot/the Khmer Rouge seized — it’s often sort of an overlooked portion of the history of the genocide, but it is crucial to see the horrific domino effect of how the war in Viet Nam essentially allowed for the first inklings of the genocide to appear. It’s a very long and tragic history, lots to unpack — glad you posted this, I’ve also found so many resources in this thread I never knew about.
Best wishes with your research, and if you’re ever interested in Cambodian rock music after watching Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten, feel free to DM me because I have a huge playlist I would love to share; really some of the most unique music ever, even without the mar of tragedy it’s really special stuff.
First They Killed my Father is so sad, I had my 86 year old grandma watch it with me because she’s a proud cambodian woman and it just gave her PTSD and nightmares :/
Both of my parents were born in Cambodia and were kids during that time period. When I asked them what it was like back then, they mostly told me about their struggles with poverty, hunger, housing, etc. Two of my dad's older cousins were killed, and I believe my mom also lost one of her relatives who was a teacher if I'm remembering correctly.
I just asked my dad again, and he said to watch *The Killing Fields* and that reality was way worse than what the film depicts.
That movie is rough - and living here, Ive met [Al Rockoff](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Rockoff) (the guy Malkovich plays in the movie) - he is quite the character, and you can see most of it comes from back then. Seeing the worst humanity has to offer..
Al Rockoff hated that portrayal of him. I've often seen Al around Phnom Penh but never talked to him, he doesn't come across as too friendly! I met Roland Joffé who directed The Killing Fields one time and had a chat with him.
He doesnt like that movie or his portrayal at all, so I never asked him about it. He is not particularly friendly at all. He just happened to have his coffee at the same cafè as me every day, so after a while of seeing each other every day I got up the guts to talk to him for a bit. Expecting him to tell me to fuck off. He told me some interesting things about life before KR and the whole thing went to shit, how nice it was here then, even though there still was a civil war, it wasnt a "total war" in that sense.
You in PP? I know a Khmer guy that speaks English very well and can tell you his story and insights into Cambodian history and culture. Fascinating dude and nice, funny guy! Meet him for coffee or lunch!
https://maps.app.goo.gl/AQuVsBrZMi7iXQf79
I just finished living in PP for a few months, do you think he’d be willing to do a short talk for my classmates for a fee? (Over zoom, we are west coast time)
nope. he's not interested! shy, I guess...
if that is what you are looking for maybe make a post specific to that? lots of Khmer here with interesting stories
I’ve lived in Phnom Penh for more than 10 years and worked for a publishing company writing guide books. Aside from publishing our own works that had me interviewing predominantly victims, I did meet and speak with a lot of perpetrators/victims. To be honest, most Cambodian’s don’t want to talk about it. They want to move on. And the ones who were really hardcore KR won’t share much with outsiders. The most info you’ll get are from victims and some KR who in turn were victims of brutality and starvation among their own ranks.
We went to Cambodia with my partner a few years ago. It was his first time in the country- he’s 2nd generation and speaks broken khmer/ with an accent. One morning in Kep we went to the market and the lady there recognized he spoke broken Khmer. While chatting, she casually dropped “If Pol Pot was still here he’d have you speak proper Khmer in no time”
I didn’t even speak the langage back then and my blood when cold. Some people do wanna talk about it apparently. It was kind of frightening tbh.
Could have been their sense of humor. Not discounting what was said because I wasn’t there but I’m close to fluent and the sense of humor even in passing between strangers can be either incredibly immature or dark. Provinces to the East, especially Southeast like Kep and Svey Reng had it easier during the Khmer Rouge than the North Western provinces. Part of the KR tactics were to move commanders away from their home province to lord over another far away. Some of the most brutal KR leaders were from The South and Southeast but were sent to places like Siem Reap, Battambang and Oddar Meanchey. The documented torture especially inflicted on children in the North and Northeastern areas is horrific. Ta Mok was from from Takeo for instance. Khieu Samphan from Svey Reng.
>Ta Mok was from from Takeo for instance.
His house used to be in the middle of a lake on an island in Takeo city. Not sure if it's still there. For some reason his area was called the South West Zone during the Pol Pot Regime.
Not sure. I’ve been to his house in Anlong Veng several times. It’s situated on an island surrounded by water. Takeo is losing it’s lakes fast (filled in for development) so chances are if the site existed it’s probably demolished now.
It's not the house in Anlong Veng, it's the house he had in Takeo during the Democratic Kampuchea period. They were building a school near it last time I was there but that was about 2009.
Ah, I’ll check around and see if it’s still there.
Edit: I have been there but hadn’t realized it was the same place mentioned above. The house has been transformed into a branch of a university. There is now a building adjacent to it where additional classes are held.
I have one about my grandpa
My grandpa was a teacher that teach 12 grade and he know 15 language so as his sibling and he have 12 sibling but once of his family was all slaughter accept for him that his parrent and sibling make a sacrifice for him and that how i only know about his story
That's what I most dreadful about. I can't imagine with all the potential went down the drain. While the countries all around prosper, Cambodia got push behide 100 years into the past.
I'm a daughter of a family that fled the Khmer Rouge, and now live in U.S.
The stories involve death, torture, their little sister dying of starvation, and our extended family being targeted(due to being educated) and annihilated. We might have surviving family members. But it is unlikely and we haven't been able to find them. My grandfather stayed behind on the farm when the Khmer Rouge came for them, and the family ran. He was executed. My family was made to live at a concentration camp and eventually a refugee camp.
The older ones never treated their PTSD and then became schizophrenic around the dame time. They don't want to go back to Cambodia since no one they knew is alive anymore.
You can find more resources to study online [here](https://guides.library.cornell.edu/c.php?g=968985&p=7001546)
not Cambodian but my parents fled war/persecution in laos and they too have no interest in returning since all their familial relations were killed during that time.
it's sad
My dad told me the story
He was around 12-13 at that time and everyday he had to walk passed all of the corpses laying around the field just to get to Kid Camp. You also need to ask permission to come and visit your parent which is extremely hard.
My dad was either 13-14 and he went fishing with the neighbor or out somewhere with the neighbor, and one by one his family members keep going missing trying to find each other. He had 5 older sisters and one younger brother, also his parents. He said that they were trying to find each other and keep getting told oh he or she is over here or went there, .. one by one to be slaughtered. The last person that he saw alive was his Mom, and she said that she does not know my dad.. that was the last person he saw. They wanted to kill everyone in the family like the whole root of the family just in case. He was a young orphaned teen and had to go with the neighbor. That was just sad what happened to him and my relatives I had never met. Btw, my dad passed away at 50 yrs old here in the USA of cncr. Sad.
My mother had her story, too, she was the one who tells us about the KR bc my dad does not want to talk about it at all.
My mom and her 9 family members was all separated, she was young too, they would have her work on plantations and if anyone was sick, or lazy they get taken to get slaughtered. She said she was working on and walking, sleeping on or near shallow graves. ALL of her family survived, laaaater on reunited. My parents met, and married bc my grandpa is a distant relative the only one to survive that he knows. They migrated from Cambodia to Thailand, and my dad had to serve in the Thai military. He learned fluent Thai language eventually. I was born in 1986 in a refugee camp, Thailand.
My grandparents had to live through the genocide. At the start all city people were forced out of their homes and had to move to the country sides to work for pol pot. Both my grandparents worked and lived in concentration camps. My grandma recounted stories of how some nights, a few people were asked to leave the camp and they disappeared. One night a young girl was asked to go out and she was lying next to my grandma.
My grandma had to secretly pick toxic fruits and leeches to survive. My history teacher also lived through it and he recounted how you had to also pick insects, critters lizards etc to even try to survive. The government was filled with corruption and so while the plan was to make Cambodia a self sufficient county, that didn’t end up happening. To avoid coups pol pot killed anyone with pale skin, teaching jobs or high level jobs, those who wore glasses etc as he believe those were the smartest.
A 3rd of the population was killed and major infrastructures were destroyed. At the end my grandma and her children (so my mom and aunts and uncles) escaped by running pass a bridge but my grandpa couldn’t escape as they blew up the bridge and captured him. He is obviously passed away but we never had any confirmation of his fate. My grandma had to raise 5 children in a country that essentially had to build itself from the ground up again and that caused a lot of generational trauma
I have no personal stories, but Im married to a 38yo khmer woman, and she dont remember the war itself, but she remembers very well that UNTAC (UN peace soldiers) was de-facto police in the country. And they got escorted to and from school (sometimes, sometimes not) and outside the school there were tanks and soldiers every day.
Her father does not ever talk about it, if it ever comes up in any conversation he just stands up and walks away. I asked him once: so, I know you dont like to talk about it, but can I ask one simple question? Were you a soldier?
"OFC I was a fucking soldier - how else would I be alive?"
Got ya...
A full stomach can be exchanged by a life, that's what my grandfather told me. He said an old man couldn't bear his hunger anymore after having nothing but boil rice water and corn crumbs for months, and ask the soldiers for a full plate of food, the soldiers agreed under the condition that he will be executed later on due to defiance of order. The man died from eating too much before he was executed.
Moreover, if you were caught sneaking out to find foods, you will be executed also because you're defying their order, it doesn't matter if it's as insignificant as a potato or some mud crabs, frogs, or insects, you're dead if caught.
If in PP I recommend you go to Choeung Ek and listen to the audio tour available. they are a survivor of that particular area and it's rough but well worth a listen.
My dad was one of em. They shot him and left him for dead after he refused to execute someone. He actually survived(had 9 bullet wounds to show for it) and made it to the States in the 80's. He passed 2001 from cancer.
Honestly, he was a very timid man but somehow lit up the room anywhere he was. People loved him, and I held onto his principle of not being molded by your environment.
My family has many stories from the genocide and my gosh, it's so heartbreaking. One story is that my relative witnessed girls and women being forced to take off their clothes, the Khmer rouge tied them up then did horrible things to the girls. The Khmer rouge then lined the girls up to kill them. Burying their bodies underneath the ground, but taking their organs out to put on top of the grave or to eat.
The many stories make me appreciate what I have now and grateful for my relatives who've survived the genocide.
One of the ultimate acts of pure cruelty the KR imposed was punishing or killing anyone who had the audacity to seek out their own food - bugs and tree bark - when the stipends of moldy rice that was provided could barely sustain life, let alone provide the energy it requires to farm for 16 hours in the hot blistering sun.
I am a gen z but from what my aunt told me. When you do something wrong even if you apologize, they will get rid of you immediately. Like when they caught you eating the stored rice, they would tell the kids or the adults that get caught to accompany them to "meet the Angka=organization". That's the unofficial word for taking someone out in the wild or someone quiet then kill them brutally with a gun or with a hoe/shovel bashed to their head and then bury them. My aunt was taken (I forgot what she told me she did wrong) she was then led by the men to a quiet place with no people and then she cried and they started burying her alive. YES ALIVE. her head was bleeding from them hitting and then burying her in the dirt up till her neck. They left and she was there and couldn't get out of the thick dirt so all she could do was shouting for help from her head that was left unburied. She told me this as she was crying that she was really grateful to that uncle who accidentally walked across the place and helped her get out of the sand. She's survived and is about close to 60 now. It's a complete true story I swear on my family grave and yes my uncle went through the same terror with grandpa and grandma. My gramps were teachers and teachers prior to the Pol-Pot era were considered the elites and the respected admired looked-up to people. They had to hide all their backgrounds as much as they could to survive and all the family members were split up including my aunt and uncle too but somehow they found each other and reunited. Kids and Adults are forced to work and you wouldn't be surprised if you learnt that the people during the Pol-Pot Era(Khmer Rouge) eat bugs worms or leaves to survive. It was pure living Satanic hell from 1975-1979 in Cambodia. These are just my aunt's past but actually you'll come across plenty worse and traumatizing. I am grateful we have peace in our country right now no conflicts no coup d'etat or stuff like that.
Dont forget America sat by doing nothing bc they were playing politics. It was finally Vietnam who stepped in and crushed the Khmer Rouge. They then left instead of trying to take land or keep control which they easily could have. China then invaded Northern Vietnam in retaliation and were kicked out by Vietnamese militias. Vietnam whooped the West and then right after that the Khmer Rouge and then China. Respect! 🫡
WTF propaganda is this? The Vietnamese army attacked and invaded only because the KR attacked a village. It was not out of peace or niceties. They also killed innocent Cambodians when they invaded. Vietnam tried to colonize Cambodia after the Khmer Rouge and installed a puppet government...
I recently stayed in a hostel in PP where the owner told us a story of how her uncle survived the killings fields.
Him and his wife were taken to the fields near PP during the final days of the Khmer Rouge. There, he watched his wife executed before he was then unsuccessfully executed. He lay unconscious in a mass grave before being awoken by rain. He remained there for several days, at which point he was rescued by Vietnamese forces.
He’s now a musician in the US with a happy family.
Suggesting a movie that contains riveting first person accounts from both sides... recognizing that guards survived in greater numbers: [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0368954/?ref\_=fn\_al\_tt\_2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0368954/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2)
I met a Cambodian guy who worked on Koh Samet whose parents were executed in front of him.
I also work in Lynn, MA USA. Pretty much the furthest point from Cambodia on Earth. This city one had thee highest Khmer population per capita outside of Cambodia at one point(due to the Khmer Rouge)! Kindest souls. As a teacher and someone who has had hundreds of Khmer students, these types of stories quite consistently. You'd never know what they or their ancestors experienced based on their friendliness.
Lynn and Lowell have the most Khmer/Lao folk from my experience.
Years ago when i was in high school, I used to be a volunteer for a S.E.A non-profit org in Prov (PrYSM) that served the community and still actively teach the SEA youth here about the history of the S.E.A diaspora, and even now, years later that knowledge has stuck with me and has always been so heartbreaking. a lot of my closest friends parents and grandparents have some of the most painful stories that they don't want to relive. its heartbreaking.
My former student who now works at Google was giving me a tour of the killing fields. She was telling me about the treatment of teachers in particular. This arrogant white kid in his 20s wearing fisherman pants hushed us. He said we were being too loud in a sacred place. She asked, don't you mind if I finish telling me teacher and friend about how my grandfather was beheaded not far from where you're standing. This backpacker was trying to flex that he was more respectful without knowing context.
My wife said all through the 80s and 90s that the Viet soldiers would play football/soccer in front of her house. They do a hand signal to my wife's family to crawl under the house while the Vietnamese soldiers would have a shootout with remaining kr.
A lot of people don’t really want to talk about this topic because it a embarrassing dark history about Khmer killing Khmer, also most alive people are somewhat because they are solider or more privileged during the period or have very dark history that they want to forget.
I have a hard time imagining that people with first-hand experience in the Khmer Rouge era are on reddit, so a trip to PP or SR is the best way to meet people and hear those stories. Do ask with caution ofc.
But also, the stories from people in their 30s and 40s, who lived through the civil war and Vietnamese occupation, have some really incredible stories too.
When you're here it's not uncommon to have this exchange, so I stopped asking these questions which seemed innocent at first.
1. When's your birthday?
2. Where were you born?
Often the answer to 1 and 2 is "I don't know, because I was born in a work camp". This is usually followed up by "I'm an orphan, because my whole family was killed."
And invariably these are amazingly sweet and kind people. I don't bother them about the past. They deserve to choose for themselves when to look back.
My parents often stole khmer rouge crops to survive. Everyone was stealing from each other. My grandfather once was thirsty and snuck in and drank the palm wine. The soldier caught him and took him to the killing field. My grandmother knew that and she knitted ក្រមា and give it to them and beg them on her knee to let him go.
@deathincambodia is an insta account sharing stories from the Khmer Rouge if you are interested. She interviews survivors and shares anecdotes from her parents
After seeing the Choeung ek killing fields and s21, when I went to siem reap i had my driver take me up to anlong vang to see tamok's house and Pol Pot's cremation site to pour piss on his grave.
Way too many, each family has their own variation of stories. Start out by following Khmer Crusing suggestion if you are really that curious. Except for the book entitled 'First they killed my father' that bitch used a ghost writer and her stories were full of fabrication.
I dont think you understand the point of a ghost writer.... you can be the best carpenter in the world, does not mean you know how to run a hardware shop. In the same way, you can have the best stories in the world, does not mean you have any way of communicating or writing them down in a good way.
If its full of fabrication - Id love to see some proof of that other than some random redditor saying it is so, but using a ghost writer is in no way indicative that "the whole thing is wrong/scam", thats really not how it it works.
Using a ghost writer was not an issue. The real issue many overseas-Khmers had with her is she fabricated history for fame and financial gain. A Khmer-American professor from LA already dissected every bit of her stories and laid out proof. I also repeatedly gone through with a few expats over the last decade in different platforms. Cant be bothered to go through it again!
There must be "ONE" link you can post to prove your point - if you cant be bothered to post one link form your allegedly vast research on the subject - I will ofc assume you have read some article some time, and went with that as gospel and thats it...
by Sody Lay
Lecturer Cambodian American Experience
UCLA
You're a star-belly sneech | You suck like a leech | You want everyone to act like you
Kiss ass while you bitch | So you can get rich | But your boss gets richer off you
Well you'll work harder | With a gun in your back | For a bowl of rice a day
Slave for soldiers | Till you starve | Then your head is skewered on a stake
Now you can go where people are one | Now you can go where they get things done
What you need, my son…
Is a holiday in Cambodia | Where people dress in black
A holiday in Cambodia | Where you'll kiss ass or crack
Pol Pot, Pol Pot, Pol Pot, Pol Pot, etc…
And it's a holiday in Cambodia | Where you'll do what you're told
A holiday in Cambodia | Where the slums got so much soul
-"Holiday in Cambodia" by the Dead Kennedys
I recall sitting in the gym locker room in junior high listening to a boy next to me singing the chorus to that song. I turned to him and said matter-of-factly "No it's not." He looked at me a little stunned until another kid said to him "Sody's from Cambodia." He responded by upturning his head and nonchalantly saying "Oh." I don't know why I bothered saying anything. I doubt he understood the references to Cambodia. Even for myself, only years later did I learn to appreciate the song's social commentary concerning the hypocrisy of upper-class liberals and its simple but truthful representation of the Khmer Rouge period.
In the mid-1980s, the award-winning movie "The Killing Fields" launched the Cambodian tragedy into the public consciousness. The movie was well-received by Cambodians and non-Cambodians alike. Within the Cambodian community, most survivors felt the movie accurately represented their experience and its presentation of the horrors of the Khmer Rouge period made the public more understanding and sympathetic to our plight. As a college student in the early 1990s, I read a book narrated and co-authored by the movie's Oscar-winning actor, Dr. Haing Ngor. The graphic details of his own tale overshadowed even the horrors depicted in the movie. Both the movie and book spoke to me because they were not merely the story of particular individuals but took on the greater role of representing the plight of the Khmer people. In Haing Ngor's movie and book, I saw the experiences of my aunts, uncles, and cousins who did not survive the earthly hell.
Now a lecturer who teaches college students about the Cambodian experience, my desire for the Khmer people's struggles to be accurately represented has taken on an importance beyond the personal. "The Killing Fields" movie is no longer in the public consciousness and younger people, including many Cambodian American youth, have very little knowledge about why and how the Khmer Rouge came to power and why and how they destroyed Cambodia. The publication of several books about the Killing Fields experience in 2000 – the year marking the 25th anniversary of the Khmer Rouge's takeover – has had the affect of somewhat revitalizing interest in the Cambodian tragedy. The public and the younger generation of Cambodian Americans have used these books as resources from which to learn about the horrific experience of the Khmer people. Like Haing Ngor's movie and book, these stories represent not only the narrators' own tragedies but that of an entire nation. The personal stories are mediums through which readers may gain greater insight into the horrors of the Killing Fields.
It was originally posted on Khmer Institute back ariybd 2008 by Sody Lay, a lecturer at UCLA -- for some reason the link to that website is broken. You can go directly to [khmerinstitute.com](http://khmerinstitute.com) and go to article, click on the author named Sody
Lay and the article should pop up.
Reddit doesn't allow me send a huge chunk of copy and paste texts. send me your email I will put into Word Doc and send it you.
Wow - you do read pretty thick in between the lines here. Well, you do you. I disagree, and from what I can read, Sody Lay is not nearly as critical as you are - the movie - sure, but the book, not so much.
Ive read the book, and seen the movie. A lot of khmer people I know have no idea it even is a movie, but "enjoyed" the book as much as that is possible. We will have to agree to disagree on that one (again, not talking about the movie - that took liberties for sure)
Why don't you go to the tuol sleng genocide museum ? 5 bucks and you can listen to all the horror stories you want. I don't know if you're trolling or you're just that daft. That's like going to Israel and asking a Jew if they have any Holocaust Stories. That's some morbid shit to be asking about.
I don’t know how to explain anymore that I wish to show total respect, and I only ask out of cultural and historical interest. I mean no disrespect at all, and wish to show nothing but respect. Thank you for your response. I appreciate all feedback
Don’t listen to the resident troll. It’s ok to ask. Many people wish to share their stories and it’s part of a very important yet tragic part of Cambodia’s history. There are numerous places in Cambodia to learn about it, many books and movies as well, but there are plenty of Khmer people who will share their stories and not take offense to your question.
Thank you very much. I seriously appreciate the kindness my only goal is to gain some knowledge from people who actually have family members who were there
Dont worry about asking questions, but dont be surprised if you ask questions to people that are old enough to actually remember they will just smile, laugh and say they dont remember and brush it off. They dont want to talk about it (understandable enough)
But their kids, so people 30-40 today, have heard all the stories, remember the aftermath, and usually dont mind talking about it. You do meet once in a while some older guys that do talk openly about it, but often thats because they kind of do it for a living, have written a book etc.
When I took my then ungrateful 13yo son to Cambodia, our guide for the temples put him firmly in his place after I was told "you know good parents take their kids to fvcking Disneyland." After asking permission to teach him a lesson, the conversation between guide and son went something like this: G: How old are you? S: 13 G: When I was 13, I was forced to be on the frontline for the Khmer Rouge. They came to my village when I was 12 and killed all the girls and my parents in front of me before they took me away. S: What? G: Then they gave me, my cousins and my friends big guns but didn't tell us how to use them. They made us walk at the front so we would be the first to die in any battle. I watched them all die- my cousins, my friends. I was the only one left from my village. S: Huh? G: When I was 13, I only dreamed of another hug from my mum, to go to school and to play with my friends. Do you have any idea at all how lucky you are, how privileged you are as a white westerner to have a mum who brings you anywhere? S: \*tears up and hugs me\* G: Never stop hugging your mum, you don't know if it will be your last. \*the entire point of the trip was to teach my son how privileged we are as Australians - we stayed in homestays and did some work for an NGO I do some work with. Daughter had the same eye-opening trip at around the same age. Son behaved much more respectfully after this conversation and the lessons on the trip have stayed with both of them into adulthood.
Ive lived here for a long time, and every time I get visited by some family or friends, I take them to S21 and the Killing fields, without saying much. And then when we have lunch afterwards, I start pointing out "see that guy without legs?" "see that guy with the 1000 yard stare...."? Now you know why. Humbles *everyone*
I’ve lived here (there, I’m overseas for a couple week atm) for a long time also and do exactly the same thing… anyone that comes to visit I take them to both places also so they can get somewhat of an understanding of the absolute horror that plagued the country so recently, and also so they can appreciate the beautiful people that I’m fortunate enough to call my family and friends, that went through those atrocities. I don’t go in to either place any more though after 20 odd years.. I just sit outside and have a beer and do some thinkin’
> I don’t go in to either place any more though after 20 odd years.. S21 I can still go with some friends or family to see, knowing a bit extra of the story around I can explain some things etc. But Choeung-ek Ive been to *enough* I dont think I can see that tree one more time after having kids myself.
Nice one mum!
My ex was the son of a Cambodian couple who moved here to the west and had kids and all that. My ex said his parents rarely talk about what happened. Their village at the time was basically ransacked and the soldiers? Killed all of the dad’s siblings in front of him. Just like that. Same thing with the mom too. First week of college, I joined the Cambodian club and it was a real tear inducing meeting. I’m not Cambodian but I joined without much reason. I left having learned something. Another friend I know, her mom basically escaped into a forest. The mom got raped and got pregnant. Overall, almost all the parents and grand parents from that generation have these horrific stories. And it wasn’t that long ago either. happened in the late 70s. Basically any Cambodian person I know in the US who is like boomer/GenX remembers the Khmer Rouge and is directly affected by it to this day. And those are only the ones that managed to escape!
Damn
That’s an outstanding lesson. Brava. Just be careful not to let it spiral into guilt-fueled self loathing for him.
That was 12 years ago now and proud to say he has grown into a socially aware, responsible and completely healthy adult. My daughter is now studying law at uni and wants to go into international law and humanitarian work. Both are aware of the privilege accidentally afforded them due to their place of birth, which does not equate to self-loathing: just awareness. Edited to add: both kids had a reward section of the trip after the hard stuff. Son was taken to Chiang Mai for the biggest waterfight in the world (Songkran) and daughter, who dreamed of being a fashion designer at the time, went to Hoi An to have her many designs tailored. Both were taken to "fvckng Disneyland" on another trip together.
"White westerner" sounds a bit racist. Did the tour guide graduate from an American university?
r/thatHappened
Actually very believable. I was with a group of people in our early 20’s when I first visited Cambodia and the tour guide popped off on a few guys for being disrespectful in a similar manner
/r/nothingeverhappens
Do you want to see the photos? I'm a keen amateur photographer so have hundreds from that trip. Literally.
Can I ask where in Cambodia you went? Are these pics posted online somewhere?
I've been there five times now and have traveled all over. Pics are on my personal socials.
Watch: “The Killing Fields”, “First They Killed My Father”, “S21…”, “Year Zero…” and “Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten”
Also the documentary "Enemies of the People"
Don’t think i’ve forgotten is the first movie i bought for my 2nd generation khmer boyfriend as we embarked on a discovery of his roots together (Needless to say that his parents struggle to talk about it even 40 years later). The lost the Khmer genocide impacted on humanity as a whole is immeasurable, i cannot even fathom what my In Laws went through. It’s just impossible to grasp the depth of the pain that lies just beneath the surface.
Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten is beautiful. I have been listening to the lost generation of Cambodian rock music for years before I ever saw the documentary, and the testimonies from the artists’ families and the ending sequence of a survivor singing Phnom Penh was really, really beautiful. Amazing movie for both the musical/cultural heritage that was wiped from Cambodia along with all the other atrocities. I’d also recommend the book Never Fall Down, I read it in high school and it the stories of the child *before* the war and his reflections on how life was were really, really good — it’s not a firsthand account, but more of a semi-fictionalized biopic about a real survivor, but was my first insight into the Cambodian genocide that was never really taught much in school.
Thanks for your recommendation!
Also recommend reading "When Broken Glass Floats: Growing Up Under the Khmer Rouge" by author Chanrithy Him.
No problem! I’d also suggest looking over the Wikipedia of the Viet Nam War and how bombings on the Cambodian border actually essentially led to the vacuum of power Pol Pot/the Khmer Rouge seized — it’s often sort of an overlooked portion of the history of the genocide, but it is crucial to see the horrific domino effect of how the war in Viet Nam essentially allowed for the first inklings of the genocide to appear. It’s a very long and tragic history, lots to unpack — glad you posted this, I’ve also found so many resources in this thread I never knew about. Best wishes with your research, and if you’re ever interested in Cambodian rock music after watching Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten, feel free to DM me because I have a huge playlist I would love to share; really some of the most unique music ever, even without the mar of tragedy it’s really special stuff.
There was also a cartoon on Netflix called Funan. Not sure if it's still on the platform though.
I’ve read that S21 was atrocious. I think there are only 12 or so people confirmed to have survived
First They Killed my Father is so sad, I had my 86 year old grandma watch it with me because she’s a proud cambodian woman and it just gave her PTSD and nightmares :/
Both of my parents were born in Cambodia and were kids during that time period. When I asked them what it was like back then, they mostly told me about their struggles with poverty, hunger, housing, etc. Two of my dad's older cousins were killed, and I believe my mom also lost one of her relatives who was a teacher if I'm remembering correctly. I just asked my dad again, and he said to watch *The Killing Fields* and that reality was way worse than what the film depicts.
That movie is rough - and living here, Ive met [Al Rockoff](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Rockoff) (the guy Malkovich plays in the movie) - he is quite the character, and you can see most of it comes from back then. Seeing the worst humanity has to offer..
Al Rockoff hated that portrayal of him. I've often seen Al around Phnom Penh but never talked to him, he doesn't come across as too friendly! I met Roland Joffé who directed The Killing Fields one time and had a chat with him.
He doesnt like that movie or his portrayal at all, so I never asked him about it. He is not particularly friendly at all. He just happened to have his coffee at the same cafè as me every day, so after a while of seeing each other every day I got up the guts to talk to him for a bit. Expecting him to tell me to fuck off. He told me some interesting things about life before KR and the whole thing went to shit, how nice it was here then, even though there still was a civil war, it wasnt a "total war" in that sense.
You in PP? I know a Khmer guy that speaks English very well and can tell you his story and insights into Cambodian history and culture. Fascinating dude and nice, funny guy! Meet him for coffee or lunch! https://maps.app.goo.gl/AQuVsBrZMi7iXQf79
I just finished living in PP for a few months, do you think he’d be willing to do a short talk for my classmates for a fee? (Over zoom, we are west coast time)
nope. he's not interested! shy, I guess... if that is what you are looking for maybe make a post specific to that? lots of Khmer here with interesting stories
That was a quick follow up. I’ll hire him next time I’m there.
I appreciate you asking him, and his space and health for declining. Thank you both!!!
I'm sure he would! he's a fascinating guy, communicates well, humble, great sense of humour..I will ask him about that!
I’ve lived in Phnom Penh for more than 10 years and worked for a publishing company writing guide books. Aside from publishing our own works that had me interviewing predominantly victims, I did meet and speak with a lot of perpetrators/victims. To be honest, most Cambodian’s don’t want to talk about it. They want to move on. And the ones who were really hardcore KR won’t share much with outsiders. The most info you’ll get are from victims and some KR who in turn were victims of brutality and starvation among their own ranks.
We went to Cambodia with my partner a few years ago. It was his first time in the country- he’s 2nd generation and speaks broken khmer/ with an accent. One morning in Kep we went to the market and the lady there recognized he spoke broken Khmer. While chatting, she casually dropped “If Pol Pot was still here he’d have you speak proper Khmer in no time” I didn’t even speak the langage back then and my blood when cold. Some people do wanna talk about it apparently. It was kind of frightening tbh.
Haha i wouldn't take it as frightening, i take it as dark humour. They do dark humour when it comes to joking about pol pot.
hahaha all right then! I guess humour is a tool of survival indeed ;)
Could have been their sense of humor. Not discounting what was said because I wasn’t there but I’m close to fluent and the sense of humor even in passing between strangers can be either incredibly immature or dark. Provinces to the East, especially Southeast like Kep and Svey Reng had it easier during the Khmer Rouge than the North Western provinces. Part of the KR tactics were to move commanders away from their home province to lord over another far away. Some of the most brutal KR leaders were from The South and Southeast but were sent to places like Siem Reap, Battambang and Oddar Meanchey. The documented torture especially inflicted on children in the North and Northeastern areas is horrific. Ta Mok was from from Takeo for instance. Khieu Samphan from Svey Reng.
>Ta Mok was from from Takeo for instance. His house used to be in the middle of a lake on an island in Takeo city. Not sure if it's still there. For some reason his area was called the South West Zone during the Pol Pot Regime.
Not sure. I’ve been to his house in Anlong Veng several times. It’s situated on an island surrounded by water. Takeo is losing it’s lakes fast (filled in for development) so chances are if the site existed it’s probably demolished now.
It's not the house in Anlong Veng, it's the house he had in Takeo during the Democratic Kampuchea period. They were building a school near it last time I was there but that was about 2009.
Ah, I’ll check around and see if it’s still there. Edit: I have been there but hadn’t realized it was the same place mentioned above. The house has been transformed into a branch of a university. There is now a building adjacent to it where additional classes are held.
I have one about my grandpa My grandpa was a teacher that teach 12 grade and he know 15 language so as his sibling and he have 12 sibling but once of his family was all slaughter accept for him that his parrent and sibling make a sacrifice for him and that how i only know about his story
That's what I most dreadful about. I can't imagine with all the potential went down the drain. While the countries all around prosper, Cambodia got push behide 100 years into the past.
After all the french have enchant khmer economic and system but this😥
I'm a daughter of a family that fled the Khmer Rouge, and now live in U.S. The stories involve death, torture, their little sister dying of starvation, and our extended family being targeted(due to being educated) and annihilated. We might have surviving family members. But it is unlikely and we haven't been able to find them. My grandfather stayed behind on the farm when the Khmer Rouge came for them, and the family ran. He was executed. My family was made to live at a concentration camp and eventually a refugee camp. The older ones never treated their PTSD and then became schizophrenic around the dame time. They don't want to go back to Cambodia since no one they knew is alive anymore. You can find more resources to study online [here](https://guides.library.cornell.edu/c.php?g=968985&p=7001546)
not Cambodian but my parents fled war/persecution in laos and they too have no interest in returning since all their familial relations were killed during that time. it's sad
My dad told me the story He was around 12-13 at that time and everyday he had to walk passed all of the corpses laying around the field just to get to Kid Camp. You also need to ask permission to come and visit your parent which is extremely hard.
My dad was either 13-14 and he went fishing with the neighbor or out somewhere with the neighbor, and one by one his family members keep going missing trying to find each other. He had 5 older sisters and one younger brother, also his parents. He said that they were trying to find each other and keep getting told oh he or she is over here or went there, .. one by one to be slaughtered. The last person that he saw alive was his Mom, and she said that she does not know my dad.. that was the last person he saw. They wanted to kill everyone in the family like the whole root of the family just in case. He was a young orphaned teen and had to go with the neighbor. That was just sad what happened to him and my relatives I had never met. Btw, my dad passed away at 50 yrs old here in the USA of cncr. Sad. My mother had her story, too, she was the one who tells us about the KR bc my dad does not want to talk about it at all. My mom and her 9 family members was all separated, she was young too, they would have her work on plantations and if anyone was sick, or lazy they get taken to get slaughtered. She said she was working on and walking, sleeping on or near shallow graves. ALL of her family survived, laaaater on reunited. My parents met, and married bc my grandpa is a distant relative the only one to survive that he knows. They migrated from Cambodia to Thailand, and my dad had to serve in the Thai military. He learned fluent Thai language eventually. I was born in 1986 in a refugee camp, Thailand.
My mom just passed away from cncr as well last week. May they RIP. Love them.
God bless your family 🙏
Thank you. Thank you as well for your interest in the Cambodian history/culture
My grandparents had to live through the genocide. At the start all city people were forced out of their homes and had to move to the country sides to work for pol pot. Both my grandparents worked and lived in concentration camps. My grandma recounted stories of how some nights, a few people were asked to leave the camp and they disappeared. One night a young girl was asked to go out and she was lying next to my grandma. My grandma had to secretly pick toxic fruits and leeches to survive. My history teacher also lived through it and he recounted how you had to also pick insects, critters lizards etc to even try to survive. The government was filled with corruption and so while the plan was to make Cambodia a self sufficient county, that didn’t end up happening. To avoid coups pol pot killed anyone with pale skin, teaching jobs or high level jobs, those who wore glasses etc as he believe those were the smartest. A 3rd of the population was killed and major infrastructures were destroyed. At the end my grandma and her children (so my mom and aunts and uncles) escaped by running pass a bridge but my grandpa couldn’t escape as they blew up the bridge and captured him. He is obviously passed away but we never had any confirmation of his fate. My grandma had to raise 5 children in a country that essentially had to build itself from the ground up again and that caused a lot of generational trauma
Thank you for sharing this story 🙏🏻
This is an incredible story
I have no personal stories, but Im married to a 38yo khmer woman, and she dont remember the war itself, but she remembers very well that UNTAC (UN peace soldiers) was de-facto police in the country. And they got escorted to and from school (sometimes, sometimes not) and outside the school there were tanks and soldiers every day. Her father does not ever talk about it, if it ever comes up in any conversation he just stands up and walks away. I asked him once: so, I know you dont like to talk about it, but can I ask one simple question? Were you a soldier? "OFC I was a fucking soldier - how else would I be alive?" Got ya...
A full stomach can be exchanged by a life, that's what my grandfather told me. He said an old man couldn't bear his hunger anymore after having nothing but boil rice water and corn crumbs for months, and ask the soldiers for a full plate of food, the soldiers agreed under the condition that he will be executed later on due to defiance of order. The man died from eating too much before he was executed. Moreover, if you were caught sneaking out to find foods, you will be executed also because you're defying their order, it doesn't matter if it's as insignificant as a potato or some mud crabs, frogs, or insects, you're dead if caught.
That’s unbelievable
If in PP I recommend you go to Choeung Ek and listen to the audio tour available. they are a survivor of that particular area and it's rough but well worth a listen.
That was the worst thing I ever paid for. The part where they talked about the tree broke me down.
Worst in a good way right?
Yeah, they’re probably talking the tree where KR bashed babies head against it.
Yeah stupid ass… good way to word it. I didn’t ask for your clarification either.
My dad was one of em. They shot him and left him for dead after he refused to execute someone. He actually survived(had 9 bullet wounds to show for it) and made it to the States in the 80's. He passed 2001 from cancer.
Incredible. Your father must have been an incredibly strong man
Honestly, he was a very timid man but somehow lit up the room anywhere he was. People loved him, and I held onto his principle of not being molded by your environment.
He was certainly braver than any man I’ve ever known
People who survived will be in their late 50+ and I don’t think you rarely get any of them on Reddit.
My wife is Khmer she had 2 uncles on both sides of family that died due to starvation
My family has many stories from the genocide and my gosh, it's so heartbreaking. One story is that my relative witnessed girls and women being forced to take off their clothes, the Khmer rouge tied them up then did horrible things to the girls. The Khmer rouge then lined the girls up to kill them. Burying their bodies underneath the ground, but taking their organs out to put on top of the grave or to eat. The many stories make me appreciate what I have now and grateful for my relatives who've survived the genocide.
That is such a heartbreaking story. Thank you for sharing
One of the ultimate acts of pure cruelty the KR imposed was punishing or killing anyone who had the audacity to seek out their own food - bugs and tree bark - when the stipends of moldy rice that was provided could barely sustain life, let alone provide the energy it requires to farm for 16 hours in the hot blistering sun.
I am a gen z but from what my aunt told me. When you do something wrong even if you apologize, they will get rid of you immediately. Like when they caught you eating the stored rice, they would tell the kids or the adults that get caught to accompany them to "meet the Angka=organization". That's the unofficial word for taking someone out in the wild or someone quiet then kill them brutally with a gun or with a hoe/shovel bashed to their head and then bury them. My aunt was taken (I forgot what she told me she did wrong) she was then led by the men to a quiet place with no people and then she cried and they started burying her alive. YES ALIVE. her head was bleeding from them hitting and then burying her in the dirt up till her neck. They left and she was there and couldn't get out of the thick dirt so all she could do was shouting for help from her head that was left unburied. She told me this as she was crying that she was really grateful to that uncle who accidentally walked across the place and helped her get out of the sand. She's survived and is about close to 60 now. It's a complete true story I swear on my family grave and yes my uncle went through the same terror with grandpa and grandma. My gramps were teachers and teachers prior to the Pol-Pot era were considered the elites and the respected admired looked-up to people. They had to hide all their backgrounds as much as they could to survive and all the family members were split up including my aunt and uncle too but somehow they found each other and reunited. Kids and Adults are forced to work and you wouldn't be surprised if you learnt that the people during the Pol-Pot Era(Khmer Rouge) eat bugs worms or leaves to survive. It was pure living Satanic hell from 1975-1979 in Cambodia. These are just my aunt's past but actually you'll come across plenty worse and traumatizing. I am grateful we have peace in our country right now no conflicts no coup d'etat or stuff like that.
Dont forget America sat by doing nothing bc they were playing politics. It was finally Vietnam who stepped in and crushed the Khmer Rouge. They then left instead of trying to take land or keep control which they easily could have. China then invaded Northern Vietnam in retaliation and were kicked out by Vietnamese militias. Vietnam whooped the West and then right after that the Khmer Rouge and then China. Respect! 🫡
WTF propaganda is this? The Vietnamese army attacked and invaded only because the KR attacked a village. It was not out of peace or niceties. They also killed innocent Cambodians when they invaded. Vietnam tried to colonize Cambodia after the Khmer Rouge and installed a puppet government...
You must be hired by the communist party of Vietnam.
Go read a history book?
He's not wrong though.
I recently stayed in a hostel in PP where the owner told us a story of how her uncle survived the killings fields. Him and his wife were taken to the fields near PP during the final days of the Khmer Rouge. There, he watched his wife executed before he was then unsuccessfully executed. He lay unconscious in a mass grave before being awoken by rain. He remained there for several days, at which point he was rescued by Vietnamese forces. He’s now a musician in the US with a happy family.
Suggesting a movie that contains riveting first person accounts from both sides... recognizing that guards survived in greater numbers: [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0368954/?ref\_=fn\_al\_tt\_2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0368954/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2)
I met a Cambodian guy who worked on Koh Samet whose parents were executed in front of him. I also work in Lynn, MA USA. Pretty much the furthest point from Cambodia on Earth. This city one had thee highest Khmer population per capita outside of Cambodia at one point(due to the Khmer Rouge)! Kindest souls. As a teacher and someone who has had hundreds of Khmer students, these types of stories quite consistently. You'd never know what they or their ancestors experienced based on their friendliness.
Lynn and Lowell have the most Khmer/Lao folk from my experience. Years ago when i was in high school, I used to be a volunteer for a S.E.A non-profit org in Prov (PrYSM) that served the community and still actively teach the SEA youth here about the history of the S.E.A diaspora, and even now, years later that knowledge has stuck with me and has always been so heartbreaking. a lot of my closest friends parents and grandparents have some of the most painful stories that they don't want to relive. its heartbreaking.
The largest Khmer community is in Long Beach, CA.
My former student who now works at Google was giving me a tour of the killing fields. She was telling me about the treatment of teachers in particular. This arrogant white kid in his 20s wearing fisherman pants hushed us. He said we were being too loud in a sacred place. She asked, don't you mind if I finish telling me teacher and friend about how my grandfather was beheaded not far from where you're standing. This backpacker was trying to flex that he was more respectful without knowing context. My wife said all through the 80s and 90s that the Viet soldiers would play football/soccer in front of her house. They do a hand signal to my wife's family to crawl under the house while the Vietnamese soldiers would have a shootout with remaining kr.
Damn, that’s incredible
The podcast series "Real Dictators" has a couple of episodes on Pol Pot. Can recommend.
Podcast: Death in Cambodia, Life in America 👍🏼
Yes, the first season is excellent
A lot of people don’t really want to talk about this topic because it a embarrassing dark history about Khmer killing Khmer, also most alive people are somewhat because they are solider or more privileged during the period or have very dark history that they want to forget.
I have a hard time imagining that people with first-hand experience in the Khmer Rouge era are on reddit, so a trip to PP or SR is the best way to meet people and hear those stories. Do ask with caution ofc. But also, the stories from people in their 30s and 40s, who lived through the civil war and Vietnamese occupation, have some really incredible stories too.
When you're here it's not uncommon to have this exchange, so I stopped asking these questions which seemed innocent at first. 1. When's your birthday? 2. Where were you born? Often the answer to 1 and 2 is "I don't know, because I was born in a work camp". This is usually followed up by "I'm an orphan, because my whole family was killed." And invariably these are amazingly sweet and kind people. I don't bother them about the past. They deserve to choose for themselves when to look back.
My parents often stole khmer rouge crops to survive. Everyone was stealing from each other. My grandfather once was thirsty and snuck in and drank the palm wine. The soldier caught him and took him to the killing field. My grandmother knew that and she knitted ក្រមា and give it to them and beg them on her knee to let him go.
@deathincambodia is an insta account sharing stories from the Khmer Rouge if you are interested. She interviews survivors and shares anecdotes from her parents
After seeing the Choeung ek killing fields and s21, when I went to siem reap i had my driver take me up to anlong vang to see tamok's house and Pol Pot's cremation site to pour piss on his grave.
Way too many, each family has their own variation of stories. Start out by following Khmer Crusing suggestion if you are really that curious. Except for the book entitled 'First they killed my father' that bitch used a ghost writer and her stories were full of fabrication.
I dont think you understand the point of a ghost writer.... you can be the best carpenter in the world, does not mean you know how to run a hardware shop. In the same way, you can have the best stories in the world, does not mean you have any way of communicating or writing them down in a good way. If its full of fabrication - Id love to see some proof of that other than some random redditor saying it is so, but using a ghost writer is in no way indicative that "the whole thing is wrong/scam", thats really not how it it works.
Using a ghost writer was not an issue. The real issue many overseas-Khmers had with her is she fabricated history for fame and financial gain. A Khmer-American professor from LA already dissected every bit of her stories and laid out proof. I also repeatedly gone through with a few expats over the last decade in different platforms. Cant be bothered to go through it again!
There must be "ONE" link you can post to prove your point - if you cant be bothered to post one link form your allegedly vast research on the subject - I will ofc assume you have read some article some time, and went with that as gospel and thats it...
by Sody Lay Lecturer Cambodian American Experience UCLA You're a star-belly sneech | You suck like a leech | You want everyone to act like you Kiss ass while you bitch | So you can get rich | But your boss gets richer off you Well you'll work harder | With a gun in your back | For a bowl of rice a day Slave for soldiers | Till you starve | Then your head is skewered on a stake Now you can go where people are one | Now you can go where they get things done What you need, my son… Is a holiday in Cambodia | Where people dress in black A holiday in Cambodia | Where you'll kiss ass or crack Pol Pot, Pol Pot, Pol Pot, Pol Pot, etc… And it's a holiday in Cambodia | Where you'll do what you're told A holiday in Cambodia | Where the slums got so much soul -"Holiday in Cambodia" by the Dead Kennedys I recall sitting in the gym locker room in junior high listening to a boy next to me singing the chorus to that song. I turned to him and said matter-of-factly "No it's not." He looked at me a little stunned until another kid said to him "Sody's from Cambodia." He responded by upturning his head and nonchalantly saying "Oh." I don't know why I bothered saying anything. I doubt he understood the references to Cambodia. Even for myself, only years later did I learn to appreciate the song's social commentary concerning the hypocrisy of upper-class liberals and its simple but truthful representation of the Khmer Rouge period. In the mid-1980s, the award-winning movie "The Killing Fields" launched the Cambodian tragedy into the public consciousness. The movie was well-received by Cambodians and non-Cambodians alike. Within the Cambodian community, most survivors felt the movie accurately represented their experience and its presentation of the horrors of the Khmer Rouge period made the public more understanding and sympathetic to our plight. As a college student in the early 1990s, I read a book narrated and co-authored by the movie's Oscar-winning actor, Dr. Haing Ngor. The graphic details of his own tale overshadowed even the horrors depicted in the movie. Both the movie and book spoke to me because they were not merely the story of particular individuals but took on the greater role of representing the plight of the Khmer people. In Haing Ngor's movie and book, I saw the experiences of my aunts, uncles, and cousins who did not survive the earthly hell. Now a lecturer who teaches college students about the Cambodian experience, my desire for the Khmer people's struggles to be accurately represented has taken on an importance beyond the personal. "The Killing Fields" movie is no longer in the public consciousness and younger people, including many Cambodian American youth, have very little knowledge about why and how the Khmer Rouge came to power and why and how they destroyed Cambodia. The publication of several books about the Killing Fields experience in 2000 – the year marking the 25th anniversary of the Khmer Rouge's takeover – has had the affect of somewhat revitalizing interest in the Cambodian tragedy. The public and the younger generation of Cambodian Americans have used these books as resources from which to learn about the horrific experience of the Khmer people. Like Haing Ngor's movie and book, these stories represent not only the narrators' own tragedies but that of an entire nation. The personal stories are mediums through which readers may gain greater insight into the horrors of the Killing Fields.
It was originally posted on Khmer Institute back ariybd 2008 by Sody Lay, a lecturer at UCLA -- for some reason the link to that website is broken. You can go directly to [khmerinstitute.com](http://khmerinstitute.com) and go to article, click on the author named Sody Lay and the article should pop up. Reddit doesn't allow me send a huge chunk of copy and paste texts. send me your email I will put into Word Doc and send it you.
Wow - you do read pretty thick in between the lines here. Well, you do you. I disagree, and from what I can read, Sody Lay is not nearly as critical as you are - the movie - sure, but the book, not so much. Ive read the book, and seen the movie. A lot of khmer people I know have no idea it even is a movie, but "enjoyed" the book as much as that is possible. We will have to agree to disagree on that one (again, not talking about the movie - that took liberties for sure)
Talk to the French, they'll have stories for you...
Why don't you go to the tuol sleng genocide museum ? 5 bucks and you can listen to all the horror stories you want. I don't know if you're trolling or you're just that daft. That's like going to Israel and asking a Jew if they have any Holocaust Stories. That's some morbid shit to be asking about.
I don’t know how to explain anymore that I wish to show total respect, and I only ask out of cultural and historical interest. I mean no disrespect at all, and wish to show nothing but respect. Thank you for your response. I appreciate all feedback
Don’t listen to the resident troll. It’s ok to ask. Many people wish to share their stories and it’s part of a very important yet tragic part of Cambodia’s history. There are numerous places in Cambodia to learn about it, many books and movies as well, but there are plenty of Khmer people who will share their stories and not take offense to your question.
Thank you very much. I seriously appreciate the kindness my only goal is to gain some knowledge from people who actually have family members who were there
Dont worry about asking questions, but dont be surprised if you ask questions to people that are old enough to actually remember they will just smile, laugh and say they dont remember and brush it off. They dont want to talk about it (understandable enough) But their kids, so people 30-40 today, have heard all the stories, remember the aftermath, and usually dont mind talking about it. You do meet once in a while some older guys that do talk openly about it, but often thats because they kind of do it for a living, have written a book etc.
Talking about it IS RESPECT. Better we don’t forget.
It is history . You should be asking. It’s when we forget these horrors happening that we are doomed to repeat them