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THE MEMORIES OF THE 17TH OF APRIL
THAT I HOLD CLOSE TO MY HEART
Dara Peou Vanthan
17
April 1975 is the day that almost everyone in the world recognized that
Pol Pot rose to power in Kampuchea and had installed the most extreme
regime. I was only born two years
before the 17 April 1975 and I was still not aware. I did not know anything about the
problems that arose on 17 of April 1975.
My parents have also never told me stories about this time. Only my older sister has told me that,
“You didn’t know anything. When we
were evacuated from Stung Treng Province, when you were hungry you always begged
for food.” This is not something
that forces me to want to remember every 17th of April that
comes. This means that only if I
inquire about this day, then this day of remembrance can be possible. Therefore, I usually have the feeling
that whenever it is the 17th of April, this is the day I can break
from school and rest. I am
speaking with the utmost honesty.
The event that has
helped me to remember is the fact that I was able to grow up in a regime that
considers 17 April 1975 as a day of importance. The regime considered this day a day in
which they gained victory over imperialism. The day I became aware, was on the day I
entered school in 1980. As long as
it was the 17th of April, I usually had a break from school. Sometimes on this day I joined others in
throwing flowers at the prestigious guests on this holiday. At this time, I was considered a model
child. The model children usually
participated in the distinguished events to help throw flowers or beat drums to
escort prestigious guests during important events. At that time, these events were
considered a government activity.
If I think about
it, twenty years have already passed since then, but the holiday on the
17th of April is still a day I continue to remember. This is a holiday that seems not to bear
any purpose if we do not think deeply about it. I think that different political
influences encourage many people to remember. They make people remember so that
they will not forget. But if
people create a wrong political regime, they can lead people to terrible
destruction that can also affect neighboring countries. Similarly, it is like the political
regime of the Communist Party of Kampuchea during Democratic Kampuchea in
1975-1979. This regime implemented
the most extreme policies. Within
this regime there was an economic policy that stated that each person must
depend on him/herself. This policy
forced millions of innocent people in Cambodia to lose their lives. These countless deaths are the result of
the 17th of April, which the Khmer Rouge people dressed in black,
considered the day of victory for their people. This is not a remembrance. This is an
understanding I have gained through my work at the Documentation Center of
Cambodia through a period of time.
Now, I don’t know
how many more years into the future before I will no longer regard this crazy
day of remembrance, the 17th of April, as a day of rest. But this day is already ingrained in my
mind.
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