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BITTER MEMORIES: EVENTS AND UNIQUE STORIES
THAT PASSED THAT GIVE US REASON TO REMEMBER
Try Nin
All events and
unique stories that pass before our eyes and give us reason to remember, even if
these events have passed for a long time, when this day returns again, this day
brings feelings of anxiousness and forces us to remember. The events that passed on 17
April 1975 are bitter historical events for the Cambodian people
throughout the country. They were
evacuated from their native districts and forced to live in other areas. People
were driven from the city of Phnom Penh and relocated in neighboring provinces
throughout the country. And the
people who lived in the provinces were forced by the Khmer Rouge to live in
other provinces not their own.
My father said
that on 17 April 1975, probably around 8:00 in the morning, he was
evaluating the land and he told the workers to prepare their equipment so they
could dig for gems. A month before
17 April 1975, my father was planning to buy a plot of land called
Orchard Rae Soen Peouv that was 10 cubic meters large and was 2 km north of
Pailin, Battambang Province. Around
8:30, a Khmer Rouge soldier dressed in black with a green Chinese cap, a red and
white checkered scarf wrapped around his neck, carrying an AK-47 and belts of
bullets wrapped around his body, walked towards my father. At that time my father was not really
paying attention. Suddenly this
Khmer Rouge soldier walked behind my father and tapped him on the shoulder and
told him, “Uncle, you have to leave Pailin for three days first. You don’t have to take any belongings
with you because three days afterwards, Angkar will give your parents and uncles
and aunts permission to return to their native villages.” After the Khmer Rouge soldier finished
speaking, a large group of Khmer Rouge soldiers jumped from a GMC car. They made an announcement on their
microphone throughout the orchard Rae Soen Peouv. At this time my father was not able to
ask those people why [they had to leave], because everything seemed so
formidable. My father told the ten
workers, “We will rest from digging for a period. Now we will return home.” When
my father rode his motorcycle along the road he saw the cars of the Khmer Rouge
and tanks crowding the entire national road. On 17 April 1975, the Khmer
Rouge announced, “If brothers and sisters are able to buy land in the city of
Pailin, you can remain for now.” At this time, my parents were able to buy a
field of corn. The corn stalks were
about 30 or 40 meters tall and the field had a width of more than two hectares
south of Pailin. The field
cost 300,000 riels. In the days
that followed, the Khmer Rouge walked and asked for rice and food from the
people almost everyday. My father
gave them rice once or twice a day, each time 20-30 bags of rice and food from
the 18th to the 28th of April 1975.
On the
29th of April around 9:00 the Khmer Rouge evacuated all the people in
Pailin. According to my father my
family also left on this day.
Personally, I
remember that when we were on the road my family had a Honda motorcycle and we
used a wagon that was used for carrying dirt, to carry our belongings. My fourth older sister, my second
youngest sister, my youngest sister, and I rode on top of the wagon. My father led the motorcycle that was
dragging the wagon and my mother and my four older sisters pushed the wagon from
behind. While we were making the
journey along the road, I saw many people in a state of disorder. Some carried their belongings on their
heads and some carried their child on one arm and their things on the
other. Some children, their parents
carried on their backs or cradled in their arms. I remembered my mother saying,
“Children, do not go anywhere far away.
Beware, you might get lost. It will be too difficult to find you because
there are too many people.” I saw
soldiers dressed in black, wearing green hats, and carrying rifles, walking past
people who were making their unplanned journey. At that time I remember most vividly
when my uncle fought with my mother.
I didn’t know what they were fighting each other about. Last year I asked
my mother about this. My mother
said my uncle was angry with her. He asked for the car to put his
belongings. At that time my mother
was so angry she removed all the things from my uncle’s car. She threw away some of the things then
after we continued the journey for half a kilometer she realized that the old
pillow that she had thrown away had gold in it. She told my grandfather to go find it
and when he gave it to my mother, she was extremely happy.
While
we made the journey, many people died from sickness. Some who were pregnant gave birth along
the road. Others were shot and killed by the Khmer Rouge soldiers, because these
people complained that they had not brought anything with them and wanted to
return to get their things and then follow later. In one blink of an eye the Khmer Rouge
shot these people and they all fell dead.
According to my father, along both sides of the road, probably about ten
to twenty meters, there were at least three to five people dead. From night until morning there were more
than one hundred people dead. At
that time I was seven years old. Of
all the things that happened, I only remember this much about 17
April 1975. But of the
activities that followed 17 April 1975, I have many
memories. |
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