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MEMORIES OF VICTIMS UNDER THE KHMER ROUGE
REGIME ON THE 17TH OF APRIL 1975
Sophearith Chuong
If I speak honestly, I don’t really know or understand what happened
during the events that passed on 17 April 1975, because I am one
Cambodian child that was born at the end of 1974. From the day I was born until 17 April
1975, I was not even one years old yet.
Therefore I am not able to remember what happened at that time. Even after I grew up and became more
aware, I have never heard anyone in my family tell me stories about the Khmer
Rouge period. But through my
studies after the Khmer Rouge regime and under the People’s Republic of
Kampuchea, I was able to understand a little bit about the suffering, the forced
labor, the inhumane torture, the unmerciful starvation, and the brutal
executions that took place. I have
also visited the execution centers and seen the skeletons of corpses and their
clothes placed on display for national and international tourists to look at on
the 20th of May. This is
a day set aside to remember the genocidal acts committed by the Khmer Rouge
regime. Not only this, when I was
about ten years old, I have also seen in another place called Phnom Pros, Phnom
Srey, the graves of corpses of victims with their bones and clothes intact. At that time, my parents were visiting
their native district in Prey Chor District, Kampong Cham Province. I also remember that near
Cambodian New Year, around 1973 and 1974, other orphans and I in the Kampong
Speu Orphan Center were taken to the city of Phnom Penh to visit the palace, the
National Museum, and the Tuol Sleng Museum. All the sites I have ever encountered
after the Khmer Rouge regime have made me most upset and shocked especially the
things I have seen in person. For
example, the displays commemorating the genocidal acts on the 20th of
May, the graves that I have seen in Phnom Pros, Phnom Srey, and when I entered
the Tuol Sleng Museum. When I saw
all of these scenes of genocide, I would think, “Cambodians should not have
killed Cambodians in such a brutal, barbaric, and inhumane way.” To speak to the
point, I could barely believe what I saw.
My understanding of the genocidal acts committed in Cambodia under the
Khmer Rouge is still not yet deep.
What I know and what I have heard is still not very advanced, because
these events occurred almost everywhere throughout the country. The reason why I dare to speak this way
is because I have experience as an employee at the Documentation Center of
Cambodia, I have read the documents of the Khmer Rouge, and I have seen a map of
all the graves of the victims throughout the country of Cambodia. I have seen the photographs of victims
and I have seen many other things that are stored at the Documentation Center of
Cambodia. But even with these experiences, my understanding of the Khmer Rouge
regime is still very limited.
Honestly I began working as a volunteer for the Documentation Center of
Cambodia through the help of my friend who was also a volunteer there. Most of the employees who began working
at the Documentation Center of Cambodia started out as volunteers, including
myself. Before I began working as a
volunteer, I had to undergo a test of my knowledge and abilities and interview
with the director. Afterwards I had
to wait many months for news from the Documentation Center of Cambodia before I
was called to work as a volunteer.
My hope and efforts to find a job became a reality. This was an historical moment. I have many reasons to be happy because
I am able to serve at the Documentation Center of Cambodia, a place I am most
exceptionally impressed with. When
I first came to the Documentation Center of Cambodia, the first thing that
caught my attention was a photograph of a victim and a photograph of the bones
of victims of the Khmer Rouge regime that hung on the wall.
From the very beginning, I noticed these photographs because I could not
believe that Cambodian people were currently working so hard to preserve
documents from a bitter part of Cambodian history and were able to achieve so
much. I thought that the past that
all Cambodian people should continue to remember was already completely
forgotten, because our Cambodian society at that time did not yet take notice of
its own past. We were only thinking
about developing our country and making every effort to build peace between the
people of Cambodia. I was very
proud to first enter as a volunteer and then become a full-time employee,
working for the magazine “Searching for the Truth.” My understanding and knowledge of
Cambodian history related to genocide during the Khmer Rouge regime gradually
developed and improved. I write
articles using confessions from the Khmer Rouge regime. These articles are published in our
magazine so that the reader can understand even more clearly what happened
during this time and will know what events had passed during the Khmer Rouge
regime. We already know that the Democratic Kampuchea regime that everyone
recognizes as the Khmer Rouge regime achieved victory from the Khmer Republic on
17 April 1975. This was also a time
when the Cambodian people were beginning the traditional New Year
festivities. Whenever we celebrate
the traditional Cambodian New Year and especially this year when we celebrated
the entrance into the new millenium, we reflect on the historical events of the
17th of April that the Cambodian people cannot forget.
17 April 1975, is the largest anniversary of national
independence for the Democratic Kampuchea regime that we recognize as the Khmer
Rouge regime. When victory
was achieved the Khmer Rouge considered this a symbol of freedom for our
people. This was a national and
class struggle during the war.
After the war, the people challenged the regime of the U.S. imperialists
that used the Khmer Republic as a scapegoat. The celebration of this holiday of
independence lasted for three days.
It lasted from the 15th to the 17th of April, which
was also the day of national independence. It was also the day for the
celebration of Cambodian New Year.
The 15th was the day to pay respect to the spirit of the
Cambodian men who sacrificed their lives in the war against the U.S.
imperialists. The flag was hoisted
only mid-way and an announcement was made through the radio about the victory
over the U.S. imperialists in order to show how many people had died. They made an announcement almost once
every hour with the national anthem playing in the background. From the stories of the courageous men
and women soldiers in the important battlefields, the 16th was the
day victory was achieved. According to the
“Great Leap” documents, 17 April 1975 was the day they encouraged people
to commit to building and protecting the country. All the bases had to commit to
this. They allowed the people to
stop working for three days so they could work on political education.
I was not able to
personally experience the historical events that passed during the Khmer Rouge
regime on 17 April 1975. But
through my studies and from the articles I have written about the Khmer Rouge
documents, especially the confession of a victim named Tiv Mei #J00642, I understand a little more
about what happened on 17 April 1975.
According to the confession of Tiv Mei, alias Santapheap, age 35, from
Takeo Village, Sangkat Kor, Prey Chor District, Kampong Cham Province, Tiv Mei
was a factory worker in a sugar factory in Kampong Tram, Kampong Speu
Province. Later on he worked as a
CIA agent under the influence of Sobo Mel, who was also a worker in the sugar
factory in Kampong Tram. But later
on he worked as a policeman in the Ministry of National Police of the Khmer
Republic. Vann Sa was a director in
the Ministry of National Police and was a CIA agent. Neou Sam Eat was also a press director
in the Ministry of National Police and a CIA agent leader. The main aim of the CIA was to
necessarily challenge the opposing position of the Communist Party. Tiv Mei and other groups of CIA agents
joined together to develop activities to investigate the activities of the Khmer
Rouge in order to inform the Ministry of National Police and the CIA in the
Khmer Republic. Tiv Mei carried out
personal CIA activities since 1971 until 17 April 1975, but the Khmer
Rouge had not yet captured him before12-15 April 1975, after Field
Marshal Lon Nol left Cambodia for the United States. The situation in Phnom Penh was still
quiet and still, but North of Pochentong, the Khmer Rouge kept pushing forward
even stronger than before.
On 16
April 1975, Tiv Mei went to receive news in Ta Khmao and he discovered
that south of Ta Khmao, the Khmer Rouge was waging a strong attack. On the eastern side of Chba Ampeou
Markeet the Khmer Rouge also waged a strong attack, setting on fire the houses
of the people. They also shot many
bullets of shelling into the streets.
At that time, Tiv Mei removed himself from Chba Ampeou and returned to
Phnom Penh. The traffic in the city
of Phnom Penh that usually ceased at 7:00 in the evening could no longer be
prevented. Even at night the people
were fleeing into the city. A
throng of people traveled along the side of the roads. No one knew that on 17 April 1975 the
Khmer Rouge would liberate the city of Phnom Penh.
On the morning of
17 April 1975, there was news that the armies were no longer fighting
each other, because they had agreed to cease fighting. Everywhere on the 17th
of April, white flags were raised as a signal they would stop
fighting. Those who had fled into
the city of Phnom Penh, quickly left the city again. Around 9:00 in the morning, the
Revolutionary Army entered Phnom Penh through the road near Chba Ampeou
Market. At that time, some people
were scared and some were joyful, because they heard people say, “Let’s watch
them clean out the corrupt officials, because these people are the Khmer
Rouge. They hate the corrupt
officials. They are clean and pure
people and since the beginning they have never got along well with the corrupt
officials.” Around 11:00 in the morning, the Revolutionary Army informed all the
people in the city of Phnom Penh to quickly prepare their things for three days
so that Angkar could reorganize the
city. Everybody was startled and surprised, because no one could imagine Angkar’s plan to evacuate. But all these people had hope that
they would be able to return to Phnom Penh, because people prepared only enough
food and things to last for three days.
The Revolutionary Army had told them, “Angkar only wants you to leave for three
days.” After Angkar evacuated the
people living in Phnom Penh to the rural areas and to their native districts,
Tiv Mei returned to live with his family in his native district in Takeo
Village, Sangkat Kor, Prey Chor District, Kampong Cham in the South. At that time the village chief recorded
the occupations of each person who were evacuated from Phnom Penh or the
17th April people. Tiv
Mei was only a worker in a sugar factory in the previous regime before 17
April 1975. The villagers had also heard of him before. Otherwise he would have already been
killed at that time, because in Tiv Mei’s village, Angkar had already cleared
out many people, including soldiers, policemen, and military policemen. No one was left.
The job of the
revolution at that time was very severe. The village leader had strict control
over the new people or the 17 April people and the revolution’s
process of purification was also very strong. When there was a meeting, the village
chief talked about the work that needed to be done in order to eliminate the
enemies. This frightened Tiv Mei so
much he did not dare move.
Everyday, when Tiv Mei saw traitors of the revolution being sent to the
Security Office in a region in Takeo Village, he became so scared he
trembled. But he did not dare
commit activities or stage a movement.
He remained still and tried to do anything in order to stay alive. The Revolutionary Angkar’s plan to
evacuate was one potent medicine because it closed Tiv Mei’s CIA
connection. Since the evacuation
until the day he was captured, Tiv Mei never met anyone who worked with him. In
the cooperative, Tiv Mei worked hard to be responsible in his work. He never did anything to offend the
district leader. Finally, on the
afternoon of 11 May 1977, Tiv Mei asked the unit leader if he could soak the
leaves in order to cover his house.
In the afternoon, around 4:00, while Tiv Mei was laying the leaves onto
the cart, the cooperative leader and two or three other people Tiv Mei did not
recognize came and told him that Angkar wanted to meet him. After that he
disappeared forever.
Outside of Tiv
Mei’s story about the events of 17 April 1975 I have also learned
about the story of Ke Munthit who is now a reporter for the Associated Press.
His story, about his experiences
during the events of 17 April 1975, was published in The Cambodia Daily newspaper. At that time, Mr. Ke Munthit was still a
child when the Khmer Rouge had entered the city of Phnom Penh 25 years
earlier. He recalled again the
brutal changes that occurred within society that the Maoist guerillas supported
and initiated since 17 April 1975. When I read The Cambodia Daily that was recently
published on 18April 2000, I took notice of one article entitled “A Cambodian
Family Remembers the Long and Difficult Walk out of Phnom Penh.” In this article, Mr. Ke Munthit recalled
his experiences on 17 April 1975.
Mr. Ke Munthit
still remembers how startled he was when he saw many young soldiers, like him,
dressed in black. In a disorderly
fashion, they celebrated along the streets of Phnom Penh. They ran barefoot with a red scarf tied
to their heads. The young soldiers
yelled, “Bravo to the revolution and down with the U.S. imperialists!” They shot their guns in the air and made
the people scatter. There was one
person who whispered to him, “The Khmer Rouge.” This made him, who was only
twelve years old, suddenly aware and no longer ignorant. He understood that the arrival of these
communists was the end of Lon Nol’s Khmer Republic, but he and other people did
not know about the terror the leader of the country of Cambodia had in store for
them. Ke Munthit’s brothers and
sisters were living with their grandparents for one week. Their parents left to guard their house
in the city of Phnom Penh, because they wanted to escape from the bullets and
rockets being fired by the Khmer Rouge.
Two Khmer Rouge
soldiers confronted each other outside of a temple, when the Khmer Rouge leaders
transformed the city of Phnom Penh into a region controlled by armies. After they confronted each other, they
finally decided to order the people outside of the city. The Khmer Rouge told the people that
they absolutely had to leave because the Americans had a plan to drop bombs on
the city.
Ke Munthit’s
father remembered the time of panic and frenzy when people quickly tried to
gather their family members together so they could evacuate. Ke Munthit’s family was very fortunate
because one Khmer Rouge leader, who was a relative of a neighbor, was
responsible for their area. This
Khmer Rouge leader was kind. After
the Khmer Rouge leader met with his older sister, he helped Ke Munthit’s father
gather all their family members so they could be united. Ke Munthit’s father’s name was Ke
Sauth. Now he is 63 years old. He heard his older neighbors say, “If
there are no women we will definitely never see each other again.” The Khmer
Rouge leader and his two soldiers drank Pepsi that they had taken from the
factory nearby and escorted Ke Munthit’s uncle. He crossed the city to the temple in
order to receive the members in his family. Ke Munthit’s family reunited in
joy. But that time demonstrated
that it was the beginning of a tragic life that would last for four years. The Khmer Rouge plan to transform
Democratic Kampuchea into a communist country of peasants began at this
time. Everyone either lived or died
inside within an equal society.
When Ke Munthit’s family fled from the city, they saw one group of ethnic
Chinese who were carrying small bags pleading with the Khmer Rouge to permit
them to stay in Phnom Penh. The
Khmer Rouge soldiers were angry and said, “Who wants to return to Phnom
Penh?” Each person there raised
their hands and walked forward. The
soldier then shot them on the head from a close distance. Ke Munthit’s father said, “One ought to
be frightened. They scare the
people into following their orders.”
The throng of people continued traveling forward and Ke Munthit still
believed that three days afterwards the Khmer Rouge would allow the people to
return to the city of Phnom Penh.
The execution he
witnessed was only one terrifying sight among many along the road. Screams and cries intermingled with the
voices of the people searching for their families and relatives who had
disappeared into the crowd of people.
The sick and the injured slept on the stretcher in pain along the road,
abandoned by their families or relatives because they had lost all hope.
Underneath one
tent, was a woman who had just given birth. The Khmer Rouge soldier would not permit
her to rest there and forced her to join the others in the evacuation out of
Phnom Penh. Her husband placed her
in a cart and pushed her forward underneath the scorching heat of the sun. After the birth, the baby was stained
with blood. It was wrapped in a
cloth and laid next to its mother.
Corpses of the soldiers of the Khmer Republic lay scattered and bloated
along the national road. Some of
the corpses were flattened by Khmer Rouge tanks. In one place one woman who was separated
from her husband, walked into the flowing traffic and grabbed on to Ke Munthit’s
car. As the car came to a halt, the
woman opened her purse, shining with diamonds and gold that she had brought with
her. She asked Ke Munthit’s family
to take some of the gold and diamonds and allow her to ride in the car with
them. But they would not allow her
because eleven people were already crowded in the car. Two days later Ke Munthit discovered
that this woman was found dead along the river.
Many people
decided that they needed to carry enough food to eat, at least enough for three
days. But some wealthy families
only brought money stuffed into pillows or rice bags. When they discovered that the Khmer
Rouge had abolished money, all the money they had saved lost value. They became disappointed and went
mad. Four days later, when they
could hear the sound of American bombing, Ke Munthit’s father realized the
people had been deceived into evacuating.
Two or three days later the Khmer Rouge took away Ke Munthit’s family’s
car. Ke Munthit’s father said, “I
knew it was going to be like this. I began to prepare myself to forget
everything that we have left behind.
Everyone is encountering the same destiny, not only us. In front of us lies the question: Will
we live or die?”
Eight days later,
Ke Munthit’s family reached a village about 55 kilometers northeast of Phnom
Penh. They were considered the
17th of April people. Ke
Munthit’s family struggled as members of the lowest class inside a society that
considered itself classless. Their
livelihood quickly deteriorated and became increasingly difficult. After being accustomed to living in a
large and luxurious home, Ke Munthit’s family had to force themselves to live in
a small hut only 4m X 6m wide and with a leaking roof. Privacy within the house was
removed. Families could not have
the same kind of privacy they enjoyed in their own homes. They were continuously
watched and spied on. Whenever Ke
Munthit’s family acted arrogant, Ke Munthit’s was called to a meeting to be
discipline. The families who were
evacuated from the city lived in constant fear. At one time when Ke Munthit’s father was
suffering from such heavy diarrhea he could not stand, the village chief told Ke
Munthit’s mother, “We will probably have to eliminate him if someone finds out
that he is lying or that he is pretending to be ill.”
The Khmer Rouge
were most kind to the young people.
The Khmer Rouge believed their mind was still blank. It would be easy to indoctrinate them
with the ideology of the Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot. The children of the “old people” who
were country peasants and had already lived under the control of the Khmer Rouge
for three or four years were accorded a position in the militia unit. Cultivated and nurtured in the mind of
the Khmer Rouge, the children were considered the strength that would transform
society. Ke Munthit remembers one
boy beating his own mother, without understanding the consequences of stealing
potatoes from the collective garden.
The teachings the Khmer Rouge indoctrinated him with challenged the life
he led with this family. This young
boy spoke proudly, “I am beating the thief. I am not beating my mother.”
Ke Munthit’s
father, who had studied accounting with the French and was able to work with the
Ministry of Industry, was sent to a center to be re-educated. All the members of Ke Munthit’s family,
except his youngest brother who was only four years old, was forced to endure
heavy labor. In the evening, Ke
Munthit’s youngest brother caught small frogs so he could fill his empty
stomach. Many children died from
lack of food, nutrition, and starvation.
Ke Munthit’s mother always cried, feeling pity for her children who had
to work so hard but did not have enough food to eat. This was one of the reasons why over 1.7
million victims were killed during the Khmer Rouge regime. Ke Munthit’s father said, “The people
transformed into true slaves. The
people had to work according to the command of their leaders. No had the right
to argue or criticize. We could
only work for watery rice porridge.”
Among the nearly
200 families who lived in the outskirts of the city who had come to live in the
village, there were only about 50 families who survived when the Khmer Rouge
were removed from power during the Vietnamese invasion on 7 April
1979. There was not one family who
survived that did not lose a family member. Ke Munthit lost his grandfather. This was only one small loss compared to
the losses of other families. Even
Ke Munthit’s father was still alive.
He was one person among a small number of people who was able to survive
the re-education centers posted throughout the country. He said that, “When I think about my
patience and the heavy labor I endured, I’m very pleased that I was able to save
my own life.” Everyone in Ke
Munthit’s family joined in the heavy work without complaint. This probably convinced the Khmer Rouge
that Ke Munthit’s family had successfully integrated into the revolution. This family had effectively sacrificed
their lives for the policies of a collectivized society. This is why Ke Munthit and his family
were able to live until now.
With the
historical events of 17 April 1975, I honestly believe that we cannot
forget the past, because the past continues to cast a shadow over us. This is an experience or a life lesson
that everyone ought to remember always, whether or not these past experiences
are bitter or sweet. If a person
has a good experience in their life we should follow this. But if each person has a bad past or
life experience, no matter how bad this past is, we should continue to remember
and do whatever we can so that this experience does not happen again. If we do not recognize our own past, we
can not really know ourselves and who we are. We do not understand our own history and
we do not know where we come from.
And if we commit good things or bad things to ourselves, it is also as if
we has committed these things to our nation’s society. Born as a human who dares to commit, one
must also be willing to bear the consequences. It doesn’t matter if the act committed
is right or wrong. When a person is
willing to bear the consequences of their own brutal, barbaric, and inhumane
actions against innocent victims, this person will remain a good person for
society. This person has recognized their own mistakes and has acknowledged that
they have committed wrong and have violated innocent people. This will be kept as an example of a
crime one ought to be ashamed of and that everyone should avoid. Born as a human, we all make mistakes,
whether more or less or serious or light. No one can avoid making mistakes. However, it is most important, when
these mistakes are committed, whether or not the person dares to accept the
punishment. Therefore, all
historical events should always be recorded and remembered in order to preserve
as a legacy for future Cambodian children to understand. 17 April
1975 is one example of an event that all the people of Cambodia continue to
remember and cannot forget. |
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