Interview with

Chhayrann

What is your name?

Sok Kim

I'm CHAN Sok Kim.

Chhayrann

How old are you?

Sok Kim

I'm 47 years old now.

Chhayrann

Where was your birthplace?

Sok Kim

Ror Kar Khnul 3 village, Ror Kar Khnul subdistrict, Krouch Chhmar district , Kampong Champ province

Chhayrann

What was your parent's name?

Sok Kim

Father: CHAN Srim; Mother: YANG Leng. The Khmer Rouge killed them at the river dock in 1977.

Chhayrann

Did you know the reasons they killed your parent?

Sok Kim

They accused my parent for being linked to the previous regime. My father was an assistant to the commune chief before the Khmer Rouge.

Chhayrann

When did he work as an assistant to commune chief?

Sok Kim

In 1970.

Chhayrann

How many siblings do you have?

Sok Kim

I got 7 siblings:

1)      CHAN Srieng, male. He married MEUNG You Leng, and got 4 children. He was dead during the Khmer Rouge.

2)      CHAN Neung, female, she live in this village.

3)      CHAN Leang, Female. She married PRUM Nhem (real name: TIT Sun), and got 4 sons. She was dead during the Khmer Rouge too.

4)      CHAN Thlann, male, he died at the same year with my parent.

5)      CHAN Taong Yan, male, he died while he was fighting against Lon Nol soldiers.

6)      CHAN Chhai Lim, female, she still alive.

7)      I myself CHAN Sok Kim.

Chhayrann

Do you know when did CHAN Leang marry?

Sok Kim

She married in 1967 because she got her first son in 1968.

Chhayrann

How old was she married?

Sok Kim

I don't know. I was so young.

Chhayrann

Did you join the Khmer Rouge revolution?

Sok Kim

Most of my siblings joined the Khmer Rouge, except my sister, CHAN Neung.

Chhayrann

Why didn't she join the Khmer Rouge?

Sok Kim

Because her husband did not agree with her to join the Khmer Rouge, and they decided to stay with my parents.

Chhayrann

Who was the first join the Khmer Rouge?

Sok Kim

It was CHAN Srieng and his wife, and CHAN Leang and her husband.

Chhayrann

Who was the next?

Sok Kim

All of them joined at the same time except me who joined later.

Chhayrann

So your siblings number 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6 joined the Khmer Rouge at the same time?

Sok Kim

Yes, they joined in 1970.

Chhayrann

When did you join the Khmer Rouge?

Sok Kim

In 1974.

Chhayrann

So why did you join later than others?

Sok Kim

Because my parent didn't allow me to join the Khmer Rouge.

Chhayrann

Were your siblings happy to join the Khmer Rouge?

Sok Kim

They volunteered to join the Khmer Rouge.

Chhayrann

Did someone persuade them to join the revolution?

Sok Kim

I didn't know about that. But as what I knew, my brother [CHAN Srieng] worked for Khmer Rouge before 1970. He cooperated with the Khmer Rouge when he was studying until he became a teacher.

Chhayrann

Was he who persuaded your other siblings to join the Khmer Rouge?

Sok Kim

Yes.

Chhayrann

Did he ask the permission from your parent?

Sok Kim

I didn't know about that. I knew that they all were happy to work for Khmer Rouge.

Chhayrann

Did your parents want them to join the Khmer Rouge?

Sok Kim

Actually, they did not, especially me. But when all my older siblings joined the Khmer Rouge, so I decided to go with them in 1974.

Chhayrann

Did they want you to join with them?

Sok Kim

No, they want me to stay with my parent, but I wanted to join with them because they were studied in medicine, and I wanted to study that subject too. During that time, all the schools had been closed.

Chhayrann

When did the schools have been closed?

Sok Kim

The schools had been closed since 1970, and I was only in grand 8 at that time. I was still want to pursue my study, and eventually all my older siblings who joined the Khmer Rouge were trained in medicine, so I decided to join the Khmer Rouge because I just want to get more knowledge.

Chhayrann

What grade was your brother [CHAN Srieng] had been studied?

Sok Kim

He completed this baccalaureate during the Sihanouk regime; and he was a professor. 

Chhayrann

Where did he study?

Sok Kim

He studied in Phnom Penh.

Chhayrann

Where did he work after he completed his school?

Sok Kim

He was a teacher in Kampong Cham for 2 or 3 years. He taught at Sre Veal, Cham Kar Leu district.

Chhayrann

What grade was your sister [CHAN Leang] had been studied?

Sok Kim

He failed her baccalaureate I [this was when she would have been about 13-14 years old], and then she was engaged, so she stopped her study.

Chhayrann

What did CHAN Leang's husband do?

Sok Kim

He worked for a private company called SONITA.

Chhayrann

What did that company do?

Sok Kim

It imported the motor spare parts and tractors.

Chhayrann

Where was his birthplace?

Sok Kim

His birthplace was in Khpork village, Svay Khlaong subdistrict, Krouch Chhmar district.

Chhayrann

Did CHAN Leang join the revolution before her husband?

Sok Kim

They joined the Khmer Rouge at the same time. They were in Kampong Cham town, but after the coup d'état, they came back home and joined the Khmer Rouge together.

Chhayrann

Were there many people in this village joined the Khmer Rouge with her?

Sok Kim

Yes, there were many youths in this village joined the Khmer Rouge.

Chhayrann

Where did she do at the first time she joined the Khmer Rouge?

Sok Kim

First time, she worked at zone 304, which located at the other bank of the Mekong river. She was the subdistrict chief.

Chhayrann

Did she work together with her husband?

Sok Kim

Yes, she did.

Chhayrann

What did her husband do after joined the Khmer Rouge?

Sok Kim

He worked for subdistrict office, later he was promoted to work at district office, and he worked as a Khmer Rouge soldier in 1974. I was there at that year, and knew that he worked as a special soldier.

Chhayrann

What did she do after next?

Sok Kim

She was moved to work as village chief at Chamkar Leu district; and her husband had been moved to there too. And after the liberation day 1975, they moved to work at Kampong Soam.

Chhayrann

Did she ever come to visit her homeland?

Sok Kim

She often came to visit home in 1974 because one of her sons stayed with my parent.

Chhayrann

So how many children did she have when she worked at Chamkar Leu district?

Sok Kim

She got 3 sons, and one of them stayed here with my parent. She kept her second son here.

Chhayrann

Why didn't she take him along with her?

Sok Kim

Because he was so young, and he would interrupt her works.

Chhayrann

Did she say anything when she came home?

Sok Kim

No, she didn't. She came home just for visiting her son.

Chhayrann

How many days did she stay at home?

Sok Kim

Just a day.

Chhayrann

Did she come home along with her husband?

Sok Kim

Yes.

Chhayrann

How did she come here?

Sok Kim

By motorcycle.

Chhayrann

Did she or her husband have a pistol?

Sok Kim

No.

Chhayrann

After your sister and her husband were moved to Kampong Soam, so where did you live?

Sok Kim

I stayed with them.

Chhayrann

Since that day, did she come home again?

Sok Kim

No, she did not come home again.

Chhayrann

Did you keep staying along with her?

Sok Kim

I stayed with her until we were moved to Phnom Penh in 1976.

Chhayrann

Did the Khmer Rouge move all her families to Phnom Penh?

Sok Kim

Yes.

Chhayrann

How about you?

Sok Kim

I came to Phnom Penh with her.

Chhayrann

Where did you stay in Phnom Penh?

Sok Kim

I stayed at O-Reu-Sey; later her husband moved to work at Psa Chas, and my sister [Leang] still worked at O-Reu-Sey. [different parts of Phnom Penh]

Chhayrann

Didn't you all stay together?

Sok Kim

No. I stayed with her just for a short while. Later, we were separated, my brother-in-law was sent to work at Psa Chas, my sister worked at O-Reu-Sey; and I was moved to work at Psa Chas at cooking unit.

Chhayrann

Related to these four photos, were you there when they taken these photos?

Sok Kim

I was in Kapong Soam. This photo was taken at sewing unit of the brewery; and I worked at medical center, which was located on the peak of a mountain [called Choak Ta Nhean pagoda], it was the laboratory center during the Khmer Rouge.

Chhayrann

Did she tell you why she took these photos?

Sok Kim

No, she did not tell me anything. She was taken these photos because her husband's messenger Hy, looted the camera while the Phnom Penh collapsed in 1975.

Chhayrann

Did she take many photographs?

Sok Kim

Yes, she did. She took the photo with her workmates.

Chhayrann

About you