Taing Hang Meng, Forester
My father was the chief of forest and wild animal preservation at the Ministry of Agriculture. In 1973, the Ministry assigned him to monitor along the Koh Kong coastline. He decided to move his family to Koh Kong after the Khmer New Year of 1975, but everything changed on April 17. When the Khmer Rouge […]
Um Sboang, Cooperative Chief
Among our family’s seven children, Sboang was the luckiest; he had the highest position. He was a clever student and fluent in French. During the Sihanouk regime, he passed a civil service exam and became a cooperative chief in Prey Veng. He supervised the agricultural system for the whole province. Sboang loved me a lot. […]
Sam Sin Thai, Agricultural Sector Chief
Thai was a smart man. Before 1970, he studied at the agricultural school in Kampong Cham Province. He rented a house there and fell in love with Huot Phannary, the landlord’s daughter. We call her Nary. She is a well behaved and educated woman who taught sports. When King Sihanouk visited our province, Nary greeted […]
Kong Chamroeun, Postal Worker
I moved to Phnom Penh from Kandal Province so I could attend high school, but after I completed the 5th grade [the equivalent of 7th grade in the west] I took an entrance exam for the postal service. I passed and began working at the post office in 1961. I fell in love with Say Ngim when she […]
Srey Yar, Brigadier General
I still remember my father’s words: “I am a soldier, and will not flee the country. If I die, I want to die in Cambodia.” He said this on April 15, 1975 when my mother told him to escape. He probably knew he would be killed, but decided to stay in Phnom Penh anyway. Before […]
Thong Phoeun, Colonel
Phoeun first saw me one evening when I was walking to the river to have a bath. He kept watching me and followed me whenever I went to the market. He came to my parents to ask for my hand in marriage. My father didn’t agree at first because he hadn’t brought any elderly people […]
Yos Prim, Soldier
My husband Yos Prim first saw me in 1952 and asked my parents for my hand in marriage. After he graduated from high school, he entered a military academy and was promoted step by step. He became a colonel in Lon Nol’s army in 1970. Before 1975, I saw that my country was very unstable […]
Doeur Kim Sier, Lieutenant Colonel
My father was a handsome man. After he fell in love with my mother Makk Ngoy, he had to work very hard to please her parents so they would agree to his marriage proposal. My father’s older brother had seen her first and also loved my mother. However, my uncle was generous; he thought that […]
Kok Saroeun, Soldier
loved being in uniform. I wore the uniform in this picture only when I was being promoted or having my photograph taken; when I went to work, I wore civilian clothes. I didn’t always want to be a soldier. After finishing high school in Takeo Province, I continued studying in Phnom Pehn. I wanted to […]
Uk Tat, Second Lieutenant
My father Uk Tat was a soldier. He was the only one in his family to be educated; he went to school at a pagoda and transported vegetables and fruits to the market to help his family. Then the French government recruited him into the army. My mother Chhim Ret used to sell cakes in […]