Word: khmers
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...morning of April 17, 1975, that wish was fulfilled as the triumphant Khmer Rouge army marched into Phnom Penh. Lien's family joined townspeople in cheering and waving white cloths to welcome them. Lien's brother, Ty, who was 11 at the time, felt profound relief that be would not have to become a soldier and fight when he grew up. The euphoric citizens believed that the country could now look forward to peace and economic justice...
Several hours later the walking nightmare began. All city inhabitants, including Lien's family and even hospital patients, were forced into the three major avenues and herded towards the countryside under the watchful eyes of Khmer Rouge soldiers, many of whom were even younger than Lien. Residents left behind homes, businesses, restaurants, and cinemas, carrying away only the barest necessities: in Lien's case a blanket. In the chaos and crush that ensued, she and her brothers were separated from the rest of their family, and the three have not seen them or their hometown since...
During the next four years Phnom Penh and other Cambodian cities turned into ghost towns. Lien, Ty and Van (her other brother) toiled in labor camps in the countryside, fulfilling Pol Pot's (the Khmer Rouge leader's) vision of a peasant farming nation. The Khmer Rouge were hostile and brutal against the people who had lived comfortably in the cities while they had struggled and fought in the jungles for a new Cambodia...
...were actually executed before civilian eyes. But the three recall clearly: the sudden and permanent disappearances; people's belongings strewn along roadsides; the distinct, revolting stench of corpses which wafted into the camp from the neighboring woods; and the rumors and stories passed along by chance witnesses of the Khmer Rouge's but cheering...
...WEEK BEFORE THE Khmer Rouge takeover Lien had acted as bridesmaid at a girlfriend's wedding. The ceremony took place on a sunny morning as friends and relatives arrived with presents and money-filled envelopes. Instead of the traditional pink Cambodian dress, the bride wore a western-fashion, white, wedding gown. At the reception afterwards, the guests plowed through cakes and cookies and drank tea and Coca-Cola...