Word: lien
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Eventually the political reality became too intrusive to ignore. Refugees from the strife-torn countryside swarmed into the cities; Lien's bookkeeping included a growing number of customers who "borrowed" food from the store. On one occasion a government soldier threatened to pull a grenade pin after Lien's mother refused to give him free beverages. Lon Nol's corrupt, American-supported regime, coupled with U.S. bombings of enemy sanctuaries inside Cambodia, not only bolstered the communist opposition, but also made Lien and her fellow countrymen long for victory by the so-called "gentle, smiling Khmers...
...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...
...Lien recalls that by virtue of their young ages (10, 11, and 17) and sparrow-like proportions, she and her brothers were able to survive within the regime that tolerated only non-threatening individuals with "blank" or "uncorrupted" minds. Execution followed any display of intelligence, education or disgruntlement and eavesdropping was used regularly to ferret out individuals and families who posed a potential threat to the new order...