We climb in the back

on if b  $5’ we quietly climb in the back.We do not greet the f ' ‘ ut silently step over their bodies to find emp amihes. already ‘k takes us to the 0th ' tyspaces to 5”‘ The truc . er side of the mountain to 3 Vina called Ixilks where We Wm {of new Ordtfrs from the soldiers. I wondijf why the Angkar keeps uprooting and relocating people, herding them “kg cows from one location to another. For our family, the uprootjn 1'5 3 Choiw pa Says we have to keep moving to stay safe. For many othegrg my have no say in the matter. It is as if no village wants us nor do the soldiers know what to do with us. Eventually, another truck comes to take us to our new home, the village of R0 Leap. I climb in and sit by myself in a corner of the truck while the rest of the family huddles closely together. Meng had said when we arrived at Anlungthmor five months ago that there were approximately three hundred new people there, now more than two hundred of the new people have died from starvation, food poisoning, and malaria. I look over to see Ma holding Geak very tightly to her breasts, as if to never let her go. “Ma, am hungry,” Geak cries. “Shhh. . . It’s going to be okay soon.”  “Hungry, belly hurts.” Geak continues to cry. “I love you very much and I will make things better. When we 8“  back home, we will go to the park and get you your favorite food. We’lI g€t some Chinese pork dumplings.Won’t that be fun? We'll have a picnic and a good swim, then go to the park and. . .” Geak is so thin that her Cheekbones protrude out of her face. Her cheeks are now hollow, her  Skin hangs on her bones and her eyes are dulled with hunger.