31 December 2014
. sarong and i and soft on m‘! Skin, Sl0W1Y Peeling away g co11ected_ The slippery grass in the water sways hands them over to Keav. With‘ no soap, Keav takes t 6 Clothes to the edge of the river and scrubs them against the rocks to get them clean. With Geak balanced walks Chou and 1 into the pond for our first W3511 in six days. Hand in my waist. The water...
"“"'\u -‘XPRII. I975 35 Ma, look!” he calls to her, barely “ able to contain his glee. “Sugar!” Brown sugar!” I am tired th Ma exclaims, taking the pot away from him. Though v 053 two words bring me running in the direction of the pot. “B ” . Id :w.Vn Sugar! I repeat quietly. I never knew how two little words C0“ rmg U16 50 much happiness.“ almost a quarter of a...
run" last night", d sudden1Y notice the Smell that hits ms or my own body odor but nostrils. ach coi15~ my stom hot Sun for too many days. Evel-ythin smell so Pumd that the . t in - chicken mnard5 left Ou es blurry and I do I10‘? hear Keav telling me to - becom surroundlflg me h only the buzzing Of flies feasting (in the human move myf 1elgSlieIav’:aliand pull...
and Meng picked the mushrooms in the woods” with ml’ CV35 Still C10S€d, the rice ball works itself slowly down my dry throat and Cluiets mY hunger. After I finish my small portion I lie back down and leave the world of the Khmer Rouge soldiers behind, In the middle of the night I dream I am at a NewYear’s parade.The Cambodian Lunar New Year this year falls on the thirteenth of April. Traditionally,...
slumped, arms hanging loosely on both sides Of hm’ the man with th Lon Nol uniform in his bag does not fight as another Khmer Rang: soldier points and pushes him away with the butt of his rifle, After many hours, it is f1nal1Y our time to b: quuCI51t1r‘1’(:‘ed- I can te We’Ve been standing here a long time because t 1:; Rw warms y lower back instead of the top Of my head‘ AS 3 rlnlr Ouge soldier...
and not lie to the Angkar! If you lie to the Angkar, we will find out! The Angkar is all—knowing and has eyes and ears everywhere.” This is the first time I hear the word “Angkar,” which means “the 0fg3’“Za' tion.” Pa says the Angkar is the new government of Cambodia. He tells us that in the past, Prince Sihanouk ruled Cambodia as a monarch. Then in 1970, unhappy with the Prince’s government,...
\ FIRST THE‘ "" soy t I take the f°°d fmm him i “me between cho - . h ' Wes look down at th€ gtound S ‘ e I eat 1113’ “Ce htl as . es and says 50f-dY~ The? he, the Words make me sob harder‘ , anyway. Silently, - sobs. Bending d0W“~ h - _” His 0 soldiers lie.\lVe C3I1n°‘ go “But they said three d3YS-H d them but they lied.” , b 1' ve...
Today, our third day on the road, I walk with a little more bounce in my step. In Phnom Penh, the soldiers had said we could return home after three days.The soldiers told us we had to leave because the United States was going‘ to bomb our city. But I have not seen any planes in the sky and have heard no bombs dropped. It is strange to me that they made us leave just so we can turn back and go home...
April 1915 nl Open up my eyes the next morning is the {Chou against the background of cloudy “Wake up. We have to move again,” she The first sight I see Whe glum upside-down face 0 skies as she tugs at my half- tells me. Slowly I sit up and rub the seeds out of my sleepy eyes. All around me, a sea of people wake: babies cry, old people groan, pots and pans clang against...
26 December 2014
K. “The soldiers walked around t 37 he neighbor h doors, ‘telling people to leaVe,Th0Se who refu ood, knocking on an th on their doorsteps. Pa shakes his head Sed were shot dead ri he “Why are they doing this, Pa?” Kim asks. g t ufi6C3.11S€ they are destroyers of things.» ‘Chou and Kim look at each other and I sit there feel. afraid. mg 10st and «I don’t understand. What does all this mean?”...
“That’s nice, now go to sleeP-” - k . Eve e ‘ “You know the stars are candles In the 5 Y ry vemngv ‘f we lose our wa . for us so 1 Y, angels come out and light them ’ still see." -h T - ‘ Pa has told me in the past that 1 am blessed W“ a g1 ted lmaglna. tion and he likes the stories I tell. I . _ When 1 awaken in the morning’ my Slbgrlgs :rekalr:ady “P-They were awakened...
goes away and comes back with a bunch of paper sheets in her hand. My“eyes widen in d1sbel1ef,“Mal It’s money. I can’t use money!” Use it, it is of no use to us anymore,” she replies, pushing the crisp Sh€€tS Into my hand. I don’t understand this. I know that we must be in really big trouble. I know this is no time to argue, so I grab the money and head off to the Woods_ After I finish,...
though still moving very slowly. ‘‘Where are we going?” I ask Kim repeatedly, after it seems like we have been traveling forever, “I donit kT10W, We just passed the Po Chentong airport. which , ' 99 3 means we are on Highway Four. Stop asking me all the time. sulking. My body sags and I begin to grow tired. My eyelids struggle to stay open against the glaring sunlight...
24 December 2014
FIRST THEY KILLED [VIA ....u;-.1‘ ’ to move faster, to get out of the way, to not talk back. I bury into Keav’s chest, my arms tight around her waist, stifling a c,y.C:1yf3te silently on the other side of Keav, her W95 Shut. Beside us, Kiriiu Meng sit stone—faced, watching the commotion below_ so mean to us?” I ask, cljn - 31%’ ei- en Sit‘ and “Keav, why are the soldiers more...
“Why? I like it more than the truck). €::r:hanswering IIIY question. Pa bought the gone into with friends The bus: Import/export bllsmess he had briefly been Sitting in our back ans fopess never got going, so the truck has creaks and Squeaks as Khou yth many months‘ The .old pickup truck Pa ties a large white cloth tdth rows a cloth -bag Onto its floor" In from’ to the side mirrors With 6 antenna...
my hands. On our block, children jump up and down d an wave their arms in the air to greet these strange men Excited I 1, - I 5 C 6 wave at the soldiers even though I don’t know why er and Only after the trucks have passed through my street and the people quiet down do I go home.When I get there, I am confused to find m whole family packing. Y “What’s going on? Where’s...
and bounce as they pass black, these cargo trucks sway dirt and engine smoke as they wearing faded black long pants shirts, with red sashes cinched tightly around rves tied around their foreheads, stand body to body. They raise their fists to the sk y and cheer. Most look young and all are thin and dark—skinned, like the peasant workers at our uncle’s farm, with greasy lon g...
You laughed at me, I Just W15}; she would d ever my nose 3T1 meaI1- _ me on gs and not be soall the time so I 0CCaS10nal]y Skip teach us the langua . h 01 , _ it enjoy going to SC 0 but I don t tell Pa. One thingl d 311 day, I don . ‘ school and stay at the.PlaYg1l,-:)ll1fr‘:)1‘ I get to Wear this year‘ My ““‘f°rIn do like about sch0°1 '5 the 'th puffy, short sleeves...
nk. He told me that wherever he walked he had to Carry 3 lfmcm path in front of him so as not to k111 any them. After leaving the monastic (“def to 6. He was so good he was promoted under Prince Norodom l further his study, and eventually b during his life as a m0T1kv and dustpan to sweep the living things by 5t5PPmg on f . . ' c m3”Y M3’PaJ0med the Pohcse oert Service Cambodian ROW] 6“...
nk. He told me that wherever he walked he had to Carry 3 lfmcm path in front of him so as not to k111 any them. After leaving the monastic (“def to 6. He was so good he was promoted under Prince Norodom l further his study, and eventually b during his life as a m0T1kv and dustpan to sweep the living things by 5t5PPmg on f . . ' c m3”Y M3’PaJ0med the Pohcse oert Service Cambodian ROW] 6“...
23 December 2014
"" id that may. Ma then sa - trashcan b 111 Our a born 5 he makes good m k emery ofthjs and as , uniform, which mean kill him by putting Someone once tried I0 have I10 m ars old. I when I was one or M0 Y5 _ . H d her. 11 h m? I aske . “Why would someone want to k1 g 1 b mbs in the countryside, many “When the planes started dr0PPmg 0 find work , the could...
NJ 1 U ound looking for fares‘ Sometimes when I Peddle Zr edg; of the railing and look down at the t e ave I Climb onto the railing, holding on . h, with my whole bod)’ supported by the to the banister Very mg ‘Y. m toes as theY hang 3‘ the edge Ofthe raging I dare myself to lool}: atmr: and bicycles below, a tingling sensa- world. As I look dpw: Ztlatkiilg them feel as if a thousand...
displaying gold and silver jewelry. Their ears, necks, fingers, and hands are heavy With yellow twen\ty—four-carat gold jewels as they beckon you over to their counters. A couple of feet across from the women, behind yellow, featherless chickens hanging from hooks, men in bloody aprons raise their cleavers and cut into slabs of beef with the precision of many years’ practice. Farther away from the...
above the ground floor. In Phnom Penh’ it see the more round level is unde 1e are always peeking in’ 50 Of course on] evel. The truly impoverished live .3’ owed to wander‘ In stairs you have to Climb to apartments or houses sirable because dirt gets that the more money your home. Ma says the 8 into the house and nosy p€0P e live on the ground 1 where I have never been...
Aprn 1915 We have a big family, nine in all: Pa, Ma, three boys, and four girls. For- tunately, we have a big apartment that houses everyone comfortably. Our apartment is built like a train, narrow in the front with rooms extending out to the back.We have many more rooms than the other houses I’ve visited. The most important room in our house is the living room, where we often watch television...
have money in your pocket. 35 I do this morning- “I’m full, can I go?” I ask, swinging rnY1eg5 even harder‘ “All right, you can go play,” Ma says with a sigh. I jump Out of the chair and head off to my friend’s house down the Street‘ Though IIIY stomach is full, I still crave salty Snack f00Cl. With the money Pa gave me in In)’ Pocket, I aPPr°ach 3 f00d cart selling roasted crickets....
have money in your pocket. 35 I do this morning- “I’m full, can I go?” I ask, swinging rnY1eg5 even harder‘ “All right, you can go play,” Ma says with a sigh. I jump Out of the chair and head off to my friend’s house down the Street‘ Though IIIY stomach is full, I still crave salty Snack f00Cl. With the money Pa gave me in In)’ Pocket, I aPPr°ach 3 f00d cart selling roasted crickets....
drop To Wh the PePPers again“ the “dc °f‘he bowl looks on approving1Y- “us d finall)’ my soup is ready t° taste the Way I like it. Vlithlml Slpoontli: broth and instantaneousl)’ my tongue bums and mi’ S ow Y, 5 WP nose drips. A long time 350’ . use it makfi should eat spicy foods 13553 re W6 SW63 Pa told me that People living in hot Coumri“ 5 them drink more water. The and...
think she cannot hear. Because I’m a child, they feel free to say what- ever they want in front of me, believing I cannot understand. So while they’re ignoring me, they comment on her perfectly arched eyebrows; a1mond_5haped eyes; tall, straight Western nose; and oval face. At 5’6”. Ma is an amazon among Cambodian women. Ma says she’s so tall because she’s all Chinese. She says that some day...
2 nus‘! 1"“ “"’ ' f the intersections directing traffic. Yet the city alwfl s the m1dd1l)e one big mfl_1CJ.am_My favorite way to get around with M1 iseillf ttrgcld because the driver can maneuver it in frthe hefaVi:S.t traffic. Cyclo resembles a big Wheelchair attached to the ont (:1 a 1CYC1e.You just take a seat and P3)’ the driver to Wheel you aroun Wherever You want to go‘ Even though we own...
Phnom Penh city wakes early to take advantage of the cool morning breeze before the sun breaks through the haze and invades the country with sweltering heat. Already at 6 A.M.people in Phnom Penh are rushing and bumping into each other on dusty, narrow side streets. Waiters and waitresses in black—and—white...
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