Eventually, we arrived at the residence of Mrs. Chhuok Sophat, a 62-year-old woman who resides in Bak Nim village. She spends her days caring for her grandchildren. During the Khmer Rouge regime, she endured extreme exhaustion and starvation. The grueling circumstances prompted her to flee to Kampot, where she bore witness to gruesome scenes of death and decay that left an indelible imprint on her psyche. Mrs. Sophat longed for the swift end of the regime, so she could return home and resume her life. Despite her aspirations, she was only able to attain a fourth-grade education due to being deployed to a mobile unit brigade in 1976. While tending to crops with her grandmother, she observed people being taken away to be executed. They had their hands bound from one wrist to the other. Though the sight was harrowing, she dared not gaze upon it, because she was fearful that she too might be met with a similar fate.
Heng Ma
July 27, 2023
