It was evening when we arrived at her house. It was very peaceful, her land was full of greenery, and as I stepped out of the vehicle, I felt a gentle breeze in the air. I looked around and saw this lady on a wooden bed below her house with three kids beside her as they stared confusedly at me and my team. I walked towards her house and she quickly got up and presented a warm welcome to us. I started introducing myself and team and why we were interested to speak with her. She seemed unsure but allowed us to interview her anyway. She was interviewed by one of our team’s volunteers named Nuon Chai Len, age 20.
The woman’s name is Loeun Sok Noeun, and she is 65 years old. She does not remember much about her life during the Khmer Rouge, but she mentioned that she was in elementary school when the Lon Nol regime (1970-75) overthrew the King. She explained that in 1975, when the Khmer Rouge came, she was separated from her parents who were living in Nor-Reay district. She was evacuated to Lor- Ang (district). She described her life there as relatively calm until approximately 3 years later, she was told to move again to Kampot (town) and she stayed there for a year. At the time, she was put into a group of 10 young girls and they had to eat together. She remembered that the village was named Comrade (Ta) Eng, and the chief for the village was named Comrade (Ta) Chech. Soon, thereafter, she was moved again to stay near Lor-Ang (Bonn) mountain. She recalled walking endlessly without a group for at least 2-3 months and she ended up in Phnom Penh. In 1979, She heard someone telling the people to go back home and so she started walking again. When she returned home, she was given free land to farm and in the early 2000s, she married and bought a plot of land in Kampot. She decided to move to Kampot with her husband and child. Today, her husband has become a monk and she is home focusing on taking care of her grandchildren.
