I just finished reading the book, First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers, written by Loung Ung. One of my teammates picked it up while we were in Siem Reap. I am so glad I had the opportunity to read this heart-breaking memoir of Ung’s life, living though the Khmer Rouge genocide. She writes it from her perspective as a 5-8 year old and recounts the horrors she witnessed and experienced firsthand. I found myself not wanting to put the book down, and when I did, her story stayed with me. I couldn’t help wondering what the village I am currently living in looked like during that time, and how many people died in close proximity. I find that every small girl I see makes me think of Loung and her family.
It has been a heavy read, especially for this time of year, but I feel it gave a face to the facts I had learned at the beginning of the month. I was surprised to learn, in the acknowledgement section, that both her and her brother were relocated to Essex Junction, Vermont and that she attended Saint Michael’s College. This is the town my Mom and Stepfather live and I loved that I was able to picture exactly where she spent her time healing and acclimating to the United States. She says of Essex Junction that there was “no better place for me to heal” and that it is a community “where kindness is abundant”. (Thought you would like to read that Mom and Robert.) Apparently, after living in a refugee camp for five months, she was relocated to Vermont through sponsorship by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and Holy Family Church parish in Burlington.
As I read her account, I couldn’t help but see ways that God was faithful throughout her childhood. I imagine she would think many parts of her story coincidental, but there are so many instances where she is reunited with family members despite the many odds against her. Also, of her six siblings, only her and her brother made it to America and only four of them survived. If you have time, I would definitely recommend picking this book up. If anything, it will put the things you fear, complain, and worry about in perspective. It made me realize how much I took my safe and carefree childhood for granted. I hope you are inspired to read. I promise you won’t regret it. I’ll leave you with an excerpt from the book…
“‘Wearing colorful clothes is forbidden. You will take off the clothes you have on and burn those as well. Bright colors only serve to corrupt your mind. You are no different from anyone else here and from now on will dress in black pants and shirts. A new set will be issued to you once a month.’ ” To drive his point home, the chief paces around, looking new people in the eye, pointing his long index finger at them. “
