She is in her 50s and lived through the Khmer Rouge and the genocide inflicted on her people. She is Ra, our contact's mother.
Let me regress… Cambodian Genocide. In the late 1970s the Khmer Rouge came to power in Cambodia being led by Pol Pot. In an effort to maintain absolute power, Pol Pot killed anyone he veiwed as a threat. This included anyone who was foreign, educated, religious, or align with what he desired . In 4 years, Pol Pot ordered the killing of no fewer that 1.7 million of Cambodia's 8 million people. Some estimate that he murdered half of the country's population.
Now back to Grandma. She was 27 when the Khmer Rouge came to power and had 2 small children. Under Pol Pot, she spent her days working in the feilds away from her family. Because of the language barrier, the order of events were a little jumbled but I was able to hear of her life during this time.
Her 2 small children died of fevers while she was working in the fields because she was unable to care for them. When she had another child, she was only given 1 month before she was required to return to work. During this time, there was never enough to eat and usually they were only given rice. She also lost her sister who was taken and never heard from again.
Even more unbearable than the physical conditions was the psychological hardship that accompanied it. She tells of the soldiers taking people away without telling their crimes. These prople never came back and those that remained knew they had been killed. She feared getting sick because she thought that Pol Pot would take her away and kill her. She looks back on her life and is suprised that she has lived this long because she always believed that she would die under Pol Pot.
Let's take another look at history at this time. Pol Pot had set up what are now know as killing fields. Essentially, these are places where they would kill mass amounts of people are bury them. We were able to visit one of these fields. This particular field held over 9,000 people. There are over 300 killing fields across Cambodia some holding as many as 17, 000 people including women, children and even Khmer Rouge soldiers along with Cambodian men.
When Pol Pot lost power, Cambodia was left with a country full of undereducated and fearful young people. Currently half the country is under 20 and 80% is under 30. Our contact is barely over 30 being born in the last year of the Khmer Rouge.
As I spent the month in Cambodia with Grandma, I couldnt help but notice how much she loves young people. She often comes to my English class to keep the little ones in line. She talks to me often and smiles and my English responces. But more than anything else, I see her playing with the babies. She loves those little kids and they will never know how lucky they are to have her.
This country is rising up from their past of destruction. They have a future that is bright and shining. The young are advancing on the motivation and encouragement of men and women like Grandma.
