|
 |
 |
Holocaust Survivors and Survivors of the Cambodian Tragedy: Similarities and Differences Dan Savin, M.D. and Shalom Robinson, M.D.
Bou remembers a great deal of shooting and shelling when the Vietnamese conquered the area. The Khmer Rouge soldiers fled to the Thai border, while he and the rest of his youth gang returned to their village. He found the rest of his immediate family alive, and they were able to return to their old house. The family gradually began to work the land as they did before the war.
In 1983 Bou was drafted into the government army, and he participated in numerous battles. After about one year, he was shot in his right arm and had to have it amputated below the elbow. He says it is difficult to work with his handicap, but he is able to plough the field and harvest the rice. His work is made easier by an artificial limb he obtained from a voluntary agency.
There are times when Bou has difficulty putting the war out of his mind, for example, when he sees armed soldiers at a checkpoint along the road. He has a permanent reminder of the war whenever he looks at his arm. He has occasional disturbing dreams, including one recurrent nightmare of the enemy capturing him and taking him away to be killed. The disturbing dreams seem to be related more to the time he spent as a soldier than to the Pol Pot era. Whenever there is shelling or gunfire in the distance (and there still is occasionally), he is afraid that the Pol Pot regime will reoccur. Bou tries to avoid thinking about the war, but sometimes he cannot get it out of his mind.
Bou notes that he is more irritable and easily angered than he would like to be, especially when he is reminded of his handicap. He thinks that his neighbors who are not handicapped have a much easier time of it. He is, however, able to control his anger, and rarely gets into conflicts with others. He is able to concentrate well on tasks, has no difficulty sleeping at night, and has a good appetite. He does not feel depressed very often.
Despite his difficult experiences, Bou is able to enjoy life at times. He enjoys getting together with friends, family, and neighbors and has enough energy to do everything he needs to around the farm. In the future, he hopes that he will continue to farm, and that his financial situation will improve.
Tavi
Tavi remembers very little before the Khmer Rouge came to power except for going on leisure outings with her mother and father. She was only three or four years old when Phnom Penh fell, but can remember vividly the gunfire and the explosions. When all the residents of Phnom Penh were expelled from the city, she remembers traveling for many days, mostly on her father's shoulders until they reached the town of Pousat. In Pousat, she remembers her father being separated from the rest of the family. This was the saddest moment of her life. Later, she learned that he was murdered by Khmer Rouge soldiers.
From Pousat, Tavi went with her mother and younger brother to the province of Battambang. She was then separated from her family and sent to live with a group of other children her age. Tavi's mother was prohibited from visiting her, but would come secretly about once a week. Tavi saw her mother being severely beaten by soldiers when she got caught, and remembers feeling very guilty about this. Yet, her mother persisted, and the visits continued.
One of Tavi's jobs during the Khmer Rouge reign was to look for cow manure that could be used for fertilizer. She often went hungry, and remembers very vividly being beaten and threatened with death for eating food which was secretly given her by her mother or by some other kind soul.
Although the Khmer Rouge attempted to perform their murder secretly, Tavi remembers sneaking out at night to observe mass executions of men, women, and children. In addition to her father, nine of Tavi's aunts and uncles were killed.
There was very heavy fighting and many explosions when the Vietnamese invaded Cambodia. She and the rest of her work group were forced to follow the Khmer Rouge soldiers to the Thai border. Eventually, their camp was overrun by Vietnamese soldiers who were kind to her and told her to go back to Phnom Penh with her aunt, whom she had met in the camp. The two of them trekked for several weeks to Phnom Penh, where her aunt left her in an orphanage. She remembers being hungry there, but not to the point of starvation.
Fortuitously, after about three months in the orphanage, she was reunited with her mother at a temple in Phnom Penh. This was perhaps the happiest moment of her life. Unfortunately, her mother did not have the means to support her at that time and so she stayed at the orphanage one more year. Eventually her mother found a job in a factory, and the family moved into an apartment. They did not move back into the house they lived in before the war because another family had taken it. Tavi was a good student and eventually graduated from high school. She wanted to continue her education after high school but has been unable to, because she has to help support the family since her mother is sick with heart disease.
If Tavi watches anything concerning war on television, or reads anything about what happened during Pol Pot times, she is saddened as she recalls having seen people killed or her mother beaten. If she hears loud noises, she is reminded of explosions she heard during the war. She has occasional nightmares, especially around times when the family holds ceremonies to remember her deceased father. She tries not to think about what happened, but once the thoughts start entering her mind it is hard to get them out. For this reason she avoids watching violent movies. Usually, when the political situation is particularly unstable, Tavi is afraid that something like the Pol Pot regime will reoccur.
Tavi often feels depressed, but can overcome this by talking with two or three of her good friends. She works more than sixty hours a week and wishes she had more free time, but is glad she has the opportunity to practice her English on the job. She sleeps well at night, and her appetite is good. She denies feeling irritable or having any difficulty concentrating.
|
