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Holocaust Survivors and Survivors of the Cambodian Tragedy: Similarities and Differences Dan Savin, M.D. and Shalom Robinson, M.D.
Rin
Rin's husband works with a local nongovernmental organization (NGO) which aids the development of some of the poor communities in the countryside. The NGO is funded by the Australian government, and her husband's salary is $300 per month, a great deal higher than the national average of $200 per year. The family own their own home, and they are able to support themselves as well as help support some less fortunate family members. They hope to move to Australia next year so that her husband can get his master's degree there.
Before Pol Pot came to power, the family lived in a large stone house near the center of Battambang. They were quite well off, as her father was a relatively high-ranking army officer. Rin remembers vividly the shelling and gunfire which took place just before the Khmer Rouge emerged victorious and took control of the city. Her last memory of her father was of him being herded into the back of a truck and driven away; she later found out that he had been executed.
Rin, her mother, and her four siblings were forced, along with the rest of the surviving inhabitants of the city, to leave their home and trek several days to a small village in the countryside. She was separated from the rest of the family and placed in a work gang with other children her age. Her job was to watch the cows and collect fertilizer. There was not enough to eat and many of the children around her died of starvation. She remembers being extremely thin and having a belly swollen from malnutrition. She was witness to many people being led away from the village for execution.
Although separated from her family, her mother was able to come and visit her once a week, sometimes secretly bringing food. On one occasion her mother was caught, and both Rin and her mother were severely beaten. Her mother was placed on a list of people to be executed and was actually led out to the field with a group of people to be slaughtered. Luckily one Khmer Rouge leader, kinder than the rest, said "Give her another chance. She has many children"; at that point her mother was set free.
Fearing that she was still on the list to be executed, in the middle of the following night her mother somehow collected all of her children and fled with them to a neighboring village. The leader of this village knew that the family was on the run, but pitied them and allowed them to stay. The work in this village was extremely hard and food was scarce; one of Rin's younger sisters died of starvation.
There was much shelling and fighting as the Vietnamese took over the countryside. After their Khmer Rouge guards fled, the family returned to their house in Battambang, but found it destroyed. Because the family was starving and had no way to support themselves, they fled to the Thai-Cambodian border where they heard there were foreigners giving away food. Because of the ongoing civil war they wound up staying in refugee camps for 13 years, until 1992. The camps themselves were not very safe; she remembers some of her neighbors being beaten by Thai soldiers for very minor offenses. Rin was able to attend several years of school in the camp and learned how to read and write. She was married in Site II camp in 1986.
In 1992, just before repatriation, Rin was extremely concerned about whether their family would be safe upon their return to Cambodia. Since their repatriation the security situation has improved somewhat, and she has not been as worried. Her family's relatively good standard of living has helped improve her state of mind. When she hears shelling or gunfire in the distance, however, or is reminded of the Khmer Rouge by newspaper or television, she recalls vividly the terrible experiences she went through. She often cannot get the images out of her head, especially that of her father being driven away in a truck. She has occasional nightmares about Pol Pot times, though less often than in years past. She has difficulty falling asleep, and wakes up several times in the middle of the night. Loud noises such as a motorbike horn startle her easily.
Rin tries to avoid thinking about the Khmer Rouge days, and generally does not talk about them. She worries that the Khmer Rouge might again take control of the country. For the safety and future of her family she would like to leave Cambodia and go to Australia, if they get the chance.
Although she has had episodes in the past when she was quite depressed, lately she has been in a fairly good mood. She enjoys taking care of her children and socializing with her neighbors. She is very happy about the recent improvement in her family's financial situation, and hopes that things will get even better in the future. She has a good appetite, her energy level is good, and she is able to concentrate well. She has never felt as though life was not worth living.
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