Searching for the truth Issues 28 - Documentation Center of Cambodia

Searching for the Truth ⎯ HISTORY
Number 28, April 2002
They Disappeared in the Khmer
Rouge Revolution
Dara Peou Vanthan
“Always [be ready to] attack, being wrong
with hands takes hands; being wrong with legs takes
legs, without any consideration,” said Chuon in
reference to the massacre of Phnom Penh evacuees.
Prior to 1975,
Chey Sem
the Khmer Rouge
recruited children
between the ages of
13 and 18 in Kampong
Thom province to join
their revolution. Most
of these children were
not well educated and
did not understand
what “revolution”
meant. Watt, Chey Sem’s son, was brought by the
village chief, Im, to join the Khmer Rouge army when
he was about 10 years old. Chey Sem asked how his
son could join the army when he was so young. Im
replied that even younger children were joining the
army. Besides, he stated, children in the military could
other work, like typing (Thea, also known as Sok, was
assigned to do typing when he was 16 or 17 years old).
Until April 1975, the children who joined the
revolution were allowed to come home to visit once
or twice. Chey Sem’s son went to visit his home once
when he was driving to Prear Vihear province. His
short visit, however, soon turned sour: the cooperative
chief did not allow Watt’s younger sister to see her
elder brother when he arrived. Enraged by the way
the cooperative chief behaved, Seun, Watt’s younger
sister, committed suicide by making thirty cuts in her
stomach. She died after being sent to a hospital in
Kampong Kor Commune.
Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam)
Kan, Kheun’s younger brother, visited his home
only once for two days after he joined the revolution
at age 17. He did not have permission to make the
visit, so he did so in secret when he was wounded and
staying in a nearby hospital. The village chief’s
subordinates saw him and took him away. Kan has
not been seen since.
Duong Chin did not have a chance to visit his
home after he joined the Khmer Rouge army. Only
when Democratic Kampuchea was overthrown in
January 1979 could he come back. During the war
between the Khmer Rouge and Vietnam, he had lost
one of his legs to a landmine.
Koy Torng and Khoem Chhoeu never visited
their homes after joining the Khmer Rouge. They were
only allowed to send one letter each to their families.
Koy Torng’s sister remembered the contents of the
letter her brother sent. She recalled that Koy Tuong
had sent the letter via a construction site when
Phnom Penh was liberated in 1975.
Many parents, siblings and other relatives still
wait for news of their loved ones, but there is too
little hope for them. “My mother waited until her
death, but she never saw her son return,” said Mong,
Ry’s younger sister. Chey Sem recalled that he got a
message from his son Watt in the 1980s through
Chhom. According to Chhom, Chey Sem said his son
lived in the Site 2 refugee camp, but added, “Never,
never heard anything from him so far.”
Chuon received a message in the 1980s through
her uncle, Hou Yan, that her elder brother, Koy
Torng, was still alive. This uncle had brought his
wine to sell in Chy Sampeou village and spotted Koy
Torng on the way. But Koy Torng did not recognize
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