A Summary
First they Killed My Father chronicles one young girl’s real experience with the Cambodian genocide, from 1975-1980. The story is told through Loung Ung’s childhood eyes; as such the reader experiences many of the disturbing events with the same confusion and fear the author did at the time. Readers witness Loung Ung’s journey from a privileged member of a middle class military family, to a child toiling in a work camp, separated from her family at the hands of the Khmer Rouge soldiers, and the new communist government in Cambodia called “the Angkar.”
As a child, Loung Ung lived with her parents and six siblings in a spacious apartment in the city of Phnom Penh. As her father was a part of the military elite, Loung Ung and her family were part of a privileged middle class who had a maid, and access to schooling and modern technology. Loung Ung describes her childhood as happy and makes it known that she looked up to her father for his hardworking nature and ability to read people. During this time, a civil war was brewing in Cambodia, where a communist group called the Khmer Rouge protested the existing government and wished to redistribute wealth and create a working class nation. The Angkar concerns itself with ethnic cleansing, meaning to rid Cambodia of those with lighter skin, including Loung Ung, many of her siblings, and her mother, who is from China. Loung Ung’s family is forced from their home and her parents must lie and say they are poor working-class people. Her family travels for eight days until they reach the village of Krang Troup, where they will all live with an uncle in a small home. After this village is no longer safe, the family moves to a mountain village called Anlunthmor, and later to a village called Ro Leap.
In Ro Leap, Loung Ung’s family is indoctrinated into the communist system of the Angkar and are forced to farm for the government. Her family is severely malnourished, and village people die from starvation or disobeying the government. During their time at the camps, Loung Ung and her family witness violence, rape, and are subject to extreme working conditions with minimal food rations.
The family becomes separated, as some of her siblings travel to a work camp and marry, one of her sisters dies from food poisoning, and her father is taken away by soldiers to be executed. Eventually, the mother sends away Loung Ung, her brother Kim, and her sister Chou because she can no longer care for them. Loung Ung and Chou disobey their mother and stay together at a girls’ work camp, but Loung Ung is eventually sent away to a camp for child soldiers because she is strong. On a visit back to her mother, Loung Ung learns that she and her sister Geak have been taken by soldiers and killed.
In time, the Khmer Rouge loses strength and Loung Ung reunites with Chou and Kim as and live with a series of families. The siblings struggle to find acceptance from these families Eventually, they reunite with two of their older brothers, Khouy and Meng and live in a refugee camp. The siblings all find their way to their mother’s home village and reunite with their Uncle Leang where they learn about how the rest of the country was affected by the Khmer Rouge. The family is still worried about the Khmer Rough, and Meng decides to travel to America with Loung as refugees. Though his aim is to eventually save enough money to bring the rest of the family over to America, immigration policies tighten up and it is not possible for the family to be reunified. Loung comes of age in America, attends college, and eventually gets a job working for the Campaign for a Land-Mine Free World. In the epilogue of the book, Loung tells us that she returns to Cambodia for a trip, where she has an emotional reunion with her family, and especially Chou.
-Mary Russell
As a child, Loung Ung lived with her parents and six siblings in a spacious apartment in the city of Phnom Penh. As her father was a part of the military elite, Loung Ung and her family were part of a privileged middle class who had a maid, and access to schooling and modern technology. Loung Ung describes her childhood as happy and makes it known that she looked up to her father for his hardworking nature and ability to read people. During this time, a civil war was brewing in Cambodia, where a communist group called the Khmer Rouge protested the existing government and wished to redistribute wealth and create a working class nation. The Angkar concerns itself with ethnic cleansing, meaning to rid Cambodia of those with lighter skin, including Loung Ung, many of her siblings, and her mother, who is from China. Loung Ung’s family is forced from their home and her parents must lie and say they are poor working-class people. Her family travels for eight days until they reach the village of Krang Troup, where they will all live with an uncle in a small home. After this village is no longer safe, the family moves to a mountain village called Anlunthmor, and later to a village called Ro Leap.
In Ro Leap, Loung Ung’s family is indoctrinated into the communist system of the Angkar and are forced to farm for the government. Her family is severely malnourished, and village people die from starvation or disobeying the government. During their time at the camps, Loung Ung and her family witness violence, rape, and are subject to extreme working conditions with minimal food rations.
The family becomes separated, as some of her siblings travel to a work camp and marry, one of her sisters dies from food poisoning, and her father is taken away by soldiers to be executed. Eventually, the mother sends away Loung Ung, her brother Kim, and her sister Chou because she can no longer care for them. Loung Ung and Chou disobey their mother and stay together at a girls’ work camp, but Loung Ung is eventually sent away to a camp for child soldiers because she is strong. On a visit back to her mother, Loung Ung learns that she and her sister Geak have been taken by soldiers and killed.
In time, the Khmer Rouge loses strength and Loung Ung reunites with Chou and Kim as and live with a series of families. The siblings struggle to find acceptance from these families Eventually, they reunite with two of their older brothers, Khouy and Meng and live in a refugee camp. The siblings all find their way to their mother’s home village and reunite with their Uncle Leang where they learn about how the rest of the country was affected by the Khmer Rouge. The family is still worried about the Khmer Rough, and Meng decides to travel to America with Loung as refugees. Though his aim is to eventually save enough money to bring the rest of the family over to America, immigration policies tighten up and it is not possible for the family to be reunified. Loung comes of age in America, attends college, and eventually gets a job working for the Campaign for a Land-Mine Free World. In the epilogue of the book, Loung tells us that she returns to Cambodia for a trip, where she has an emotional reunion with her family, and especially Chou.
-Mary Russell
Important quotes
1) “Our truck inches on in the streets, allowing us a safe view of the scene. Everywhere, people scream their good-byes to those who choose to stay behind; tears pour from their eyes. Little children cry for their mothers, snot dripping from their noses into their open mouths. Farmers harshly whip their cows and oxen to pull the wagons faster. Women and men carry their belongings in cloth bags on their backs and their heads. They walk with short, brisk steps, yelling for their kids to stay together, to hold each other’s hands, to not get left behind. I squeeze my body closer to Keav as the world moves in hurried confusion from the city. The soldiers are everywhere. There are so many of them around, yelling into their bullhorns, no longer smiling as I saw them before. Now they shout loud, angry words at us while cradling rifles in their arms. They holler for the people to close their shops, to gather all guns and weapons, to surrender the weapons to them” (p. 21).
In this quote, Loung Ung is describing a mass exodus from Phnom Penh. Ung’s words relay the chaos and confusion many people felt as they were forced to flee at the hands of soldiers with weapons. That Loung Ung’s family is traveling by vehicle while so many others are on foot or in wagons is evidence of her family’s privilege. This scene is the first of many of this kind that continue throughout the book. This quote is important to me because Loung Ung is able to convey her feelings and state of mind to the reader, and I felt that I could relate to her situation.
2) “There are five hundred base people already living in Ro Leap. They are called “base people” because they have lived in the village since before the revolution. The Angkar says they are model citizens because many have never ventured out of their village and have not been corrupted by the West. We are the new people, those who have migrated from the city. Peasants who have lived in the countryside since before the revolution are rewarded by being allowed to stay in their villages. All others are forced to pick up and move when the soldiers say so. The base people will train us to be hard workers and teach us to have pride in our country. Only then will we be worthy to call ourselves Khmer. I cannot comprehend why they hate me or why capitalists must be killed…When I ask Kim what a capitalist is, he tells me it is someone who is from the city. He says the Khmer Rouge government views science, technology, and anything mechanical as evil and therefore must be destroyed. The Angkar says the ownership of cars and electronics such as watches, clocks, and televisions created a deep class division between the rich and the poor” (p. 58).
This quote reflects Loung Ung’s childhood confusion over the events and provides a historical contextualization for readers. We see the capitalist and communist lifestyles have come to a head. Readers can relate to Loung Ung’s distress at having to hide her identity and try to adapt to a new way of life. This quote was meaningful to me because the communist themes resonated in a flawed way, as I have seen in other contexts. I could make connections to economic arguments I have heard throughout history, such as those by Karl Marx, in Soviet Russia, in the People’s Republic of China, and in the modern day Occupy Wall Street movement. Many of these movements have to do with redistributing wealth to the masses, but the message and execution is often a cause of suffering and hostility.
3) “When Khouy and Meng arrive on foot two hours later, they tell our story and aunt Keang cries when she hears what has happened to us. They want the two of them to tell them over and over again about all that has happened….As my family talks about the war, I pretend to have no memory of it. They do not ask me about my experiences. In our culture, it is enough that the oldest child relates the family’s story. Children are not asked for opinions, feelings, or what they individually endure. I do not volunteer information about my indoctrination as a solder, escape from being raped, or how I lost three days of my life when I found out about Ma. For a long time I needed to hold on to the memories because they made me angry. My rage made me strong and resilient. Now, however, enclosing the memories in my heart and mind is unendurable” (213).
In this scene, Loung listens as her brothers relay their story to their family. Though Loung was not with her brothers during this time, her brothers speak for all of the children. We see that Loung lives with the burden of her own unique hardships and experiences, but later finds release in writing her own story. This quote spoke to me because it is testament to the power of telling one’s story. For many people, writing is an outlet that frees otherwise silenced voices. I have felt a similar cathartic connection to writing in various circumstances.
-Mary Russell
In this quote, Loung Ung is describing a mass exodus from Phnom Penh. Ung’s words relay the chaos and confusion many people felt as they were forced to flee at the hands of soldiers with weapons. That Loung Ung’s family is traveling by vehicle while so many others are on foot or in wagons is evidence of her family’s privilege. This scene is the first of many of this kind that continue throughout the book. This quote is important to me because Loung Ung is able to convey her feelings and state of mind to the reader, and I felt that I could relate to her situation.
2) “There are five hundred base people already living in Ro Leap. They are called “base people” because they have lived in the village since before the revolution. The Angkar says they are model citizens because many have never ventured out of their village and have not been corrupted by the West. We are the new people, those who have migrated from the city. Peasants who have lived in the countryside since before the revolution are rewarded by being allowed to stay in their villages. All others are forced to pick up and move when the soldiers say so. The base people will train us to be hard workers and teach us to have pride in our country. Only then will we be worthy to call ourselves Khmer. I cannot comprehend why they hate me or why capitalists must be killed…When I ask Kim what a capitalist is, he tells me it is someone who is from the city. He says the Khmer Rouge government views science, technology, and anything mechanical as evil and therefore must be destroyed. The Angkar says the ownership of cars and electronics such as watches, clocks, and televisions created a deep class division between the rich and the poor” (p. 58).
This quote reflects Loung Ung’s childhood confusion over the events and provides a historical contextualization for readers. We see the capitalist and communist lifestyles have come to a head. Readers can relate to Loung Ung’s distress at having to hide her identity and try to adapt to a new way of life. This quote was meaningful to me because the communist themes resonated in a flawed way, as I have seen in other contexts. I could make connections to economic arguments I have heard throughout history, such as those by Karl Marx, in Soviet Russia, in the People’s Republic of China, and in the modern day Occupy Wall Street movement. Many of these movements have to do with redistributing wealth to the masses, but the message and execution is often a cause of suffering and hostility.
3) “When Khouy and Meng arrive on foot two hours later, they tell our story and aunt Keang cries when she hears what has happened to us. They want the two of them to tell them over and over again about all that has happened….As my family talks about the war, I pretend to have no memory of it. They do not ask me about my experiences. In our culture, it is enough that the oldest child relates the family’s story. Children are not asked for opinions, feelings, or what they individually endure. I do not volunteer information about my indoctrination as a solder, escape from being raped, or how I lost three days of my life when I found out about Ma. For a long time I needed to hold on to the memories because they made me angry. My rage made me strong and resilient. Now, however, enclosing the memories in my heart and mind is unendurable” (213).
In this scene, Loung listens as her brothers relay their story to their family. Though Loung was not with her brothers during this time, her brothers speak for all of the children. We see that Loung lives with the burden of her own unique hardships and experiences, but later finds release in writing her own story. This quote spoke to me because it is testament to the power of telling one’s story. For many people, writing is an outlet that frees otherwise silenced voices. I have felt a similar cathartic connection to writing in various circumstances.
-Mary Russell
Historical Context
***Throughout the 1950's and 1960's, Cambodia was thriving and self-sufficient. However, many people believed Prince Sihanouk's government's to be corrupt, catering towards the benefit of rich people. In 1970, Marshal Lon Nol, a Cambodian politician, teamed up with pro-Americans and rid the nation of Prince Sihanouk. This is when the Communist Party of Kampuchea, also called the Khmer Rouge, stepped in because of their allegiance to Prince Sihanouk, and overtook Cambodia from the forces of Lon Nol after a two year struggle. Under the Khmer Rouge, the state was referred to as Democratic Kampuchea.
The genocide began almost immediately after the Khmer Rouge gained control over Phnom Penh. They began their intense attempt at equality in 1975 and continued until 1979, killing over 1 million people (Cambodian Tribunal Monitor). Many people were tortured, killed and buried in a variety of locations known as the "killing fields".
-This is significant in history because the Khmer Rouge gain of control over this state is what began the Cambodian genocide. The Khmer Rouge felt that people that lived in the city were tainted because of Western influence. They killed anyone they found out was from the city: they believed in a nation of complete equality, which could only be achieved if everyone was pure from the city's influence.
-This is significant in the book because Loung Ung and her family are from the city Phnom Penh, and they are forced to live in a new village away from city influence. Because this village is a part of the new Khmer Rouge regime, they have to live in secrecy so no one finds out their past of living in the city. People working for the Khmer Rouge are always present, listening in on conversations because if they turn people in, they are rewarded with more food or breaks from work. The Khmer Rouge are especially resentful towards officers, which Loung Ung's Pa happens to be one of a high position. He is eventually taken away and killed.
***Before they gained control, the Khmer Rouge did not have the supplies necessary to obtain complete power. They had to borrow weapons and miscellaneous other supplies from China, and the Angkar (the name of the new government consisting of the Khmer Rouge soldiers) had to pay China back by giving them food or money from food grown and sold. Although China helped the Angkar, the Angkar still hated anyone that was a foreigner. Often times people would confuse all whited-skinned Asians as being Chinese. Anyone that was perceived as being any other race than Cambodian was kept on close watch, and would be exiled to the minefields or executed on site for any perceived misbehavior. The Angkar is especially hateful towards the Youns, which are white-skinned people that look similar to the Chinese (Ung, 78). This causes the confusion and the execution of even more innocent people.
--This is significant in history because approximately 215,000 Chinese people were killed because of their racial and ethnical differences (Sharp). The Khmer Rouge looked down on the foreign groups of people and felt that they did not deserve the chance to live, or if they did, they had to do the hardest jobs for the littlest rewards. As a result, these groups of people also felt like they did not deserve to live, and would occasionally take their own lives and the lives of those closest to them. This racial hatred is one of the main ingredients for many infamous genocides, including Rwanda and the Holocaust (Totten).
--This is significant in the book because Loung Ung and her family are white-skinned and Chinese. This causes people to be extra resentful and untrusting, and the Ung's have to constantly keep their secret from the Khmer Rouge. Loung Ung also notices that the kids "hate [her] because of her lighter skin": this demonstrates the fact that even the children are not safe from the racist tension (Ung, 78). Eventually, her family is separated for their safety: Chouy and Loung work in a young girl's camp, but Loung gets sent off to become a child soldier. Her mother and littlest sister are executed by soldiers.
***Although this new form of government was technically supposed to make everyone equal, there was still a division of classes among all of the villagers. There was the highest level of class which consists of the chief, his aides, and the Khmer Rouge soldiers. This class essentially has power over all of the other villagers. The next class is made up of the base people, which are protected by the chief, aides, and soldiers. They live separately from the lowest class, but they often mix in with the lowest class as a way to find people that are hiding something from the Angkar (the name of the new government). The lowest class consisted of the "new people". These were the people that were forced out of their original villages and relocated to villages now run by the Khmer Rouge. They are always required to do the toughest work and longest hours. The new people are always under close watch because they are believed to have no loyalty to the new government and may rebel at any moment. Among the new people, there are classes as well, the educated and the foreign (Ung, 61-62). The highest two classes continued to get more and more suspicious of the new people being traitors or too effected by the city to change, so they would execute people for any reason they could find. If there was no reason, they would kill the new people slowly by giving them impossibly small food portions.
-This is significant in history because it demonstrates the fact that the Angkar government did not successfully establish equality within the villages. The attempt to reduce tension amongst the villagers just made things worse: different classes were hiding things from each other, feared for their lives, and starved to death because of such minimal food portions.
-This is significant in the text because Loung Ung's family is part of the "new people" class. They were originally a well-to-do family, but the new regime has forced them to live in secrecy about their past: being from a well-to-do family from the city would result in their immediate execution. Loung Ung is constantly starving, and her whole family is always seemingly on the border of death because their food portions are so small. However, because they are from a richer family, her father is able to barter using his wife's jewelry to get them more food portions. This is also a risk because anyone caught bartering could be executed as well for being secretive. Her family is living constantly in fear of being found out as they watch other members of the "new people" class die of starvation or by poisoning themselves.
References:
-Sharp, Bruce. "Counting Hell". http://www.mekong.net/cambodia/deaths.htm. 2008. Online. 2 December, 2012 -Totten, Samuel. Teaching about Genocide: Issues, Approaches, and Resources. Greenwich, CT: Information Age Pub., 2004. Print.
-Cambodian Tribunal Monitor. http://www.cambodiatribunal.org/history/khmer-rouge-history#TheRiseoftheKhmerRouge. Online. 2 December, 2012
-Ung, Loung. First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers. New York: HarperCollinsPublishers, 2000. Print.
----Kaitlyn Henaghan
The genocide began almost immediately after the Khmer Rouge gained control over Phnom Penh. They began their intense attempt at equality in 1975 and continued until 1979, killing over 1 million people (Cambodian Tribunal Monitor). Many people were tortured, killed and buried in a variety of locations known as the "killing fields".
-This is significant in history because the Khmer Rouge gain of control over this state is what began the Cambodian genocide. The Khmer Rouge felt that people that lived in the city were tainted because of Western influence. They killed anyone they found out was from the city: they believed in a nation of complete equality, which could only be achieved if everyone was pure from the city's influence.
-This is significant in the book because Loung Ung and her family are from the city Phnom Penh, and they are forced to live in a new village away from city influence. Because this village is a part of the new Khmer Rouge regime, they have to live in secrecy so no one finds out their past of living in the city. People working for the Khmer Rouge are always present, listening in on conversations because if they turn people in, they are rewarded with more food or breaks from work. The Khmer Rouge are especially resentful towards officers, which Loung Ung's Pa happens to be one of a high position. He is eventually taken away and killed.
***Before they gained control, the Khmer Rouge did not have the supplies necessary to obtain complete power. They had to borrow weapons and miscellaneous other supplies from China, and the Angkar (the name of the new government consisting of the Khmer Rouge soldiers) had to pay China back by giving them food or money from food grown and sold. Although China helped the Angkar, the Angkar still hated anyone that was a foreigner. Often times people would confuse all whited-skinned Asians as being Chinese. Anyone that was perceived as being any other race than Cambodian was kept on close watch, and would be exiled to the minefields or executed on site for any perceived misbehavior. The Angkar is especially hateful towards the Youns, which are white-skinned people that look similar to the Chinese (Ung, 78). This causes the confusion and the execution of even more innocent people.
--This is significant in history because approximately 215,000 Chinese people were killed because of their racial and ethnical differences (Sharp). The Khmer Rouge looked down on the foreign groups of people and felt that they did not deserve the chance to live, or if they did, they had to do the hardest jobs for the littlest rewards. As a result, these groups of people also felt like they did not deserve to live, and would occasionally take their own lives and the lives of those closest to them. This racial hatred is one of the main ingredients for many infamous genocides, including Rwanda and the Holocaust (Totten).
--This is significant in the book because Loung Ung and her family are white-skinned and Chinese. This causes people to be extra resentful and untrusting, and the Ung's have to constantly keep their secret from the Khmer Rouge. Loung Ung also notices that the kids "hate [her] because of her lighter skin": this demonstrates the fact that even the children are not safe from the racist tension (Ung, 78). Eventually, her family is separated for their safety: Chouy and Loung work in a young girl's camp, but Loung gets sent off to become a child soldier. Her mother and littlest sister are executed by soldiers.
***Although this new form of government was technically supposed to make everyone equal, there was still a division of classes among all of the villagers. There was the highest level of class which consists of the chief, his aides, and the Khmer Rouge soldiers. This class essentially has power over all of the other villagers. The next class is made up of the base people, which are protected by the chief, aides, and soldiers. They live separately from the lowest class, but they often mix in with the lowest class as a way to find people that are hiding something from the Angkar (the name of the new government). The lowest class consisted of the "new people". These were the people that were forced out of their original villages and relocated to villages now run by the Khmer Rouge. They are always required to do the toughest work and longest hours. The new people are always under close watch because they are believed to have no loyalty to the new government and may rebel at any moment. Among the new people, there are classes as well, the educated and the foreign (Ung, 61-62). The highest two classes continued to get more and more suspicious of the new people being traitors or too effected by the city to change, so they would execute people for any reason they could find. If there was no reason, they would kill the new people slowly by giving them impossibly small food portions.
-This is significant in history because it demonstrates the fact that the Angkar government did not successfully establish equality within the villages. The attempt to reduce tension amongst the villagers just made things worse: different classes were hiding things from each other, feared for their lives, and starved to death because of such minimal food portions.
-This is significant in the text because Loung Ung's family is part of the "new people" class. They were originally a well-to-do family, but the new regime has forced them to live in secrecy about their past: being from a well-to-do family from the city would result in their immediate execution. Loung Ung is constantly starving, and her whole family is always seemingly on the border of death because their food portions are so small. However, because they are from a richer family, her father is able to barter using his wife's jewelry to get them more food portions. This is also a risk because anyone caught bartering could be executed as well for being secretive. Her family is living constantly in fear of being found out as they watch other members of the "new people" class die of starvation or by poisoning themselves.
References:
-Sharp, Bruce. "Counting Hell". http://www.mekong.net/cambodia/deaths.htm. 2008. Online. 2 December, 2012 -Totten, Samuel. Teaching about Genocide: Issues, Approaches, and Resources. Greenwich, CT: Information Age Pub., 2004. Print.
-Cambodian Tribunal Monitor. http://www.cambodiatribunal.org/history/khmer-rouge-history#TheRiseoftheKhmerRouge. Online. 2 December, 2012
-Ung, Loung. First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers. New York: HarperCollinsPublishers, 2000. Print.
----Kaitlyn Henaghan