Mao Chann Than

VPA-KD0002

Mao Chann Than

Male

48

Khmer

Khmer

Commune Number 6, Phnom Penh

Chief of Khmer Civilization Association

Koh Prak Village, Thom Commune, Kien Svay District, Kandal Province

1975

My father was killed on 17 April 1975, and my mother, due to the suffering associated with the loss of her husband, passed away on 19 April 1975.

Additional Information: (dated 25 March 2009)

Evacuation:
On 17 April 1975, I returned from a visit with friends where I had been inquiring about air travel to America, and was shocked to find my father’s body, covered with blood and lying on the ground at his house near Pochentong Airport. He had been shot by a group of ten Khmer Rouge soldiers. My father died in his military pilot uniform of the Lon Nol Armed Forces. My father’s name was Metheavy.

Immediately upon witnessing the scene, I hurried on to find my mother who lived at a different house near the Independence Monument (my father had two houses, one near his workplace at Pochentong Airport, and the other near the Independence Monument). My mother’s name was Sah Kou. I discovered that the Khmer Rouge had evacuated my mother and sister along National Road 5. There were throngs of evacuees filling the road. After my mother heard the news about the death of my father, she said to me, “The situation is now different and we will all have to adjust.� The next morning, my mother passed away when we reached Udong. No one was able to help bury her body. In the end, only my sister, Saophorn Saophy, and I remained. After that, I had no relatives or friends who would offer support. They acted as if they didn’t know me. At the end of 1975, an ethnic militia chief (either Kring or Stieng minority) took my sister and me to live in his village at Trapeang Commune, Tambe District, Kampong Cham Province. In 1976, my uncle’s family was killed by being struck and thrown into the well at Thlok Nhanh. In 1978, my sister died of malnutrition. At the end of 1978, I joined the struggle to liberate Phnom Penh and was trained in Vietnam.

Complainant

No;

Pagoda

No;

20071102

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