Nget Sim

VPA-KP0122

Nget Sim

Female

Khmer

Khmer

Ro Vieng village, Trapeang Raing commune, Chhouk district, Kampot province

19460410

Farmer

Ro Vieng village, Trapeang Raing commune, Chhouk district, Kampot province

1975

my village (Ro Vieng village, Trapeang commune, Chhouk district, Kampot province) and Thmei village

Forced labor

From 1975 to the fall of the [Khmer Rouge regime], Khatt Deu, the unit chief in the village, sent me to do farm work, transplant young seedlings, carry dirt, and other forced labor. During this time, I worked with Kimseng, my brother-in-law. Without having any breakfast, we worked from seven a.m. to nine a.m. And after a short break, in order to get one and a half ladles of rice soup, we worked until eleven a.m. Then we worked from one p.m. to five p.m., which was the time we received another one and a half ladles of rice soup.

Sometimes, they gave us one and a half ladles of rice soup to eat and sometimes, they gave us a piece of sticky rice to instead. When we were sick, we still had to work. If we did not do our work, we would be killed. At one point, there were six young Khmer Rouge militiamen coming to arrest two 17th of April people. The two 17th of April people, my neighbors, Rin and Sambath, were arrested and killed, after they were accused of being lazy. The fact was, that they were very sick at the time. Although they were the 17th of April people, I observed that they both worked very hard. Unfortunately, militiamen still killed them. I witnessed this incident, but I do not know who is responsible for the arrest, and who ordered those young militiamen to arrest them.

When I was six-months pregnant, my unit chief called Khatt Doe, forced me to carry dirt to fill in the paddy fields. At the time, I carried two buckets of dirt (40 kilograms) from one end of the end village to the other, about 3 kilometers. I carried dirt such a long distance twice a day, and suffered terribly, because my belly was in such pain. They forced me to work all the way up to the time that I was to give birth. Half a month after I delivered my baby, they forced me to do the same task again. During my pregnancy and after delivering my baby, I was given the same amount of rations as normal people. To date, I have always wondered why the Khmer Rouge forced people to work so extremely hard, and gave people such a small amount of food to eat.

In 1983, I petitioned the Khmer Rouge, because I was angry and hated them. This time, I am happy to file the application form, and I want to see the Khmer Rouge put on trial soon.

The disappearance of my father

In 1976, my father, Nget, was arrested at his worksite, Stung Chral, and taken for “re-education.� I learned this news from my brother, Nget Phos, who now lives in the Ta Yoeng village, and from other siblings (deceased). I do not know how many Khmer Rouge cadres came to arrest my father, and why they arrested him. To this very day, I have been asking myself, why the Khmer Rouge arrested my father, and what they did to him. However, I believe he was executed, because prior to the Pol Pot regime, my father had been a commune chief.

Complainant

No;

Woman statue

Yes;

20081028

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