Promoting Accountability Kim Man

Kim Man

f

Alive

BMI003820101016 Kandal village, Malai commune, Malai district, Banteay Meanchey province. Interviewed by Hin Sotheany. Interviewed with Kim Man, female 57 years old. None biography.

Present aged 57 year-old

20040207 Svay Rieng province, Romeas Hek district,

1973????

Lathing Factory at Russei Keo

Chief of bending metal section

Central Zone, Phnom Penh

Phan

Kim Man, female, 57 years old and lives in Kandal village, Malai commune, Malai district, Banteay Meanchey province. Man was born in Trapeang Bos village, Andaung Po commune, Romeas Hek district, Svay Rieng province. Man៌s father៌s name is Kim In and her mother, So Sith. Man has two sisters and five brothers. In 1973, Man volunteered to join the KR revolution and served as woman soldier in Kanchreach district, Eastern Zone. Sam was chief of Women soldier៌s unit. After trained tactic military and served as soldier for three years she moved to Phnom Penh soon after the KR came to power in April 1975. Man was ordered to prepare and evacuate people from the city. Man was Thnal Keng (a corner road going to Ta Khmao) there she organized people to walk in order on street and not spread out. Man was sent to work as worker in Textile Factory T-1 after the people went out from the city for one week. The factory was near Po Chentong. Hean was chief of the factory and San was chief of Man៌s section within the Factory. One day the KR asked for all workers to give their blood and Man was feared, because she saw some workers who gave blood and then, they seemed very exhausted and fever, some of the workers looked so serious. Reasoning to escape from giving her blood, Man recalled her father words. Her father described that he was used to force taking his blood and he decided to swallow white paper into his stomach and they took x-ray they saw something with white color in his stomach and they diagnosed that he got some diseases. So they decided to stop taking his blood. Following her father tactic, Man swallowed two pieces of publishing paper and as the result, she got success to escape of taking blood because the KR took x-ray on her stomach and saw something white color. The KR did not take her blood and sent her to a hospital for three days. After Man worked the factory for years and in July 1977, Man was moved to a Lathing Factory near Russei Keo and she was promoted to be chief of bending metal section. Phan was chief of the factory. Man told that she was in a good living condition when she was in the Lathing Factory. In 1979, Man and other workers fled to Bek Chan and went into jungle. When Man lived in Phnom Penh she did not know any information relevant with killing people. However, when she was in forest she saw many mass graves and dead bodies, some dead bodied were cut out into two parts, some were put on rice field dike. Man faced with horrific event that a group of children were blasted while they were eating rice and they were killed with fresh blood. Man said, she fled with other eleven women from Phnom Penh to Cambodia - Thailand border and as the result only Man, herself still alive and other were died because of starvation and malaria affected. When Man arrived in the border she stayed in several refugee camps such as Ta Ngoc, Srah Keo 1 and 21, Khao Y Dang, Side Two and Side Eight as well. In 1980, Man married to Thou Yoeung in Srah Keo refugee camp. After the marriage they returned to live in Malai. They deforested and cleaned land to build a house and farm. Man has two children and in 1987, Man៌s husband died.

Man saw the KR taking workers’ blood around 10 to 15 people per time.

© DC-CAM