Biographic28,822
Bibliographic93,161
Victim Participation Pal Nhoeun
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Record No
លេខឯកសារ
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VPA-KH0061 | |
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Name
ឈ្មោះ
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Pal Nhoeun
ប៉ាល់ ញឿន
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Gender
ភេទ
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Male
ភេទ: ប្រុស
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Date Of Birth
ថ្ងៃ-ខែ-ឆ្នាំកំណើត
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19500507 | |
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Nationality
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Khmer
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Ethnicity
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Khmer
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Birth Place
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Lbaek village, Khon Rang commune, Bario district, Kampong Chhang province
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Occupation
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Farmer
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Current Address
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Lbaek village, Khon Rang commune, Bario district, Kampong Chhang province
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Mode Participation
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Complainant
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Request Protective Measures
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No;
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Prefer form of Reparation
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Genocide education
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Main Crime Date
កាលបរិច្ឆេទឧក្រិដ្ឋកម្មសំខាន់ៗ
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1975 |
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Main Crime Location
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Forced labor Under the Khmer Rouge regime, after the liberation of Phnom Penh city, Khmer Rouge soldiers, whose names I did not know, fired their rifles into the air, shouting and forcing my family and other families, who lived in Lbaek village, Khunrong commune, Baribo district, Kampong Chhnang province, to get out of our village immediately and head to various regions. After the liberation day, April 17, 1995, the Khmer Rouge soldiers forced villagers to get out of their village, saying that they wanted everyone to get out of the village for just three days, because they needed to wipe out their enemies and the rich. At the time, they forced my family and other villagers to walk for half a month until we reached the Pheah Kol village, An-chanh Roung commune, Baribo district— known as district 10, Region 31 under the Khmer Rouge regime— Kampong Chhnang province. At the Preah Kol village, Kea, a unit chief (female, deceased) had me build rice dykes, tend cows, and plow the paddy fields. At that time, Kea was the one who took charge of the area. I had to wake up early in the morning and work from eight a.m. to eleven a.m., without having any breakfast at all. Then [I] had watery rice soup mixed with banana trees to eat. After finishing lunch, I went back to work, from one thirty p.m. to five thirty or six p.m. This was the time I was allowed to come back and have dinner. I want to verify, that at that time, when a collective dining hall had not yet been created, Kea, the unit chief, gave two cans of rice to each family per week. Even though some families had lots of members, they still received two cans of rice per week. For example, my family, consisting of nine members (parents and seven children), also received two cans of rice per week. During the time, we never had enough food to eat, because the rations were so little. And we worked constantly without having any holiday at all. At that time, I snuck out to steal vegetables, Slaekbas leaves from a kind of tree, to mix with the watery rice soup. However, it was still not enough to overcome our hunger. When living at this place, I did not fall ill. I was aware that there was no hospital, medic, or medicine to treat patients. I have siblings who can stand as witnesses. They are Pal Heng, my older sister, who lives in the Daem Chrai village, Khunrong commune, and Pal Kimhao, my younger sister, who lives in this village. At the time, the Khmer Rouge had not [yet] created the cooperative. Two months later, in approximately June, receiving orders from the upper echelon, Kea assigned my family members to work and live in separate units. For instance, I was put to work in a plowing unit at the Kbal Trach area, whose village, commune, and district were unknown to me. However, I learned that the area was located in the Kampong Chhnang province, and close to the Krakor district, Pursat province. Living in this area and assigned to work in the plowing unit, I worked from five a.m. till ten a.m. Then I had to tend the buffaloes until four p.m. After that, I started to plow the paddy field from four p.m. to six p.m. People who took charge of the area were Pha, a female unit chief (I do not know whether she is still alive or has passed away), Thim, a male unit chief (I do not know whether he is still alive or has passed away). They were both in the military. We received two meals per day. The first one, in the afternoon, consisted of a bowl of rice with a some other dish and the other meal, in the evening, was a bowl of rice with another dish. Soups cooked for us were Machou Trakuon [a soup cooked with morning glory] and Prahae [a soup cooked with a combination of vegetables]. The soups had no vitamins and nothing else, except water. Our work was non-stop. Those who did not feel well were not allowed to take the day off. Moreover, they were accused of laziness or having a guilty conscience. I saw one man, whose name I did not know, became ill due to overwork and malnutrition and fell asleep on the ox-cart. Seeing him sleeping on the ox-cart, the Khmer Rouge not only banned him from taking a rest, but also cut off his rations. Those who could not work did not need to eat. Just keep the rations for those who can work, they said. Fortunately, this man was able to recover. There was no hospital, medicine, or even a medic. Fortunately, while working in that area, I did not get sick. I remember the people who used to work with me in the plowing unit. One is Norng Vuoy, currently living in Lbaek village, Khunrang commune. And there were others whose names I forget. Afterwards, the two unit chiefs sent me to build the January first dam, located in the Baribo district, Kampong Chhnang province. I did not know the chief who took charge of the dam site, because he was sent from region 31. While working there, in order to receive a ladle of watery rice soup and another bowl of soup, I had to wake up early and work from five a.m. to eleven a.m. Likewise, to get another ladle of watery rice soup and another bowl of watery soup, which contained no vitamins at all, I had to work from one p.m. to six p.m. At night time, we had to work from six thirty p.m. to ten p.m. So, everyone had to work day and night, and they gave us only a fifteen-minute break. We only had a fifteen-minute break, at the same time we were carrying heavy dirt for five or six hours without stopping. To sum up, the working conditions were truly horrific. There were approximately one hundred people working together in my unit. While working, I saw ten people I didn’t know, fall down unconscious, because of overwork and malnutrition. Seeing this incident, the Khmer Rouge soldiers sent these people to the O Chrlos hospital, located in Anchanh Roung commune, district 10. These people never came back. All of them disappeared forever. I think some may have survived the regime, while others may have perished. I want to confirm, that I was sent to build the January first dam in January of 1976. I worked at this place for three months. Fortunately, I did not get sick, but I became extremely exhausted. Mao (deceased), who lives in this village used to work with me at the January first dam. At the construction site, there was a rumor, that people were being killed. But the reason for this was not known to me. In addition to this, I observed that the majority of people working there kept disappearing. But I did not know why they were disappearing. I am not certain whether they [the Khmer Rouge regime] took and killed all these people, or whether they evacuated these people to other places. I was terrified by all the incidents of people disappearing. However, I was able survive the regime. After that, I was sent to do dry farming at Tonle Sap, probably located in Kampong Thom or the Pursat province, but the village, commune, or district, was unknown to me. The working conditions at this new place were as difficult as those of the January first dam. We were again put to work day and night. There was no hospital there, and I did not know the person in charge of the area. The evacuation to Tonle Sap took place in 1977. After that, I was relocated to Tuol Lavi, Me Lum commune, Baribo district. I do not know whether That, the unit chief who took control of the area, is still alive or has died. |
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Date Completion of Form
កាលបរិច្ឆេទនៃការបំពេញបែបបទ
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20090721 | |
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Petitioner
អ្នកដាក់ញ្ញាត់
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No; | |
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