The Khmer Rouge, literally translated as Red Khmer, is the common term used for the Communist Party of Kampuchea. From the late 1960s Cambodia became characterized by periods of instability and conflict in the wake of the war between Vietnam and the United States. After a coup in 1970, staged by the forces of Lon Nol backed by the United States against the then presiding head of the government former King Norodom Sihanouk, civil war ensued between the Lon Nol forces and those backing former King Sihanouk, including the Khmer Rouge. On 17 April 1975 the Khmer Rouge arrived in Phnom Penh city declaring that it was the end of the civil war and renamed it the State of Democratic Kampuchea. People gathered in the streets cheering and welcoming the soldiers, however, the situation immediately became violent as the residents of Phnom Penh were forced out of the city and moved to the countryside.
Pol Pot, “Brother No.1” of the Khmer Rouge, who sought to build an agrarian-based, classless society based on communist ideology, declared that Democratic Kampuchea would begin again at Year Zero. A centrally controlled government led by a close circle of party members took over all decision-making powers. All institutions, including, financial, educational, and religious, and the family unit, were abolished and private ownership, independent livelihoods, and unapproved sexual relations were outlawed. The population was put to work farming and building infrastructure to support the goals of the Khmer Rouge. This period was characterized by deprivation: deprivation of food and basic necessities; deprivation of rights, even the most basic of human rights; deprivation of rest and medical treatment; and deprivation of family and human relationships.
From the arrival of the Khmer Rouge in Phnom Penh and throughout their rule anyone identified as being wealthy, educated, or connected to capitalism or previous regimes were systematically killed. Additionally, members of ethnic and religious minority groups were subjected to persecution. The population endured forced transfer; forced labor; arbitrary detention; forced marriage; and systemic violence including brutal beatings, torture, mutilation, sexual violence and executions. Life was characterized by fear of death and in a constant state of suffering. At the same time, war was waged against neighboring Vietnam. It is estimated that around 1.7 million people died from starvation, torture, execution and forced labor before the Vietnamese troops marched into Phnom Penh on 7 January 1979. (Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge Regime | GBV Under the Khmer Rouge, n.d.)
Interviewee bio:
Mr. Sreang PHA is 65 years old. He was born in Kandal Province and currently lives in Kratie Province, Cambodia. After the fall of the Pol Pot regime, he got married and had three children. All of his children now have their own families and live separately.
Nowadays, he lives with his eldest daughter. Not wanting to stay idle at home, he spends his free time working as a motorbike taxi driver. Sometimes, he also takes foreign tourists around Kratie Province for a tourism company.
He survived the Khmer Rouge regime, during which he was only 14 years old.
Below is the interview with Mr. Sreang PHA:
Mr. Sreang PHA (on the right)
Interview
Interviewee
Mr. Sreang PHA (a motorbike taxi driver from Kratie Province)
Q: Can you remember much about your everyday life before the conflict?
Mr. Sreang PHA: Not much. I do remember, before the conflict, while I was in Grade 8 (primary school), I suddenly asked my mother for permission to be ordained as a novice monk because I wanted to study Buddhist discipline at Wat Koh Thom Ka. At that time, I had firmly resolved that I would never disrobe again, as I wished to live a quiet and peaceful life as a monk, devoting myself to meditation practice (kammatthana), studying the Dharma, and learning the Pali and Sanskrit languages.
Q: What was your home like then, your house and local area?
Mr. Sreang PHA: Oh! I’ve almost completely forgotten it. I imagine that it was a wooden house. My father, my mother, my siblings and my grandfather also stayed in our house at that time.
Q: Do you remember a particular friend or friends from that time?
Mr. Sreang PHA: Well, I was someone who didn’t like to talk much, so I did not have any particularly memorable friends. Before the time of Pol Pot, I also barely remember my family life or living together with my relatives, because I had focused entirely on my study and my life as a young monk.
Q: As a child at that time, how much did you understand about what was happening around you?
Mr. Sreang PHA: When Pol Pot came to power, he evacuated the population, forced people to work, disrobed the Buddhist monks, and destroyed the pagodas and temples. I knew that they had come to destroy family structures, abolish the old social hierarchy, and enforce absolute equality among everyone. They collected all property and put it under communal ownership. People had to work together, eat together, and sleep together. There were no rich and no poor people; everyone had to live in complete equality.
Q: How did the adults around you explain what was going on?
Mr. Sreang PHA: No elderly person could explain what was really happening. One family — consisting of a mother, father, grandfather, older siblings, and younger siblings — was forcibly separated and sent to work in different places according to the assignments given by the Angkar (the Organization). At that time, I was captured and forced to become a soldier in a special unit, with no right to refuse or resist.
Q: How did the conflict affect your family members?
Mr. Sreang PHA: During that time, after being assigned as a soldier in the special unit, I met my grandfather only once. At that time, my grandfather was already around 100 years old. He gave me this final advice:
Grandchild, remember this: In wartime, do not look down on or disrespect other people’s lives. Do not steal something from others. Do not be greedy. And whenever you face any dangers or misfortune, think of your grandfather — grandfather will help and protect you.
After saying goodbye to my grandfather, I left him and went to the battlefield, where I was ordered by the Angkar to shoot and kill others that someone said were Angkar’s Enemies who I never knew.
Before the conflict, I had always lived a peaceful and gentle life, never harming anyone. But suddenly, my entire life changed drastically. I had to fight for my own survival and was forced to shoot at another group of people whom I did not know — people who were now called “enemies.”
Not long after, I received news that my grandfather had passed away because he was very old and frail, with no one to take care of him.
Later, I also heard that my father had been injured in the leg after stepping on a plow while working in the rice field. He was left abandoned and ignored, lying in one place without any treatment. At that time, I begged for permission to visit my father at least once. When I arrived, I pleaded with others to help, take care of and treat my father. Afterward, I heard that my father had recovered, but one of my cousins had been killed.
Q: Did your relationships with friends or brothers and sisters change during the period?
Mr. Sreang PHA: For me, Family relationships were almost nonexistent during that time. I met my sick father only once. As for my mother, I met her only once when Angkar called for a general meeting. I felt extremely heartbroken when I saw my mother. She looked at me but could not recognize me, because I had grown from a child into a teenager. My appearance and face had changed somewhat, and since we had been separated for a long time, she could no longer remember me clearly. I was truly heartbroken. As mother and son, she should have been able to see me grow up every single day.
Q: When did you feel most afraid, and what helped you cope with the fear?
Mr. Sreang PHA: Fear had almost completely left me, because I was assigned to a special combat unit — soldiers who had to fight the enemy in open fields with no trenches or places to hide. Every time I went out to the battlefield, bullets and bombs rained down like a heavy storm. I never had any hope that I would return alive to the camp.
Before each battle, people would prepare a big meal for the soldiers to eat until we were full, as if they knew that these soldiers would probably never eat again. Some soldiers finished their meal, got on the trucks, and were killed before they even had a chance to get off the trucks.
Every time I survived a battle, I would tell myself, “I have lived one more time”. After the battle, I had to walk around collecting the bodies of my fallen comrades. Some had been blown apart by bombs, leaving only pieces of arms and legs.
Q: Was there anything you did to help you feel safer?
Mr. Sreang PHA: It is honesty and sincerity. I respected the lives of others without contempt or belittling them. I had no intention of taking anyone’s life. Everything I did is only to preserve my own life and survive, nothing more.
Q: How did the conflict affect your school life?
Mr. Sreang PHA: As I mentioned above, I could not continue my religious studies at the pagoda because of the conflict. My intention of living as a monk for the rest of my life had failed. But my strong desire to learn led me to study the French language and some basic medical knowledge from the camp doctor. During that time, I was able to treat wounds and minor illnesses. I once requested to work as a medic in the camp instead of going out to fight, but the Angkar did not allow it.
Q: Did you still find ways to play or have fun?
Mr. Sreang PHA: On the battlefield, I never felt any happiness or had any time for having fun or entertainment.
Q: Are there any games, songs, or stories you associate with that time?
Mr. Sreang PHA: There were many songs that I heard during that period, but I can not remember any of them now.
Q: In what ways do you think your experiences at that time shaped you as you grew up?
Mr. Sreang PHA: The Khmer Rouge period completely changed me. I went from a quiet young monk who wanted only a peaceful life of studying and meditation, to a young soldier fighting on the battlefield. It made me much tougher, more patient, and able to endure great pain and hardship. It also taught me how precious and fragile life is. Even today, I remain a man of few words and deeply value peace and simplicity.
Q: Do you think there are any values or strengths you develop as you grew up that can be connected to that period?
Mr. Sreang PHA: Yes. The most important value I gained is the belief in doing good deeds and helping others, as my grandfather taught me. I also developed strong mental resilience and patience — especially when I was badly wounded and had to endure painful treatment without losing my leg. These experiences taught me to be grateful for every day I am still alive.
Q: Are there memories from that time that still remind you very strongly of it?
Mr. Sreang PHA: I could never forget the incident that almost cost me one of my legs. Every time I look at my left leg, it reminds me of what happened. One day on the battlefield, my comrade was shot multiple times by the enemy and screamed for help. I ran out from my position to rescue my friend while under heavy fire. Before I could reach him, three bullets struck me in quick succession. The third bullet went straight through my knee, shattering the bone from one side to the other. By the time I reached my comrade, the man had already stopped breathing. I was forced to leave my friend’s body behind and dragged myself back with one leg, while other comrades provided covering fire. When I finally reached the camp, the doctor decided to amputate my injured leg. I quickly refused and begged the doctor to save it and treat it instead. During the treatment, I did not trust the doctor and was afraid that he would put me to sleep and have my leg cut off. I asked the doctor to only give me a spinal anesthesia so I could stay awake and watch the procedure. The doctor then removed the broken pieces of bone and cleaned out the fragments. After the surgery, the pain was excruciating. Unable to bear it, I asked for more anesthesia. After receiving the injection, I lost consciousness for seven full days. From that moment on, I could no longer walk normally and had a limp. The unit commander no longer sent me into combat and reassigned me to guard the ammunition warehouse instead.
Mr. Sreang PHA’s leg with the scars left from the bullet wound
Q: How do you feel when people talk about that conflict today?
Mr. Sreang PHA: Every time I recall the Pol Pot era, I still say the same thing repeatedly: “I never thought I would still be alive today.”
Reflections
In the brutal conflict of Cambodia during the Pol Pot regime, countless innocent people — ordinary men and women with no desire for violence — were thrust into a nightmare of survival. For many, life became a daily struggle against fear, loss, and uncertainty. They were not driven by ideology or hatred, but simply by the instinct to stay alive amid the chaos.
Mr. Sreang PHA’s story stands as a poignant example of this harsh reality. Like so many others, he never intended to take anyone’s life. Every action he took was solely to protect his own existence and survive one more day. As a soldier, he witnessed firsthand how the shadow of death erased jealousy and selfishness in the face of constant danger, mutual help among comrades became the only way to preserve life.
Through experiences like Mr. Sreang PHA’s, we see the universal truth faced by innocent people during Cambodia’s conflict: war does not discriminate. It destroys dreams, separates families, and leaves lasting scars on both body and soul. Even today, the simple act of looking at his wounded leg brings back vivid memories, yet he often reflects with quiet gratitude: “I never thought I would still be alive today.”
His story reminds us of the heavy human cost of war — the resilience of survivors, the value of honesty and respect for life, and the unbreakable bonds formed in times of extreme hardship. It serves as a powerful testament to the enduring spirit of ordinary Cambodians who, caught in forces beyond their control, simply fought to survive and protect what mattered most.
Researcher
Hello everyone! My name is Sen Sonita. I am 29 years old. I work as a teacher of English at Cheasim Chamreounroth High school in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. With 10 years of experience in teaching English to Elementary students, I am truly passionate about helping my students build confidence in speaking and using English in their daily lives. I strongly believe that English is a powerful key that opens many doors to new opportunities and different cultures. In my free time, I enjoy embroidering on fabric, traveling, admiring unique architecture and building designs and trying new delicious foods. I also love reading books and listening to music. I am excited to connect with new friends and share knowledge through this platform! Thank you very much for inviting me to be a part of this research.