In the Next Life

By Eric Samson

For four years in the 1970s, the people of Cambodia endured a nightmarish era of brutality that left millions dead, and its survivors still wounded from the trauma they endured. Based on a series of lengthy interviews with two survivors of the infamous Khmer Rouge era, In the Next Life is a riveting work of oral history that provides two deeply personal accounts of the Cambodian genocide and its aftermath.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Eric Samson
• Release date: Apr 16, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005110239

Eric Samson

Eric Samson resides in Ottawa, Canada.He's an editor and translator by profession, and an author by vocation. He's also a labour activist, a mental health advocate, and prior to the COVID-19 pandemic was also an amateur grappler in active competition.He's also a brain tumour surgery survivor.Follow Eric on Smashwords and on his Facebook author page.

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Preface

The following work is a survivor’s account of life under the short but brutal reign of the Khmer Rouge regime (1975-1979), as described by Varann and Vichuta Ly, two siblings who experienced it first-hand. Both have been subsequently living in Canada since 1981 after fleeing Cambodia as refugees, along with their late mother.

Of the 35 members of the Ly family—including 10 children—who were alive prior to the Khmer Rouge takeover on April 17, 1975, Varann (then in his adolescence) and Vichuta (then aged 10) were among only five who managed to outlast the four years of terror.

Varann’s story is recounted in Chapters I through III, and is based on several lengthy interviews with the author (by way of videoconference) throughout the months of February, March, and April 2021, with each session lasting several hours in duration. Though Mr. Ly resides only a short drive away from the author’s home, the interviews were conducted during the (as of the time of writing) still ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, with all parties involved agreeing beforehand to abide by proper social distancing guidelines to ensure safety for each other’s respective families and households.

The narrative is structured as a work of oral history based on an extensive succession of notes jotted down by the author throughout the series of interviews, rather than be presented as a verbatim transcript of these conversations. The language employed in these chapters are of the author’s choice, though deference to Mr. Ly’s manner of speaking and expressions was kept in mind throughout for the sake of authenticity. Additionally, the first draft was presented to Mr. Ly upon completion for his approval (and fact-checking) in August 2021, which was granted a few weeks later.

Vichuta’s story is recounted in Chapter IV, which serves as a companion piece to two short articles that chronicle Ms. Ly’s experience, and the author recommends that they be read prior for context before proceeding with the remainder of this book. The articles also include multiple pictures and video footage that the reader will undeniably find to be of great interest.

The links can be found here: https://heartsoffreedom.org/hof079-vichuta-ly/

https://stories.savethechildren.org.uk/i-am-alive/#group-Khmer-Rouge-N32BFUhLvH, and likewise can be found again in her respective chapter for ease of reading.

Ms. Ly was interviewed via e-mail on multiple occasions during the period of September to November 2021, as she resides in Montréal but also frequently returns to Cambodia to further pursue her advocacy work for Legal Support for Children and Women, Cambodia (LSCW), which she founded in 2002. To learn more about this organization and offer support to LSCW, please visit the following link: https://www.eldis.org/organisation/A7751.

Ms. Ly’s chapter is an edited transcript of our interviews, with polished language and contextual notes added by the author where applicable. As in the case of Varann’s interview, Ms. Ly was provided with a copy of the first draft upon completion for her scrutiny and consent before proceeding with edits and publication.

Lastly, the author would like to forewarn that though earnest efforts were made in verifying names, locations, and events to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible, the following work should not be considered by any means to be an exhaustive publication of academic research or journalism. Rather, it is the author’s intent to record the experiences of both Varann and Vichuta before these memories become lost to time.

Readers who are unfamiliar with the historical context of the events recounted in this book are encouraged to read any of the works of David Chandler, May Ebihara, and Ben Kiernan, all of whom are highly respected as authoritative figures on Cambodian history and society, and are excellent resources for further reading.

No embellishments were made by the author.

I – Varann’s Story

The Promise to My Father

Though Cambodia had been enduring a civil war since 1967, Phnom Penh—the capital and my home—was fortunate to have been spared from the worst of the violence for much of that time. The Khmer Rouge’s mortar attacks against the city were usually limited to its outer edges, and that was as close as I was exposed to the fighting.

Life in the capital otherwise went on as normal as could be for my family. I was attending a technical school with the hopes of eventually pursuing university studies and working as an electrician. My father—Ly Kvang Pann—was serving as Minister of Justice