Go West! A Memoir for My Sons: Our Family Journey and Khmer Rouge Life Experiences

By Sideth Niev

Sideth was born in Cambodia in the midst of the US aerial bombardment of the Vietminh/Vietcon who took sanctuary along the border near Vietnam. Cambodia was fighting a civil war. In 1975 when the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia, his family along with the entire population was forced out of the port city to the countryside. Everyone was forced to work the land from sunrise to sunset, six days a week, with very little food. The family was broken up and separated into labor camps. Later his family was shipped on a train to the Kampong Chhnang jungle along with thousands of others. His parents, younger brother, and thousands of others, died from starvation and illness. Sideth and his sisters survived the jungle, but were scheduled to be executed for looking like Vietnamese. Three days before the execution, Vietnam invaded Cambodia and saved his family. Later the family escaped to Vietnam hoping to go West. But after eight months, they could not get out, and returned to Cambodia. Later they escaped to Thailand refugee camps, and eventually resettled in the United States in 1981. Sideth writes this memoir for his three sons who grew up in the US so that they may know what his family went through in Cambodia and their quest for freedom.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sideth Niev
• Release date: Dec 17, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223005285

Book preview

Sideth D Niev

Copyright Ⓒ2022, Sideth D Niev

Published by Blue Cord

Cambridge, Minnesota

ISBN 979-8-9859935-0-9

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotation in a review.

The book cover design is by Todd Elvis Anderson. The B-52 bomber picture is from historycentral.com of the US bombing of Cambodia in the late 1960s. Permission to use was granted from Marc Schulman. (Todah!) The map background design is by Sarah Ung.

The back cover picture is an oil painting bought from Cambodia in 1993. There is no painter’s name attached to it, just initials on the lower left-hand corner.

Maps by Sarah Ung, Peou and Sideth & Tami

Printed in the United States of America

Contents

Mother’s Dream

Preface and Dedication

Chapter 1  

Earliest Memories

US Bombings

Chapter 2   

Our Chinese Heritage 

Grandfather Fled China

The Boat Capsized

Chapter 3 

My Background

Purpose of Writing this Memoir

Escaping Takeo

Chapter 4 

Evacuation out of Kampong Som

Resettlement in the Countryside

The First Year and Life Under Angkar

Chapter 5 

The Train Ride to Hell

Kampong Chhnang Jungle

Ethnic Minorities

Vietnam Invaded Cambodia

Chapter 6 

Journey to Vietnam

Life in Saigon

Hope for Going West

Chapter 7 

Back to Phnom Penh

Possible Routes to Thailand

Chapter 8 

Trek to Thailand and Life in Refugee Camps

Old Camp and New Camp

Khao I Dang and Mairut

Galang Site II

Chapter 9 

Parents’ Dreams Fulfilled, Free at Last!

Final Thoughts

Places, Names, and Meanings

Interesting Tidbits

Acknowledgments

About the Author

References and Resources

Mother’s Dream

Before the fall of Cambodia to the Communist Khmer Rouge on April 17, 1975, my mother, your grandmother, had a special dream. A sage, a white-haired old man, like a hermit or a holy person, appeared and told her to leave the country and go West to be safe. This man had a staff in his right hand and a long white beard. He had marks on the palms of his hands. West of Cambodia is Thailand, but it could mean Europe, Australia, or the United States also.

You and your family must leave Cambodia and go West as soon as possible, warned the sage in the dream.

Mother asked, If we go West, what can we do? We do not speak the language.

The sage answered, Do not worry. Your children will speak for you.

Preface and Dedication

For My Three Sons

There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Proverbs 16:25 (ERV)

My dear sons, this is what Khmer Rouge communism was like in Cambodia many years ago. It seemed so right to a handful of Khmer Rouge leaders to implement Karl Marx’s ideology in Cambodia, but in less than four dark years it led to more than 2 million deaths, including your grandparents and uncle. This short memoir recounts how it happened to our family, how we survived and escaped it, and why you are here today.

This memoir is dedicated to:

*Our ancestors who risked their lives to seek freedom for themselves and their descendants. 

*The 2 plus millions of Cambodians who perished at the bloody hands of the Communist Khmer Rouge. May the King of the Universe, the Judge of all the earth, bring a retributive justice upon them (if not in this life, then the next one) and a restorative justice upon those affected.

*The survivors of the killing fields and their children. May we live in peace.

Thank you for reading!

May you be blessed!

Sideth D Niev

June 12, 2022

Cambodia by the Numbers

*Land Size: Total Area 69,898 square miles (181,035 sq. km), same size as the US state of Missouri (or 14% smaller than Minnesota) (1)

*1975 Population: 7,524,457 (2)

*1975-79 an estimated >2 million Cambodians died (3)

*1979 Population 6,770,392 (4)

*1970-1975 Civil War deaths: An estimated 10% of 7 million died, or 700,000 (5)

*1965-1973 US Bombing of Cambodia: 250,000 to 500,000 people died. Tens of thousands more injured, 3 million displaced (6)

*2,756,941 tons of bombs dropped in 230,516 sorties on 113,716 sites (7)

*2022 Cambodian Population: >17 million or equivalent to 0.22% of the total world population (8)

Southeast Asia 1975

Maps not drawn to scale  Above Map by Sarah Ung

Tram Kak   1    Sala Lek Pram   17

National Highway 2   2 Kampong Chhnang   18

National Highway 3   3 Tonle Sap   19

National Highway 4   4 Angkor Wat   20 

National Highway 5   5 Ponhea Krek   21

Takeo   6   Cử Chỉ   22

Tunlorp   7   Saigon   23

Phnom Den   8   Khao I Dang   24

Kep   9    Battambong   25

Kampot   10   Mairut Camp   26

Koh Tral   11   Bangkok   27

Koh Tang   12   Gulf of Thailand   28

Kampong Som   13  Sisophon   29

Prey Nob   14   Poipet   30

Phnom Penh   15  Old Camp   31

Railroad   16   New Camp   32

Cambodia with Various Locations Mentioned in the Book

There are some books that refuse to be written. They stand their ground year after year and will not be persuaded. It isn’t because the book is not there and worth being written — it is only because the right form of the story does not present itself. There is only one right form for a story and if you fail to find that form the story will not tell itself.              

Write what you know.

Mark Twain

Other relatives mentioned in the book: Koh Vorn, Uncle Deh Yorth. Uncle Kong Kuy – sons Kaoh, Yee & Neav. Aunt Voh Ngar; Cousin Chanthou.

Aunt Kim Toun, her sons Vanny, Vannara & daughters Vanair, Vanna. Uncle Om Thanh. Cousin Jeh Nev and her brother-in-law Krou Tarh

Diagram by Sova

១ Chapter 1

The above maps are of places referenced in chapters 1 and 3. The main timeline is from early 1971.

Earliest Memories

Boom! Thoom! Boom! Thoom!

Run into the bomb shelter! yelled our father.

The explosions and blasts pierced the peaceful afternoon on a sunny day in early 1971 in our little village of Nhaeng Nhorng. Everyone in our family dashed into a bomb shelter several feet away in front of our house. My oldest sister Thea carried me on her back and ran into the bunker. The earthen bunker floor had ankle-deep water in it from recent rain. We all hunkered down and waited. Our parents were the last to come in. Several more explosions could be heard outside, but they were far away from us. We waited until it quieted down and was safe again to go out of the bunker. Everything seemed to return to normal again. The birds chirped and sang again. The bombs did not hit houses or buildings close to our village, only rice paddies and roadsides. One of the earliest memories I have as a young boy growing up in Cambodia was running into a bomb shelter near our house. Our family lived in Takeo province, Tram Kak district, Nhaeng Nhorng village.

Another of my earliest memories is when we heard a helicopter approaching, which sounded like hundreds of horses galloping on a hard surface, or a B-52 bomber, which sounded like a mighty rushing wind, we instinctively knew what we needed to do to save our lives. When a bomb exploded, whether from an artillery cannon or a B-52 bomber, the sound was not only deafening to the ears, but the shaking of the ground was terrifying. It was a threat to our very existence, our souls. It was not a good way to start life, but those were some of the earliest memories of my life. I am thankful that you boys did not grow up the same way I grew up in Cambodia, the way your grandparents grew up in Cambodia, and the way your great grandparents grew up in China.

Takeo borders the Cambodian provinces of Kampot to the west, Kampong Speu to the northwest, to the north and east, and borders Vietnam to the south. In 1970, Cambodia had a population of 7 million people. Our province had an estimated population of 448,000, Tram Kak district about 44,800, and our little village Nhaeng Nhorng a few hundred. (9) Takeo province is known as the cradle of Cambodian civilization. Between the 5th and 8th centuries, it was the heart of the famed Chenla Kingdom. (10)

Nhaeng Nhorng was the name of our village. But not many people knew it by that name. Most people just called our little village Tram Kak, the same name as the district. We are not sure what Nhaeng Nhorng means either. (My guess is the name of a woman.) We lived a simple life in our little village.

B-52 Raids Near Cambodian Border, November 8-9, 1968, from historycentral.com

US Bombing of Cambodia

As early as 1965, the United States started to bomb Cambodia along the border with Vietnam. The Vietminh/Vietcong took sanctuary in Cambodia and hid in the jungles. My birthplace is situated close to the border, about 40 miles (64 km) north of Vietnam. For eight years before I was born, from 1965 and up to 1973, millions of bombs pounded Cambodia mercilessly. A low estimate of 250,000 to high 500,000 people died during this period. Tens of thousands more were injured, and several million were displaced. (6, 11) Our family was one of those millions displaced. We often saw Vietcong troops coming to buy goods from our store/house in the evening or late at night. They were friendly and did not threaten us.

In 2000, 25 years after the Vietnam War ended, US President Bill Clinton released the following information, as a goodwill gesture to Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. It was quite a revelation. Here are the numbers for Cambodia alone: 2,756,941 tons of bombs dropped in 230,516 sorties on 113,716 sites. What do these figures mean? In 2007, Owen and Kiernan pointed out in their article Bombs Over Cambodia: New Light on US Air War: [T]he Allies dropped just over 2 million tons of bombs during all of World War II, including the bombs that struck Hiroshima and Nagasaki, [cities in Japan]: 15,000 and 20,000 tons, respectively. Cambodia may well be the most heavily bombed country in history. (7)

US Secret Bombing of Cambodia, March 18, 1969, from historycentral.com

២ Chapter 2

Our Chinese Heritage

Your great grandfather’s name was Lean Phan (the last name pronounced Fang), which means land, earth, or ground. Sometime in 1910, he fled Hainan Island. This is confirmed by Koh Vourn, 77, and Jeh Nev, 70, both cousins on our father’s side. Lean Phan and his older brother had to run for their lives because their father was likely killed by one of the many unrests that took place in 1910 all over Imperial China.

According to School History, the Xinhai Revolution (12, 13) in China was plagued with 285 uprisings and rebellions during 1910. The majority of these rebellions were sparked by peasants who did not have a clear vision of what they wanted or an ideological basis. There was, however, one successful revolutionary group that attempted to overthrow the Qing Dynasty. This organization, The Revolutionary Alliance or Tongmenghui 中國同盟會, founded by Dr. Sun Yat-sen 孫中山/孫逸仙, was of the first modern revolutionary secret society. This group succeeded in overthrowing the Qing Dynasty (also known as the Manchus), forcing Puyi 溥儀, China’s last emperor, to abdicate his throne on the 12th of February 1912. Thus, the Republic of China was born. (12)

Lean Phan’s family lived on Hainan 海南, which is the southernmost island of China. It is also called Hainan Dao. It is oval and looks almost like a turtle on a map. It is about 160 miles (260 km) from east to west and 130 miles

(210 km) from north to south at its widest point. It was part of Guangdong province for centuries. Hainan means south of the sea. In 1988 it became a province of its own, even though it is also the smallest in terms of land size. (14)

Lean Phan’s family was likely from one of the large cities along the coast. Since the island’s main economy was tied to agriculture, they either owned land and farmed, or they were merchants dealing with agricultural products; perhaps both. Or, they might have been fishermen. In any case, they did well and became one of the few families considered to be wealthy. The peasants did not like or trust rich, well-off people, and the family’s name was put on a hit list during one of the peasant uprisings.

Great Grandfather Fled Hainan Island

Their mother, your great, great grandmother, had a small boat built for her children’s escape. That boat, like a typical small fishing boat, was about 8-10 feet (2.4 – 3 m) long, 3 feet (0.9 m) wide, and 2 feet (0.6 m) deep. It was built with wooden planks and tarred inside and outside. It was not made for a long journey on an open sea, but that was their escape vessel. After their father was killed, she packed some food, water and told her two sons, ages 15 and 13, to flee for their lives. Their younger sister, who was about 10 or 11 years old, decided to stay behind with her mother. The brothers never returned to Hainan Island and did not, or could not, stay in touch with their mother and sister. There is no record of what happened to them. Perhaps one day you will investigate this.

To escape the peasants and others who pursued them, one brother hid in a boat house while the other hid in a pond all night, using a hollow reed to breathe while underwater. (Hainan Island is tropical, so it was probably cool at night and in the water, but not freezing enough to endanger his life.) In the morning, the brothers found each other and got into their small boat and rowed into the South China Sea, into the currents that carried them towards Vietnam and Cambodia. They likely did not know where they were going. They escaped the island to avoid getting murdered like their father.

South China Sea Ocean Currents

Two studies and observation sources showed that surface currents of South China Sea and winds flow and blow from north to south from December to June. The currents and winds then reverse in the opposite direction from south to north from July to December. About half of the year the currents and winds blow one way, then the other direction for the other half of the year. It was during the north to south ocean current flow that the two brothers escaped from Hainan Island and eventually ended up at Koh Tral/ Phú Quốc Island. (76, 77) Today this island is part of Vietnam. For many years, both Vietnam and Cambodia claimed this island as part of their country and they have fought over it. Many Cambodians strongly feel that Vietnam stole this land just like they did with other areas that used to be part of Cambodia. I will leave that subject alone.

The Boat Capsized

After a few days in the little boat on the open sea, they ran out of water. Thirsty, the brothers cut up a small piece of their sandals, and started to chew on the rubber to create saliva to keep their mouths moist. Several days later, as their little boat drifted around the southern tip of Vietnam and carried by the current heading back up north, the boat capsized in a whirlpool in the darkness of night. This took place in the Gulf of Thailand near the border of Vietnam and Cambodia. The two brothers were separated, but both somehow survived and swam ashore to Koh Tral, or Phú Quốc (foo kwuck).

This is a small island, but it is the largest among islands in the Gulf of Thailand. It is almost 230 square miles (600 sq. km). (37) The northern tip of it is less than 10 miles (16 km) to the shores of mainland Cambodia. In 1822, a British envoy stopped by that island on his way to Siam (Thailand) from Singapore, and reported that four to five thousand Cochinchinese race, with a few Chinese sojourners, lived there. Cochinchinese or Vietnamese people or Kinh people (người Kinh) are a Southeast Asian ethnic group, especially native to Northern Vietnam. They speak Vietnamese. (38) The brothers did not know if the other had made it to shore. Each presumed that the other brother had drowned. Sometime later, each brother left the island alone.

Remember boys, back then they lived in a world with no internet, Smartphone, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Truth Social or other social medium. There was very limited access to the telegraph and telephone, and that was only for a few people like government officials or the very rich.

Most people back then, whether Vietnamese, Khmer/Cambodians, or Chinese (or any other race), were kind and would help someone in need. Each of the brothers certainly came across some kind family or person who helped them until they could stand on their own. We did not know who they were, but may the Almighty bless them and their descendants for their goodness. Make sure you help anyone in need when they cross your path. Just imagine for one moment if someone did not help your great grandfather or his brother. You and I would not be here today.

Lean Phan settled in Kampong Trach, near Kep, in Kampot province, Cambodia. The older brother lived just east of him in Takeo province. Out of curiosity, one of the brothers searched for the other by the last name, Phan 方, but it was nearly 18 years before they found each other.

By the time the two brothers reunited, each had married, had a family, and settled in the new country. Your great grandfather, Lean Phan, the younger of the two brothers, married a second-generation Chinese woman named Neh Yee who was born in Cambodia. We always called her Neh Yee, which means Grandmother Yee, but we do not know her full name. She had one sister named Dor. Their mother died when the girls were three or four years old, and their father left these two daughters with his grandmother to raise.

The other brother, Seng Phan, married a Vietnamese woman named Bà Hai. He had a coconut wholesale business and went from village to village buying coconuts then taking them to cities and selling them to the businesses there. The