@𝐒𝐫𝐞𝐲𝐩𝐨𝐯'𝐬 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐠 #𝟑 🛂 𝙶𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚄𝚙 𝙸𝚗 𝚂𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚃𝚠𝚘 𝚁𝚎𝚏𝚞𝚐𝚎𝚎 𝙲𝚊𝚖𝚙 🏕️ 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝

     I (@JustinParke) sat down with @Sreypov for a short interview about what it was like growing up in Site Two Refugee Camp, Thailand.

     Sreypov was born in 1984, almost 10 years after the height of Khmer Rouge power in Cambodia. I won't be explaining much about the Cambodian genocide because that is a well-researched topic of which there are thousands of articles online to be found. What I hope to do with this post is give you a first-hand account of what it was like growing up in the shadow of these tragic events.

     Keep in mind Sreypov's English is limited, so I have conducted this interview in Khmer and translated it to English. In this way I feel Sreypov can more freely express herself.

What is your first memory growing up in Site Two?

"At about 6 or 7 years old I remember my first day of school (preschool). There was a breakfast of bobor (rice porridge) and sieng (fermented soybeans). After breakfast studies began, and I remember at recess seeing a swing and slide for the first time in my life. All the other children had also never seen these things before. Not only that, we had never seen pictures of swings or slides, and didn't even know such things existed. Also, during recess I saw and was given desserts and sweets for the first time in my life. The Thai government didn't include sugar in our weekly or monthly rations, so it was probably the first time I had tasted sugar."

Why did you mother flee Cambodia and give birth to you at Site Two?

"I only know what I'm told as I was very young when I heard these stories, but my mother told me the Vietnamese soldiers and the Khmer Rouge clashed in her homeland (Pursat), and the Khmer Rouge forced her to flee to the northwest. She arrived in Battambang with with my older brother and sister, and from there decided to continue to the Thai Border and Site Two Refugee Camp."

It is known that the Thai and American governments supported the Khmer Rouge, and many areas on the Thai Border were controlled by the Khmer Rouge well into the 1990's. Was your mother afraid of being confronted by Khmer Rouge soldiers on her way to Thailand?

"She told me near the border she met some armed Khmer Rouge soldiers, but had heard beforehand the soldiers were only searching evacuees for valuables at the time. They immediately wanted to know where she was going. She let them know she was headed for the Thai Border refugee camp, and they consequently conducted a full body search on her for any money, gold or other valuables. At that time, it was common for the soldiers to strip Khmers heading for the border of any valuable item.

Did your mother have to cross any minefields or other hazards on the final stretch to the border?

"She had to cross a minefield with several others, and many of them died or lost limbs. After she crossed the minefuled she was able to reach Khao-I-Dang, where she met the man who would become my father."

Do you remember the first time you saw a foreigner or westerner?

"The first foreigner I ever saw was a French doctor. I was sick and had to go a big hopsital, and I saw her outside the hospital walking."

Wait a minute, weren't the first foreigners you saw Thai citizens?

"I guess so, yes. I remember seeing Thai soldiers, but I don't want to talk about that because they were terrible. The Thai soldiers would sometimes come and look for families with daughters, and that would cause all the young girls to hide in the latrines. We knew the Thai soldiers were grossed out by seeing massive amounts of poop, so the young girls would usually cluster around the latrines when they passed through. I never engaged with the Thai soldiers because I didn't want to risk being raped or taken away."

What did you do when you were sick?

"I remember my Mom making a neem leaf drink sometimes when were sick. She would smash the fresh leaves and then mix them with cold water, then discard the leaves.

I will never know what you looked like as youngster because there aren't any photos of you from that time. Why is that?

"We were simply too poor. No one at the Refugee Camp had a camera except for a few wealthy Khmers and UN/NGO workers.

Why weren't you among the many Khmers granted permission to go the USA?

"My mother felt she wouldn't do well in the USA and had so many ties to Cambodia. She decided not to pursue it in hopes of eventually returning to Cambodia."

When did you enter Cambodia for the first time?

In 1992 my Mother returned to Cambodia and resettled in Pursat. I was 8 years old at the time.