January 7th 1979, three years passed since the incident between Dad and the soldiers. In the months before, Mom, Sakol, and Sophea were creating a plan to head out to Thailand to seek refuge and to come back and bring us to Thailand along with them once they arrive. This was a dangerous plan because if they were caught along the way, they would end up getting killed if they were ever seen by any of the soldiers. It was illegal to escape the country and many people who had tried were never heard from again. However, this was the only chance we had if we wanted to survive and get out of Cambodia, so my mom, Sakol, and Sophea were the ones who will go to Thailand. Today was the day that they plan to head out, considering the fact that the leaders of this society has millions of people to keep track of, it would take a couple of days before they start looking for Mom, Sakol, and Sophea. We decided that Ping, Lynn, and I would stay because both Ping and I are not as strong as them and will probably not be able to walk the far distance to Thailand. It was said that the path to Thailand consisted of a 300-500 kilometer walk, and along this way was filled with guards, ferocious animals, minefields, and thousands of scatter bones and corpses. It was probably the best decision that Lynn, Ping, and I should stay in order to avoid being a disturbance on their journey.
It was 2:00 in the morning and they were going to head out. Mom came up to me and whispered in my ear, “We will come back and pick you up with a helicopter at this exact place. Promise me to not leave this place, and always keep looking up, in a month or two we will arrive and come back, okay Seang? I love you, and remember to take care of your sisters while we are gone.” She then hugged me tightly and I could feel the warmth of her skin.
I smiled and I said back to her, “I promise, we’ll be ready when you come, I love you too Mom.” Tears followed through my eyes as I then hugged Sakol and Sophea wishing the best of luck on their journey. They are going to become back, they have to come back, and it was a promise made by Mom I thought to myself. The three then opened the door and I saw that outside was dark and I could hear the birds chirping and the wind blowing. The moon was still at the highest point and the weather was cool. I watched as my mom walked out into the forest and away from my vision. “They are going to come back right Lynn? They have to come back.”
“Just trust in them Seang. I trust in them, they will come back no doubt; we are going to be saving in the upcoming months. Be happier!” She told me as she comforted me in one of her arms and holding Ping with her other arm.
“I hope you’re right.” Ping said quietly as I could see the tears rolling down her face. “I hope you’re right Lynn.”
Two weeks later I woke up to the sound of a loud banging on the door. I looked outside our window and saw the moon was still up. I wonder what it could be since it was still late at night and the work starts later in the day. I saw as Ping and Lynn were still sleeping so I went to wake them up before going to the door. When they woke up they were still their bed and I went to the door to open. The banging continued and the noise grew larger as I moved closer towards the door. When I opened the door I heard shouting of an unknown language. I was sure that it wasn’t Khmer and I had never heard it before in my life. I looked at the man standing at the door and it was another soldier, but this time he was dressed different. I quickly took a few steps backwards as I saw in his hand was a gun.
The man looked at me and started moving his hand signaling for me to come over to him, I looked at Ping and Lynn and then called them over here. They rushed from their bed and we all went and followed him. We didn’t want to disobey him in case he would shoot us and kill us for not doing what he says. I heard gun noises in the distant area and people screaming. There sounds of guns, tanks, explosions, and a large gunfight was going on. I tried looking through the dark night and I realized there were cars in the front filled with other people living around here. I looked to the left and to the right noticing the great amounts of soldiers wearing the same uniform of dark green. I then noticed that each uniform had a small symbol, this was a red rectangle with a yellow star in the middle. It resembled a flag and I then figured out that they were trying to help us. They were different than the soldier in Cambodia and had come from a different country. They were here to save us from this place, as soon as I understood what was happened a big smile came across my face. I looked over to Ping and Lynn who was still half awake, but Lynn was also smiling. The first time Lynn had ever smiled ever since we came here, she knew also that we were getting saved by these unknown soldiers. We were brought to a truck where we were greeted by a man speaking Khmer.
“Hello, we are the People’s Army of Vietnam and we are here to help. We have driven back the Khmer Rouge forces and have provided a new shelter and food for you. We have many soldiers surrounding this area and have secured this area; it is now safe to live here for the time being. Please come over here and receive some food and a new pair of clothes. Soon we will go to a new shelter so be prepared. Thank you!” The man spoke to us as I could smell the food all the way from the truck. I looked around as I saw other Cambodians sitting in the truck eating a meal, the first in over four years. I could see the smiles from everyone as they all knew they will live for another day; they have gotten out from hell. Lynn, Ping, and I all went to get the food and a new pair of clothes. The food was rice and chicken with unlimited water, it was the very first time we had eaten this much meat and rice ever since the start of the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia and brought us here. After finishing our meal we were still tired as we didn’t get enough sleep. We were brought once again to the back of the truck where we would then go into a new shelter. We rode on the back of the truck and along the way we all slept with new clothes and a full belly.
This was the first time I could ever close my eyes with confidence and away from fear knowing that we were being protected and we were going to a place of safety.
The truck ride took hours until the sun rose and I looked at Ping and Lynn and saw how happy and relaxed they were. They could finally take a break and could enjoy their lives peacefully. When we arrived we saw that we were brought to a shelter, a refugee camp and saw other Cambodians who looked just as tired as we were. A soldier then told us to come down from the truck and brought us to our new home. In this new home clean bed, but it was mostly just a tent. Outside the tent was a bathroom stall in which it consisted of a shower and a toilet. It has been a while since I had ever used an actual shower or a toilet since we were used to going to the bathroom in the forest or outside in the open. The bed was a fresh change where there were actual pillows and sheets to sleep with. I opened my eyes and smiled as I fell down to the soft bed while Lynn and Ping also went to their own separate beds. We all then went back to sleep and relaxed for the first time.
Waking up hours later, remembered that my mom made a promise with two weeks ago about how she will meet us in the exact same place to pick us up, I wanted to keep the promise, I needed to go back and wait for her. I couldn’t believe that if she just stayed for two more weeks, she could have been saved just like us, but I wasn’t giving up hope yet, I knew that my mother, Sakol, and Sophea will come pick us up in the helicopter. I just wanted to believe, so I made the decision to go back to the house that was hours away. I went outside of my tent and saw soldiers walking around and Cambodians getting treatment as some had many injuries. Other Cambodians were getting medication and most of them just rested and enjoyed a good meal. After, I went over to Lynn and Ping’s tent and to my surprise, they already were up and was just looking out in the distance admiring the place they were sleeping in.
I told that about the promise that Mom made and they agreed along with me to go back and wait for her at the same spot. Considering that the Khmer Rouge soldiers had already left due to the Vietnam soldiers, it was probably safe to go. Altogether we went and packed up our things once again and headed out of the camp. When I was packing I kept thinking, am I ever going to regret coming back to hell, are they really coming back to get us. The thought just faded from our mind and we
headed out of the refugee camp.
Flight