Kheum Seum: A teacher of history of Democratic Kampuchea

Som Bunthorn



Kheum Seum was born at Tuol Chambok village, Sangke sub-district, Rumduol district, Svay Rieng province. Seum has been an orphan since he was 13 and his parents and other family members were killed and tossed into a well by Khmer Rouge guards. After the Khmer Rouge regime collapsed he went to stay and study at Wat Peam Ampil called Wat Thmey. In 1989, Seum passed his entrance exam, and then become a history teacher at the primary school level. In 1991, after additional training, he completed another course and was sent to teach at Kampong Chak Junior High School, present-day Kampong Chak high school, which he had previously attended. In 2009, Seum was selected by the Ministry of Education to join the teacher’s training workshop on the history of Democratic Kampuchea.



Seum’s father was Kheum Sieng and his mother was Kheum Pheurn. They were both farmers. He also had six siblings. In the 1960s, Seum attended grade 12th (present-day 1st grade) at Wat Thmey Primary School. During his school vacations Seum never had free time; he needed to help his parents carry water, fertilize rice fields, herd cows and work in the paddy fields.



In 1974, the Khmer Rouge cadre distributed propaganda in Rumduol district to attract villagers to fight against Lon Nol’s Chmar Kmao (black cat) soldiers and Thieu-Ky of South Vietnam. Khmer Rouge soldiers attacked, then captured his and nearby villages shortly after. The Khmer Rouge appointed poor and trusted villagers to be group and village chiefs and organize work into mutual aid teams and protect the village from Lon Nol soldiers’ attack. Teachers were very frightened of the Khmer Rouge and some of them gave up their duties and fled to Svay Rieng provincial town. Since they did not come to teach, Seum had to quit school when he was in grade 10 (present-day grade 3) to help his parents.



When the Khmer Rouge soldiers captured Svay Rieng provincial town in 1975, Seum was 11. During the Khmer Rouge time, he was first assigned to pick up cow-dung to fertilize paddy fields, and later to work in a mobile unit team helping his elder friends carry earth. Seum’s father, who was pretty old, was assigned to be in the “grandfather unit,” weaving ropes and making basket. His mother was assigned to work in “grandmother unit,” where she looked after babies while their mothers were working in the field. Approximately two years after they took power, the Khmer Rouge cadres walked from one house to another to confiscate all private property such as kitchen tools, ox-carts, cows, and buffalos, and store them in the communal hall. After that, all people at Trapeang Run village were required to eat communally.



Seum’s brother, who was a Lon Nol soldier, returned to his home village after the Lon Nol government was defeated without knowing that terrible things would happen to him. Upon his arrival, he was arrested and sent to Svay Rolum security prison located in Peam Ampil pagoda, Kampong Ampil sub-district and Rumduol district. Shortly after, Seum’s brother fled the prison and escaped to Vietnam. However, the cooperative chief did not disclose this information. Instead, he told Seum’s parents that his brother was shot dead by security guards. The news shocked the whole family.



Three month later, because the border was poorly secured, Seum’s brother managed to return to Cambodia to take his wife back to Vietnam. Upon hearing this news, the security guards arrested Seum’s father and sent him to a security prison at Trapeang Run village. He was kept there for several months and charged with hiding the enemy and not reporting to Angkar. However, Seum’s father was well liked by villagers. About 100 villagers printed their thumbprints on a piece of paper to protest again Seum’s father’s arrest. The villagers protested and demanded Seum’s father’s release, reasoning that he was not involved with his daughter-in-law’s fleeing to Vietnam because the two did not live with each other. The Khmer Rouge cadre agreed with the villagers’ request and Seum’s father was released on the condition that if anyone in his family fled again, they would never forgive them.



In the dry season of 1977, Vietnamese soldiers reached Rumduol district. Fearing rocket shelling, Seum’s family was evacuated to Svay Chrum district. Some of those who stayed were taken to Vietnam by the Vietnamese. When the Khmer Rouge soldiers arrived after Vietnamese soldiers retreated, the Khmer Rouge soldiers shot people who had been unable to flee to Vietnamese, accusing them of having “Khmer bodies with Vietnamese heads.” They dropped the corpses in the well. Those who were packing to flee were all killed. The rest of the people were sent to Beung Kek detention center in Svay Chrum district.



At Svay Chrum district, Seum’s family was assigned to live in So Pagoda in Svay Yea sub-district. The group leader distributed four cans of rice per day for his family of seven. The fighting between Vietnamese and the Khmer Rouge soldiers continued; his family was told to move from one place to another that lacked proper places to sleep, such as in the bush, near the hills and under the trees.



At that time, one of Seum’s cousins named That who worked at the detention center arrested Seum’s uncle Yon, who was also That’s relative, and another woman and sent them to the detention center. That accused Yon of having an affair with a woman (Yon’s wife told That). Although they knew about this, Seum’s parents dared not ask the guards to release Yon. The next day afternoon, Yon was killed at Angkor Sor by security guards.



During the transplanting season, Seum’s parents and relatives and another five families were evacuated to live in Koh Chey cooperative in Preah Sdech district, Prey Veng province and were given rice to eat communally. A month later, the cooperative chief told all newly arriving families to go to live in the “rich land” in Pursat province.



In Pursat, Seum’s relative and other families were assigned to live at Thlok Sangke cooperative at Damnak Thnong village, Bakan district. Upon arriving, they had no mats, blankets, and mosquito nets, so they slept on hay and sometimes directly on the ground in the hut. While there, Seum was assigned to herd the cows and carry water. His duty was to fill 20 water jars per day. His other five older brothers were assigned to work in a mobile unit. One of Seum’s nephews, who was blind chicken, was assigned to build a dike. Seum feel very much pity; he took his nephew’s hand to and from the worksite and also helped his nephew carry earth.



One morning, Seum saw an old woman with a bad cut on her head who came to live in his cooperative. The group leader gave her rice and then reported to cooperative chief. The cooperative chief arrived immediately and tightly tied her hands behind her back. With pain, the old woman promised not to run away from her cooperative again. She was killed the same afternoon near the puddle where buffalo slept. Then, the killers put the branch of the Sangke tree on her corpse. Seum’s female cousin and her children were also killed by the Khmer Rouge near that village.



In 1978, one hundred new evacuee families living at Thlok Sangke cooperative, as well as Seum’s family and relatives, were called together and the Khmer Rouge cadre told them that old people needed to go to work on the mountain. Seum’s parents knew that the Khmer Rouge would kill all people evacuated from Svay Rieng. Therefore, his parents told him to flee when the Khmer Rouge cadre told people to climb up the mountain. Seum was very frightened after his parents told him this and hid himself behind a tree in the paddy field. Seum stayed until evening, then he saw two young soldiers escorting his siblings and parents and their grandchildren out of the village. Two days later, Seum saw a group leader’s wife wearing his mother’s light blue and three-pocketed shirt, so he concluded that his mother was killed. One day Seum walked to the far end of the village to look for his mother’s body, however, he could not find it. He saw two big wells filled with decomposing corpses. He could not recognize his mother’s corpse.



Seum has been an orphan since then. After his parents were killed, he was assigned to work in the children’s mobile team building a dike in the paddy field without rest. Seum’s injured right leg got worse because he frequently walked across grass and paddy fields without enough protein. However, he was not allowed to take a break and was not given any medicine.



In 1979, the Vietnamese attacked the Khmer Rouge soldiers in the villages and the Khmer Rouge soldiers fled. Seum managed to travel to Pursat provincial town. He helped an old lady named Yong carry some household stuff and walk to Pursat town. By the time he arrived at the town, Seum’s injury was much worse. Fortunately, he was given some medicine by a Vietnamese soldier. After some time, his injury gradually healed.



When Vietnamese soldiers came into Cambodia, Seum’s brother who had fled to Vietnam returned to Cambodia. However, when he arrived in his homeland, he was told that the whole family had been evacuated to Pursat. He managed to go to Pursat in the hope that he could reunite with his family. Seum accidentally found his brother in front of Pursat provincial office. Seum’s brother found out that his parents had been killed and then he and Seum decided to return to Svay Rieng and stay with a monk named Yeng who lived at Kdei Sala pagoda, Svay Yea sub-district of Svay Chrum district. A year later, in 1980, Seum moved to live with another monk at Peam Ampil in Rumduol district.



In 1984, Seum attended school after being away for nine years. He started grade 4 at Peam Ampil primary school and then he went to Kampong Chak Junior high school. Because he was a hard-working student, he passed the exam to pursue higher education at Svay Rieng High School, which is about 30 km away. Every morning, Seum had to get up at 4 a.m. to ride a bicycle to school. Seum worked so hard that he passed his exam and was able to be trained as a history teacher. The training completed in 1989; then he started his career as a teacher right away.



Today, Seum is married and has four children. He has been a teacher for 18 years at Kampong Chak High School. Last year, Seum was selected by the Ministry of Education to be a provincial level teacher for the history of Democratic Kampuchea teacher training.



Like other survivors, Seum often shares experience with his children. He tells what happened during Democratic Kampuchea so that his children can learn more about the history of his country.