Nob Bunna: an Unforgettable Memory

Chea Phalla



Democratic Kampuchea was a malicious regime that abused many Cambodians and took the lives of approximately 2 million innocent people. Although the regime has been over for over three decades, those who experienced that brutal era cannot forget what happened to them. A case in point is Nob Bunna—a teacher participating in a training organized by the Documentation Center of Cambodia in cooperation with Ministry of Education on how to teach the textbook “History of Democratic Kampuchea (1975-1979)”—who still vividly remembers what happened to him.



Nob Bunna was born in 1960 in Bram Bey Mom village, Treang district, and Takeo province. Wanting to have education, Bunna decided to leave his parents and went to live at a pagoda with Chouch, chief of the pagoda, and Chin, a teacher at the pagoda. In 1970, when the Khmer Rouge army and Lon Nol troops battled against each other in the village, Bunna was injured by an artillery shell. When the Lon Nol army withdrew to Takeo town, Bunna asked them for a lift to a provincial hospital in the town in order to receive treatment. After staying in the hospital for three months, Bunna settled with his aunt’s family in the town and furthered his studies at Bros Primary School. The situation in town, however, was not convenient since Bunna and other inhabitants were unable to travel to far since the Khmer Rouge army had captured many areas in the province.



With the Lon Nol government’s power becoming weak, in 1975 the Khmer Rouge captured all of Takeo province. Not long after, the Khmer Rouge evacuated all residents in the town to the countryside. At night, the Khmer Rouge arrested people who had served in the army or worked for the previous government in order to interrogate them. Later, the Khmer Rouge used Trakuon Tek (a kind of vine) to tie the hands of those who had been arrested behind their backs and escorted them away. Every ten people were accompanied by a Khmer Rouge soldier who wore a black uniform and was armed with a gun. Unfortunately, Bunna’s uncle was one of those taken away and no one has ever heard anything of him since. The remaining people were classified as “new people” or “17 April people,” and evacuated to Champa pagoda located in Ang Tasom sub-district.



A week after he was evacuated, Bunna was assigned by Angkar to live in his home village. However, Bunna was able to live with his parents for short time only because he then was sent to work in mobile unit consisting of 30-40 members and supervised by a unit chief named Tong. At first, Bunna’s unit was appointed to build dike at the rate of 15 meters of land a day, and then 25 meters per-day. Afraid of not completing the task, all members in the unit tried to work very hard. However, they were only allotted watery porridge; three cans of rice for ten people.



One day, Bunna’s brother called him to a rice field in order to find fishes. There, Bunna saw plenty of rice. In a state of hunger and exhaustion, Bunna grasped three bunches of rice. Sadly, the Khmer Rouge arrived; they arrested him and sent him to a prison in Svay Seh village. While walking to the prison, Bunna was terrified and thought that his life was going to end soon. After reaching the prison, Bunna became more frightened because he saw prisoners tortured by being fought, kicked, and sometimes cut with palm leaves or left in a chicken cage under the sun. Moreover, Bunna witnessed some prisoners disappear after being interrogated. Those who still alive were forced to do work such as transferring water from ponds to water plantation fields, planting crops, and building dikes. Fortunately, the Khmer Rouge did not hurt Bunna because it was his first time making a mistake. He was ordered to carry water from a pond to water the crops 300-400 times a day. Three months later he was released and sent back to his cooperative.



Even though he was freed, Bunna was still investigated by the Khmer Rouge, and ordered to carry earth with a digging hoe every day until his neck became swollen. Seeing many people got sick because of overwork, some 17 April people refused to follow the Khmer Rouge’s order. The Khmer Rouge then pushed their head in water to torture them. Later, in mid-1978, Bunna received the bad news that his parents had gotten a serious illness and passed away because of not receiving treatment.



In 1979, after the Khmer Rouge collapsed, Bunna went to live with his brother in his home village. However, because of living in terrible conditions Bunna made up his mind to be ordained a monk at Bram Bey Mom pagoda where he had previously studied. At the pagoda, Chouch, the chief of the pagoda, and Bunna found nothing so they traveled to Phnom Penh to find books for study materials and supplies to use at the pagoda. Shortly after, he found a case of books including law books and scriptures from an abandon library, and transported them by train back to the pagoda.



Because of his love of learning and the return of stability to the country, in 1983, Bunna was able to restart his studies again from grade 4. Subsequently, he went to study in Prey Sandek Secondary School situated in Treang district. After that, he entered Takeo pedagogy school. Today, Bunna is a history teacher at Sonlong High School, Treang district, Takeo province.




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