In the book, First They Killed My Father, Loung Ung explains first hand how she experienced the ruthless take over of Cambodia, in the 1970's, by the Khmer Rouge. She some how found ways to stay alive through out the long, hard four years of starvation and ruthless killing. Although she was lucky, not all of her family was, and all her experiences of the war sometimes still haunt her today.
When Loung was a five-year-old girl in a caring, middle-class family in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, the communist Khmer Rouge took over the country. During parts of the book, I felt her fear and confusion as soldiers forced her family and others from their city, and when the family had to move to different villages. I felt like I was there with her as her family struggled to stay alive because of the lack of food, and stay together as the Khmer Rouge took over. Many times when Loung was hungry she had to resort to stealing from other people, and once she even stole rice from the rest of her family. The great imagery in the book made me feel like I was there.
As those around them died of disease and starvation, her family clung to each other for support, but it was slowly torn apart. The older boys, Meng and Khouy are sent to a labor camp, the her oldest sister Keav is sent away, and later dies of sickness. When Loung's father is taken away, never to return, it affects Loung deeply because she and her father were very, very close. Eventually, her mother sends Kim, Chou and Loung away because she can no longer support them. Despite her young age, Loung is sent to another camp to become a soldier because she is a very strong worker. Even with all this adversity, she shows her strength; perhaps this is why she could survive and tell her story.
First They Killed My Father is a powerful, moving story. It taught me about the Cambodian Civil War, which I had never heard of before, and explained the effect war has on families, and how one little girl dealt with it all.
