When I was five, my older brother David, almost died from a brain tumor. Although I remember some very traumatic moments in hospital rooms, my memories are fragmented. Actually I remember very little from that age, except for my brother’s illness. I think at a young age, very often, (above all else) tragic experiences are deeply ingrained in your memory. This is true for Loung Ung, author of “First They Killed My Father”. At age five her life forever changed when the Khmer Rouge, a communist regime, led by Pol Pot took over Cambodia. She was so young when she and her family were forced to flee from their home in Phnom Penh, the capitol city of Cambodia. The countries population was forced to live and work in labor camps, serving the Khmer Rouge. It was on April 17, 1975, also known as “Day Zero” that the Khmer Rouge took over the city of Phnom Penh and gained control and power over the citizens of Cambodia. My childhood experience does in no way compare to the tragedy Ung dealtwith, but it is the only connection I have to tragedy at a young age.
Nearly 2 million people were murdered in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge regime, which lasted until 1979. It is considered by many to be one of the greatest human atrocities in the last century. All of the dead were put in mass grave sites, which are now known as “The Killing Fields”. I had heard of the Killing fields before but never realized the devastation that occurred in Cambodia. It is only when you see pictures of the thousands of skulls, does the reality sink in. Another dose of reality is administered through Ung’s writing. She does an amazing job at capturing the attention and emotions of readers, bringing them into the terrifying world of Cambodian genocide. In vivid detail Loung Ung writes about her life under the rule of the Khmer Rouge. She describes the tragic events and horrific conditions that her family and fellow Cambodians suffered. It is a very sad and painful story of sacrifice and loss. But it is...