I Saw Babies Murdered In Front Of Me | Minutes With
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- čas přidán 11. 06. 2024
- In this week's episode, we spoke to the incredible and resilient Var Ashe Houston about her experience of living under the brutal Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia during the 1970's. Var, along with her blind mother and two young daughters, were pushed from their home as the dictator Pol Pot ascended to power and forced to work twelve hours a day on the land. Var's husband was tricked and murdered by the regime and Var witnessed scenes of unimaginable cruelty and torture, including the beating of her own five-year-old daughter. Var's story of survival shines a light on the atrocities of Cambodia's 'Killing Fields' and the horrific murder of a quarter of her countrymen in just four years of the Khmer Rouge's rule.
00:00 - 00:30 - Intro
00:30 - 02:11 - Life Before The Regime
02:11 - 07:34 - Forced From Our Homes At Gunpoint
07:34 - 10:01 - We Were Not Allowed To Wear Shoes
10:01 - 12:30 - My Daughter Was Beaten
12:30 - 14:20 - A Prison Without Walls
14:20 - 15:40 - Intimidation Tactics
15:40 - 17:15 - They Killed Babies
17:15 - 20:00 - The Killing Fields
20:00 - 22:08 - They Threw The Body Out The Window
22:08 - 24:05 - Horrific Torture
24:05 - 26:09 - Survival
26:09 - 31:26 - Escape
31:26 - 35:52 - I Still Have Nightmares
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Thank you to Var Ashe Houston for taking part in this episode and sharing her story. Additional thanks to the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, the charity that promotes and supports Holocaust Memorial Day in the UK. For more details, please follow this link www.hmd.org.uk/
First comment!
I hate to admit I learned about Pol Pot from the Dead Kennedys lol
Do you think it's mildly disrespectful to publish this interview under LADbibleTV and have it populated by such inanities as "First comment!"
I think that's a little bit troubling.
@@TheWhitefisher That’s not ladbibles fault is it
It's a real unfortunate. Comparatively a lot lesser than what Japan did during WW2.
Every time I listen to a survivor of the Khmer Rouge regime. I hear my family’s voices. I hear my ancestors reaching out to me. I am grateful to my family for having been able to survive through that atrocity. They survived so that I could be born somewhere else, and live my dreams. A privilege that I will never take for granted.
I feel similarly, though about the Holodomor. We’re here because our ancestors are the ones who survived unimaginable horrors. Our ancestors’ strength and resilience lives on in us. It’s a small comfort when you look at all of the terrible things going on in the world.
When I think of how I was born in America and how some folks are born in certain countries that are basically a living hell all day/everyday, a lot of them not even surviving birth or only hours/days after, I usually chalk it up to strictly luck. I forget how it took the will of generations to survive wars, (grandfather was in WW1) disease along with the elements as they were pioneers which was hard/rough living. (my 1st ancestor to touch North American soil landed in Virginia 100+ years before the U.S. gained independence/became a county) Which makes me feel a bit less $hitty about it being so fortunate. But to know your grandparents (I’m assuming) /family members/generations that you’ve actually spoken to were put through hell on earth, luckily survived then fled so that the next generations could have opportunities, a free life worth living must give you an extremely proud feeling. Perhaps bittersweet knowing that they may of had it particularly difficult for X amount of years, but for sure proud. Good on you for making the best out of the opportunities you were gifted via their blood, sweat and tears, brethren. We need more folks like yourself to tell their story and perhaps wake up what so many take for granted, not realizing there are liberties we just can’t do without.
Amen bro
Wherever Marxism or one of its variations is implemented in a country, there’re always the same results: theft of private property, violence, ignorance, killings, and ultimately impoverishment.
Marxism and its variations should be banned from politics.
"We gain nothing from keeping you and we lose nothing from killing you."
I just can't imagine...
It's about the same message our kids are getting through evolution and other anti-God education in our schools. Many of them don't believe they have a purpose.
@@marisamartin3664what
This is the atypical chant of Abject Despotism, incapable of understanding that actually without you, there is No one to do their unconscionable bidding.
Rsanow ban your nouv ponlu da te v pheap now khangoknong 🌻🙏🏽🥲
@@marisamartin3664Mate, religion has been the cause of suffering deaths and atrocities through the ages.
@@marisamartin3664 I assume you consider yourself to be amongst God's 'elect' then? Understanding that God doesn't give a f*ck about your worldly actions for salvation doesn't exactly inspire much purpose either, tbh
A former workmate of mine fled from Cambodia. Since I know about S21 and the Killing Fields I never asked him about the genocide. He knew that I knew and we never talked about it. One day he came to me and said that the Khmer Rouge took everything from him. Sadly he died in the Summer of 2022. I miss that guy.
Chapter 1 in the big book of things that never happened
@@Yourdoomawaitsyou I mean this isn't that unbelievable or out of the ordinary
"he knew that i knew"
yes because it was a global atrocity, your knowledge isnt special.
You usually find that the kindest people have seen some very fked up things or been through a very tough life. RIP to your friend.
@@Yourdoomawaitsyoukindly gfys
Poor woman shes so strong. To see them killing loads of babies is beyond sick
If we don’t remember the past, we are doomed to repeat it.
I visit the Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Visiting the Killing Fields of Phnom Penh is a profoundly heart-wrenching experience. As I walked through Choeung Ek, the air was heavy with the silence of the past and the weight of unspeakable atrocities. Each step brought me closer to the remnants of a harrowing history, where countless innocent lives were brutally taken. Seeing the mass graves, the bones, and the fragments of clothing left behind, I felt an overwhelming sadness and a deep sense of loss for the people who suffered here. It was a stark reminder of the depths of human cruelty, yet also a call to remember and honor those who perished. The visit left an indelible mark on my heart, a somber testament to the resilience of the human spirit amidst unimaginable suffering.
May the Buddha bless all who suffered, and may we strive to create a world filled with compassion, understanding, and love, so that such atrocities may never occur again.
Yes, I went there as well and also been to Siem Reap (took family as well once), and it is the single most troubling and painful travel experience I've had (I never went to the camps in Europe, though, so I don't have any reference). The thing that inspires me is how much it's changed even just in the 20 years since I first went. While it still has massive challenges (massive), at least on the experiential level, there seems to be a lot of positive developments for the people there (possibly seemed drastic to me because I had 15 years between trips).
@@brek5 yes it develop very much since then. Hope younger generation learn about this make not mistake like this in future.
@@Tinjinladakh Yeah, when I went back a few years ago with my wife, she was expecting me to know everything, haha ('cause I've traveled a lot in Asia and all over the world, really, so I'm used to it), and we got off the bus, grabbed a tuk-tuk, and I didn't recognize anything. All the roads were paved (when I was originally there in Siem Reap, it was mostly dirt roads except for the walking street, which was also just a short road with a few restaurants and pubs). It was basically like I had never been there at all!
But yeah, I know all that development is a rocky road, but I have my fingers crossed and am rooting for Cambodia and its people!
Damn liar 🤣
oh brother, shut the fuck up. so bored of all these facebook post-card posts.
My two sons and I visited Cambodia in 2006 and went to the killing fields. It was one of the saddest moments in our lives. Seeing pieces of fabric and also teeth in the dried mud pathways. Visitors were asked to place in containers along the pathway of course out of respect. A local man guided us through and told us that babies were beheaded using palm leaves as a saw! I can’t look at palm trees without being reminded of this atrocity. We also visited the “school “ which was used as a place of torture. Pictures line the walls of the main room of the victims. I had to run out as it was so upsetting. I couldn’t begin to imagine the horror and pain these poor souls went through. People of Cambodia are still asking why it all happened. Personally, I can’t understand why we didn’t help these poor people at the time. Cambodian people are so gentle with beautiful souls. 😢
Thank you for sharing..
Thank you for your kind heart and empathy for all humanity!!
What you saw and what are descripted here are just part of the story, or just the symptoms. You see, White Anglo Saxon (European and later on America) they were the imperialist. It is said that the sun doesn't set on the English empire. The French came to southeast Asia and after them the American. The only country within the region that escaped the imperialist power was Thailand. Thailand was able to cozy up to the English and until today has advanced tremendously. Cambodia suffered. The people has suffered since the down turn of their monarchs reigns.
Again, what are said here are only the symptoms, parts of a whole picture.
Thats the reason why i dont understand humans who fear "ghosts" only humans are the true monsters Here.
She doesn’t cry, but you can see the overwhelming pain she’s carrying in her eyes.
I live in Phnom Penh, just behind the killing fields, it's a truly eerie place. The stories i have heard about that time are haunting.
More than half of my mother’s family was executed as they were chased out of their home without any questions. Thank you for sharing your story, there are so many more thousands of families that are unable to express their grief. No matter how much time has passed, my parents can clearly remember each knife wounds and having to hold a dying child from starvation. I live everyday praying that we can all find solace in each others experiences!!!
I am so sorry for the atrocities of the past... I wish that education will rebuild our world for the better and that time can heal your family's memories and wounded spirits...
I hope if your family came to so California that you felt welcomed. I grew up with many of the boat kids who became great friends. We have a special section of town called little Saigon here near me, and a large community of Cambodians, Laotians, and Vietnamese and I give much respect to them…they work so hard to assimilate that they refuse translators and insist on speaking English. Your family was very brave! Be proud of that. And welcome 🤗
Cambodians are some of the most easy going, hospitable people I’ve met. It’s truly amazing how they still manage to be such a wonderful community despite the pain and horror that marked their history.
Growing up we were raised to be kind and respectful of others, we’re happy folks 😊
they were raised to have manners!!! i like that about them and most southeast asian countries (im s.e.a too!!)
Same goes to Japanese
Nice people and highly intellect
But during WW2 they become animal
A country leader is very important
It can change the way their people think
Seeing your daughter go through that is something absolutely nobody deserves, and you can tell it truly hurt her because she held herself together until she had to talk about her baby.
Yea this was heartbreaking to hear. Bless her heart ❤
Her final message about three younger generation questioning the authenticity of her evidence and her plea for future generations to avoid such atrocities sounds so much like the sentiments of Shoah survivors. How many times do we need to be told?
I grew partially in Cambodia in the early 2000s. Even decades later you could still see how scarred the country was. It’s crazy to think a society could go through so much horror and keep going after.
If you haven’t noticed - a massive chunk of humanity is seriously traumatised
Especially around world war 1 / world war 2
Poland, Ukraine and other countries suffered such horrors under similar regimes
Even Russia … people forget 20 million Russian people die slowly bloody deaths (and survived cannibal islands)
I even know someone in her 20s who was born in a concentration camp in Bosnia
- that have to go on cause they have no choice
But that generation is heavily heavily traumatised (our parents and grandparents generation) - and hence they perpetuate the trauma and violence
- high amount of DV , high amount of serial killers, high amount of child predators, high amount of beating / hitting children
Well really the fact that North Korea still exists in these fascist model is disgusting
But that’s just humans - we are resilient
Holocausts, prison work camps , North Korea , big countries bullying little country’s , apartheid , genocides in Africa, child soilder survivors of Africa
Humans are complex that’s for sure
I couldn't sleep there unless I'm in the big cities. Doors creeking... and you know how they don't pray or sent the spirits over, they just tossed so many dead bodies anywhere and everywhere without grave without a proper burial... you hear distant screams. And one night my dad and I went to the top of his balcony and a dog was going batsh!t crazy barking into the night... nothing but trees I asked my dad to shine the light to see the commotion... there was nothing down there, dog was hysterical
Anyone who can kill a baby or do these things to others is pure evil.
And yet we have half the US screaming for the right to do even worse…🤦♀️
I went to Cambodia in January 2020, just before COVID. Our tour guide told us so many grin stories he witnessed, like his brother being killed for drinking water out of a palm tree leaf or his best memory, catching and eating a small snake raw and not being caught.
He met his mother on the road when the Vietnamese attacked, just by coincidence and thought they might both be dead. They were evacuated into a German school where he learned the language and became a tour guide. He bowed to us and thanked us for the developmental help, I felt so ashamed since I didn't even know Germany gave money to Cambodia until then.
It was heart breaking.
He said that he personally thinks that Pol Pot is worse than Hitler, since Hitler at least meant well for how own people.
That’s actually very true, in Asia we saw Hitler differently. And in the case of Cambodia, if you were to compare Pol Pot to Hitler, we would regard Hitler as a true nationalist.
Pol Pot was not worse than Hitler. I watched a documentary which Duch the S-21 warden said that Pol Pot was too busy with miliary plannings. Pol Pot didn't orders many of the killings. It was his generals. I'm not a supporter of Pol Pot nor did I ever like him as the leader of Cambodia during the second half of 1970s. A lot of people don't know this, but the Khmer Rouge had many different factions. Some factions were brutal whereas some others were less. This was also depicted in the movie, "The Killing Fields". The Khmer Rouge even had wars among themselves. Comparing to other mad men in history, I think historians got him wrong. Ho Chi Min who started all of the BS caused millions more deaths that directly and indirectly led to the Khmer Rouge.
My parents & brother escaped Cambodia and were in a refugee camp in Vietnam before they came to New Zealand. The stories my dad would tell me saddened me. I’m so glad they were able to escape.
My neighbors managed to escape. No person should go through what they went through.
My mom was 9 years old and was split up from her mother and 11yr old brother. My mom at that time was incharge of working in the kitchen (she would be one of the kids to cook for the soliders). She someone got a tip from someone where the eldering ladies were, and one night my mom stole a bowl of rice and swam across the lake to get to my grandma, only to be met with a solider pointing a gun to her head. Because he liked my mom (she was the one running to give rice bowls to the soldiers each morning) he only gave her a warning, when in reality they were to shot and kill on the spot of smth like this happened. Long story short, her brother died from starvation (he and other boys were in charge of building bridges/road paths and the labour with lack of food was too much go bare for a 11 yr old. My grandmother had a lot of guilt and adopted my aunty who was an orphan once the war was over and they all went to Thailand as refugees. Thanks for reading.
Such tragic happenings. Thank you for sharing. 😢
The minutes with series has quickly become my favorite. No matter the story, it is always fascinating and I learn something new. Thank you for sharing these stories
It always amazes me how Hitler gets so much credit for his evil ways, yet no one ever talks about Pol Pot
or Stalin, Mao, Sung, Castro
It’s a lack of education and people pushing it. The ADL came together and made Holocaust education a thing and wouldn’t have happened if people who were affected didn’t push it so much. While it sucks, people who have suffered from such a regime need to band together and demand the education to be taught. Communism and Marxism never ends well and it needs to be taught over and over against so kids get it through their thick skulls
A lot of people do just not western people
@@CharlieJ69 Lenin, Idi Amin.
Are you serious? The Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot are infamous and well known.
This is a hard video to watch and equally as Important. Huge respect to this incredibly brave and strong lady. It is very important to remember these horrible atrocities so we may prevent them in the future but also honor the victims and survivors!
So many lessons to be taken from her story. We need to be so mindful of the governments and policies that we support. This is what happens when we are deceived by ideals.
my friend's grandmother had 7 siblings and all but her and i believe a brother survived. How someone lives through these things is beyond me.
People often forget the US government’s *cough* Kissinger *cough* role in the ascendency of the Khmer Rouge.
I did not know that.
@@GhostCell47 because America " Henry Kissinger" played a major role which brought Pol Pot into power, due to the tons of illegal bombing in Cambodia that was a neutral country.
Which is what? Sihanouk was friendly to the communists so they would’ve taken over anyway
True
And Viets as the Americans were bombing the illegal Viets who were moving closer to the villages. Remember Cambodia was not at war with the US.
My mom has a coworker who is also a survivor. She told my mom of all the murders of babies and how some were stabbed brutally in front of their families.
Wow! It's shocking to learn about the depths of human depravity. There are so many holocausts that are not taught.
One happening right now that the USA is doing its absolute utmost to spin and censor
💯
And ongoing today. Every day. Children being killed. Starved.
It just incredible the despicable acts that humans are capable of inflicting on each other.
The babies being knocked against a tree was so painful to hear .
Human MALES.* Don’t blame all of humanity for the acts of MEN.
@@greendragonspirit1646First time I heard of that “method” was from a survivor of the Armenian genocide, then from a book written by a Treblinka survivor, and then a book called “survivors of the killing fields”. Of all the books I’ve read on these horrific subjects, full of cruelty and suffering as they are, this particular act never ever ceases to shock me.
The US. Be specific with this one.
She's an absolute rock, i have spent quite a bit of time in Cambodia and the people are different level with their kindness and hospitality, they will never ever forget but they just want a chance to move on and prosper.
Never again for anyone. Genocide is despicable.
Yet it's happening in PALESTINE RIGHT NOW .AND I DARESAY WE DON'T KNOW THE HALF OF WHAT IS HAPPENING
@@vickythefist7062 EXACTLY
I was in the Killing Fields in December 23'. You can still see teeth and bones scattered across the fields that have been left untouched. I got a much worse bad gut feeling there than any nazi concentration camp I've been to. The baby killing tree made shed a tear, and I never cry.
And nobody was held accountable.
What a strong woman, I hope her life is full of blessings and happiness
These are fantastic videos! Thank you to every single one of you who helped make these! We all need to know about these heinous acts
Just went to Cambodia this year. Just about everyone over the age of 40 has a story to tell. Thank you for sharing
I can see the pain in her eyes
Honestly painful and I saw it to.
I visited cambodia. It is an overwhelmingly lovely and friendly place that is fiercely peaceful. The real touristy areas are a bit scammy as are all of them but the vast vast VAST majority of the country as I traveled through it were warm friendly and kind. We met with a lot of monks and went to a peace museum that looked at how the peace was brought about. Peace is such a core important thing to Cambodians because it's still relatively new and very hard fought after. They all live in the shadow of that tragedy and they just want to celebrate their culture and share it with others and to see this never happen again
The sick thing is Pol Pot still has a grave there that people visit. Literally, Asia's Hitler and people still pay him respects. It's disgusting
I don't believe in heaven or hell but I would love to image a world where when bad people die, they are forced into the bodies and situations of everyone they ever wronged, forced to fully experience all of the pain and suffering first hand in excruciating detail with persistent memory of when they chose to commit it, then they are pulled into the next horrific situation they caused and created and have to endure the pain they put into the world and for this to continue until they endured the final evil act, then they get looped back to the beginning and have to live out the torture over and over again until the sheer weight of the pain they put out into the universe erodes and wears away their existence until they eventually fade away into complete madness
Thats why it was so easy for th3 Khmer Rouge to take power and hurt so many. The people there had no comprehension that such violence was even possible
Thank you, Var, for having the courage to tell this story. Cambonians like you will prevent these horrors from happening again.
I visited Cambodia years ago when I was backpacking thru SE Asia. I have never been to a place that I connected to so emotionally before. I cried every day and I didn’t know why. Their faces, the kids, knowing a little about the atrocities the people had suffered thru, all of it just hit me right in the heart. This woman is remarkable and her resilience and bravery is humbling.
I was looking for prisoner's photos in S21. And fixtated to a mom with her baby, and just breathless thinking of what was their fate about.😢
My best friend in high school, his parents were from Cambodia and they never talked about anything from there. Even my best friend. Their son, knew nothing. Probably because they were so traumatized.
I'm always scared to ask my mom and dad what happened... I'm worried they will get depressed even though they might already secretly be.... my dad lost 3 of his older brothers, they were brutally murdered because they were educated and had good jobs
I had the pleasure of living there for 5 years with my teenage son. I can't express enough how kind, welcoming, curious, and engaging the Khmer people are. The beauty of that country and its captivating people. It still amazes how little knowledge is held in the UK about this gem of SE Asia. Temples, history, jungles and waterfalls, the most resourceful, kind hearted people ive ever met and after all they have suffered. Life is far from fair for Cambodians. Poverty is staggering. Corruption is prevalent. I do think great strides are being made in the right direction. I met so many naturally gifted people. In tune with nature. Traditions and customs and loads of holidays! The weddings are not just one day of celebrations, but three❤. I could go on forever about Cambodia. Oh and the food. It is insanely tasty.
On our second time to the capital, PP, our friend and guide Bong T, accompanied my son and I to, Choeung Ek, killing field. Ive never been somewhere that moved me so much. What they went through is exactly what the word genocide means. I hope this brings clarity to those clouded with the delusion that leftist marxism leads anywhere but to misery death.
Despite all the madness and cruelty the Cambodians have endured, genocide, famine, zero rights, being carpet bombed in someone elses war, having its archaeological gems plundered and looted, decades of dictatorship, generations of families inflicted with trauma, they make the absolute best of life! There is hardly any pitty me attitude. No victim mentality. The youth of western democratic countries could do with a sit down and a history and life lessons from Cambodia. It would benefit them greatly in many ways. 🇬🇧 ❤ 🇰🇭
I visited Cambodia and there were mass graves & memorials everywhere. I went to Choeng Ek & Tuol Sleng in Cambodia, but I think the worst thing I saw was the Samrong Knong Killing Field memorial which details (in words & pictures) all the torture methods around it. It's close to Battambang (the 2nd place Var went), so seeing someone who would have witnessed that torture first hand makes it all the more real. The few things she mentions are nothing compared to the full atrocities of the Khmer Rouge. I'm not surprised she doesn't talk about that aspect much. So glad she escaped.
there's a lot of people who need to hear these stories in this world.
thank you for being brave enough to talk about it. My heart broke to listen to the horror that you lived through. This is exactly why we need lived stories like this. Only these stories can really do justice and hopefully others will listen to history so it isn't repeated.
It’s sad because a lot of my people need therapy, I can’t even ask my mom about it she breaks down
So heartbreaking. Sending so much love and peaceful energy to this brave and strong woman.
My maternal grandmother died in the ‘killing fields’ , my mother a baby at the time was able to flee with her aunt. There were other aunts and uncles who were also lost, never to full know what happened to them. I have heard stories of the tree that is mentioned in the video. I am thankful my mother didn’t end up one of it’s many infant victims
Thank you for having the courage to speak out against the horrific genocide of the people of Cambodia and giving the next generation the very REAL HISTORY of their culture and their people.
Thank you for sharing this courages lady’s story! May she and her family be blessed!
I’d like to echo her words towards the end… it is very important that younger generations are aware of attrocities of past genocides all over the world and to try to prevent it from happening again. We must accept the fact that There is currently a genocide going on in Gaza that has been for 76 painful years - probably the longest modern day genocide to ever be prolonged for many decades! Please spread the word - never again means never again for anyone!
I saw the victim photo at Tuol Sleng and my heart wreck when i saw a few babies photo and one of them had a similar look like my nephew. I was crying on my room and hugged him tightly and praying to God nothing bad will happened to him just like those poor baby. 😢
12:15 that’s a whole different level of sorrow I feel for her. I don’t know what I’d do if I had to watch that happen to my baby and couldn’t do a damn thing. And for me there’s another level of worseness cause it’s not even like her baby did anything bad per we, she was literally just starving.
One of my former coworkers had family that survived the Cambodian Genocide. I never asked her about it cause i couldn’t even fathom the horrors her family had endured.
The cruelty and evil with which mankind is capable of treating fellow human beings is astounding
Brave woman.Deepest sympathies for the life she endured and atrocities she witnessed and people she lost…
Well...that was the worst 20 seconds I´ve ever heard. The poor babies. 😭😭😣😖😭
My father was recruited to go there as an American. He didn’t want to go. He came home a different man and said he was ashamed to be alive. He committed suicide because he couldn’t live with what he was forced to do to you families. On behalf of my family, I am sorry. Truly sorry. Although sorry will never be enough. May God bless you always.
Your father was false in believing that he was responsible for the atrocities against khmer people. The real story is murkier than what appeared. American did bombed Cambodia but that was because the king of Cambodia, at the time, allowed the Viet Cong to use part of Cambodia as a Refuge. Cambodia king did reached out to American but no one noticed him.
This lady just thank the arsonist for putting out the fire! Murky story, Cambodia.
People walk around with such pain in their hearts.
My father was a doctor, and my paternal grandparents were merchants. We're scheduled to be executed. I was younger than her. I learn a lot from this interview.
Some of the rich families, where I'm from in Australia, were able to sponsor high school students to go to Cambodia so they can help teach English, build water wells and schools/hut houses. I knew a couple of people who went... I never knew about the Khmer Rouge until few months ago- a decade after those kids took that trip. Watching walk throughs of S21 and the Killing Fields truly shocked me. Four years, 2 million people and it was only in the 70's... So close to home...
Thank you for sharing your story Var. I consider Cambodia my second home. It always strikes me that every single person you see in the streets have been affected by Pol Pot in some way or another… but how many smiles there are. I love Cambodia and it’s people, and I will always feel blessed to have met Chum Mey, one of the few survivors of Tuol Sleng x
Having been born and raised in Cambodia, I've always deeply empathized with every story I've heard. This is yet another succinct and heart-wrenching perspective that helps me better understand the trauma experienced by the older generation.
Wow the timing of this video is crazy, i actually am travelling cambodia at the moment from the UK and visited the killing fields in Phnom penh and the S-21 Prison yesterday. Absolutely chilling place, you can still see thousands of bone fragments in the soil especially when it rains and the mud washes away, the tree they used to smashed hundreds of children’s skulls on is absolutely terrifying. The scale of the killing was unbelievable with most people being executed with hand tools basically bludgeoned to death. Absolutely cruel, if you get the chance to come to Cambodia to learn the history and pay your respects i recommend you do.
I saw an exhibit of portraits of prisoners. The expression in their eyes was something I will never forget. I felt the fear. These were human beings who had such a horrible fate.
My old neighbors escaped the Khmer Rouge as well. I didn’t fully appreciate how much they went through until I got older and really learned about it. Even though they experienced the most painful things, they remained the kindest people. Thank you so much for sharing your story. Everyone should know what happened. Be well ❤️
I visited Cambodia 11 years ago, around 2013, and went to S21, still can't forget the things I saw and felt during that time.
Too heavy and too sad.
This lady , among millions of others , really suffered at the hands of the Khmer Rouge . I couldn’t imagine living through the horrors she lived through , she is one tough cookie .
There was a excellent movie made about this time in Cambodia called The Killing Fields , it’s well worth a watch
Miss Var paints a vivid, harrowing picture of a Hell on Earth. Nightmarish stuff. Best wishes and happiness to the great lady and her family. Respect from Ireland. Her story perfectly illustrates why countries should give sanctuary to war refugees. It is unfortunate that Pol Pot escaped justice, croaking of a heart attack (heart?) in 1998 aged 72. Ditto many of his brutal hench thugs, as like many Nazis after World War 2. The 1985 movie 'The Killing Fields' is a study in the horror of the monstrous, demonic-like Khmer Rouge.
Thank you for sharing a little glimpse of your story. Many blessings to you and your family, and all the survivors.
Unbelievable what these people had to go through. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for sharing your story Var. We will not forget.
The passion and dedication are palpable, fueling meaningful exchanges and breakthroughs
Thank you for sharing your story with us! We love you❤
Bless you for sharing your story. ❤
Very brave lady. Thank you for sharing your story.
A massive thankyou to this brave women for opening old wounds to educate people especially the younger generation . Its surprising how many people don't know about this grim time in history.
My grandmother told me horrendous stories about the Lao regime murdering Hmong babies, violating Hmong women, and killing Hmong men. This is exactly what kind of history needs to be told so that governments can stop going into stupid wars that kill native people-and humans above all!
Amazing documentary. Thank you.
To this day, my parents still wake up before 5am to make rice porridge with salt & dried fish. And we would eat it quietly as a family getting yelled at by our parents if we messed around. Idk if that means anything but it’s almost as if they are so used to the same morning regimen during the Khmer Rouge regime , if that makes sense idk
thank you var im so shocked to have never know of any of your countries history , i only recently saw it Cambodia referred to as the killing field from a tiktok video and am so thankful for you insight and account of the events that took place , thankyou for teacher me
I hope she writes a book because I think it is essential that her experiences and insight not be lost to history. As an intellectual, she would write it very well.
It is crazy how a society can destroy itself in such a short time just because of one man.
It truly shows how quick a persons soul can turn dark or rather, take the dark to the surface.
I also can’t believe that the world just watched.
Such an Amazing video. Ashe is so strong and I can only imagine the pain she and her people suffered
What an amazing women. To go through those horrendous things and be able to speak about it today. I'm so glad you managed to get out and hope you have been able to live a happier life ❤
Heart wrenching
Such a strong woman , as well as all the other strong survivors, they are truly amazing .
Absolutely heat wrenching. I cannot imagine living through that. I’m just glad she got away and managed to live a better life ❤ prayers for you lovely lady ❤
I live in Cambodia great to have her on!!! 🙏❤️ 🇰🇭 🙏
Wow amazing interview
This poor mother, my heart breaks for her. To witness her daughter being beaten and helpless to intervene.
These survivors are so precious to hear and to learn from what happened to them. My heart goes out to her and those who suffered and died. I hope she lives a long peaceful life with many grandchildren.
All I can say is Thank you so much for telling your story. Im so sorry for what you and so many others went through.
It's haunting just listening to her life experiences and sadly humanity is still at a breaking point with active wars in Gaza, Ukraine, Congo, Libya, Sudan and many more nations in the world 🌎 😢 💔
What's shocking is the way she's been able to keep her sanity. She's a bigger man than me.
5:21 omg that sent shivers down my spine, poor woman.
That is so incredibly sad and to know its happening again makes everything so raw and painful 💔💔
@11:32
No, I can't imagine, not in a million years what that feeling would be like...its unimaginable and heartbreaking to hear 😢
🩵🩷 We hear your voice. Thank you for sharing with us.
I wonder how many of these animals are still alive and have nightmares of what they did..or any guilt
Many and none, respectively.
Never dehumanize your enemies. Everyone is human and everyone is capable of both good and evil. When you deny another's humanity you forget that you are the same as them. Dehumanization lets people justify atrocities and ignore warnings.
They have/had no remorse. I ve listened to interviews with Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan. Leng Sary , another high ranking official was living in luxury in near Battambang in 1990/1991.
@@SAOS451316 They're still monsters and a scourge of humanity.
You might want to check out a movie called The Act of Killing. Though it's not about the Killing Fields, it covers a different genocide in Malaysia. However, the sociopathy is the same, the sadists are made of the same ingredients that made the Khmer Rouge.
What an amazing story and insight into the atrocious regime of the Khmer Rouge 🙏🏼🙏🏼
What a brave and remarkable lady. God bless you.
What a brave woman. This can't have been easy for her but she explained the horror she went through so eloquently. Even though it was so hard to stomach I'm glad I got to hear her story
thanks lots for this learning experience.