Sophal Ear: Escaping the Khmer Rouge

Prevoditelj: Davorin Jelačić Recezent: Mislav Ante Omazić - EFZG

I normally teach courses on

Normalno držim predavanja na temu

how to rebuild states after war.

ponovne izgradnje država nakon rata.

But today I've got a personal story to share with you.

Ali danas bih s vama podijelio osobnu priču.

This is a picture of my family,

Ovo je slika moje obitelji,

my four siblings -- my mom and I -- taken in 1977.

četvero mojih rođaka, mama i ja, fotografirana 1977.

And we're actually Cambodians.

Mi smo Kambodžanci.

And this picture is taken in Vietnam.

A fotografija je slikana u Vijetnamu.

So how did a Cambodian family end up in Vietnam in 1977?

Pa kako je obitelj iz Kambodže završila u Vijetnamu 1977.?

Well to explain that, I've got a short video clip

Da bih to objasnio, imam kratak video isječak

to explain the Khmer Rouge regime

koji će objasniti režim Crvenih Kmera

during 1975 and 1979.

tijekom 1975. i 1979.

Video: April 17th, 1975.

Video: 17. travnja 1975.

The communist Khmer Rouge

Komunistički Crveni Kmeri

enters Phnom Penh to liberate their people

ulaze u Phnom Penh da oslobode svoje ljude

from the encroaching conflict in Vietnam,

od širećeg sukoba u Vijetnamu,

and American bombing campaigns.

i od američkih akcija bombardiranja.

Led by peasant-born Pol Pot,

Pod vodstvom seljačkog djeteta Pola Pota,

the Khmer Rouge evacuates people to the countryside

Crveni Kmeri evakuiraju ljude na selo

in order to create a rural communist utopia,

kako bi stvorili ruralnu komunističku utopiju,

much like Mao Tse-tung's Cultural Revolution in China.

vrlo sličnu Kulturnoj revoluciji Mao Ce Tunga u Kini.

The Khmer Rouge closes the doors to the outside world.

Crveni Kmeri zatvaraju vrata vanjskom svijetu.

But after four years the grim truth seeps out.

Ali nakon četiri godine, mračna istina se probija van.

In a country of only seven million people,

U zemlji od samo sedam milijuna ljudi,

one and a half million were murdered by their own leaders,

jedan i pol milijun su pobili njihove vlastite vođe,

their bodies piled in the mass graves of the killing fields.

a tijela su ima nagomilana u masovnim grobnicama na stratištima.

Sophal Ear: So, notwithstanding the 1970s narration,

Sophal Ear: No, usprkos ovoj priči iz 1970. godine,

on April 17th 1975

17. travnja 1975.

we lived in Phnom Penh.

mi smo živjeli u Phnom Penhu.

And my parents were told by the Khmer Rouge

I mojim roditeljima su Crveni Kmeri rekli

to evacuate the city because of impending American bombing for three days.

da evakuiraju grad zbog predstojećeg trodnevnog američkog bombardiranja.

And here is a picture of the Khmer Rouge.

Ovo je slika Crvenih Kmera.

They were young soldiers, typically child soldiers.

Bili su to mladi vojnici. Tipično, djeca vojnici.

And this is very normal now, of modern day conflict,

A to je danas sasvim normalno, u modernim sukobima.

because they're easy to bring into wars.

Zato što ih je lako povući u rat.

The reason that they gave about American bombing wasn't all that far off.

Razlog koji su naveli za američko bombardiranje i nije bio tako daleko od istine.

I mean, from 1965 to 1973 there were

Mislim, od 1965. do 1973.

more munitions that fell on Cambodia

više je municije palo na Kambodžu

than in all of World War II Japan,

nego na cijeli Japan u drugom svjetskom ratu,

including the two nuclear bombs

uključujući i dvije nuklearne bombe

of August 1945.

iz kolovoza 1945.

The Khmer Rouge didn't believe in money.

Crveni Kmeri nisu vjerovali u novac.

So the equivalent of the Federal Reserve Bank

Pa je kambodžanski ekvivalent središnjoj narodnoj banci

in Cambodia was bombed.

bio bombardiran.

But not just that, they actually banned money.

I ne samo to, oni su doista zabranili novac.

I think it's the only precedent in which

Mislim da je to jedini presedan

money has ever been stopped from being used.

da je ikada bila spriječena uporaba novca.

And we know money is the root of all evil,

Znamo da je novac korijen svega zla,

but it didn't actually stop evil from happening in Cambodia, in fact.

ali ovo nije zaista spriječila zlo u Kambodži.

My family was moved from Phnom Penh to Pursat province.

Moja je obitelj preseljena iz Phnom Penha u provinciju Pursat.

This is a picture of what Pursat looks like.

Ovo je slika koja prikazuje kako Pursat izgleda.

It's actually a very pretty area of Cambodia,

To je zapravo vrlo lijep dio Kambodže,

where rice growing takes place.

gdje se uzgaja riža.

And in fact they were forced to work the fields.

Oni su zapravo prisiljeni raditi na poljima.

So my father and mother ended up in

Pa su moji otac i majka završili

a sort of concentration camp, labor camp.

u svojevrsnom koncentracijskom logoru, radnom logoru.

And it was at that time that my mother got word

I u to je vrijeme moja mati čula

from the commune chief

od šefa komune

that the Vietnamese were actually asking

da Vijetnamci zapravo pozivaju

for their citizens to go back to Vietnam.

svoje građane da se vrate u Vijetnam.

And she spoke some Vietnamese,

Ona je malo govorila vijetnamski,

as a child having grown up with Vietnamese friends.

jer je kao dijete rasla s prijateljima Vijetnamcima.

And she decided, despite the advice of her neighbors,

I odlučila je, usprkos savjeta svojih susjeda,

that she would take the chance

da će iskoristiti priliku

and claim to be Vietnamese

i tvrditi da je Vijetnamka

so that we could have a chance to survive,

kako bismo dobili priliku za preživljavanje.

because at this point they're forcing everybody to work.

Jer u to vrijeme, svakoga su tjerali na rad.

And they're giving about --

A pritom su davali oko --

in a modern-day, caloric-restriction diet, I guess --

u moderno doba, dijeta s kalorijskom restrikcijom, pretpostavljam --

they're giving porridge, with a few grains of rice.

davali zelje, s nekoliko zrna riže.

And at about this time actually

I nekako u to vrijeme

my father got very sick.

moj se otac ozbiljno razbolio.

And he didn't speak Vietnamese.

A on nije govorio vijetnamski.

So he died actually, in January 1976.

Pa je i umro, u siječnju 1976.

And it made it possible, in fact,

I to je nama omogućilo, u stvari,

for us to take on this plan.

da izvršimo taj plan.

So the Khmer Rouge took us

Crveni Kmeri su nas odveli

from a place called Pursat to Kaoh Tiev,

iz mjesta zvanog Pursat u Koh Tiev.

which is across from the border from Vietnam.

Koji je uz vijetnamsku granicu.

And there they had a detention camp

Ondje su imali zatvorenički logor

where alleged Vietnamese would be tested, language tested.

gdje su navodni Vijetnamci bili testirani na znanje jezika.

And my mother's Vietnamese was so bad

A Vijetnamski moje majke je bio tako loš

that to make our story more credible,

da je ona, da priču učini uvjerljivijom,

she'd given all the boys and girls new Vietnamese names.

svim dječacima i djevojčicama nadjenula nova Vijetnamska imena.

But she'd given the boys girls' names,

Ali je dječacima dala ženska imena,

and the girls boys' names.

a djevojčicama muška.

And it wasn't until she met a Vietnamese lady

I sve dok nije upoznala vijetnamsku gospođu

who told her this, and then tutored her for two days intensively,

koja joj je to rekla i potom je dva dana intenzivno obučavala,

that she was able to go into her exam

kako bi ona bila u stanju pristupiti ispitu

and -- you know, this was a moment of truth.

i znate, to je bio trenutak istine.

If she fails, we're all headed to the gallows;

Ako ne prođe, svi ćemo na stratište.

if she passes, we can leave to Vietnam.

Ako prođe, možemo otići u Vijetnam.

And she actually, of course -- I'm here, she passes.

I ona, naravno, ovdje sam, prolazi.

And we end up in Hong Ngu on the Vietnamese side.

I završavamo u mjestu Hong Ngu na vijetnamskoj strani.

And then onwards to Chau Doc.

A sad dalje, na Chau Doc.

And this is a picture of Hong Ngu, Vietnam today.

Evo slike Hong Ngua, današnjeg Vijetnama.

A pretty idyllic place on the Mekong Delta.

Prilično idilično mjesto na delti Mekonga.

But for us it meant freedom.

Ali za nas je ono značilo slobodu.

And freedom from persecution from the Khmer Rouge.

I slobodu od progona Crvenih Kmera.

Last year, the Khmer Rouge Tribunal,

Prošle godine je Sud za Crvene Kmere,

which the U.N. is helping Cambodia take on,

koji UN pomaže uspostaviti u Kambodži,

started, and I decided that as a matter of record

započeo s radom i odlučio sam, da ostane zabilježeno,

I should file a Civil Complaint

podnijeti građansku pritužbu

with the Tribunal about my father's passing away.

na Sudu, u vezi sa smrću moga oca.

And I got word last month

Prošli mjesec sam dobio informaciju

that the complaint was officially accepted by the Khmer Rouge Tribunal.

da je žalba službeno prihvaćena od strane Suda za Crvene Kmere.

And it's for me a matter of justice for history, and accountability for the future,

Za mene je to stvar pravde pred poviješću i odgovornosti za budućnost.

because Cambodia remains a pretty lawless place, at times.

Zato što je Kambodža i dalje povremeno mjesto bezakonja.

Five years ago my mother and I went back to Chau Doc.

Prije pet godina, moja majka i ja smo se vratili Chau Doc.

And she was able to return to a place

I mogla se vratiti na mjesto

that for her meant freedom, but also fear,

koje je za nju značilo slobodu, ali i strah,

because we had just come out of Cambodia.

jer smo bili upravo izišli iz Kambodže.

I'm happy, actually, today, to present her.

Sretan sam što vam je danas mogu predstaviti.

She's here today with us in the audience.

Ona je danas s nama, u publici.

Thank you mother.

Hvala ti, majko.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)