Sophal Ear: Escaping the Khmer Rouge

Prevodilac: Milica Petrovic Lektor: Sara Bgd

I normally teach courses on

Obično držim kurseve o

how to rebuild states after war.

tome kako da izgradite države nakon rata.

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

Ali danas imam ličnu priču koju želim da podelim sa vama.

This is a picture of my family,

Ovo je fotografija moje porodice,

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

četvoro braće i sestara -- moje majke i mene -- slikana 1977.

And we're actually Cambodians.

mi smo zapravo iz Kambodže.

And this picture is taken in Vietnam.

A ova fotografija je slikana u Vijetnamu.

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

Kako je kambodžanska porodica završila u Vijetnamu 1977. godine?

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

Da bih vam to objasnio, imam kratak video klip

to explain the Khmer Rouge regime

koji će objasniti režim Crvenih Kmera

during 1975 and 1979.

tokom 1975. i 1979.

Video: April 17th, 1975.

Video: 17. april 1975.

The communist Khmer Rouge

Komunistički Crveni Kmeri

enters Phnom Penh to liberate their people

ulaze u Pnom Pen da oslobode njihov narod

from the encroaching conflict in Vietnam,

od širećeg sukoba u Vijetnamu

and American bombing campaigns.

i američkih bombaških kampanja.

Led by peasant-born Pol Pot,

Pod vođstvom seljaka Pola Pota,

the Khmer Rouge evacuates people to the countryside

Crveni Kmeri su evakuisali ljude na selo

in order to create a rural communist utopia,

da bi stvorili ruralnu komunističku utopiju,

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

nalik kulturnoj revoluciji Mao Ce Tunga u Kini.

The Khmer Rouge closes the doors to the outside world.

Crveni Kmeri su zatvorili vrata spoljnom svetu.

But after four years the grim truth seeps out.

Ali nakon 4 godine sumorna istina curi napolje.

In a country of only seven million people,

U državi od svega 7 miliona ljudi

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

jedan i po milion su ubile njihove vođe,

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

njihova tela su nabacana u masovne grobnice na bojnim poljima.

Sophal Ear: So, notwithstanding the 1970s narration,

Sofal Er: Dakle, uprkos ovoj priči iz sedamdesetih,

on April 17th 1975

17. aprila 1975.

we lived in Phnom Penh.

živeli smo u Pnom Penu.

And my parents were told by the Khmer Rouge

Crveni Kmeri su rekli mojim roditeljima

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

da evakuišu grad zbog predstojećeg trodnevnog američkog bombardovanja.

And here is a picture of the Khmer Rouge.

A ovo su slike Crvenih Kmera.

They were young soldiers, typically child soldiers.

To su bili mladi vojnici, tipična deca vojnici.

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

Ovo je prilično normalno danas u savremenim sukobima,

because they're easy to bring into wars.

jer ih je lako uvući u rat.

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

Razlog koji su dali o američkom bombardovanju nije bio daleko od istine.

I mean, from 1965 to 1973 there were

Hoću da kažem, od 1965. do 1973.

more munitions that fell on Cambodia

više municije je palo na Kambodžu

than in all of World War II Japan,

nego na Japan tokom celog Drugog svetskog rata

including the two nuclear bombs

uključujući dve nuklearne bombe

of August 1945.

avgusta 1945.

The Khmer Rouge didn't believe in money.

Crveni Kmeri nisu verovali u novac.

So the equivalent of the Federal Reserve Bank

Tako da je ekvivalent Banke federalnih rezervi

in Cambodia was bombed.

u Kambodži bombardovan.

But not just that, they actually banned money.

I ne samo to, oni su zapravo zabranili novac.

I think it's the only precedent in which

Mislim da je ovo jedini presedan u kom

money has ever been stopped from being used.

je novac bio povučen iz upotrebe.

And we know money is the root of all evil,

A znamo da je novac uzrok sveg zla,

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

ali nije stvarno sprečio zlo u Kambodži, u stvari.

My family was moved from Phnom Penh to Pursat province.

Moja porodica je bila preseljena iz Pnom Pena u provinciju Pursat.

This is a picture of what Pursat looks like.

Ovo je slika kako Pursat izgleda.

It's actually a very pretty area of Cambodia,

To je zapravo jedna lepa oblast u Kambodži,

where rice growing takes place.

gde se uzgaja pirinač.

And in fact they were forced to work the fields.

U suštini, bili su primorani da rade u poljima.

So my father and mother ended up in

Tako da su moji otac i majka završili u

a sort of concentration camp, labor camp.

nekoj vrsti koncentracionog logora, radnog logora.

And it was at that time that my mother got word

To je bilo u ono vreme kada je moja majka čula

from the commune chief

od načelnika komune

that the Vietnamese were actually asking

da je Vijetnam tražio

for their citizens to go back to Vietnam.

da se njegovi građani vrate u Vijetnam.

And she spoke some Vietnamese,

Ona je govorila nešto vijetnamskog jezika

as a child having grown up with Vietnamese friends.

jer je kao dete rasla sa vijetnamskim prijateljima.

And she decided, despite the advice of her neighbors,

Odlučila je, uprkos savetima njenih komšija,

that she would take the chance

da će ugrabiti priliku

and claim to be Vietnamese

i reći da je Vijetnamka

so that we could have a chance to survive,

da bi imala šansu da preživi

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

jer su u to vreme sve terali da rade.

And they're giving about --

A davali su oko --

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

u današnje vreme, dijetu zasnovanu na smanjenom unosu kalorija, pretpostavljam --

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

davali su kašu sa nekoliko zrna pirinča.

And at about this time actually

Otprilike u ovo vreme

my father got very sick.

moj otac se ozbiljno razboleo.

And he didn't speak Vietnamese.

A nije govorio vijetnamski.

So he died actually, in January 1976.

Tako da je preminuo u januaru 1976.

And it made it possible, in fact,

To je omogućilo, zapravo,

for us to take on this plan.

da mi pokušamo sa ovim planom.

So the Khmer Rouge took us

Zato su nas Crveni Kmeri odveli

from a place called Pursat to Kaoh Tiev,

iz mesta zvanog Pursat u Kaoh Tiev,

which is across from the border from Vietnam.

koji je preko vijetnamske granice.

And there they had a detention camp

Tamo su imali kazneni kamp

where alleged Vietnamese would be tested, language tested.

gde su navodni Vijetnamci testirani o znanju jezika.

And my mother's Vietnamese was so bad

A vijetnamski moje majke je bio toliko loš da je,

that to make our story more credible,

da bi priča bila uverljivija,

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

dala svim dečacima i devojčicama vijetnamska imena.

But she'd given the boys girls' names,

Ali je dala dečacima ženska imena,

and the girls boys' names.

a devojčicama muška imena.

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 ovo rekla, a zatim je učila 2 dana bez prekida,

that she was able to go into her exam

nije mogla da ode na ispit

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

i -- znate, ovo je bio trenutak istine.

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

Ako ne uspe, svi ćemo biti upućeni na gubilište;

if she passes, we can leave to Vietnam.

ako položi, možemo da idemo u Vijetnam.

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

I ona je, naravno -- ja sam ovde, položila.

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

Tako smo završili u Hong Ngu na vijetnamskoj strani.

And then onwards to Chau Doc.

Zatim u Čau Dok.

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

Ovo je slika Hong Ngua, Vijetnam danas.

A pretty idyllic place on the Mekong Delta.

Prilično idilično mesto u delti Mekonga.

But for us it meant freedom.

Ali za nas je značilo slobodu.

And freedom from persecution from the Khmer Rouge.

Slobodu od proganjanja Crvenih Kmera.

Last year, the Khmer Rouge Tribunal,

Prošle godine, Sud za Crvene Kmere,

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

koji su UN pomogle Kambodži da uspostavi,

started, and I decided that as a matter of record

počeo je sa radom i ja sam rešio da ostane zabeleženo

I should file a Civil Complaint

da treba da podnesem građansku tužbu

with the Tribunal about my father's passing away.

Sudu o tome kako je moj otac preminuo.

And I got word last month

Dobio sam odgovor prošlog meseca

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

da je tužbu zvanično prihvatio Sud za Crvene Kmere.

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

Za mene je ovo stvar pravde pred istorijom i odgovornosti za budućnost,

because Cambodia remains a pretty lawless place, at times.

jer je Kambodža ostala mesto bezakonja, s vremena na vreme.

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

Pre 5 godina moja majka i ja smo se vratili u Čau Dok.

And she was able to return to a place

Ona je mogla da se vrati na mesto

that for her meant freedom, but also fear,

koje za nju označava slobodu, ali istovremeno i strah,

because we had just come out of Cambodia.

jer smo tek izašli iz Kambodže.

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

Srećan sam, zapravo, danas što mogu da je predstavim.

She's here today with us in the audience.

Ona je ovde danas sa nama u publici.

Thank you mother.

Hvala ti majko.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)