HOF077: Minar Chhor

Minar remembers very little of the war in Cambodia. When the Khmer Rouge invaded the capital of Phnom Penh, he believed the army would be defeated. Sadly, his family, along with thousands of Cambodians, were forced to flee the country following the capitulation of the Lon Nol regime. After fleeing their country, the family moved to a village in Kampong Thom province where they experienced a difficult time, filled with suffering and fear. Young Minar was a fragile child who was susceptible to disease and suffered the consequences of perpetual famines.

Later, Minar learned that the Khmer Rouge intended to wipe out his family. Nothing could prevent their fate. They awaited their death. But fate offered them a chance. The Khmer Rouge were defeated and ceded power to the Vietnamese. The family took the opportunity to flee to a refugee camp in Surin Province in Thailand.

In October 1979, the family moved to France to start a new life. Soon after, Minar’s parents managed to find employment. Her father practiced medicine while her mother continued her education to complete her nursing education. The family later settled in Canada where Minar pursued his university studies in computer engineering and eventually worked in this occupation in Montreal, in the province of Quebec.

“We were very lucky because the whole family had survived its ordeals. I didn’t lose any siblings. During the Khmer Rouge occupation, we were one of the lucky few families. “

“When I look around, I see a lot of success. So it was worth it to help us.” “I would like on behalf of all to thank these countries for making us feel welcome.”

 
Tags: , ,

Note to Researchers

A consent form was signed by each of the interviewees whose videos are posted here on the website. They have each consented to making the video available to the public and they have consented to the use of the contents of their videos by the Hearts of Freedom project researchers. Consent is not available to external researchers to quote or publish from it. Researchers interested in the subject have the opportunity to view a documentary film, Passage to Freedom which has been completed and is available through a distributor https://www.mcintyre.ca/ Researchers from the project are in the process of completing a full length book based on the interviews. Once this book is available researchers will have the opportunity to review it and to refer to it for research purposes.