HOF125: Saphan Noun

“Leeches or guns, which are you afraid of most?” said the Khmer Rouge authority, a question that would decide Sophan Noun’s fate on whether she would work the rice fields or fight at the front lines. “Both of them are my biggest fear,” said Sophan Noun reactively. Uncertain of the repercussions of this answer, she tearfully went to her mother and children to give her final goodbye. She soon found out that this Khmer Rouge authority had decided to give her a pass, allowing her to stay home and care for her children.

She would later see this same individual at a refugee camp but decided not to make contact. She had decided to move forward with her life where she could raise her children far from the pain and anguish that she herself had endured.