by Dana SchowalterNews Reporter
Dith Pran discussed the personal history behind “The Killing Fields,” a movie based on his struggle for survival under the Khmer Rouge rule, during his visit to the University of Wisconsin Tuesday.
Pran shared his experiences of suffering under the Khmer Rouge, a communist extremist group that rose to power in Cambodia April 17, 1975. Under the group’s rule, 2 million Cambodians, comprising 30 percent of the country’s entire population, were killed by starvation, torture and execution.
As a journalist for the New York Times, Pran could have left Cambodia with the other Americans April 12, 1975, but instead chose to stay in the country to inform Americans about what was happening there.
“I feel that it is very important when the war ended that I must do something to let the world know what happened,” Pran said, adding he never thought the killings would occur.
When the Khmer Rouge took power, they forced all city residents to move to labor camps. To avoid execution during the next five years, Pran said he learned to lie.
“I was lucky to survive because I lied to them that I was a taxi driver,” Pran said of moving to a labor camp.
Pran said he was also given the chance of working as a chef, fisherman and gardener, allowing him to sneak food from the Khmer Rouge, which he ate in addition to the watery soup and occasional spoon of rice rationed by the Communist Party.
“You eat raw bugs; you eat raw crickets; you eat raw grasshoppers; you eat raw rice,” Pran said. “You eat whatever you can. That is how you survive.”
In addition to a lack of food, Pran reported a lack of medical care and running water, which resulted in many people dying of curable diseases such as diarrhea and malaria.
Pran said many of his family members were executed by the Khmer Rouge, including his father and sister.
The Khmer Rouge was eventually driven from power by the Vietnamese. Pran said the Khmer Rouge did not believe in machinery, so they were unsuccessful when they tried to fight the Vietnamese.
When he finally returned to the United States in 1979, he published articles in the New York Times and other papers around the county telling his story. Eventually, he discussed his situation with the film industry to create a movie of his struggles.
The film “The Killing Fields,” which was released in 1984, details Pran’s experiences in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge rule.
Pran said it is important to educate others about his experiences to ensure similar incidents never happen again.
Pran remains optimistic about the conditions in Cambodia, as the country is working to rebuild itself with a democratic government.
“At least there is no violence,” he said, adding that Cambodia still has a long way to go.
UW freshman Randy Richgels feels it is important for the university to bring lecturers such as Pran to the campus and to give students the opportunity to learn about such topics.
