Another article about our friend: Sieu Sean Do – Surviving the Atrocities of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia

 https://blog.grindsuccess.com/sieu-sean-do/?fbclid=IwAR3V2QVSdn8NCPvh_HNi_4w07aqjGgPq9dgHbKJBOikrjkVJy9Ze7N71VoE

Sieu Sean Do – Surviving the Atrocities of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia

ByGrind Success Updated on March 25, 2023

 

The Cambodian genocide from 1975 to 1979 left millions to succumb to death, while many faced forced evacuation from Cambodia. It was April 17, 1975, when the Khmer Rouge captured Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh.

Sieu Sean Do, one of the survivors of the Cambodian genocide, witnessed people being taken away to communal farms and rural camps as the new regime began its devastating and fierce mission of “Year Zero” and creating a peasant Utopia. 

During the horrendous reign of terror, Do witness many people being forced to live in a drastic combination of food scarcity and forced labor.

His family also lived in a jungle and worked at the labor camp. With the ongoing atrocities being carried out in a place where Sean grew up living a happy childhood steeped in the historic rural Cambodian rituals.

Do and his family left Cambodia for Vietnam in 1976, three years before Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot’s regime was toppled.

After several deadly skirmishes on the border between the two nations, the Vietnamese Army invaded Cambodia in 1979, overthrowing Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.

Pol Pot attempted to expand his control into the newly united Vietnam, but his men were promptly repulsed. However, the genocide and casualties lasted for four years before finally coming to an end. 

Arrival in Vietnam

Upon the family’s arrival in Vietnam, they were assisted by a Khmer Rouge soldier who was a childhood friend of Sean’s father. As a soldier, he made sure to help the family in the best possible way because he knew if he failed to help them flee, the whole family would be executed.

He drew maps to help the family escape. When he arrived in Vietnam a year after the conclusion of the American War in 1976, he found that while the country sheltered them in Vietnam, it did not offer them a future.

Cambodian refugees in Thailand’s camps were offered resettlement in Europe, the United States, or the British Commonwealth. So he risked his life once more and returned through northern Cambodia to a refugee camp on the Cambodia-Thailand border.

Time in the Thai-Cambodia Border

Sean spent almost three years at the Thai refugee camp at the border of Thailand. During this time, he joined the International Red Cross and Doctor Without Border as a volunteer. Sean met Dr. Louise E. Braile from Seattle, who worked at the American Refugee Committee and educated Sean to become a physician assistant at the age of 19.

Burrell taught Sean how to diagnose patients, issue prescriptions, and treat patients at the Thai-Cambodian border. He serviced thousands of refugees. Sean also learned the various aspects and responsibilities of being a physician assistant while working in the refugee camp.

Despite all the agony and challenging time, he was put through, Sean keeps a positive outlook. Knowing now that he had post-traumatic stress disorder, he claims the writing process was helpful. After all the suffering he went through, Do’s attitude toward life remained positive?

Helping a Generation to Understand 

In 2019, Sieu Sean Do’s debut novel, “A Cloak of Good Fortune,” chronicles the period of his life that ends with his arrival in a Thai refugee camp.

He has shed a broader light on all the events leading him to where he is today. “A Cloak of Good Fortune” is devoid of dates and facts regarding politics and the casualties that killed over 2 million people.

While its 48 short chapters contain pictures of violence, hard labor, torture, and death, the book includes lessons on doing the right thing in the face of adversity.

He is now working on a second book on his experiences in the camp, which will detail the little-known, life-or-death secrets that influenced the desperate immigrants he met there. These migrants tried to adapt while confined in a strange nation to recover from trauma and plan their next steps toward freedom.

Sieu Sean’s work stands out among Cambodian writers since other Cambodian writers simply discuss the killing fields. Other Cambodian works do not confer traditional culture. On the other hand, Sieu Sean’s writing offers a clear image to enable a generation to comprehend and share an incredible traditional culture uprooted by genocide.

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An article about our friend: Sieu Sean Do – Enduring and Persisting through the Cambodian Genocide and Atrocities

 https://www.californiaherald.com/sieu-sean-do-enduring-and-persisting-through-the-cambodian-genocide-and-atrocities/ 

 

Photo by Becky Lee

When the Communists took power in Cambodia in 1975, they quickly evacuated all cities and towns, forcing nearly two million people to labor in the countryside. In less than four years, nearly two million people or one in every seven Cambodians died due to famine, starvation, and undiagnosed or neglected diseases. Citizens could be jailed for minor transgressions, and the government built massive jails where individuals were confined, tortured, and killed. The most infamous of these jails was “S-21,” located in the capital city of Phnom Penh, where alleged “traitors” and their families were transported, photographed, tortured, and executed. Only around a dozen of the approximately 17,000 men, women, and children sent to S-21 survived. There were mass graves all across the land, which became known as “killing fields.” 

During these challenging times in Cambodia, Sieu Sean Do was very young and the ongoing genocide devastated his childhood. Do was born and raised in a small village in Cambodia called Kampong Speu. His grandparents and a loving family raised him in a conducive and supportive environment. In 1971, Do moved to Phnom Penh at eight and attended school for four years. The Khmer Rouge, a Communist Party established in Cambodia, invaded the city driving everyone out. His family was forced and placed in a forest with many people to work strenuously at the labor camp. During that time, Sieu Sean Do witnessed horrendous things, including many people dying of starvation and having no shelter.

Fortunately, in 1976, with help from his father’s childhood friend, Do’s family fled the atrocities and found shelter in Vietnam. Upon his arrival in Vietnam, Sieu Sean Do and his family sighed in relief as
Vietnam sheltered them. However, the family had little to no future in the country as refugees. After going through misery, Do was not in a position to give up on his future. He chose to move to the Thai-Cambodian border because Cambodian refugees in Thailand’s camps could relocate to Europe, the United States, or the British Commonwealth. He risked his life once more and returned to a refugee camp on the Cambodia-Thailand border across northern Cambodia.

At the Thai refugee camp, Do met Dr. Louise E. Braile, who worked at The American Refugee Committee. Dr. Braile trained him as a camp physician’s assistant because of his fluency and talent for languages and linguistic skills. He could communicate in a variety of languages, including Vietnamese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Chew chow, French, and English. So he took advantage of the prospects for growth in America and decided to stay. Later, San Francisco General Hospital hired him because of his grasp of many languages. He also volunteered with the International Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders, aiding thousands of refugees in need. Do initially pondered publishing a book after living in the United States around 25 years ago, when he began to tell others about his experiences and they encouraged him to write them down. He discovered that every chapter and element of his story was something he should share with the world. Sieu Sean kept a notebook where he wrote down anything that came to his mind when walking around the park or doing routine tasks. Sieu Sean’s debut novel, “A Cloak of Good Fortune,” was released recently. His book sheds more insight into the circumstances that led him to where he is now. 

“A Cloak of Good Fortune,” Sieu Sean Do’s debut novel, depicts the era of his life that culminates with his arrival in a Thai refugee camp. He is also working on a second book on his experiences in the camp, which will include details about the little-known, life-or-death secrets that impacted the desperate refugees he encountered there. These migrants attempted to adapt while imprisoned in a foreign country to recuperate from trauma and plan their next steps toward freedom. He describes his book as acceptable for teenagers and adults. However, he also gives a thought to everyone who may need healing.

His life defines what it is like to go through such harsh times and see the last light of hope to find a world full of joy and happiness. With all that he has been through, he still maintains a lively attitude and looks at the world through the lens of positivity. 

 Posted on March 23, 2023 by Lisa Baker

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Some photos of the border camps

 Some photos of the border camps while surfing the web

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