My years as a small child, were spent in Kratie province with a loving mother and father, three bothers and two sisters. Born in 1951, I have happy memories of my childhood. My mother was a gentle, loving person who never had a bad word to say for anyone. My father was a soldier in the Sihanouk regime, fighting with the French during civil war in Kampuchea. He retired from the army in 1932, when he and my mother became rice farmers. My father spoke about his years as a soldier, but my memories of these stories have faded. My strongest memories are of him as a hard working farmer who died at the age of 76, which is quite old by Cambodian standards.
In 1971 I married and not long after, gave birth to my first child, a beautiful baby girl. Our life as a happy, young family was torn apart when my husband was abducted by communist soldiers. I was told that he was being taken to Kompong Cham province to work but later I learned the truth. Twelve others had also been taken, along with my husband, he was blindfolded and at midnight, taken to the forest and killed. A woman later confided the details to me, after I promised not to tell anyone or we would both be killed. My life was changed forever. I looked after my baby as well as I could but by the time she was fourteen months old it was impossible to care for her any longer on my own. It was well known that if a husband had died, then it was very likely his wife and children would also die. So, I contacted my father-in-law and asked him to take my baby and look after her…it was the last time I would see her until she was five years old.
I was forced to change my name from that time on and was sent far away to an area near the forest, which was well known for being extremely dangerous. Many people died in this area. For three years I had to work, clearing land and digging ponds with other people in my group. I was now known as a ‘government daughter’ and harshly treated because my father had been a soldier. The other people in my group were also children of soldiers or teachers. We worked hard every day and for three years ate the same thing each day – tiny bananas that were just starting to develop, boiled, with rice. Under the Khmer Rouge regime it was necessary to be constantly moving, so I would work in one area for 5-7 months and then have to move on to work somewhere else with my group. Of the 100 people in my group, only about 20 survived, including me.
One day when I was working in Kompong Cham province I was told to go and collect mulberry leaves for the silkworms. I knew that I was in the area where my father-in-law lived so I asked permission to walk to his house so that I could see my daughter. As I was walking along the road I noticed a small child about 7 years old. We passed each other without speaking and I continued to my father-in-law’s house. When I finally arrived I asked to see my daughter. My mother-in-law said that they had told my daughter I might be coming and she had gone out to meet me…I hurried back to where I had seen the small child and called out to her. She ran to meet me and we hugged each other for a long time, crying with sobbing tears after so many years of being apart.
The years to come were very hard and difficult with many sad stories. In 1978 I was told to marry another man. At this time it was normal for women to be told they had to marry someone, whether they loved that man or not. For a short time this man was a good husband, but soon he started to work for the government and he changed. Finally, in 1996 he left me with three small children. He moved to Phnom Penh and married another woman. It was very difficult for me to raise my children alone in the village. We managed to scrape enough money together to survive by collecting recycled things to sell, and my children sold iced fruit each day after school. I was so grateful that all my children were able to go to school to get an education.
In 1996, after my husband left me, I became friends with another woman who was in similar circumstances to me. She had no husband, but she told me about God and how He was able to give her strength. From that time on I tried to learn more about God, I went to worship but I did not really read my Bible. In 2007 I came to Phnom Penh and started to study the Bible at BEC in 2008, and I was baptised into Christ later that year.
I always prayed to God that my children would find happiness and that my daughters would marry good husbands who would
take care of them. I prayed that they would never have to go through the things that I had to suffer. God has blessed my children and they have happy marriages…now I have three beautiful grandchildren that I love very much. I visit my eldest daughter in Siem Reap regularly and I am so happy that my other children live close to me in Phnom Penh. God has answered my prayers.
God has protected my family and I feel so blessed that they all have an education and can provide for their families. Thank you God, so much … I cannot compare His grace to anything … there are no words to describe the wonder of God’s grace.
In 1971 I married and not long after, gave birth to my first child, a beautiful baby girl. Our life as a happy, young family was torn apart when my husband was abducted by communist soldiers. I was told that he was being taken to Kompong Cham province to work but later I learned the truth. Twelve others had also been taken, along with my husband, he was blindfolded and at midnight, taken to the forest and killed. A woman later confided the details to me, after I promised not to tell anyone or we would both be killed. My life was changed forever. I looked after my baby as well as I could but by the time she was fourteen months old it was impossible to care for her any longer on my own. It was well known that if a husband had died, then it was very likely his wife and children would also die. So, I contacted my father-in-law and asked him to take my baby and look after her…it was the last time I would see her until she was five years old.
I was forced to change my name from that time on and was sent far away to an area near the forest, which was well known for being extremely dangerous. Many people died in this area. For three years I had to work, clearing land and digging ponds with other people in my group. I was now known as a ‘government daughter’ and harshly treated because my father had been a soldier. The other people in my group were also children of soldiers or teachers. We worked hard every day and for three years ate the same thing each day – tiny bananas that were just starting to develop, boiled, with rice. Under the Khmer Rouge regime it was necessary to be constantly moving, so I would work in one area for 5-7 months and then have to move on to work somewhere else with my group. Of the 100 people in my group, only about 20 survived, including me.
One day when I was working in Kompong Cham province I was told to go and collect mulberry leaves for the silkworms. I knew that I was in the area where my father-in-law lived so I asked permission to walk to his house so that I could see my daughter. As I was walking along the road I noticed a small child about 7 years old. We passed each other without speaking and I continued to my father-in-law’s house. When I finally arrived I asked to see my daughter. My mother-in-law said that they had told my daughter I might be coming and she had gone out to meet me…I hurried back to where I had seen the small child and called out to her. She ran to meet me and we hugged each other for a long time, crying with sobbing tears after so many years of being apart.
The years to come were very hard and difficult with many sad stories. In 1978 I was told to marry another man. At this time it was normal for women to be told they had to marry someone, whether they loved that man or not. For a short time this man was a good husband, but soon he started to work for the government and he changed. Finally, in 1996 he left me with three small children. He moved to Phnom Penh and married another woman. It was very difficult for me to raise my children alone in the village. We managed to scrape enough money together to survive by collecting recycled things to sell, and my children sold iced fruit each day after school. I was so grateful that all my children were able to go to school to get an education.
In 1996, after my husband left me, I became friends with another woman who was in similar circumstances to me. She had no husband, but she told me about God and how He was able to give her strength. From that time on I tried to learn more about God, I went to worship but I did not really read my Bible. In 2007 I came to Phnom Penh and started to study the Bible at BEC in 2008, and I was baptised into Christ later that year.
I always prayed to God that my children would find happiness and that my daughters would marry good husbands who would
take care of them. I prayed that they would never have to go through the things that I had to suffer. God has blessed my children and they have happy marriages…now I have three beautiful grandchildren that I love very much. I visit my eldest daughter in Siem Reap regularly and I am so happy that my other children live close to me in Phnom Penh. God has answered my prayers.God has protected my family and I feel so blessed that they all have an education and can provide for their families. Thank you God, so much … I cannot compare His grace to anything … there are no words to describe the wonder of God’s grace.
Sister Kimsrean was baptised in December 2008 and is dearly loved by all our Cambodian brothers and sisters, as well as the young people at Bethezer dorm. She is an inspiration to us all ~ her heart is so full of God's love. She comes regularly to BEC to share study of the Bible and at present is enjoying detailed study of the book of Jeremiah.
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