Prologue.
My family was very happy all the time. We often danced, sang and played with each other. I have 2 sisters: Emma and Brooke, 3 brothers: Josh, Edward and Noah, and obviously mom and dad, also known as Lucy and Peter. I’m Allie, just 15 years old, and it seems that I’ve already lived 50 years. My world is more chaotic than ever.
It was April 1975. I was in the living room, the TV was talking about the USA leaving our city, Cambodia, after years of persecution and harassment. People were on the streets standing and screaming like they were out of their minds holding a white flag in their hands. However, there was a break of expectation when american soldiers appeared with big guns yelling something about Angkar, who apparently was their new commander and he changed his mind about leaving my people in peace.
“We need all your guns! Angkar does not negotiate.” While some of them broke into our houses rushing us with fear, another guy reported: “The Americans are going to bomb the city, we need everyone out! You guys can come back in three days!”
I couldn’t understand what was happening, my family just said that we needed to pack our bags as quickly as possible, and needed to carry just the basics.
As we leave the house, we get into our dad’s truck and follow the road. I could see some servicemen being placed against the wall, they’re forced to take off their uniforms and get into a van. The despair and fear in everyone’s face freaked me out, but I was hoping that in three days everything would be normal again, even having this feeling that this moment would change my life forever.
