(5 of 7)
"No. Not together. They are in separate places. The good must beat the bad."
These simple abstractions have a meaning for Cambodian children that is clearly disturbing to them. It is not as if the Khmer Rouge are an invading horde from a distant nation; the Khmer Rouge are their neighbors, their friends, themselves—which may account for the fact that so many of the children have nightmares in which they assume the roles of Pol Pot's soldiers. They have, in fact, known children who were Pol Pot's soldiers. The atrocities of the Khmer Rouge are thus acutely shocking. No, they say; the good spirit and the bad spirit cannot live within the same body. But what if they do? Here is where their definition of revenge suddenly makes perfect sense. How do you take revenge on yourself? Even at a very young age these people perceive their own capacity for evil, which is the human capacity, and they deny it with as much vehemence as fright.
Or, like Sokhar, they say nothing. Sokhar is eleven now, was eight when she first came to Khao I Dang. She too did a drawing when she arrived, but unlike Kim Seng, she did not explain it, and in fact said almost nothing at all during her first two years at the camp. Sokhar is well fed, and soft-featured, though "in Cambodia I met with starvation." She has crying fits still, but is beginning to talk. It is difficult, however, to speak of her drawing, which, while primitive, requires an explanation.
She takes it in her hands, and studies what she drew: three children gathering rice in a field. A Khmer Rouge soldier has a rifle trained on them, "to keep them working." Off to the left of he picture is the device. It looks like a wheel with a hollow hub and spokes leading out to the rim. Or perhaps it is a doughnut with lines on it. Three extra lines extend from the outer rim at he bottom, giving the thing the appearance of an insect. At the top there is yet another line sticking out at an angle to the right, the end of which is attached to a small ring.
"What is happening here, Sokhar?"
"This is a picture of the Pol Pot time." She hopes to change the subject.
"Who are these people?"
"They harvest the rice."
"And what is this [the circular device]?"
"This is something you put on the head."
"Who puts it on your head?"
"The Pol Pot soldiers."
"What is its purpose?"
"To kill."
"Do soldiers do the killing?"
No answer.
"Is it the soldiers who work the device?"