Stay Alive, My Son

Another valuable account of life during the communist 'reign of terror' in Cambodia.

Pin Yathay's biography is a unique dramatic and shocking report on the Red Khmer regime in the 1970s in Cambodia.It contains an excellent first-hand account of the disorderly evacuation of Phnom Penh after the Red Khmer victory in the civil war. After the evacuation, the whole country was turned into an experiment of totalitarian economy (no money, no private property, spying on everybody). The main ideological aim was equality at any cost, not freedom, except naturally for the members of Angkar (the Organization) themselves.The whole system resulted in murderous labour camps with hundreds of thousands of deaths from hunger, exhaustion, torture and summary executions of 'enemies' of the system. A terrible shame for humanity and for the ideologically pure left.The escape to Thailand reads like a nail-biting but bitter thriller. It was a real and, for some family members, deadly escape, not fiction.Apart from its uncontested historical value, this book should be read as a warning against the madness of pure ideologists, who, once in power, accept without the slightest remorse millions of human casualties in order to implement their maniacal policies.For a more political (national and international), economical and social analysis of the Cambodian history and the Red Khmer regime, I recommend the works of David P. Chandler and Ben Kiernan, as well as William Shawcross's 'Sideshow'.

This tragic biography traces the story of an educated man and his family in Phnom Penh. Subjected to the indescribable barbaric cruelty that the Khmer Rouge inflicted on its own countrymen, the writer provides the reader with their sense of hopelessness that gripped their nation less than 30 years ago. His hardship and ultimate triumph is the very definition of human survival and the will to survive. Anyone wanting to gain a better understanding of the plight of the Cambodian people under the Khmer Roughe MUST read this book. I can guarantee that when you finish reading this book you will undoubtedly take a moment to think about humanity itself.

I am rarely moved to tears when reading a book, yet Pin Kathy's recounting of his horrendous experiences and ultimate survival is an exception. The agony of his having to abandon his son and losing his wife in the forest while trying to escape from Cambodia are the worst of numerous agonizing events. The book is a very personal account of one man and the destruction of his family however, Pin Yathay's narration also achieves his primary goal of allowing the reader to understand what life or more often death was like for all under Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge rule. This reign of terror is an extreme example of what happens when a nation's political structure so weakens that unbridled ignorance destroys all enlightenment. It is also a warning that progress can never be taken for granted. Few who read this book will ever forget it.

Pin Yathay has so much to be angry about, yet his account of his suffering, and those of his family,during the years the Khmer Rouge ruled Cambodia, is a true testimony to his undeniable courage. No bitterness or fury emanates from these pages; rather we are made aware of the incredible spirit of this man. A man who has lost everything and everyone he cared about, and who determined that through his survival,they would all live once more. Be glad he lived to tell his story. You will so much more appreciate your own.