At 15, Pharona Sary gave birth to stillborn twins amidst the brutal rule of Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge.
As a result of this heinous regime, which emerged in that Southeast Asian country in the late 1970s, people were separated from family and forced into slave labor. The wealthy intellectuals in Cambodia were killed off, leaving only the uneducated.
Told in her 17-year-old daughter’s words, the horror of this time has a personal perspective .
In a recent interview with the journalism class, Ojai Valley School senior Savannah Moler recollected her mother’s survival of one of the worst genocides in recent history. Savannah was invited to speak after journalism students watched The Killing Fields, the 1984 movie about the events in Cambodia during this time.
Pharona Sary grew up in a wealthy educated family in Cambodia with eight siblings.
Her father and oldest sister were killed early on in the executions that took place, leaving her mother distraught and confused. This event marked the start of communism for Pharona’s family.
She was only nine years old when she was separated from her mother and sent to work in rice fields. She and her sisters were slaves, forced to work long hours and sleep on the ground.
Additionally, leeches lived in the fields and would attach themselves to the slaves, draining them of the last of their energy.
Savannah recalls her mother saying that they gave them so little food they could count the pieces of rice in their hand. While emaciated in these fields, Pharona would pay soldiers so she could get bread to feed her siblings. She was a true leader with a kind heart and untold courage.
At just 12 years old, Pharona set out to escape. After a failed attempt, she and her family finally made it to Thailand.
“My mom actually took the lead in trying to escape,” Savannah said. “We can’t do this forever, we have to leave she would say. It was either die here or the soldiers are going to shoot us.”
At this time many Cambodians were trying to find refuge in Thailand, but Thailand did not want them in fear of the Khmer Rouge. Thailand cleared these camps at the borders and would use the Cambodians to clear mines.
Savannah explained in her mothers words, how “in two weeks, she only moved here to here,” gesturing to both ends of the small journalism classroom.
In Thailand, Pharona became pregnant with twins at the age of 15. Due to malnourishment, the babies died inside her. In order to survive Pharona had to give birth to these babies, despite having no strength. After the strenuous birth, she could no longer feel her legs. She told her family to leave without her, so they could survive.
Savannah seems amazed at this, regardless of how many times she’s heard this story. She could not imagine just giving up at age fifteen. Eventually a man did carry Pharona down the hill.
Throughout all of this Pharona and her siblings all managed to survive the mass genocide of the Khmer Rouge, and escaped to America. Even with this move to America, her struggles continued
She had given birth to a son while in Thailand, she had been eating at this point and was born healthy. After her move to America, her boyfriend and father of her son would not let her get a job and work to provide for her family. Additionally, when her son became ill, he would not let him visit a doctor.
Pharona got the courage to run away from him and find a better life for her and her son. She became educated at a community college and waitressed at a donut shop, and eventually met Savannah’s father.
Pharona is not afraid of Cambodia anymore.
She now calls it home again, and owns a paper production factory with her husband. Her two daughters, Savannah and Nikita called Cambodia home for five years and continue to return each summer.
“I want to go to college in America, but I’m still very attached to Cambodia,” Savannah said. “I do want to go back there and start something there.”