By Rosanna Barbero
"We were forced to leave our village in the Preah Net Prah region because the Khmer Rouge were 4 km away and we feared we would meet a similar fate to that of seven villagers in the nearby town who had their throats cut by Khmer Rouge cadres."
Sok Ar Yorth and his family are among 40,000 Cambodians who have recently fled their villages as the Khmer Rouge expand the territory under their control. In some regions up to 80% of the inhabitants have been uprooted by fighting between government forces and the Khmer Rouge, often fleeing with just the clothes on their backs.
Yorth described the trail of internally displaced people as similar to the forced marches into the countryside in 1975. But this time, he states, "there is more fear in the faces of those fleeing because they know what the Khmer Rouge are capable of doing to us".
Yorth took his family to Battambang, but with the Khmer Rouge near Treng, a town 50 km to the south-west, he decided it was time to head for Phnom Penh.
As more displaced people flood into Phnom Penh, more makeshift shelters are erected. The emergence of these shanty towns is evident to the visitor. Bamboo, cardboard boxes brandishing brands such as "Marlboro" and "Sara Lee Cheese Cakes" and the ever present blue plastic sheet issued by the UNHCR are used to put together makeshift shelters.
How long will these people be safe? According to the May 6-19 Phnom Penh Post, a 400-strong KR forced was cited 25 km from Phnom Penh, leaving uncertainty as to the security of the capital.
The peace process hailed as a success by Western leaders, including Australian foreign minister Gareth Evans, has brought misery to the lives of many Cambodians. In reality it has weakened the military capacity of the government soldiers, with the only beneficiaries from the operation being the Khmer Rouge, whose bargaining strength has increased.
Yorth's mother said, "We Cambodians are destined to uproot and never have stability in our lives." Everything that she was able to accumulate in the last 14 years has been left behind.
Yorth thinks that even if they were to return, they would probably find only ashes where once stood their village. The Khmer Rouge have burned down schools, hospitals and whole villages — a tactic used as a warning to punish "traitors". Hence, Yorth believes, his village may have suffered a similar fate.
Ethnic cleansing still remains high on the Khmer Rouge agenda. In the town of Sa Ang Prek Toch, where the Mekong River and Vietnamese border intersect, thousands of Khmer-Vietnamese live in limbo on the river banks. Despite having lived in Cambodia for most of their lives, they have been forced to flee and seem unlikely to return to their villages.
The Phnom Penh Post reported that the fighting around the northern town of Battambang is the heaviest since 1989. Foreign aid workers left the town in early May. In addition, the British, US and Australian embassies have appointed local representatives to coordinate security for each country's nationals, attempting to make definitive lists of names and locations in case of evacuation.
It is quite clear that the Khmer Rouge are not as weak as many analysts had thought. The KR appear to be growing in strength, aided by the Thai military despite denials the Thai government. Cambodian government forces are reported to be running short of equipment and supplies. International aid could be crucial in preventing a return to the killing fields.
[The writer is secretary of the Campaign to Oppose the Return of the Khmer Rouge — Australia, which can be contacted at PO Box 132, Yagoona 2199. Phone/fax (02) 645-4349.]