| |
Ros Serey Sothea Continued
  |
|
After
discovering her identity, the Khmer Rouge leaders made Sothea sing songs
that celebrated the new regime and reminded the people to work harder.
Often, she would perform these songs in front of fairly large groups of
people. In his interview, Mr. Sambath described such an occasion - "When
Sothea was asked to sing in a meeting in the old town, I saw her sing in
front of hundreds of people in front of the microphone together with a
person playing Tro." |
| "The song had the rhythm of "Anija
Khmayng Komprea" (Sympathizing with an Orphan Child)." Sambath tells us that
Sothea's singing "made the whole audience including myself fill with
sadness, including the pain that Pol Pot had put on us." When she wasn't
singing, Sothea was required to work at digging irrigation ditches like
everyone else in the camp. Tiv Heng said that during the time she was in
the lady group with Sothea, Tiv used to listen to her songs very often. |
|
 |
Sothea had a lyric
book full of revolutionary songs. Tiv Heng goes on to tell us "I know that
Sothea wanted to sing the old [...] songs, but she would not dare since Angkar had
forbidden that."
Even though she could sing, she wasn’t
allowed to sing the songs that she loved, and she was only permitted to sing
during celebrations and meetings organized by Angkar. While the songs that
Sothea was forced to perform during those years were simply propoganda, the
listeners declared that her voice was superbly attractive. For a short time,
Sothea's incredible voice made them forget about the pain that was created by
the revolution.
In 1977,
Sothea was forced by Pol Pot to
marry one of his assistants. Sothea was unhappy with the marriage, and the
couple quarreled often. Mrs. Tiv Heng has described this new husband as a very
jealous person. She says that "Sothea told me directly that her husband abused
her because he was jealous that she went to sing to other people. As she
arrived home, he hit her."
Sothea and her new husband's violent relationship was causing disturbances at
the work site, and eventually the problem came to the attention of the
subdistrict leader, who investigated the situation. It was decided that Angkar
didn't need Sothea or her family. Tiv Heng says that she and the others thought
"it was because of Sothea’s husband that Sothea and her family were killed."
| |
|
