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."