First They Killed My Father

This short chapter reveals the control that the Khmer Rouge has over people. The family is forced to leave Krang Truop because there are too many people who know the Ungs’ identity there. They want to go to the village of Battambang where their grandmother lives, but the Khmer Rouge decides to take them elsewhere. Loung’s family tells her that she should never talk about their life in Phnom Penh. On their way to their newest destination, Loung sees an old woman lying on the ground. Seeing that the woman is nearly dead, Loung asks if there are doctors who can help her. The people at the waiting station tell her there are no doctors. She escapes the horror of watching the woman die because her mother calls her to the truck. Once she gets on the truck, her father tells her that he traded some of her mother’s jewelry to get back on the road.

The Ungs arrive in the mountain village of Anlungthmor where 300 of the 800 villagers are new arrivals. Their first night in the village, Ung becomes ill with a fever and a stomachache. Because there are not any doctors, Ung’s family has to help her get well themselves.