Stories of Resilience: Meeting the Dried Banana Family
It was hard during the dark period of the Khmer Rouge for Cambodian people. The killing fields, mass graves, and the screams of prisoners who were being tortured by the Khmer Rouge remain in their minds. It is not easy to remember those painful experiences of losing brothers and sisters and seeing people being killed or dying of starvation, however, there is a family that opened their minds to share their story with us from the Khmer Rouge era.
Introduction of the Family
This is the dried banana family who have worked with Soksabike for six years. There are thirteen members in this family. They make a living producing items made from bananas, while some of their family members work in a casino at the Khmer-Thai border. The father of this family has shared a wealth of experiences with us over the past six years. He and his wife are now 78 years old. As elders in the village, they love to share their stories with young people, following the Cambodian tradition of passing on knowledge to new generations.
Here is an example of one of the stories the father shared with us. In 1967 when he was 28 years old, he worked as a laborer in a jute factory in Battambang. He and his wife worked there until the Khmer Rouge took power in 1975. During the regime, his family and all the other families who worked in the factory were evacuated to Tap’de Mountain, about 50 km from their hometown. At first, they packed food and essentials when soldiers told them to leave. They didn't know where they were being taken, but the Khmer Rouge gathered them together and forced them to walk for three days. Tap'de Mountain was their last stop.
"Do not talk about food!" he said. Life under the control of the Angka was worse than you can imagine. At first, the rations were somewhat sufficient, but they grew smaller day by day. He saw many people die around him every day from starvation, disease, and execution. He worried constantly about his children, who were sent to a separate children's camp and looked terribly skinny. Nobody was allowed to cook or eat individually; anyone caught eating on their own faced arrest, torture, or death.
The regime provided only sparse porridge or cooked rice without vitamins. To survive and stay full, the father stole whatever he could find—fish, insects, frogs, and edible leaves until the trees were stripped bare. Working in the corn fields, they sometimes stole corn to eat. Lacking salt, his body swelled up and he could barely walk. No one was excused from work, even when sick, driven by the brutal slogan: "If I keep you no gain, If I kill you no lose." Miraculously, no one in his immediate family died during that dark period.
In 1979, the family returned to their hometown, only to find their property and land confiscated. It took a long time just to secure a small plot gifted by his brother against the local chief's wishes.
Many might assume life improved immediately after the fall of the Khmer Rouge, but hardship persisted through civil war, food shortages, and poverty. To feed his family, the father undertook dangerous three-day treks through the forest to the Thai border to secure rice donated by the UN, carefully dodging soldiers and landmines. Carrying 50 kg of rice back on foot, his wife and children foraged for leaves to sell and eat.
Through sheer hard work, they rebuilt their lives by growing bananas and making traditional banana products. Today, the family continues to produce delicious local goods like dried bananas, banana chips, and dried mango.
The story of this family is just one among hundreds of unique accounts shared by Cambodian people. Get to know more by riding with us! Our guides can tell you all about local history and answer the questions you've always had about Cambodia. Join us to meet the banana family on our Local Livelihood Tour.
