Social sciences

摘要

In 1975, Affonco, a French citizen (her father was French and her mother Vietnamese), faced a crucial decision. She could either stay at home in Cambodia with her husband, a Chinese armchair Communist, or flee with her children to France, where she had never been. Her husband, who could not fathom the horror the Khmer Rouge would bring and did not want to separate the family, convinced her to stay. The family was soon deported to the countryside, where they lived in forced labor camps under appalling conditions that included psychological torment, starvation, and executions that would rob Affonco ofrnmost of her loved ones. At one point, Affonco and other women in the camps were working on a dyke when the village chief informed them that it was called Widows Dyke, a chillingly clear message.