The Oral Histories of Cambodian Women
10 Oral Histories​
Click on the pictures for a specific oral story.
Sv.T lives in Massachusetts and is a senior mental health practitioner and training director of Harvard’s Cambodian mental health project. She was born on September 12, 1940, in a small town in Battambang province to a middle-class family. She was a teacher in Cambodia. She is the only child of her parents; her husband disappeared during the Khmer Rouge.
S.S was born on June 20, 1942, in Phnom Penh. She is a married princess of the Sisowath dynasty. The Khmer Rouge executed her first husband, a Sisowath prince in 1975. She lived in Los Angeles helping her community as a mental health practitioner. She is now assisting in humanitarian projects in Cambodia.
N.M.V is a factory worker and seamstress who lives in Maine. She was born on May 5, 1929, in Pailin, Battambang province. Her father was a miner of sapphires and rubies. She was the oldest of ten children. Her parents arranger her marriage to an elderly man 13 years her senior who died under the Khmer Rouge. She passed away in January 1995
R.B. is a homemaker who lives in Massachusetts. She was born March 22, 1938 to a middle class family in Kien Svay, Kandal province. She was the oldest child in a family of four. She completed primary school. Her mother arranger her marriage for her. Her husband died under the Khmer Rouge.
T.V.K lives in Connecticut. She was born on January 10, 1947, in Mongkol Borei, Battambang province. TVK was born to an upper-middle class family. She was tenth of twelve children. Well-educated, she became a teacher in Cambodia. She lost her husband during the Khmer Rouge period. Currently, she is Executive Director of a leading Cambodian mental health program in the United States.
S.K.T is a factory worker who lives in Massachusetts. She was born on April 6, 1949, in Siem Reap province to a family of 14. She went to primary school for five years. AS the oldest child, she had to help her mother care for her siblings and her family. Her parents arranged her marriage. She was widowed during the Khmer Rouge Period.
C.L is a Buddhist nun who lives in Massachusetts. She was born on December 10, 1928, the youngest child of a poor family. CL grew up in a small country town in Takeo province. She never attended school, but her father taught her at home. She lost her mother at age thirteen. At age of nineteen, her father arranged her marriage to a man who was 28 years her senior. Her husband died under the Khmer Rouge.
Se.T is in her late seventies and was born in Perak Kroch village in Battambang province. She lives in Massachusetts. Her husband is a Buddhist monk. She often lives in the temple as a Buddhist nun. Her parents were farmers and merchants. She was tutored at home; her marriage was arranged.
S.P.P lives with her husband and her daughter in New Hampshire. She was born on January 1, 1953, to an upper-class Cambodian family. As a child, she was a classical dancer at the Royal Palace. In America, she has worked as an administrative assistant.
T.P.K is a married woman who lives in Massachusetts. She was born on December 6, 1937 and lied in a small town of Kampong Chhanag province. Her family members were poor fruit farmers who also sold poetry by rowboat. She was the oldest of thirteen children. Her parents did no send her to school and arranged her marriage to a husband 13 years her senior. She is currently the head of her household caring for a sick husband injured by the Khmer Rouge.