BUN Saroeun (BUN Sarouen)

Bun Saroeun appeared before the Trial Chamber as a civil party in Case 002/02 and testified about the ban on the practice of Buddhism, the disappearance of his relatives, as well as the lack of proper education and overwork he experienced during the Khmer Rouge regime.

After 17 April 1975, Bun Saroeun, who at the time was an 11-year-old boy, was sent to a children’s unit at Trapeang Chaeng cooperative in Tram Kak district, Takeo province where he was assigned to transport fertilizer and bring water to rice fields.

He described how pagodas were no longer sacred places, which left him feeling deprived of any psychological base. He also described the disappearance of his older brother, who was a monk, stating that 15 monks including his uncle and brother at his local pagoda were gone and the pagoda was empty. He recalled being told by his uncle named Ran that his father was arrested and mistreated by Khmer Rouge militia men before being sent to Krang Ta Chan security office.

“I was assigned to help with some things at the pagoda. I was hoping to see my older brother but he disappeared. All I could see was his robe, his monk’s robe and I was asked to pick up the robe and to retrieve the pieces of the objects he had with him [and] put them in a box. I saw the militia chief and I was absolutely flabbergasted when I saw a sacred place become a desert and on top of that when I knew that my father had disappeared and when I knew also that my uncle was a monk in this pagoda, so this really broken my heart and I only saw loss and damage all the way from 1975 up until 1979”, he stated.

The Trial Chamber determined that the practice of Buddhism was banned in Tram Kak district, concluded that any outward practice of Buddhism was prohibited, and important aspects of Buddhism were targeted for elimination, despite its acceptance that some residents in the district secretly maintained their Buddhist beliefs.

Bun Saroeun, who worked in various places in Tram Kak district, claimed that the limited nature of schooling activities and the prioritization of work commitments deprived children of a proper education, adding that the lack of proper education during the regime made him “ignorant, even today” as he does not know how to write.

“[T]his pains me very deeply and my ignorance is the result of this regime. When I was a child I was not lucky enough to go to school and therefore I became ignorant, even today. […] I cannot describe my suffering and my remorse is enormous because I lost my uncles, my brothers, my father. Only my mother and myself survived and I wasn’t able to go to school”, he stated.

Bun Saroeun also described struggling to fatten termite mounds made of hard earth under the hot sun and with blisters on his hands. He said that children were given half-rations if quotas were not achieved by giving an example in Ta Phem commune when they spilled rice so were given one ration between two.

“We had to work very hard, we had to get up early in the morning at around 6 a.m. and we had to work until 11 a.m., and we resumed at around 1 o'clock and then we would finish at 5 o'clock in the afternoon, so all this in exchange for one bowl of rice porridge. No, that was not enough compared to the workload we were required to do”, he stated.

The Trial Chamber found that lower rations were given to persons considered to be reactionary and that New People in particular suffered and died from malnutrition, whereas Base People were less likely to be malnourished.

Videos

Testimony
Date	Written record of proceedings	Transcript number
3 April 2015	E1/288	E1/288.1

Relevant documents
Document title Khmer	Document title English	Document title French	Document D number	Document E3 number
ឯកសារបន្ថែមរបស់ដើមបណ្តឹង រដ្ឋប្បវេណី	Supplemental information of civil party applicant	Informations complémentaires de la partie civile	D22/3204a	E3/5876
ពាក្យសុំតាំងខ្លួនជាដើមបណ្តឹង រដ្ឋប្បវេណីរបស់ ប៊ុន សារឿន 09-VU-00733	Civil party application of BUN Saroeun 09-VU-00733	Constitution en partie civile de BUN Saroeun 09-VU-00733	D22/1659	E3/5877