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The Brutality of the Khmer Rouge, Part 1

Arn Chorn-Pond, Cambodian Survivor

One time they came, you know, with blood -- this man, every time he came out with the blood. It's like his -- it's like his sacrifice or something. He would wear white shorts and a t-shirt or something, white, and with the axe he would go, and then he came back with all this blood all over him -- his hand with blood, too, because they used the back of the axe hitting the people's head, and then when they fall down or so they used the axe to take out the liver. And they are very good at it.

So also the spleen; you have to have small sticks like that and go and pick the spleen so the spleen wouldn't spread, and they know how to do it. So they pull out the liver and spleen. Sometime the liver would come to the children's center and they fry it there: they would let us to eat it, and I saw it. I was tempted many times, but they just took it away.

And sometimes they let us to come and watch, and they look at the kids' faces. If anybody show any emotion, like if they want to cry or they show any sadness, the Khmer Rouge would take them, because they suspected that that particular kid is related to the victims. But you know, the way they do it -- I mean, it's very difficult not to be serious -- not to say about crying, but to be serious in your face. They would look at each other -- each of us in the face around there. If you cry or you show any emotion at all, they just suspected and they killed you. I've learned how not to do that very well.