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On April 17, 1975, as the Vietnam War ended, the Communist Khmer Rouge entered Battambang, Cambodia, claiming, "We come in peace." They arrived on tanks and on foot, waving white flags. Among the residents of Battambang was 21-year-old Veera Som, a student from a rural village whose parents had sent her to the city for an education, hoping to spare her from the farm life that aggravated her severe asthma.
But peace was a lie.
The Khmer Rouge quickly took control, forcing everyone from their homes at gunpoint, saying it would only be for three days. It wasn't. People were marched into the countryside; some killed along the way. Work camps were established, and the Cambodian Genocide began, claiming the lives of 1.5 to 2 million people.
Veera's father warned her: "Don't tell them you're a student." The educated, the wealthy - anyone who could read or write - were executed. Veera stayed silent.
In March 1979, Vietnamese forces liberated the camps. "Di Vay Nha! Go home!" the soldiers shouted. After years of hardship and on hold in resettlement and refugee camps, Veera and her sister Channy finally boarded a plane from Bangkok, Thailand to the United States.
This is Veera's story - from a quiet life in Thmey Village to surviving one of history's darkest chapters. A soft-spoken young woman of slight stature, Veera, faced with unthinkable adversity-prevailed with indomitable strength, grace, and fortitude.
