Nuon Mayourom had just been 18 years old. She was not ready to get married, but the Khmer Rouge had other ideas.
The Maoist regime controlled all aspects of life in Cambodia, including that you married. She was twinned with Lep Plongg, 19. The village chiefs marked the opportunity with rare extravagance – they killed a pig.
Fifty years ago this week ago, the Khmer Rouge took control of Cambodia, transforming the country into a large agrarian labor camp, with tragic results. A quarter of the population died in just three and a half years.
Anyone who said that a government enemy had been executed.
And with regard to relations, the state was also in charge. The government has separated families and separated the population according to age and sex.
Hundreds of thousands of people were forced to get married during joy -free ceremonies where the only wishes were allegiant with the organization or in Angkar, as the Khmer Rouge was known.
Weddings were mass production numbers, with several couples, all those who had to agree to produce children for Angkar.
At least in the case of Nuon Mayourom, she knew the groom, Lep Plong, who had been chosen for her. But the timing was certainly not of his choice.
“Yes, I loved him, and he loved me. I thought he looked like a good person. But I argued with the organization because I was not ready to get married. The organization said:” Comrade, you have to get married! “”
Nuon Mayoroum told RFA the details of his wedding. In a time of famine of mass and community life, there were advantages.
“They massacred a pig for us. After the wedding, we moved into a separate hut from others,” she said.
But after three days, they were separated once again. Months later, they managed to meet.
Foreigners pick foreigners
Dr Theresa de Langis. The director of studies in Southeast Asia at the American University of Phnom Penh, conducted large interviews with the Khmer Rouge survivors on forced weddings.
She says that although there had been marriages arranged in Cambodia before, there were a certain number of very distinct differences under the Maoist regime.
“First, they were foreigners who picked foreigners, generally unknown. Second, the parents were ostracized by the Red Khmer. The women I questioned told me that one of the things that were most worried at the time was that my parents had to be angry because I could not accept these marriage proposals to their knowledge or to their consultation. And thirdly, there is proof that you cannot refuse these marriage proposals, “she said.
When Khieu Samphan, who was head of state under the Khmer Rouge, was sentenced by a special court supported by the UN in Cambodia in December 2022, among the crimes for which he was condemned forced marriages to people. Also accused of genocide and crimes against humanity, he was sentenced to two perpetuity penalties and stayed in prison at the age of 93.
De Langis said that those who had been forced to marriages had often recorded their dissatisfaction at the time but were forced to obey.
“About 70% of the people we interviewed told us that they had refused at least once, but in the end, 97% were forced to get married because if you were continuing to refuse to get married, you would be taken to the organization for rehabilitation,” said Langis.
In Cambodia, “rehabilitation” was associated with punishment, detention and death.
‘Until today, we were a’
It is not known how many people have been forced to get married, but the researchers estimate that it could be between 250,000 and 500,000.
“It happened throughout the country, it was a national policy at the time, and many, many people were victims of this crime,” said Langis.
While Noon Mayourom married her will at the time, she and her husband Lep Plong survived life under the Red Khmer and made a life together.
They finally moved to the United States as a refugee, bringing their two children – a son, Lola Plong, born in Cambodia, and a girl, Chenda Plong, born in Thailand.
Lep Plong died in 2010.
“To be honest, he has loved me from the start. He saw me and loved me. When someone wanted to offer, he said: “Don’t ask, she already has a fiancé”.
Did she love her?
“Yes, until today, we were one, one,” said Noon Mayoroum.
Edited by Mat Pennington