Book Opinion: First They Killed My Father
Let me just say that if you're looking for anything to provide a good and unbiased view of the Khmer Rouge, this book isn't what you're looking for. Knowing through personal accounts and first-hand experiences and doing research on my own time, I know for a fact that this book is not a completely reliable source. Yes, it provides a good amount of context and perspective on the war itself, how people were affected, how families were split and since it's a personal account I can't say that she fabricated anything (maybe omitted somethings or slightly altered it in her favor) but for the most part she tells the story from a pretty discriminatory perspective.
I am even ashamed of owning the book myself all because of how she talks about pure Cambodian people. Essentially, in Cambodia today and even in Cambodian-American societies, it's more favorable to be mixed race (Cambodian-Vietnamese, Cambodian-Chinese, etc etc) than to be purely Cambodian. Coming from a family that is purely Cambodian (or for the majority of my genetics), of course it offends me at how we're being looked at and treated. She basically says that we're dirty, disgusting, lazy individuals who have dark skin and have no opportunity to be beautiful like (according to her family and her family standards) the Chinese-Cambodian people. And YES it is a REALLY REALLY BIG DEAL when it comes to ethnicity and how mixed you are in other countries as race is a really big deal in America is.
I agree that this book has made good points on the war itself and has provided a sufficient amount of historical context, personal experiences and accounts of being in the war itself, and her own thoughts and opinions about the entire situation as she looks back on it. What I don't agree with is that this should be looked up as a reliable source all due to the language used to describe the disrespectful and terrible depictions of the natives. She also constantly compares her family to the natives and incorrectly states that Chinese-Cambodian people were treated more poorly or with more disrespect and discrimination than pure Cambodians were which was definitely NOT the truth.
I am even ashamed of owning the book myself all because of how she talks about pure Cambodian people. Essentially, in Cambodia today and even in Cambodian-American societies, it's more favorable to be mixed race (Cambodian-Vietnamese, Cambodian-Chinese, etc etc) than to be purely Cambodian. Coming from a family that is purely Cambodian (or for the majority of my genetics), of course it offends me at how we're being looked at and treated. She basically says that we're dirty, disgusting, lazy individuals who have dark skin and have no opportunity to be beautiful like (according to her family and her family standards) the Chinese-Cambodian people. And YES it is a REALLY REALLY BIG DEAL when it comes to ethnicity and how mixed you are in other countries as race is a really big deal in America is.
I agree that this book has made good points on the war itself and has provided a sufficient amount of historical context, personal experiences and accounts of being in the war itself, and her own thoughts and opinions about the entire situation as she looks back on it. What I don't agree with is that this should be looked up as a reliable source all due to the language used to describe the disrespectful and terrible depictions of the natives. She also constantly compares her family to the natives and incorrectly states that Chinese-Cambodian people were treated more poorly or with more disrespect and discrimination than pure Cambodians were which was definitely NOT the truth.
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