Source: I received a copy in exchange for my honest review.
The Zero Years were the years 1975 – 1979 in
Cambodia’s history. This is when the Khmer Rouge took over Phnom Penh the
capital. The author lived those years. He was one of eleven children in his
family. Most of his siblings did not survive. His father was a professor. When
the Khmer Rouge came in, Seng’s father had already heard rumors of what was
happening to professionals and those considered the upper crust of society. The
first group of soldiers came into their village with white flags claiming to
bring peace. The next group came in bringing death. They were taken out of their homes and forced
to walk for days with little rest or food. They were loaded on trains where
they were packed so tight many died. Through all of this I kept thinking it
reminded me of the holocaust trains. Seng had seen so many dead bodies that he
eventually became numb to it. Seeing a body hung from a tree was just an everyday
occurrence. This was just the beginning of the horror he would live.
This was the first I had ever really heard
of the Khmer Rouge atrocities. It is sad to say this considering my age
now. However, at the time this was
starting I was 17 and really sheltered from all of this. We know of all of the people killed by
Hitler. How is it that we don’t teach
about the millions of Cambodians exterminated? How many more stories like this
will we need to read before we finally learn to value life?
The book was well written. I felt like I was on that walk with him. There is so much more to this story. Some of
it happy and some of it not. If you want
to find out what happened to him and his family you will need to read this
book. You definitely won’t regret it. You
might even learn quite a bit.
Author
Info from his website:
SENG
TY was born in the Kampong Speu province of Cambodia, the son of a respected
physician who taught him to value life, aspire to humility, and seek the good
in people. He was thirteen when he made his way alone to a refugee camp in
Thailand in 1981. His story was featured in TIME Magazine’s article “Children
of War”, and was read by an American family in Amherst, Massachusetts, who
adopted him a year later. Now he is a citizen of the United States, a husband,
a father and an educator in the Lowell, MA School System.
Seng will never rid himself of his
ghosts, nor will he forget the blood-chilling atrocities he has witnessed and
experienced. However, he doesn’t crave revenge against those who carried out
these atrocities. He desires to share his story of survival and courage only in
order to give hope to others. He was one of the children of war tour in the US cities
in early 1984, he shared his story through the Phil Donahue Show, many major newspapers, and CBS 60 Minutes
in 1999.
Seng’s wish is that The Years of
Zero will give him a platform to expand his message beyond the circle of his
students in Lowell, to people all over the world who are in need of a little
hope.
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