Sara Pol-Lim | Cambodian Genocide Survivor | USC Shoah Foundation

Sara Pol-Lim was born the oldest of four children in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in 1966. She lived a comfortable, middle-class childhood in the city until the age of nine, when the Khmer Rouge took power. Sara and her family were forced from their home, and forcibly displaced to a camp deep in the Cambodian jungle. As an urban child, Sara was targeted by the Khmer regime for being “corrupted” by outside influence. Sara was forced to attend “reeducation” (propaganda) classes, and gather supplies for the camp. She was quickly separated from her father, who was sent to a male work camp and never heard from again. Food quickly became scarce, and two of her younger brothers died of malnutrition. Sara survived thanks to the help of her remaining brother, who scavenged for insects and plants for her to eat. He eventually died of malnutrition as well. Two years after the Khmer Rouge takeover, Sara was separated from her remaining family, and brought to a children’s camp. There, she befriended an older girl who helped her to escape through the jungle and reunite with her mother. Her journey did not end there, however; as the Khmer Rouge government began to crumble by the end of 1978. She and her mother left the now unmanned camp, and made their way to a refugee camp in Thailand. There, Sara resumed her education. In 1981, she left for the United States with her mother, and they settled in Long Beach, where they reunited with family members. Sara earned a Master’s Degree from Chapman University, and was later elected Executive Director of a Cambodian community nonprofit that seeks to help refugees. She was interviewed on May 26, 2015, in Long Beach, CA, USA.
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