child soldiers

my family had brought its own rice from home. but that only lasted for so long. the Khmer rouge would measure the food for each family. i had a family of 7 and they would give us half of a nestle can for all seven of us. The food wasn't enough for all of us, so my aunt would grab dirt and add it to the rice to make it thicker and have us get full faster. that was in the beginning. after we would get less food. then we would get food every 3 days or so. 

The Khmer Rouge tells us to stop at an empty field. He then ask us for our families background, what our jobs are, my aunt tells them that we sell in the market. The Khmer Rouge tells us the we grow rice now, that we are all the same. The Khmer Rouge doesn't have names they just called themselves comrade. Now we all work in the rice field, everyday. Everyone works, including children and old people. 

They said the would only be gone for 3 days but its been so much more. I don't know how long, I've lost count but its been much more than 3 days. I have been walking none stop for a very long time. I have no food and no water, and I am so tired! many other people have been dying they just fall down while walking and don't get back up.

The day everything changed I was woken up with the screaming of soldiers yelling "we are Khmer rouge" , "we are red Cambodia". But I go to my friends house and they have to leave. the next day the Khmer rouge says that everyone has to leave because the Americans are coming to bomb. so we prepare to leave for 3 days just like they said. 

Before the war came to our city, I lived a pretty good and happy life, I wasn't rich, but I was happy and joyful. I would walk all over town gambling, or selling ice cream, also I would just walk around and look at people and see how happy they were, and see them enjoy the music coming through their radios. I would see them singing and dancing, overall having a good time. i lived in a very happy town.