First They Killed My Father

In the Ung family, Pa is the glue that keeps the family together. All of the brothers and sisters, as well as Ma, respect their father and the work he does in and out of the home. After his death, he continues to inspire Loung as she has imaginary conversations with him. The brothers, especially Kim, try to fill Pa’s shoes by providing food when they can. In life, Pa works behind the scenes to keep his family together, from convincing the camp leader to employ Kim to convincing others that his family really are poor farmers instead of educated city people. The patriarchal society continues on after the Khmer are defeated and the remaining Ungs moved into refugee camps. The oldest Ung, Meng, makes the decision to bring Loung to America, and no one questions his decision.

When basic necessities are taken from people, they are easier to control. The Khmer Rouge gain control of the Cambodian people by making food difficult to obtain. Starvation is the great equalizer in the ethnic cleansing. The people that the Khmer Rouge deem worthy are fed like royalty, but the educated city people that the Khmer deem dangerous are given unpredictable rations. This helps create the a climate of fear, mistrust, and necessity, because the starving people need those rations to survive. The Khmer even decides that in some camps, young boys are to be given more food than the young girls; this causes even more division among the people.

Many of the episodes Loung recounts involve starvation. In those brief tales, she shows how her brothers and sisters resort to almost animal-like behaviors as they struggle to fill their bellies with anything they could. At one point, Loung is so hungry that she eats clay dirt. It is easy for readers to see how difficult life is when food is held hostage by those who have the power.