author's note...

"From 1975 to 1979--through execution, starvation, disease, and forced labor--the Khmer Rouge systematically killed an estimated two million Cambodians, almost a fourth of the country's population.  

First They Killed My Father  is a story of survival:  Luong Ung's and her family's.  Though these events consitute her experience, her story mirrors that of millions of Cambodians.  

If you had been living in Cambodia during this period, this would be your story too."