Ms. ROS Chuor Siy
ROS Chuor Siy was born on 20 September 1938. She lives in Paris with three children.
In 1975 she and her husband left Paris, where he had completed a PhD in aviation and was working for Air France and Air Cambodge, to return to Cambodia thanks to an outreach campaign organized by Ieng Sary encouraging expats to return to help rebuild Cambodia. Upon arriving at the airport in Phnom Penh with their young daughters she and her husband were surprised that none of their families were there to greet them. According to Ms. Ros, as they were driving down the roads it was suspiciously quiet, and she and her husband became worried. At the central office, she met two elder men who she’d known a few months before they returned to Cambodia. They were emaciated and in rough condition. She saw her sister who had also returned six or seven months before her. Her sister had also not seen their parents. Ms. Ros said her family’s physical condition worsened as they were relocated multiple times by Angkar. In December 1976 her husband came to tell her that he had been assigned a special duty. He told her not to worry, to work hard and to look after herself and their daughters, that they would meet again. She and her daughters were moved repeatedly, which worried her a lot because she was moving farther away from her husband. She did not give up hope that they would be reunited soon. She was repeatedly told by Angkar that this would be the case. By 1979 she had given up hope. After the liberation of Phnom Penh she went to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and there she found a photograph of her husband among the prisoners; she knew he had been killed and could not imagine the pain and torture inflicted on him before he died.
She wanted to cry out, she almost fainted, but a voice told her she had to stay strong. After that point she realized she could not raise her children in such a country. She sold everything she owned and moved back to France. She never discovered the fate of her parents.
- Witness acronym :
2-TCCP-1049
- Age at the time of testimony :
77
- Appeared as :
- Cases : Case 002, Case 002/02,
- Date(s) of testimony :