Name: Escaping the Khmer Rouge
Uploaded: 2009-07-08T01:00:00Z
Duration: 5 min 44 s
Description: TED Fellow Sophal Ear shares the compelling story of his family's escape from Cambodia under the rule of the Khmer Rouge. He recounts his mother's cunning and determination to save her children.

TED Fellow Sophal Ear shares the compelling story of his family's escape from Cambodia under the rule of the Khmer Rouge. He recounts his mother's cunning and determination to save her children.

Escaping the Khmer Rouge

A Cambodian family’s escape from the Khmer Rouge reveals the lengths people go to survive brutal regimes. With one and a half million killed in just four years, survival required both resourcefulness and courage. By faking Vietnamese identity and risking everything during a life-or-death language test, one mother secured freedom for her children across the border. Their story underscores how personal courage and quick thinking can rewrite fate, even under unimaginable oppression.