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Panic in Battambang, Cambodia
Everybody in Cambodia thinks the Americans are going to attack and every one goes crazy. -
Everybody must leave Battambang
A bullhorn blows and everybody is required to grab their valuble things, abandon their homes, and walk far away. Resources are limited and people are dying on the way. It was a three day walk -
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Khmer Rouge take over
A communist group called the Khmer Rouge take over everyone. Everybody is separated from their family and forced to work. 11 year old Arn is required to work on fields many hours a day along with other people his age he doesn't even know. They get almost no food and everyday kids die on the field but Arn always tells himself to never fall down. Sometimes they make the kids watch when they kill an adult to show them the consequences and kids are required to shut down their emotions. -
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Arn Plays Music
Arn's family is still missing and he does not want to think about them to avoid being killed. One day a man comes to Wat Ek and asks the children who can play an instrument. Although Arn knows nothing about music, he volunteers where they go play with a teacher. They are required to present their performance (which is just Khmer propaganda) and if they fail they are killed. As a result they did well and Arn became famous in the camp. Since he was famous he was fed well and they wouldn't kill him -
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Arn must fight in war
When the Vietnamease start to attack Arn is handed a gun and forced to fight. Everyone over the age of eight had too. Him and all his friends he made in his music group are all in one army and they were named the fish. They were supposed to run out and fire if they saw any one and wait for the adults to come. After many children died Arn realized that they were called the fish because they were bait. -
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Arn crosses into Cambodia
As Arn tries to follow the leader he gets lost and stayed in the jungle for months. He ate whatever the monkey's ate and sometimes his head would go crazy and he would eat the monkeys. When he found the border into Cambodia he jumped over the river and he was taken to a hospital by a bus. In the hospital he weighed 60 pounds and was very sick. But one man called Mr. Pond would always visit him. -
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The Orphanage and America
When Arn was finally cured he was taken to an orphanage in Cambodia. There a popular sport was volleyball and looking to become more famous he kept practicing it. He also tried to become friends with the star players. After one year Mr. Peter Lawrence Pond adopted three children including Arn and took them to America. They started going to high school and Arn would get made fun of a lot cause of his race. -
Arn Chorn-Pond Today
Nowadays Arn is the co founder of many companies like Children of War, and Cambodian Living Arts. He has worked with cambodian refugees, trauma patients and much more. Arn is an amazing person that still helps improve the world today.
