Cambodian-American Writer Reveals Mystery of Father’s Death

柬埔寨裔美国作家揭示父亲死亡之谜

Sometimes writing a fictional work can help the writer deal with painful trauma. That was Variny Yim’s experience when she wrote her first novel, The Immigrant Princess.

有时候撰写一部虚构的著作有助于作家应付痛苦的经历。这是Variny Yim撰写第一部小说《移民公主》时的经验。

Yim is Cambodian-American. Her book tells about three generations of women from Cambodia’s ruling family who try to rebuild their lives in the United States.

Yim是柬埔寨裔美国人。她的作品讲述了柬埔寨统治家族的三代女性试图在美国重建她们的人生的故事。

However, it was Yim’s father who became central to her while writing the novel.

然而，在撰写这部小说时，Yim的父亲成为了她的焦点。

"I only have a few memories of my father and one of the most heartbreaking memories for me is the day that we left Cambodia. He had taken us to the airport," she said. "I was too young to understand what was happening, and I remember walking up the stairs to the airplane and looking back on the tarmac and my father waived at us. What I didn’t realize was that would be the last time that I would ever see my father’s face."

她说，“我对父亲只残留了很少的记忆，其中最心痛的记忆之一就是我们离开柬埔寨那天。他带我们到机场。我那时太小不明白发生了什么。我记得从舷梯走上飞机回首望停机坪，我的父亲抛弃了我们。我并不知道那将是我最后一次看到父亲的面庞。”

Moving to the United States

移居美国

Variny Yim, her sister and her grandparents escaped before the Cambodian genocide. Her father, who stayed in Cambodia to care for aging parents, was a victim of it.

Variny Yim和她的姐姐、祖父母在柬埔寨大屠杀前逃了出来。她的父亲留在柬埔寨照顾年老的父母，成为了大屠杀的受害者之一。

Over four years, supporters of the Khmer Rouge killed about two million people.

在四年期间，红色高棉的支持者杀害了大约两百万人。

Yim and her family joined her mother, who was studying in the United States. Yim said they owe their lives to her grandfather, who made sure they left Cambodia.

Yim和她的家庭同在美国留学的母亲会合。Yim表示，她们都欠确保他们离开柬埔寨的祖父一命。

They were all members of Cambodia’s royal family. Yim’s mother was a princess in Cambodia, but in the United States she was just another refugee.

他们都是柬埔寨王室的成员。Yim的母亲是柬埔寨的一位公主。但是在美国，她只是一位难民。

Her family had to change their expectations about life. They had no money, and their position meant almost nothing in the United States, Yim explained.

她的家庭不得不改变自己对人生的期望。Yim解释说，她们没有钱，而且她们的地位在美国几乎分文不值。

She added that her family tried to keep their royal identity close to themselves. They did not tell many people about who they were.

她补充说，她的家庭试图隐藏她们的皇家身份，她们没有告诉很多人她们是谁。

Yim discovers what happened to her father

Yim发现了父亲的遭遇