North & South – June 2019

NORTH & SOUTH| JUNE 2019| 81

forthegovernment,andcouldhaveled
totheirexecution.Thefamilyeventu-
allyendedupinrefugeecampsandhad
theopportunitytomoveabroad,but
decidedtoremaininCambodia.
Kim,38,haspreviouslydocumented
thepreciousobjectsfamiliesinCambo-
diahavekeptfromthesetroubledtimes

• cookingvessels,books,dressmaking
  scissors,a bottlethatheldfishoilfora
  lamp– andin2018,hephotographed 12
  familieswhoescapedCambodiaand
  resettledinNewZealandinthe1980s.
  “Theywerelookingforsafelandstobe
  in,newlands,”saysKim.
  Thethingstheybroughtwiththem
  usuallyrelatedtothelifethey’dprevi-
  ouslyled,orareitemsofgreatsentimen-
  tality.Thereisthewatchonemanhad
  been given by his father when he gradu-

atedhighschool– thathekepthidden

duringtheKhmerRougetime,andstill

wearstoday.Onewomansecretedthe

negativeofa portraittakenofherwhen

younger;whenshearrivedinAuckland,

shehada printmadefromit.Another

manstillhasthehammockheusedasa

soldierduringthewar.Another,whowas

a hospitalnurse,hasa pairofsurgical

scissorshetookastheKhmerRouge

invaded,andhiswifehasa pairoffor-

ceps– objectstheyusedtohelpothers.

Thesamemanhaskepta necklacehe

madewhileina refugeecamp.

“Theymeandifferentthings,fromone

persontoanotherpersontoanother

person,”saysKim.“Wealwayssave

something,andwelearnfromthem.”

Kim’sexhibitionmarks 40 yearssince

the fall of the Khmer Rouge, but his

Aliveprojectwillcontinue,andheplans

tophotographCambodianrefugeesand

thetalismansoftheirhomelandin

Japan,France,AmericaandCanada

overcomingyears.

Andwhatif therewasanotherwar,or

KimhadtoescapeCambodiasuddenly

• whatwouldbethemostprecious
  thinghewouldguardortakewithhim
  totheendsoftheworld?Likehismoth-
  er,Kimsaysit wouldbephotos.Given
  hislifeasa photographer,hewouldgrab
  a harddriveofhisworkashefled– and
  prayhecouldkeepitsafeuntilpeace
  returnedandhecouldreturnhome. +

*KimHak’sexhibition,Alive, runs

atObjectspace, 13 RoseRd,Auckland

from2 Juneto 21 July,andis

supported by the Rei Foundation.

ManHauLiev’swatchand

a photo of his father.

ManHauLievwasbornin 1952 inSiem

Reap,Cambodia.HenowlivesinSouth

Auckland.Thewatchwasa giftfromhis

fatherwhenhelefttostudyatuniversity

inPhnomPenh.Intheearly70s,withpo-

liticalunrestinthecitygrowing,ManHau

sentthewatchbacktohismotherforsafe-

keeping.Shekeptithiddenthroughout

theKhmerRougeregime.ManHau

boughta replacementwatch,whichhe

latergavetoa KhmerRougesoldierto

savehimselffromexecution.In1982,he

wasreunitedwithhismother,andthe

watch,ina refugeecamp.Hewasaccept-

ed as a refugee to New Zealand soon after.

Maran Keo’s soup pot and shirt.

MaranKeowasbornin 1957 inPhnom

Penh,andnowlivesinAuckland.To-

wardstheendoftheKhmerRougere-

gime,Maranf ledtorefugeecampsin

ThailandandthenMalaysia.Shemether

husbandinoneoftheThaicampsandthey

hadthreechildrenwhilelivingasrefu-

gees.In1985,a friendwhohadbeengrant-

edasyluminCanadagaveherthesoup

pot.WhenMaranandherfamilywere

takeninbyNewZealand,shepackedher

clothesinsidethepotandbroughtit to

theirnewhomeina ricebag.Shelostcon-

tactwithherfriendfromthecamp,but

saysthesouppotis herreminderoffriend-

ship and kindness in difficult times.