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.