Denise Affonço
Encyclopedia
Denise Affonço is an author who wrote about her terrible sufferings under the Khmer Rouge
in a powerful memoir To The End Of Hell (La Digues Des Veuves) with an introduction by Jon Swain
. She was born in Phnom Penh
, Cambodia to a Vietamese mother and French father and grew up in the peaceful years before all out war came to Indo-China. Her life was torn apart in April 1975 when the Khmer Rouge came to power. There followed four hellish years during which her husband was taken away and never seen again and her daughter died of starvation.
Originally written in French, the work has recently been published into English by Reportage Press
and as The Economist states: "That the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, as the tribunal is known, is at last functional makes the publication in English of Denise Affonço's harrowing memoir a timely reminder of why its work still matters."
Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge literally translated as Red Cambodians was the name given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, who were the ruling party in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, led by Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen and Khieu Samphan...
in a powerful memoir To The End Of Hell (La Digues Des Veuves) with an introduction by Jon Swain
Jon Swain
Jon Anketell Brewer Swain is an award-winning British journalist and writer who was portrayed by Julian Sands in the 1984 Oscar-winning film The Killing Fields...
. She was born in Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh is the capital and largest city of Cambodia. Located on the banks of the Mekong River, Phnom Penh has been the national capital since the French colonized Cambodia, and has grown to become the nation's center of economic and industrial activities, as well as the center of security,...
, Cambodia to a Vietamese mother and French father and grew up in the peaceful years before all out war came to Indo-China. Her life was torn apart in April 1975 when the Khmer Rouge came to power. There followed four hellish years during which her husband was taken away and never seen again and her daughter died of starvation.
Originally written in French, the work has recently been published into English by Reportage Press
Reportage Press
Reportage Press is a publishing house specialising in "books on foreign affairs or set in foreign countries, or just books written from a stranger's view."...
and as The Economist states: "That the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, as the tribunal is known, is at last functional makes the publication in English of Denise Affonço's harrowing memoir a timely reminder of why its work still matters."
Interviews
- Interview on France 24
- 'Living Through the Terror' The Economist
- Interview on the BBC
- 'A mother never forgets by Jon Swain' The Sunday Times