Nong Samet Refugee Camp
Encyclopedia
Nong Samet Refugee Camp, also known as 007, Rithisen or Rithysen was one of the largest refugee
camps on the Thai
-Cambodia
n border and served as a power base for the KPNLF until its destruction by the Vietnam
ese military in late 1984.
in large numbers after Vietnam
invaded Kampuchea in December, 1978 and forced the Khmer Rouge
out of power. A refugee settlement was established near the Thai village of Ban Nong Samet sometime in May 1979, and received its first shipment of food aid on October 11.
The camp was originally referred to as Chumrum Thmei (New Camp) to distinguish it from its neighbor and rival Mak Mun Camp, which was also known as Chumrum Chas (Old Camp). Nong Samet was later renamed 007 "because of its many intrigues" and in August 1980 was christened Rithysen, after a Khmer folk hero "who survived when his brothers and sisters were devoured through the machinations of a cannibal ogress, and who then tricked the ogress’ daughter."
. Almost immediately all three camps were dominated by autonomous warlord
s who, with several hundred undisciplined and badly-equipped guerrillas, controlled commercial activities and managed food distribution
to the civilian
population.
The camp's first leader was Long Rithia, a former infantry captain in the FANK
7th Division who rallied several hundred soldiers from that unit and on October 5 established the Angkor National Liberation Movement (also referred to as Khmer Angkor).
In December 1979, In-Sakhan, another former officer from FANK who had been living on the border since 1975, declared himself leader of Nong Samet. He quickly realized that the size of the camp's civilian population would determine his power base, and encouraged a thriving border marketplace
from which smugglers brought high-demand commodities into deprived Kampuchea. Within a short time Nong Samet's market attracted thousands of traders and black marketeers, and the guides and guards needed to transport goods and cash
in this nearly lawless region. Gold
and precious stones often substituted for currency
on the border, and In-Sakhan's soldiers frequently served as security
escorts.
In-Sakhan initially reported to ICRC
that the camp's population was at least 200,000 and aid agencies provided food and water for 180,000 people until December 1979 when aid workers heard that much of the food was being hoarded by the warlord. At this time the situation on the border was still too chaotic to do a proper census
or to challenge In-Sakhan.
and Mak Mun led to frequent armed violence. In-Sakhan also had to defend the camp against the Khmer Rouge, who launched an attack on January 4, 1980 from nearby Phnom Chat. The camp was evacuated but the refugees quickly returned.
In late January 1980, ICRC and UNICEF attempted to bypass In-Sakhan and distribute food directly to Nong Samet's population (which they now estimated at roughly 60,000), however without the warlord's cooperation this proved nearly impossible. In addition, it appeared that many Nong Samet residents were forced to go to Nong Chan
to receive food because their rations were being confiscated by In-Sakhan's troops.
Accordingly, in late February 1980 aid agencies stopped distributing food in Nong Samet altogether. Two weeks later, UNICEF conducted a nutrition
survey and found widespread levels of malnutrition
, stunting and hunger in the camp population. ICRC decided to try direct distribution to locked warehouses inside the camp, and to allow section leaders to distribute rice
to the population. A crude "hut census
" of the camp was attempted, but an attack on Mak Mun Camp in late March forced several thousand refugees to flee to Nong Samet, invalidating the census.
Two days later, forces commanded by the Mak Mun warlord, Van Saren, attacked Nong Samet in retaliation. In a counterattack on March 22, Van Saren was killed, possibly by the Thai military, and Mak Mun was closed on April 11 by the Thai government in an attempt to consolidate the population, most of which had already relocated to Nong Chan and Nong Samet.
In late May 1980 Nong Samet was moved to a site adjacent to the Prasaht Sdok Kok Thom
, in an area with poor drainage and landmines left over from a previous conflict.
's Armée Nationale Sihanoukiste (ANS
) forces. In-Sakhan was replaced by Om Luot (also known as Ta Luot or Siem Sam On) with Thou Thon acting as civilian administrator. Om Luot had declared his loyalty to the Khmer People's National Liberation Front
(KPNLF) in February 1979, but tensions with General Dien Del
and General Sak Sutsakhan
eventually led to Om Luot's murder on October 11, 1982. After this, Thou Thon became chief administrator of the camp. Nong Samet Camp soon became a primary recruiting location for KPNLAF troops.
Thou Thon’s brother Colonel Thou Thip had co-founded the KPNLF in Paris
in 1978, together with Son Sann
and Dien Del
among others. Thou Thon also had a brother and a sister in New Zealand
but he refused to accept their sponsorship offers. Unlike Thou Thip, Thou Thon maintained at best only a lukewarm relationship with Son Sann.
In 1983, at a time when Nong Samet was being terrorized nightly by violent acts of banditry, local policing was so ineffective that the bandits could brag about their exploits in the marketplace. Finally, after a particularly blatant act of violence, three bandits who had identified themselves in the market the day before were found with their throats cut at the edge of the camp. Banditry decreased significantly in camp after this. Thou Thon thus demonstrated his willingness to use summary execution
as a means of maintaining order. This sent a message to the camp population as much as it did to would-be bandits, that security was a priority and that it would be enforced.
Thou Thon continued to administer Nong Samet after the camp was incorporated into Site Two
in 1985.
gives credence to, but Mason and Brown calculate that it probably fluctuated between 48,000 and 60,000. The American Refugee Committee
's 1983 Annual Report numbered the population at "between 45,000 and 70,000," based on food distribution
statistics
, immunization
records, and birth and death tallies, however this did not include KPNLF troops, who were exempt from aid, and may have constituted an additional 8,000 men.
conducted preliminary screening of the 1,804 NW82 Vietnamese and coordinated efforts of the 15 countries willing to offer resettlement to the refugees. By January 28, 1983, when the first round of processing was completed, 1,713 of the refugees had received resettlement offers. The United States
accepted just over 60 percent.
On February 9, 1983, NW82 was closed, and the remaining 122 occupants without resettlement offers were transferred temporarily to the Khao-I-Dang
Holding Center.
treatment program, established in spite of claims that the situation was still too unstable to permit long-term treatment. A 100-bed hospital with pediatrics
, maternity
and surgical facilities and two outpatient clinics were operated by the American Refugee Committee
, which trained 150 Khmer medic
s, midwives, pharmacist
s and nurses. ARC also operated a traditional medicine
clinic.
Food and some water were provided by the World Food Program under the supervision of the United Nations Border Relief Operation (UNBRO
). Deep wells also provided potable water for much of the camp.
Other services fluctuated over the years, but in September 1983 supplementary feeding was being handled by Catholic Relief Services
(CRS), sanitation
and maternal-child health by World Concern
, physical rehabilitation by Handicap International
, and security by UNBRO. CRS also operated a mobile dental team and the Japan International Volunteer Center
(JVC) provided a weekly X-ray
service.
Dr. Steven H. Miles, Medical Director for the American Refugee Committee, wrote:
Robert C. Porter Jr. of the US Embassy in Bangkok wrote:
on Ampil Camp to the northeast of Nong Samet, however the KPNLAF held firm, bringing in reinforcements and inflicting heavy casualties. The Vietnamese even left 200 of their own men to bleed to death on the slopes around the camp. Ampil Camp was destroyed in the fighting, forcing the KPNLF to relocate its headquarters. The Vietnamese assaulted Nong Chan Camp on November 21 and had occupied most of the deserted, burned-out camp by November 23. Sporadic fighting continued until the 30th when the KPNLAF withdrew most of its troops to Prey Chan (Site 6).
Nong Samet Camp was attacked and destroyed by the Vietnamese on Christmas Day, 1984. The attack began with shelling at 5:25 a.m., according to Soth Sour, the guard at the TB Clinic near section 2. KPNLAF troops held portions of the camp for about a week after this, but in the end it was abandoned. News reports initially claimed that around 100 civilians had been killed, but this was later changed to 55 resistance fighters and 63 civilians.
Kenneth Conboy surmises that the Vietnamese were anxious to make up for their embarrassing defeat at Ampil in early 1984, and that this led them to commit the entire 9th Division plus part of another: over 4,000 men, 18 artillery
pieces and 27 T-54 tanks and armored personnel carriers participated in this assault.
Numerous KPNLF soldiers and officers, including General Dien Del
, reported that during fighting at Nong Samet on December 27 the Vietnamese used a green-colored "nonlethal but powerful battlefield gas" which stunned its victims and caused nausea and frothing at the mouth.
Holding Center. On September 29 the population was transported to Site Two Refugee Camp
near Ta Phraya
.
In Site Two, Nong Samet's population maintained a separate section and its own identity, with many services and much of its administration unchanged.
13°49′55.00"N 102°44′00.86"E (As of January 1983)
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
camps on the Thai
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
-Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
n border and served as a power base for the KPNLF until its destruction by the Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
ese military in late 1984.
Establishment of the camp
Refugees began entering ThailandThailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
in large numbers after Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
invaded Kampuchea in December, 1978 and forced the Khmer Rouge
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...
out of power. A refugee settlement was established near the Thai village of Ban Nong Samet sometime in May 1979, and received its first shipment of food aid on October 11.
The camp was originally referred to as Chumrum Thmei (New Camp) to distinguish it from its neighbor and rival Mak Mun Camp, which was also known as Chumrum Chas (Old Camp). Nong Samet was later renamed 007 "because of its many intrigues" and in August 1980 was christened Rithysen, after a Khmer folk hero "who survived when his brothers and sisters were devoured through the machinations of a cannibal ogress, and who then tricked the ogress’ daughter."
Domination by Cambodian warlords
Nong Samet Refugee Camp was located originally just inside the Thai border, about one kilometer northeast of Mak Mun and two kilometers northeast of Nong ChanNong Chan Refugee Camp
Nong Chan Refugee Camp was one of the earliest organized refugee camps on the Thai-Cambodian border, where thousands of Khmer refugees sought food and health care after fleeing the Vietnamese invasion of Democratic Kampuchea in 1979...
. Almost immediately all three camps were dominated by autonomous warlord
Warlord
A warlord is a person with power who has both military and civil control over a subnational area due to armed forces loyal to the warlord and not to a central authority. The term can also mean one who espouses the ideal that war is necessary, and has the means and authority to engage in war...
s who, with several hundred undisciplined and badly-equipped guerrillas, controlled commercial activities and managed food distribution
Food distribution
Food distribution, a method of distributing or transporting food or drink from one place to another, is a very important factor in public nutrition. Where it breaks down, famine, malnutrition or illness can occur...
to the civilian
Civilian
A civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation...
population.
The camp's first leader was Long Rithia, a former infantry captain in the FANK
Fánk
Fánk is a sweet traditional Hungarian cake. The most commonly used ingredients are: flour, yeast, butter, egg yolk, a little bit of rum, a sniff of salt, milk and oil to deep fry with. After the pastry has risen for approximately 30 minutes the result is an extreme light doughnut-like pastry...
7th Division who rallied several hundred soldiers from that unit and on October 5 established the Angkor National Liberation Movement (also referred to as Khmer Angkor).
In December 1979, In-Sakhan, another former officer from FANK who had been living on the border since 1975, declared himself leader of Nong Samet. He quickly realized that the size of the camp's civilian population would determine his power base, and encouraged a thriving border marketplace
Marketplace
A marketplace is the space, actual, virtual or metaphorical, in which a market operates. The term is also used in a trademark law context to denote the actual consumer environment, ie. the 'real world' in which products and services are provided and consumed.-Marketplaces and street markets:A...
from which smugglers brought high-demand commodities into deprived Kampuchea. Within a short time Nong Samet's market attracted thousands of traders and black marketeers, and the guides and guards needed to transport goods and cash
Cash
In common language cash refers to money in the physical form of currency, such as banknotes and coins.In bookkeeping and finance, cash refers to current assets comprising currency or currency equivalents that can be accessed immediately or near-immediately...
in this nearly lawless region. Gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
and precious stones often substituted for currency
Currency
In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
on the border, and In-Sakhan's soldiers frequently served as security
Security
Security is the degree of protection against danger, damage, loss, and crime. Security as a form of protection are structures and processes that provide or improve security as a condition. The Institute for Security and Open Methodologies in the OSSTMM 3 defines security as "a form of protection...
escorts.
In-Sakhan initially reported to ICRC
International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross is a private humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. States parties to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005, have given the ICRC a mandate to protect the victims of international and...
that the camp's population was at least 200,000 and aid agencies provided food and water for 180,000 people until December 1979 when aid workers heard that much of the food was being hoarded by the warlord. At this time the situation on the border was still too chaotic to do a proper census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
or to challenge In-Sakhan.
Rivalry with neighboring camps
Rivalry with neighboring camps Nong ChanNong Chan Refugee Camp
Nong Chan Refugee Camp was one of the earliest organized refugee camps on the Thai-Cambodian border, where thousands of Khmer refugees sought food and health care after fleeing the Vietnamese invasion of Democratic Kampuchea in 1979...
and Mak Mun led to frequent armed violence. In-Sakhan also had to defend the camp against the Khmer Rouge, who launched an attack on January 4, 1980 from nearby Phnom Chat. The camp was evacuated but the refugees quickly returned.
In late January 1980, ICRC and UNICEF attempted to bypass In-Sakhan and distribute food directly to Nong Samet's population (which they now estimated at roughly 60,000), however without the warlord's cooperation this proved nearly impossible. In addition, it appeared that many Nong Samet residents were forced to go to Nong Chan
Nong Chan Refugee Camp
Nong Chan Refugee Camp was one of the earliest organized refugee camps on the Thai-Cambodian border, where thousands of Khmer refugees sought food and health care after fleeing the Vietnamese invasion of Democratic Kampuchea in 1979...
to receive food because their rations were being confiscated by In-Sakhan's troops.
Accordingly, in late February 1980 aid agencies stopped distributing food in Nong Samet altogether. Two weeks later, UNICEF conducted a nutrition
Nutrition
Nutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....
survey and found widespread levels of malnutrition
Malnutrition
Malnutrition is the condition that results from taking an unbalanced diet in which certain nutrients are lacking, in excess , or in the wrong proportions....
, stunting and hunger in the camp population. ICRC decided to try direct distribution to locked warehouses inside the camp, and to allow section leaders to distribute rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
to the population. A crude "hut census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
" of the camp was attempted, but an attack on Mak Mun Camp in late March forced several thousand refugees to flee to Nong Samet, invalidating the census.
Two days later, forces commanded by the Mak Mun warlord, Van Saren, attacked Nong Samet in retaliation. In a counterattack on March 22, Van Saren was killed, possibly by the Thai military, and Mak Mun was closed on April 11 by the Thai government in an attempt to consolidate the population, most of which had already relocated to Nong Chan and Nong Samet.
In late May 1980 Nong Samet was moved to a site adjacent to the Prasaht Sdok Kok Thom
Sdok Kok Thom
Sdok Kok Thom , or Sdok Kak Thom, is an 11th Century Khmer temple in present-day Thailand, located about 34 kilometers northeast of the Thai border town of Aranyaprathet. The temple was dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva...
, in an area with poor drainage and landmines left over from a previous conflict.
Incorporation into the KPNLF
On July 12, 1980, troops commanded by Ung Chan Don, In-Sakhan's former ally, attacked Nong Samet and drove In-Sakhan to Aranyaprathet, where "on a calm Sunday evening, In-Sakhan surrendered to the Thai Third Infantry Battalion." He later joined Prince Norodom SihanoukNorodom Sihanouk
Norodom Sihanouk regular script was the King of Cambodia from 1941 to 1955 and again from 1993 until his semi-retirement and voluntary abdication on 7 October 2004 in favor of his son, the current King Norodom Sihamoni...
's Armée Nationale Sihanoukiste (ANS
ANS
Ans is a Belgian municipality in the province of Liège.As an acronym ANS may refer to:Music:* ANS , a box set from the British band Coil* ANS , a single by the British band Coil...
) forces. In-Sakhan was replaced by Om Luot (also known as Ta Luot or Siem Sam On) with Thou Thon acting as civilian administrator. Om Luot had declared his loyalty to the Khmer People's National Liberation Front
Khmer People's National Liberation Front
The Khmer People's National Liberation Front was a political front organized in 1979 in opposition to the Vietnamese-installed People's Republic of Kampuchea regime in Cambodia...
(KPNLF) in February 1979, but tensions with General Dien Del
Dien Del
General Dien Del is a distinguished military figure who directed combat operations in Cambodia, first as a general in the Army of the Khmer Republic and then as a leader of KPNLF guerrilla forces fighting against the Vietnamese occupation .-Early career:Born in the Khmer Krom region of South...
and General Sak Sutsakhan
Sak Sutsakhan
General Sak Sutsakhan was a Cambodian politician and soldier who had a long career in the country's politics. He was the last Head of State of the Khmer Republic, the regime overthrown by the Khmer Rouge in 1975. Sak Sutsakhan formed a pro-US force known as the "Khmer Sâ" .-Early life:Sutsakhan...
eventually led to Om Luot's murder on October 11, 1982. After this, Thou Thon became chief administrator of the camp. Nong Samet Camp soon became a primary recruiting location for KPNLAF troops.
Thou Thon's leadership
Thou Thon was a model of strong yet considerate civilian leadership at a time when warlords controlled most of the border refugee population. According to Linda Mason and Roger Brown, who knew him in 1980:- “The Khmer refugees in Nong Samet Camp owed much to him. He had organized the camp—building roads, digging ditches, cleaning up. He had eliminated much of the thievery that had kept the refugees nervous and frightened. He had helped organize an efficient distribution system so that everyone received rice… He was a hard worker… When he had organized the building of the feeding center, he did not just tell people what to do, he climbed up on the roof and started nailing down the lattice work on which the thatch would be placed. When ditches were dug, he was there with a hoe."
Thou Thon’s brother Colonel Thou Thip had co-founded the KPNLF in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 1978, together with Son Sann
Son Sann
Son Sann was a Cambodian politician and anti-communist resistance leader. Born in Phnom Penh, he held the office of Prime Minister in 1967-68. A devout Buddhist, he fathered seven children and was married....
and Dien Del
Dien Del
General Dien Del is a distinguished military figure who directed combat operations in Cambodia, first as a general in the Army of the Khmer Republic and then as a leader of KPNLF guerrilla forces fighting against the Vietnamese occupation .-Early career:Born in the Khmer Krom region of South...
among others. Thou Thon also had a brother and a sister in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
but he refused to accept their sponsorship offers. Unlike Thou Thip, Thou Thon maintained at best only a lukewarm relationship with Son Sann.
In 1983, at a time when Nong Samet was being terrorized nightly by violent acts of banditry, local policing was so ineffective that the bandits could brag about their exploits in the marketplace. Finally, after a particularly blatant act of violence, three bandits who had identified themselves in the market the day before were found with their throats cut at the edge of the camp. Banditry decreased significantly in camp after this. Thou Thon thus demonstrated his willingness to use summary execution
Summary execution
A summary execution is a variety of execution in which a person is killed on the spot without trial or after a show trial. Summary executions have been practiced by the police, military, and paramilitary organizations and are associated with guerrilla warfare, counter-insurgency, terrorism, and...
as a means of maintaining order. This sent a message to the camp population as much as it did to would-be bandits, that security was a priority and that it would be enforced.
Thou Thon continued to administer Nong Samet after the camp was incorporated into Site Two
Site Two Refugee Camp
Site Two Refugee Camp was the largest refugee camp on the Thai-Cambodian border and, for several years, the largest refugee camp in Southeast Asia...
in 1985.
Camp relocation in 1983
The entire camp was moved again in January 1983 to somewhat higher ground just east of the village of Ban Nong Samet, on land considered to be on the Cambodian side of the border. This move was precipitated by accusations that Thailand was harboring anti-communist guerrillas on its territory, thereby aggravating the already complex political situation.Camp population
Nong Samet's official population estimate in 1979 was over 100,000, a figure that William ShawcrossWilliam Shawcross
William Hartley Hume Shawcross, CVO is a British writer and commentator.-Career:Shawcross was educated at St. Aubyns Preparatory School, Rottingdean, Eton College and University College, Oxford. He attended St. Martin's Art School to study sculpture after leaving Oxford. He worked as a journalist...
gives credence to, but Mason and Brown calculate that it probably fluctuated between 48,000 and 60,000. The American Refugee Committee
American Refugee Committee
The American Refugee Committee is an international nonprofit, nonsectarian organization that has provided humanitarian assistance and training to millions of beneficiaries over the last 30 years....
's 1983 Annual Report numbered the population at "between 45,000 and 70,000," based on food distribution
Food distribution
Food distribution, a method of distributing or transporting food or drink from one place to another, is a very important factor in public nutrition. Where it breaks down, famine, malnutrition or illness can occur...
statistics
Statistics
Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
, immunization
Immunization
Immunization, or immunisation, is the process by which an individual's immune system becomes fortified against an agent ....
records, and birth and death tallies, however this did not include KPNLF troops, who were exempt from aid, and may have constituted an additional 8,000 men.
Vietnamese refugees at NW82
As of December 18, 1981, Nong Samet became home to about 700 Vietnamese refugees who were transferred from a special camp for "land refugees" who had crossed Cambodia from Vietnam and entered Thailand. They had been transferred from the nearby camp of NW9 and were housed in a separate section known as NW82 or ‘the platform’ because of a wooden platform built to keep the population off the swampy ground. By September 1982 there were more than 1,800 refugees in the crowded and unsanitary camp. Initially Thailand prevented foreign embassies from interviewing these refugees, however after repeated requests by the ICRC, this policy was reversed. The Intergovernmental Committee for MigrationInternational Organization for Migration
The International Organization for Migration is an intergovernmental organization. It was initially established in 1951 as the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration to help resettle people displaced by World War II....
conducted preliminary screening of the 1,804 NW82 Vietnamese and coordinated efforts of the 15 countries willing to offer resettlement to the refugees. By January 28, 1983, when the first round of processing was completed, 1,713 of the refugees had received resettlement offers. The United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
accepted just over 60 percent.
On February 9, 1983, NW82 was closed, and the remaining 122 occupants without resettlement offers were transferred temporarily to the Khao-I-Dang
Khao-I-Dang
Khao-I-Dang Holding Center was a Cambodian refugee camp located 20 km north of Aranyaprathet in Prachinburi Province of Thailand...
Holding Center.
Camp services
Food distribution problems had been resolved by the aid agencies in 1980 and Nong Samet became a model camp for its organization and the quality of its health care services, which included a tuberculosisTuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
treatment program, established in spite of claims that the situation was still too unstable to permit long-term treatment. A 100-bed hospital with pediatrics
Pediatrics
Pediatrics or paediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician or paediatrician...
, maternity
Maternity
Maternity or motherhood is the social and legal acknowledgment of the parental relationship between a mother and her child.It is specially related with the protection of the baby and the mother within and after the childbirth.-See also:...
and surgical facilities and two outpatient clinics were operated by the American Refugee Committee
American Refugee Committee
The American Refugee Committee is an international nonprofit, nonsectarian organization that has provided humanitarian assistance and training to millions of beneficiaries over the last 30 years....
, which trained 150 Khmer medic
Medic
Medic is a general term for a person involved in medicine, especially emergency or first-response medicine, such as an emergency medical technician, paramedic, or a military member trained in battlefield medicine. Also the term is used toward a Nurse in pre-hospital care and/or emergency...
s, midwives, pharmacist
Pharmacist
Pharmacists are allied health professionals who practice in pharmacy, the field of health sciences focusing on safe and effective medication use...
s and nurses. ARC also operated a traditional medicine
Traditional medicine
Traditional medicine comprises unscientific knowledge systems that developed over generations within various societies before the era of modern medicine...
clinic.
Food and some water were provided by the World Food Program under the supervision of the United Nations Border Relief Operation (UNBRO
UNBRO
The United Nations Border Relief Operation was a donor-nation funded relief effort for Cambodian refugees and others affected by years of warfare along the Thai-Cambodian border...
). Deep wells also provided potable water for much of the camp.
Other services fluctuated over the years, but in September 1983 supplementary feeding was being handled by Catholic Relief Services
Catholic Relief Services
Catholic Relief Services is the international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Founded in 1943 by the U.S. bishops, the agency provides assistance to 130 million people in more than 90 countries and territories in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and...
(CRS), sanitation
Sanitation
Sanitation is the hygienic means of promoting health through prevention of human contact with the hazards of wastes. Hazards can be either physical, microbiological, biological or chemical agents of disease. Wastes that can cause health problems are human and animal feces, solid wastes, domestic...
and maternal-child health by World Concern
World Concern
World Concern is a Christian humanitarian organization that operates relief and development programsin 13 countries, and funds partnership programs in nine other countries. The organization’s mission...
, physical rehabilitation by Handicap International
Handicap International
Handicap International is a non-governmental organization created in 1982 to provide help in refugee camps in Cambodia and Thailand. Based in Belgium and France, it has since opened branches in six other countries : Switzerland, Luxembourg, United Kingdom, Germany, Canada and the United States...
, and security by UNBRO. CRS also operated a mobile dental team and the Japan International Volunteer Center
Japan International Volunteer Center
Japan International Volunteer Center - an international non-governmental organization providing assistance in community development, peace exchange and emergency relief in 10 countries/regions of Asia and Africa. Established in 1980 and based in Tokyo, Japan.The Center works in Cambodia, Vietnam,...
(JVC) provided a weekly X-ray
X-ray
X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
service.
Personal recollections from aid workers
Several aid workers have described their experiences at Nong Samet Camp, including Dr. Louis Braile:- "There was really a palpable difference between Nong Samet and KID (Khao-I-DangKhao-I-DangKhao-I-Dang Holding Center was a Cambodian refugee camp located 20 km north of Aranyaprathet in Prachinburi Province of Thailand...
Holding Center). Perhaps it arose from the wilderness atmosphere. Perhaps it was the presence of the ancient ruins, or perhaps it was the fact that these people, unlike the KID residents, had little hope of expatriatingExpatriateAn expatriate is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing...
."
Dr. Steven H. Miles, Medical Director for the American Refugee Committee, wrote:
- "Relief at the end of the Khmer Rouge has been replaced by fear of the present. There is a hard hopelessness here, much more so than in the past. Escape is not possible. Violence and corruption are pervasive. War is certain. Fear, a sense of extreme vulnerability, is the omnipresent emotion. My experience of Nong Samet in 1983 was overwhelmingly, searingly sad."
Robert C. Porter Jr. of the US Embassy in Bangkok wrote:
- "The KhmerKhmer peopleKhmer people are the predominant ethnic group in Cambodia, accounting for approximately 90% of the 14.8 million people in the country. They speak the Khmer language, which is part of the larger Mon–Khmer language family found throughout Southeast Asia...
camp at Nong Samet...always held the most exotic fascination and excitement for me...A tall forest provided welcome shade. The stone ruins of an old AngkorAngkorAngkor is a region of Cambodia that served as the seat of the Khmer Empire, which flourished from approximately the 9th to 15th centuries. The word Angkor is derived from the Sanskrit nagara , meaning "city"...
-style Buddhist temple gave it a particularly Khmer air. While its early military leadership was among the more corrupt, disruptive and despicable, the camp was unusually well organized and tightly run...It had an interesting population and a lively market. For a time in 1979 and 1980 it was the most populous Cambodian city on earth, far surpassing the then reawakening but still tiny Phnom PenhPhnom PenhPhnom 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,...
."
The Vietnamese dry-season offensive of 1984
In April 1984 the Vietnamese began preparing the K-5 border barrier and launched an attackVietnamese border raids in Thailand
After the 1978 Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia and defeat of Democratic Kampuchea in 1979, the Khmer Rouge fled to the border regions of Thailand, and with assistance from China Pol Pot's troops managed to regroup and reorganize in forested and mountainous zones on the Thai-Cambodian border...
on Ampil Camp to the northeast of Nong Samet, however the KPNLAF held firm, bringing in reinforcements and inflicting heavy casualties. The Vietnamese even left 200 of their own men to bleed to death on the slopes around the camp. Ampil Camp was destroyed in the fighting, forcing the KPNLF to relocate its headquarters. The Vietnamese assaulted Nong Chan Camp on November 21 and had occupied most of the deserted, burned-out camp by November 23. Sporadic fighting continued until the 30th when the KPNLAF withdrew most of its troops to Prey Chan (Site 6).
Nong Samet Camp was attacked and destroyed by the Vietnamese on Christmas Day, 1984. The attack began with shelling at 5:25 a.m., according to Soth Sour, the guard at the TB Clinic near section 2. KPNLAF troops held portions of the camp for about a week after this, but in the end it was abandoned. News reports initially claimed that around 100 civilians had been killed, but this was later changed to 55 resistance fighters and 63 civilians.
Kenneth Conboy surmises that the Vietnamese were anxious to make up for their embarrassing defeat at Ampil in early 1984, and that this led them to commit the entire 9th Division plus part of another: over 4,000 men, 18 artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
pieces and 27 T-54 tanks and armored personnel carriers participated in this assault.
Numerous KPNLF soldiers and officers, including General Dien Del
Dien Del
General Dien Del is a distinguished military figure who directed combat operations in Cambodia, first as a general in the Army of the Khmer Republic and then as a leader of KPNLF guerrilla forces fighting against the Vietnamese occupation .-Early career:Born in the Khmer Krom region of South...
, reported that during fighting at Nong Samet on December 27 the Vietnamese used a green-colored "nonlethal but powerful battlefield gas" which stunned its victims and caused nausea and frothing at the mouth.
Camp relocation to Site Two
On the day of the attack, Nong Samet's population of 60,000 fled to the Red Hill evacuation site and was transported by bus on January 20–22, 1985 to Site 7 (Bang Poo or Bang Phu, "Village of the Crab"), a new camp created next to Khao-I-DangKhao-I-Dang
Khao-I-Dang Holding Center was a Cambodian refugee camp located 20 km north of Aranyaprathet in Prachinburi Province of Thailand...
Holding Center. On September 29 the population was transported to Site Two Refugee Camp
Site Two Refugee Camp
Site Two Refugee Camp was the largest refugee camp on the Thai-Cambodian border and, for several years, the largest refugee camp in Southeast Asia...
near Ta Phraya
Amphoe Ta Phraya
Ta Phraya is the northeasternmost district of Sa Kaeo Province, eastern Thailand.-History:The area was originally dense forest of Aranyaprathet district. Later people moved to there for agricultural work. When the community grew bigger, the government created Ta Phraya minor district in 1959...
.
In Site Two, Nong Samet's population maintained a separate section and its own identity, with many services and much of its administration unchanged.
Further reading
- Levy, B. S. and D. C. Susott (1987). Years of horror, days of hope: responding to the Cambodian refugee crisis. Millwood, N.Y., Associated Faculty Press. ISBN 978-0804693967
- Braile, L. E. (2005). We Shared the Peeled Orange: The Letters of "Papa Louis" from the Thai-Cambodian Border Refugee Camps, 1981-1993. Saint Paul, Syren Book Co.
- Allegra, D. T., Nieburg, P. and Grabe, M. (eds.) Emergency Refugee Health Care: A Chronicle of the Khmer Refugee Assistance Operation, 1979-1980. Atlanta, Ga.: Centers for Disease Control, 1984.
- Robinson C. Terms of Refuge: the Indochinese Exodus & the International Response. London ; New York, New York: Zed Books; Distributed in the USA by St. Martin's Press, 1998.
- Burgess, John. Stories in Stone - The Sdok Kok Thom Inscription & the Enigma of Khmer History. Riverbooks 2010.
External links
- Thai-Cambodian Border Camps
- Columbia University's Forced Migration Website
- History of the Cambodian Health Committee
- Vietnamese Refugees at Nong Samet Camp
Coordinates
13°50′37.29"N 102°44′14.84"E (As of May 1980)13°49′55.00"N 102°44′00.86"E (As of January 1983)