Literature Circle - First They Killed My Father

      What obstacles did Loung overcome during and after the genocide? Loung, the main character and author of the book First They Killed My Father, has overcome many, many obstacles during and after the genocide. For example, nearly half of her family being killed by the Khmer Rouge group that took over her country and shattered her innocence. Her life that once consisted of a nine person family, a "middle class" house with servants and Mazdas, turned into a 5 person family, faded black Khmer Rouge clothes, going to bed hungry, labor camps, and watching her family get torn apart on by one. She had to overcome labor camps, being forced to become a child soldier. And she had overcome leaving all of her family but her brother behind, in order to go to America. 

The overall topic of the book First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung is the 1975 Cambodian Genocide. The article that I chose that relates to the book is called "Cambodian Families Separated By Khmer Rouge Reunite — on TV" The article is about a Cambodian TV show called "It's Not A Dream" reunites families that were separated by the Khmer Rouge group during the genocide in front of a studio audience. One of the people that was reunited, that the article talks about, is from Phnom Penh, the same city that Loung was from. "In 1975, Moy Da, then 5 years old, and his parents, who died three years later, lost track of 15-year-old Pheap when the Khmer Rouge emptied Phnom Penh and marched residents to the countryside." They give more information about the TV show, Moy Da and Cambodia, and then comes the moment where he finally reunites with his family. "After a series of video montages described his circumstances, the moment finally came when his mother and father joined him on stage. Overwhelmed, he removed his sandals, a sign of respect, and fell into their arms, his back to the audience. His mother, Phorn Sopheap, sobbed softly and said, "I never thought I would see you again." She vowed to shave her head to give thanks to the gods that reunited them. Many in the audience wept silently." 

      The book and the article are different because the book has a lot more emotion than the article,  and the article has a lot more information. Loung tells her experiences with hunger and loss, dealing with the death of her parents. The article talks about things like how many people call the show each day, what the show is like, what TV is like in Cambodia. In the book, it says, "All I know is the constant pain of hunger in my stomach." And in the article it says, "Nearly 60 people call the show's hotline every day, and there are a half-dozen successful reunions waiting to be filmed". Another difference between the book and the article is perspective. In the book, Loung is the character that is experiencing what is happening. We are reading what she is seeing and feeling. But, in the article, there really isn't a narrator, I guess, because there isn't a main character. The article is focused on information.