Haing S. Ngor

About

Haing S. Ngor (1940–1996) was a Cambodian physician, actor, and author best known for surviving the Khmer Rouge regime and portraying its devastating consequences to international audiences. Born in Samrong Young, Cambodia, he trained as a doctor and worked as a surgeon and obstetrician before the Khmer Rouge seized power in 1975. During the regime’s rule, Ngor endured forced labour, starvation, torture, and persecution. Because educated professionals were targeted, he concealed his medical background to survive. His wife, Chang My-Huoy, died during childbirth after he was unable to provide her with the medical care she needed. Following the fall of the Khmer Rouge in 1979, Ngor eventually escaped Cambodia and resettled in the United States in 1980. Despite having no previous acting experience, Ngor was cast as journalist and interpreter Dith Pran in the 1984 film The Killing Fields. His performance earned him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, making him the first Asian man to win in that category. He subsequently dedicated much of his public life to raising awareness of Cambodia’s suffering under the Khmer Rouge. Ngor documented his experiences in his memoir, A Cambodian Odyssey (1987), also published under the title Survival in the Killing Fields. He was murdered in Los Angeles in 1996. His life and work remain closely associated with the remembrance of Cambodia’s tragic history and the resilience of its survivors.

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Survival in the Killing Fields

Survival in the Killing Fields is the harrowing memoir of Haing S. Ngor, a Cambodian doctor who survived the brutal rule of the Khmer Rouge between 1975 and 1979. Before the regime took power, Ngor worked as a physician and lived with his wife in Phnom Penh. Under the new government, educated professionals were persecuted, cities were emptied, and millions of Cambodians were forced into labour camps, where starvation, disease, torture, and execution became part of everyday life. Ngor recounts his experiences of forced labour, imprisonment, and the desperate struggle to stay alive while concealing his medical training. He also describes the devastating loss of his wife and the collapse of the life he had once known. After the Khmer Rouge regime fell, he eventually escaped Cambodia and resettled in the United States. His memoir offers a firsthand account of one of the darkest periods in Cambodian history. It is both a testimony to the suffering inflicted on ordinary people and a reflection on the resilience required to survive war, persecution, and profound personal loss.

2003 Cambodia

Country

Cambodia

Asia