Cambodia: The Disappeared

The Disappeared

by Kim Echlin

I'm writing this from my hotel room in Sardinia, an incredibly lush and beautiful island off the western coast of Italy in the Mediterranean Sea.  Apparently, this is where many European elite take their holidays.  The beauty is all around ... the sea is alternately deep royal blue and turquoise, majestic hills of rock stretch against a cerulean sky, bright purple flowers crawl up the sides of every building.  You cannot help but feel pampered and special here, whether or not you've actually done something to deserve it.  We are here for a business trip with my husband's employer, and I feel lucky to be riding on the coat tails of good fortune as I soak up this lovely space and the opportunity to relax, laugh, play. 

More than once, I have wondered ... what did I do to deserve this experience, and more broadly, this life that allows me to have good things, see the world, enjoy my days, and think about what I want as often as about what I need ... when so many others do not have even a carefree moment unencumbered by worry and fear?  I know the answer.  Nothing.  I have done nothing to earn this other than to be born in a certain country at a certain time to certain parents who had hopes and dreams for me that they were lucky enough to be able to pursue on my behalf.  But I am no more deserving than any other human being from any other place in the world ... the refugees fleeing war-torn countries, the migrants risking everything to cross the border, the mothers and fathers who selflessly do whatever they must to protect their children so they may have a chance to earn enough money to feed, clothe, and educate them.  Or those who don't leave their countries but remain there and struggle each day to survive.  Any one of us could easily be walking in their shoes if not for events that have nothing to do with how good or deserving we are.  I am humbled and grateful and perplexed.

Kim Echlin's mesmerizing novel, The Disappeared, depicts the stark contrast between a life lived comfortably and a life lived with nothing but uncertainty.  The story  begins in Montreal, Canada with hazy scenes in smoky bars, where 17-year old Anne falls in love with Serey, an older college student from mysterious, far away Cambodia.  Despite her father's quiet but persistent objections, Anne and Serey spend all of their time together, mostly alone, trying to plan a future together.  But Serey is not free to fully contemplate the future.  His mind and heart are in Cambodia, which, under the dictatorship of Pol Pot, had closed its borders and shut out all communication with the outside world just months after Serey arrived in Canada on a student visa.  Serey has heard nothing from or about his family in several years.  His suffering and guilt are tangible.  Anne knows this but cannot fathom the power these feelings hold over Serey until suddenly the border reopens, and he disappears into Cambodia, determined to find his family.

Twenty years later, Anne has failed to truly move on, and when she thinks she sees Serey on televised coverage of protests in Cambodia, she gives up her easy, comfortable life and goes in search of him.  With little to go on, she arrives in Phnom Penh and miraculously, finds him in yet another smoky bar, much like the one in Canada where their love story began.  Their passion rekindled, Anne settles into a life in Cambodia, one that is in sharp contrast to the comforts and ease she had known at home.  Not deterred in the slightest, however, Anne is simply happy that they are together and accepts without question the little mysteries surrounding Serey's work, where he spends his time, and what his life was like before their reunion.  Eventually, through her friendship with an American journalist, she begins to understand what happened in Cambodia, both during Serey's time in Canada and since his return.  As she gains insight about Cambodia's political strife and its people's suffering, she also becomes aware that the life she has built with Serey may not be as simple as she imagined. 

This is a love story about a man and a woman, a man and his family, a man and his country, and ultimately, humankind and the dream of a good, safe life that does not cost more than one actually has to offer.  It is a long and beautiful elegy for what has been lost and can never be regained.  And it will remind you to be grateful for everything.