Kamsot, His Life and His Legacy

Written by: Rada Nong

Email: rnong007@gmail.com
I have just received an invitation to go to Kamsot's house to commemorate his fa
ther's 100th day after death. Due to the busy schedule with my new job, I was un
able to attend the evening ceremony. My wife and I had made arrangements to att
end the following morning of the ceremony which was the concluding ceremony for
the dead in Cambodian custom.
Kamsot and I have come a long way as staff, friend and ultimately as brothers. T
he kid (Kamsot) started out as a salesman working for Anco-Sultl, a local distri
bution company of fast-moving consumer goods in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. His love o
f marketing and product promotion eventually got him a permanent position as a T
eam Leader in Anco-Sutl company's sales promotional team and eventually became m
y staff.
An intelligent, mild mannered, and enthusiastic. He had charisma that deserved
respect from those that came in contact with him. For Kamsot, nothing was consi
dered impossible. He would always responded with energy and enthusiasm. He late
r got nicknamed as Mr. Possible. Moreover, he was always very positive and demon
strated a good role model for most of our female staff. He instilled the beliefs
in each and every one of our staff that they control their own destiny and they
must be strong in a male dominated environment.
His father was a doctor by profession. Mr. Ry rose to the rank of a commune chie
f with the Cambodian People's Party; better known as CPP because of his involvem
ents during the Vietnamese invasion which ultimately overthrew the Khmer Rouge’s
three long years reign of terror. All of Mr. Ry s children were well educated i
ncluding Kamsot who was also encouraged to become a doctor. Kamsot disliked med
ical profession. He eventually left medical school after two years of preparato
ry works; then, pursued his dream of working for multi-national companies.
His mother, a second generation Cambodian-Chinese was gentle spoken and always v
ery courteous to me, my family and my associates. Her favorite dish was boneless
chicken, Prey Veng s style. She would always prepare her favorite dish for my
family during all of Cambodian major festivals as a gesture of good will and res
pect.
Kamsot s older brother, Daroth was a true Marxist. Daroth went to Russia to stu
dy politics for six years and came back mentally ill and was suffering from seve
re case of
schizophrenia. His third older brother was mute. The deaf brother loves to cut h
air and has a small barbershop down stair under their house s awning. He would
always exerted his innocent smile no matter what time of the day you meet him.
One thing that made Kamsot different from my other staff and friends was that he
stood out. He was outspoken, always with smiles and has got a great sense of h
umors. Competitions were every thing to him. The forty¬ strong promotional team,
comprised mainly of single young ladies in their early twenties. The team had a
lots of respect for him because he was always there, very protective and caring
for them. Kamsot’s main responsibility was to maintain good rapport with busine
ss owners and implement sales promotional activities to increase sales in night
clubs, sport bars, hotels, and restaurants.
When I first met Kamsot, he was hardly twenty-two. He was full of energy and alw
ays punctual to our 8 am team meetings. He was natural in managing his team memb
ers and his dealing with business owners, the rich elites and trend setters. He
was a smooth operator and knew exactly what to expect. He knew just what the cu
stomers needed and wanted in promoting our products in their outlets. Kamsot ha
s never failed me on any tasks that I have entrusted him; he had always successf
ully completed them. I have great admiration for him.
A year later after his many successes; I promoted him to be a supervisor. He was
not only doing promotional works to promote our products; but he was also entru
sted to collect and analyze market intelligence data. His connections with vario
us intelligence sources, key business decision makers and government officials m
ade him the best at obtaining credible and necessary information regarding compe
titors and noticeable trends.
In 1996 we launched our newest product line in Phnom Penh, the capital city and
subsequently rolled out to the major provincial areas. The work plans included p
romotional activities in key provincial centers to generate high impact brand aw
areness and to be supported by radio, TV and billboards. Planning was underway t
o take 40 sales promotional girls to Kampong Cham (the biggest province) and sta
tioned there for an entire week to conduct sampling and sales in key markets. Mo
st of the girls in the team were new recruits and had only one month training. N
one of the team members had been to Kampong Cham except for Kamsot and the van d
river.
After one week of highly publicized product launch in Kampong Cham; there were c
learly many positive signs that the product was well-received by the general pub
lic. The good news made me feel very comfortable. I was anxious to go to Kampon
g Cham because it was after all a strategic location. My driver, a friend and I
, decided to take a trip to Kampong Cham to see the actions first hand. We arr
ived late in the afternoon. Cruising the dilapidated streets of Kampong Cham pr
ovince made me feel like a prince because I was constantly gazed in awe as the u
ntouchables. It was not about the persons that were inside the vehicle, but it w
as more about the image of the brand new Toyota Land-Cruiser; first of its kind
to be driven in the town. Its price tag ran little over $50,000 with a military
license plate that signified a two star general. The vehicle commanded immediate
respect from onlookers and traffic police.
I met Kamsot and the team in the market square later that afternoon to congratul
ate them for the successes. The next morning, I was introduced by Kamsot to so
many people that I could not even remember their names or faces. Kamsot made m
e feel like I was running a political and public relations campaign. Plans and
arrangements for a grand prize drawing was finalized and rehearsed to conclude o
ur promotional campaign later that afternoon. Surprisingly, I was told by Kams
ot that the Provincial Lord’s son had extended an invitation to me and my team f
or a dinner, as a goodwill gesture of hospitality.
The Provincial Lord s son, at twenty four years of age; he has amassed millions
of dollars through illegal logging and smuggling of raw rubber. He was known in
Kampong Cham province as a notorious rapist, corruptor, war monger, and a killer
. I was surprised, shocked, nervous, and yet honored because I have heard so muc
h about the character and his gangs. To them, they ruled Kampong Cham province l
ike an autonomous state of their own. Stories of young girls kidnapped in the br
oad day light for his sexual pleasure were common occurrences. The general popul
ation lived in fear just seeing the gangs out and around the market places.
Dinner came at around eight o clock. It turned out that it was a set up to indul
ge me with alcohol and to get me drunk. As I found out later, the Provincial Lor
d’s son was intending to hijack my Toyota Land-Cruiser and sell it to his Vietna
mese counterparts at the Cambodian-Vietnamese border about an hour away from the
center of town for a huge profits. The motive of the plan was not about the mon
ey; but merely an adrenaline rush for him.
Thanks god, Kamsot was there... .Kamsot had learned about the scheme; but was wa
iting for the right time to allude me. Kamsot gave me signals under the table an
d told me to go the restroom. Once we got to the restroom; Kamsot told me that t
he Provincial Lord’s son had plans to hijack my car because he just wanted to ta
ke it and sell it because nobody was allowed to be better than him as far as car
was concerned.
I was somewhat unease about the situation; but managed to keep myself very compo
sed. From then onward, I knew that I did not have much choices, but to only be s
obered and ready to make quick decisions. My driver was also alerted in the rest
room to stand ready at all times. In the restroom, Kamsot had given me two small
pistols that were concealable under my shirt and fully loaded, of course ready
for action.
Two hours into the dinner, I pretended to be drunk by drinking heavily. I had ma
naged to throw up most of the alcohol content whenever I got to the restroom. By
this time, I pretended to be friend with the Provincial Lord’s son. We would c
all each other brother to show how much comfortable we were with one another. E
very minute became longer and I was beginning to feel airy about the whole situa
tion. One by one, the body guards would disappear from the room. I anticipate
some things serious was about to happen. I turned to Kamsot and the driver to
tell him that it was time for our girls to go back to the hotel because we have
early morning plan. Within the next thirty minutes, I found myself succumbed to
my instinct. The room was quiet and I can only hear my voice and his echoing t
he room. Then, I told the Provincial Lord’s son that I wanted to change venue f
or better entertainment. Obviously, my scheme was merely an escape plan.
Fortunately, the hotel that we stayed at was facing the Mekong river (a source o
f livelihood for millions in Southeast Asia) and had the best and largest night
club. I told the Provincial Lord’s son that I would meet him there in fifteen m
inutes. I rushed back to the hotel and told my driver to order four additional
rooms in order to give me additional escape routes. I ran up stair and took my c
lothes from the original room and scattered them in all of the four rooms. Lucki
ly, all the rooms were on the second floor and made it easier for me to carry ou
t the escape plan. I began by tying the bed sheets together to use them as rope
to climb down through the window.
The driver was instructed to lock my Land-Cruiser with a steering wheel lock. I
climbed down safely and started running... It was around 11:30pm o clock at nigh
t and was fairly dark. My first attempt was to check in at another hotel; but my
instinct told me that the Provincial Lord’s son has a tight grip of this town;
therefore, his connections were everywhere. With two pistols loaded and ready to
go at any sign of hostilities hidden under my shirt; I was on edge racing to ou
tsmart my enemies. In these moments of fear and uncertainties; I turned to god f
or guidance and fell a sense of power raging my spine and fell as though I was w
inning the game.
After a half hour trekking around the night bazzar; I decided to check in to one
of the makeshift brothels. The scenes of young Vietnamese prostitutes as young
as eleven years old haunted me. The sounds of touting and those innocent acts of
push and pulling me in for sexual services frightened me and sent chill to my s
pine. For they knew nothing of what was going through my mind during this ordeal
. The road sides were filled with garbage dumps. Filthy food and noodle stalls r
ising from the ashes made me wonder as to how people were able to eat comfortabl
y in these kinds of environment. The horrible smell in the air generated by the
evaporating heat and the mental anxiety wore me down. Many prostitutes approache
d me and grabbed me by the groin area; but I was too nervous for nothing else be
sides my own safety.
Checked in to a private room which costed me three US dollars per night; of cour
se with a bit of bargaining. I had my door locked tight. Both of my feet were on
the door with my back on the floor and my two pistols ready laid besides me. It
 was one of the most nerve racking experience in my adult life. Once I have sett
led and I was able to catch my breath; I made phone calls from my cell phone to
my wife, my friend that worked with the United Nations and ultimately my boss an
d told them that if any thing should happened to me; it was the Provincial Lord’
s son of Kampong Cham province.
Before, I escaped from the hotel; I had asked Kamsot to assemble the whole team
to be ready at 4:30am and I will rendezvous with them at the highway junction le
ading back to the capital city. Kamsot agreed to follow through with the plans;
but in the back of my mind, I did not expect any thing to go right because the P
rovincial Lord’s son had that ultimate power to annihilate Kamsot and all of my
staff.
Finally, 4:30am came and I made it to the rendezvous location by foot in total d
arkness. Much to my surprise, I met up with Kamsot and the whole team. Kamsot to
ld me that the Provincial Lord’s son went up to my room and took a knife and sla
shed all my pillows to pieces because he was unable to find me. In an attempt to
send me his inhumane message; he took two of our promotional staff and raped th
em. The two victims were devastated physically and mentally by the incidence and
eventually committed suicides.
These experiences are testaments to show how cruel some people in powerful posit
ions will do to exemplify their domination on other human beings. Even in my cap
acity as a manager of an influential foreign company; I was powerless because th
ere was an obvious lack of respect for the rule of laws. A culture of impunity r
un rampant in a developing world such as Cambodia where criminals roam free.
Two years after the incidence, our path crossed once again. The Provincial Lord’
s son actually applauded me for having the courage to escape. Thanks mainly to K
amsot and the intelligence that he had gathered that night. The split decisions
and advices that Kamsot was able to offer me during that unforgettable night cou
ld have meant life or death for me.
One lazy afternoon, Kamsot called me and told me that he wanted to get married w
ith a young girl from his father s village. By this time, my relationship with h
im had gone beyond boss-staff level. I treated him more like a brother than a st
aff because he had saved my life and protected the company interests by going be
yond his call of duties. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend his wedding celeb
ration due to a conflict with a mandatory meeting in the Philippines that I had
to attend. In Kamsot s heart, he later told me that he was truly saddened that I
was unable to be apart of this once in a life time celebration.
A newly-wed with a wonderful wife, coupled with two major promotions; Kamsot was
on top of the world. He was regarded as a role model for many of our Cambodian
staff. His behaviors began to gradually change because of the lavish lifestyle t
hat he has adopted. A car allowance and cash re-imbursements; Kamsot was able to
entertain and accompany many important guests. With these perks, Kamsot s life
began to spiral. He began drinking heavily and on some occasions; I spotted him
using ectasy during his off hours.
Whether he was spiraling down or up; it was difficult for me to tell. From the o
utside, Kamsot was up there, still an extrovert... climbing the corporate ladder
at least in the facade.
An affair started right after the birth of his first daughter with one of the mo
st influential hotel owner s wife half of his age. She fell in love with Kamsot
because her husband was having two other mistresses and did not give her the att
ention she needed. She would buy him expensive gifts and would confide in each o
ther at her little secret hide away.
One day, Kamsot came to me excitedly and told me that a friend had just bought h
im a round trip ticket to Singapore. I actually encourage him to go not knowing
the details of the relationship until later on. I came to understand about the r
elationship when Kamsot occasionally invited me to the Hotel for dinner and had
to never pay for all of our expensive meals. I started by advising Kamsot to sto
p the non-sense because it was morally wrong. A heart of a lion and much machism
o; he kept on.... knowing that it was wrong to cheat on his wife and to dishonor
his family.
It was on our company s 100th anniversary celebration; Kamsot was entrusted by m
e to be in charge of the laser show which required the importation of foreign ta
lents from Singapore. He decided to book all the Singaporean talents in the hote
l of his mistress. By this time, the husband of Kamsot s mistress knew who he wa
s and was waiting for the right opportunity. Once Kamsot arrived at their hotel,
he was led up the stair by the mistress s bodyguard..
Once up stair, Kamsot was beaten for five hours and forced to give tape confessi
on tied back to back with the mistress who was also beaten by the husband. The s
heer trauma that Kamsot had endured during the five hours ordeal was the straw t
hat
broke his soul. I did not know about the incidence until I got really upset with
Kamsot for making all of us wait for the Singaporean talents. I wanted to fine
tune all elements of our shows because we had expected three thousand guests at
the celebration. He was shaken and ill spirited when transported back my close a
ssociate who saw him laid in blood by the trash container. I have never seen wor
se day for Kamsot in the seven years that I have come to know him.
After the horrible incidence, Kamsot would tell me that he was living in constan
t fear that one day somebody would kill him. No charge was ever filed because fi
ling charges would mean immediate death because of what money could buy.
Three weeks later, all the major newspaper reported a mystery into the death of
the mistress who was found dead on her bed from heart complications. I truly bel
ieve that she was killed by her own husband because of the affair. The death was
covered up as an ailment because only few knew of the story. From that incidenc
e onward, Kamsot undergone tremendous stress compounded with his father tragic d
eath during his visit to his hometown. Mr. Ry slipped and felled off six flights
of stair and died instantly in the middle of the night whilst trying to go to a
restroom.
Kamsot remained on my staff payroll, but was given a three-month personal leave
because we all wanted him to take time off and relieve him the pressure that was
mounting beyond his ability to cope.

I departed for America for a brief refresher period. By this time, I had resigne
d from my post. I came back to Cambodia six months later and found out from Kams
ot s wife that he was experiencing flashback and mental anguish and always on he
avy doses of medications. Despite the facts, Kamsot seemed to be energetic and h
ealthy when ever I meet him. He came by the hospital with his family with many g
ifts for the birth of my daughter. During the visit, he kept on talking about th
ose old days with me and other friends. And of course, those were the best days
of his life.
Life has gotten harder for Kamsot and his family since the loss of his father. H
is whole family not just his immediate families were looking up to him to provid
e guidance and also as the sole breadwinner. Despite his illness and his persona
l leave, he was still expected to pick up on most of the family expenses. The wi
fe had to help by actually becoming a promoter girl as well. The role normally r
egarded as unfit for normal wives.
Time has gone by fast and I grew distance from Kamsot and his family because I h
ave taken on another leading job with a Swedish telephone company which demanded
so much of my time. My heart was always with him and his family even though I k
new that I could not do very much to help because I was in the midst of trying t
o reclaim myself and family after having gone to the United States and returning
to Cambodia with loss hope and financially broke.
The incidence that shocked me and shaken my conscience was the day Kamsot was sh
ot. The night of his father 100th day after death traditional ceremony; he was u
pset with the low turn out of old friends during the evening ceremonial session.
Unfortunately, I was among those guests that could not turn up because it was a
Friday evening and I had many deadlines.
He had a bit to drink as I was told by his mother and he drove his military jeep
donated by the Chinese military to nearby late night hang out spot. Upon his ar
rival, he met an old friend whom had recently promoted to a rank of a general in
the military. Knowing Kamsot and his character, he was trying to be friendly an
d acknowledge the friendship. According to eye witnesses; the other party did no
t like the way Kamsot approached him and called him without proper title. Anger
boiled... argument broke out. Four K59 rounds ripped Kamsot s heart and he immed
iately felled and left this world instantly.
I found out about his death at about two o clock in the morning after one of the
former staff called and informed me about the incidence.
The news of his death ripped my soul. I was so emotionally drained and unwilling
to accept that he was already gone. When I saw his body at the Budhist temple w
here
his family had prepared him for cremation; I began to realize that he was no lon
ger here. What s left of Kamsot were his two off springs and a wife.
As I looked at his two hopeless young daughters and his distraught wife; my hear
t wept in tear knowing that their future will be very different without Kamsot.
Kamsot s wife came to my house and asked for my advice whether or not she should
return to the village after the cremation of her deceased husband. I sat down w
ith her and patted the daughters heads and told her that Kamsot was strong and
he had always wanted her to be strong for herself and her daughters.
Again, I left Cambodia in tears and I will one day return to her in with much pl
easurable moment. The experiences during the past nine years made me stronger as
a person. I have learned the true meaning of life, an appreciation for friendsh
ip, and most importantly an appreciation of living one day at a time and appreci
ating those loved ones because no one really knows what will happen next.