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We have many stories of the Vietnam War – but very few from the ‘other side'. Based on hours of interviews conducted with the writer’s father, this dramatised account delves into some of his experiences as a former Chinese-Cambodian soldier of the Vietnamese communists during the Vietnam War. His involvement alongside many other Cambodians, as well as the secret bombings of Cambodia by the US, reflects how the wider Southeast Asian region was heavily implicated in the Vietnam War from the very beginning.

We follow Seng, the main character’s journey as he becomes influenced by Chinese communist propaganda as a teenager in his Chinese school in Cambodia.

With a coup occurring in 1970 in Cambodia that sparked a civil war and marked the official end of Cambodia’s position of neutrality in the Vietnam War, Seng rebels against his family and joins the Vietnamese Liberation Army to fight against the Western imperialists and those who supported them. We hear about some of the things that happen to Seng during the army, and also how he fell in love with another Chinese-Cambodian recruit, the writer’s mother. The story also follows Seng in one of the first tanks to enter Saigon the day the city was liberated/fallen and the Vietnam War finally ended - before his disillusion with a party and ideology that he was willing to sacrifice his life for.

History is often told from the viewpoint of those at the top - leaders, generals, politicians. This drama tells the story from the perspective of an ordinary man. It counters the idea that ordinary people were passive entities under Cold War conflicts, and instead captures some of the emotions, dreams and desires of people under extreme circumstances and the difficult choices they had to make.

Seng - Chris Lew Kum Hoi
May - Fiona Mei Lan Olegasegarem
Hang - Vera Chok
Kiet - Aaron Teoh
Seng's Mother - Tuyen Do
Other parts played by Alex Chang, Charlotte Chiew and Jamie Zubairi

Written by May Ngo
Director: Richard Shannon
Sound design: Oliver Denman
Casting: Camilla Laxton
Producer: Anna Lea
Executive producer: Ben Fawkes

A Munck Studios production for Radio 4