The Killing Fields Page #5

...relieving pressure on the American

troop withdrawal from the South.

They had domestic concerns as well...

...which helps explain why they kept

the bombing of Cambodia a secret.

And they may be assumed not to have

ignored self-interest...

...in their own careers.

What they specifically were not

concerned with...

...were the Cambodians themselves.

Not the people...

...not the society...

...not the country.

Except in the abstract

as instruments of policy.

Dith Pran and I...

...tried to record and bring home...

...the concrete consequences

of these decisions to real people.

To human beings...

...the people left out

of the Administration's plans...

...but who paid the price...

...and took the beating for them.

I'm very pleased to accept this

on behalf of Dith Pran and myself.

I'm very honored...

...and I know that Pran would be

very proud.

Do you plan to continue

with that theme in the future?

Congratulations, Ernie.

Do it again next year!

I'm sorry.

- That was great, really good.

- Better than last year.

Abe, meet my sister.

I'm very happy to meet you.

That's my dad.

Would you hold this for me?

One second.

I hoped you could recommend

a good school for journalism.

I told my daughter I'd be

seeing you today.

Just one minute, okay?

I'll be right back.

Could I have your autograph?

I'm a great admirer of yours.

Congratulations on your award,

it was well-deserved.

Very impressive.

I was hoping you'd burst into song.

- What are you doing here?

- You know what bothers me?

What?

It bothers me that you let Pran

stay in Cambodia...

...because you wanted to win,

and you knew you needed him...

- I didn't have any idea what...

- The f*** you didn't!

The f*** you didn't.

I did everything I could,

and I'm doing everything I can.

Nice to see you.

I'm on my way to Florida.

I'm doing everything I can.

I'm sure. I didn't realize

you'd been out there to see him.

Don't play games with me, Al.

Don't play stupid games.

Nobody gets to go in there.

If I thought I could, I would.

I've sent out hundreds of photographs.

Every relief organization

on the Thai-Kampuchean border...

...has got his picture. If I saw

one glimmer of hope, I'd go today.

Life isn't a '40s movie.

You can't just get on a plane and

make the whole world come out right!

And I can't believe

I'm hearing this from you!

Congrats.

Do you keep in touch

with Dith Pran's family?

Yes. They're living in San Francisco.

How do you respond to accusations

that journalists...

...underestimated the brutality

of the Khmer Rouge...

...and so share responsibility for

what happened in Cambodia afterwards?

We made a mistake.

Maybe we underestimated

the kind of insanity...

...that $ 7 billion worth

of bombing could produce.

That is provocative...

There have been a lot of refugee

stories in Reader's Digest...

...about Cambodia.

Do you believe them?

Don't you believe them?

Maybe in this instance the

Reader's Digest happens to be correct.

Do you apply the same disbelief

to stories...

...that come out of Iran

or Palestine or Chile?

Are refugees your next area

of interest?

Will you be covering the boat people?

No, I will not.

Do you want a cup of tea?

Are you looking around for some kind

of more salable suffering?

I must have sent 500 letters.

I wrote the International Red Cross,

the World Health Organization.

I know you did, Syd.

You told me.

I don't know who I didn't write to.

I never really gave him any choice.

One time we tried to discuss leaving.

I talked to him about it,

but we never really discussed it.

I discussed it with Swain and Rockoff.

But I never discussed it with him.

He stayed because

I wanted him to stay.

And I stayed because...

I'm trapped, Sydney.

I know he suspects me,

and yet he treats me well.

There are many different groups

over here, Sydney.

I must take much care.

Now Angka says we have new enemies.

They say we must regain

our old lands from the Vietnamese.

And now they say we must fight them.

I miss you, my wife, my children.

And my heart hungers for news of you.

New China Radio reports...

...that fighting between Vietnam

and Democratic Kampuchea...

...has broken out

on a number of fronts.

This is in retaliation,

according to the Vietnamese...

...for a number of attacks

on border villages...

Taxi driver, huh?

I think you speak English.

Sit down.

You know, I love this country.

I sacrificed everything for it.

My wife died for the revolution.

But the leaders of Angka

no longer trust the people.

Therefore, I can no longer trust them.

And they don't trust me.

I fear...

...really fear for the future.

I think you love my son.

For his sake...

...look after him.

The fighting is close by, Sydney.

If the Vietnamese get here...

...Angka will destroy everything...

...and the Vietnamese,

they will find only ashes.

I must try to stop the killing.

Good luck.

Yeah, I'll be right there, Brian.

Ann, get me 415-555-6421.

Abe, I've got some great news!

Twenty minutes ago, I get

a phone call from Paris.

I get Andreas Freund.

He talked to Henry.

He told him how to get in touch

with me.

Freund says, "I have got

some great news for you."

- San Francisco's on the line.

- "It's about Pran!"

Is your mother there?

When?

All right,

I want you to get this down.

No, write it down. Write it down.

I've got a message from your dad!

How you been?

Do you forgive me?

Nothing to forgive, Sydney.

Nothing.

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