Cambodia's long-ago trauma leaves a 'haunted people'

Relatives of Saroeun Phan, who fled Cambodia, say she could become agitated and fearful, reacting to the sound of gunfire in a video game. (COURTESY OF TONY SUN)

Mental-health providers, citing privacy laws, could not talk about Saroeun Phan, who killed three family members and wounded her daughter on Thursday before committing suicide. But they say the events Phan and the thousands of refugees experienced in Cambodia still haunt them and can exacerbate underlying mental health problems.

September 25, 2010
By Carol M. Ostrom
Seattle Times health reporter

Like thousands of her countrymen, Saroeun Phan fled Cambodia's genocide in the late 1970s, hiking through the jungle for days before reaching Thailand.

She left behind the horror of Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge, which exterminated as many as 3 million people through execution, torture and starvation, forcing many into labor camps.

Local mental-health providers, citing privacy laws, could not talk about Phan, who killed three family members and wounded her daughter on Thursday in her West Seattle home before committing suicide.

But they say the events Phan and thousands of other refugees experienced in Cambodia still haunt them and can exacerbate underlying mental-health problems. And because of a stigma many feel toward mental illness, refugees like Phan often have difficulties seeking help or sticking with treatment.