Do you think Sokhon and Tun were right to abandon their daughters on the eve of war? Is this abandonment more cruel or more kind?

Among the many parallels between the musicians' lives, both Sokhon and Tun abandon their young daughters on the eve of war. Do you think each of the fathers did the right thing? Is this abandonment more cruel or more kind?

I would say - more kind. They wanted to do whatever they could to try to shield them.

I think it’s difficut to judge their decision as either cruel or kind. They did what they felt they needed to do to keep their daughters safe. Also, there was no way to predict the cruelties and injustices suffered under the Khmer Rouge. Tun did have second thoughts about abandoning his daughter but there was no way to make a correct decision under the circumstances.

I believe that they did what they did to protect their daughters. It had to have been a hard painful decision for them.

Well said rebajane.

They were acting on what they considered the best for their children and country at the time. They had no idea of the evil to come or, I think, they would have acted differently. I don't think we can judge them, because they did not know what the results would be when they initially acted. We think we can judge because we know what happened later. It's not our place to do that.

I can't see taking children with you to the battlefield (or near the battlefield) which seems to have been the alternative. I think both were trying to fight for a cause they perceived to be right at the time, and to protect their families at the same time.

I can't judge whether Sokhon or Tun were "right" to abandon their daughters, but what I can say is I believe they did what they thought was right to protect their children under horrible circumstances.

Sokhun and Tun made the tough decision to leave their daughters because they were working toward improving their country. In seeing how Cambodians take care of others as though they were family, I understand how the men could trust that their daughters would be taken care of in their absence.

It is so hard to judge whether their decisions were right or wrong. Each did what they did because they sincerely thought it was the right thing to do at the time. No one could predict what would be the outcome of their actions. Certainly taking them into the battlefield was not an options for these parents. Who knew that the whole country would become a battlefield.