As a young boy, Sum Sok Ry and his family were forced by the Khmer Rouge to leave their home in Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh and make a long trek into the countryside.

“It was so hot, burning,” he recalled. “And the walk – I was crying so much because we were so confused.”

Between 1975 and 1979, between 1.5 million and 2 million Cambodians died by execution, forced labor and famine, including his parents.

“I struggled so hard,” Sok Ry said. “I almost died so many times, but I refused to die.”

Read Sok Ry’s and the other RFA staffers’ stories of survival here.

The Photo of the Week showcases a compelling image from the past seven days.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Paul Nelson for RFA.

This post was originally published on Radio Free.