Var’s journey

Var Ashe Houston was born in Cambodia and was 26 years old when the Khmer Rouge came to power in 1975.

She was married with two young daughters. Var was working as an English teacher in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, and her husband was working for UNESCO in Paris, when the Khmer Rouge took control of the city. Var and her family were forced to leave their home in Phnom Penh, the items they put in the car were gathered quickly and were only the essentials. Var also took her English Oxford Dictionary. Find out more about Var’s life story.

Var shared her testimony for Holocaust Memorial Day 2014. Watch our short film for HMD2014: Journeys.