The Khmer Rouge

A friend of mine is interested in Asia.. the people, the culture, and the history. A few days ago he showed me some video he had taken on his trip to Cambodia... S-21 and one of the killing fields. It was a sobering experience to watch those videos. I knew about the Khmer Rouge and what they had done, but hadn't ever really read up on it. It's not exactly something they teach about in World History in schools! Now that I have.. I am haunted even more by this tragedy, and in awe of those who have survived it.

1939 marked the start of the Holocaust... it didn't end until 1945. An estimated 5.1 million Jews were killed.. that number does not include other people who were persecuted by the Nazis. A tragedy that has made people angry worldwide, one that won't ever be forgotten.. and rightfully so.

1975, the year that Lon Nol's government falls to the Khmer rouge. In 1979 Vietnam invaded Cambodia and managed to chase the Khmer Rouge out of most of Cambodia. During this nightmare an estimated 1.7 million people were killed. Roughly 25-30% of the entire population of Cambodia.

Little bit of history that led to the Khmer Rouge's rise to power..
1969 The United States started a bombing campaign against Vietnamese targets inside Cambodia. This was supposed to drive the Vietnamese out of Cambodia back into Vietnam. It didn't have the desired effect, in fact it had quite the opposite.. the Vietnamese went further into Cambodia and so did the bombing.
1970 Lon Nol overthrows Sihanouk while Sihanouk is abroad. Sihanouk calls on his people to rise against Lon Nol's government. The war between the Khmer Rouge and Lon Nol's government starts.
1973 The US stops it's bombing campaign, more than a million people killed and 1/2 the population uprooted.
1975 Lon Nol's Government is overthrown by the Khmer Rouge
1979 Vietnam invades Cambodia and set up The People's Republic of Kampuchea. The Khmer Rouge is rearmed and supplied with Western aid.

The Khmer Rouge wanted to turn Cambodia back to the old ways, get rid of the influence of other countries and make it a classless society. They killed intellectuals, professionals, people they suspected of spying for the CIA, etc. They tortured people brutally and killed them in an equally horrifying manner.. one of their favored ways was hitting people in the back of the head and neck with a hoe. Sometimes people didn't die from this.. they were left for dead though. The Khmer Rouge didn't care if you were man, woman, child, infant, sick, elderly, pregnant.. their motto was "Better to destroy ten innocent people than let one enemy go free".

I'm going to suggest a couple books that I have read...
The Lost Executioner by Nic Dunlop, I had a hard time putting this book down because it was written in a way that made you want to know what he will find out next. It tells the story of Comrade Duch through people who knew him and those who know of him, and also tells quite a bit of what happened during the Khmer Rouge and the people who lived and died during their reign.

Beyond the horizon: Five years with the Khmer Rouge by Laurence Picq. This book tells of the story of a French woman who married a Cambodian man, had two children and lived under the rule of the Khmer Rouge.

Children of Cambodia's Killing Fields: Memoirs by survivors by Dith Pran. This book was painful to read.. the entire subject is horrifying, but to read these accounts of young people and how they lose loved ones and how they survived the brutality that was the Khmer Rouge.. it was hard.

My friend has suggested Survial In The Killing Fields by Dr. Haing S. Ngor. I have yet to read it but he speaks highly of it. I do have it on my to read list and should be getting around to it in the next few days.

It boggles my mind that with all that is going on and has gone on in the world, that we are taught so little in schools. How is it that so many people don't know about the Khmer Rouge and the horror that happened there? How is it that so many people don't know about Rawanda, Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo, Yugoslavia.. there is genocide and ethnic cleansing that is still going on to this day. It's a shame that so little is taught about this in schools.. to me, and to others I have spoken with THIS is an important subject and it should be taught. 'Course.. there isn't enough time in classes to teach everything I guess.

My heart and prayers go out to all the families who have lost loved ones to genocide and ethnic cleansing.

I'm including links to the videos my friend took.. they may be hard for you to watch, but they are worthwhile.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24oBcBwS7mI&feature=user

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXyMih3bygc&feature=user

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLzX7iS5E_Q&feature=user

I need to add a special thank you here to my friend Brent. He's the one who peaked my interest in the Khmer Rouge and allowed me to include links to his videos. THANK YOU!!!