Throughout the course of history, mankind has had a desire to become rich and powerful. Infamously, men have tried nearly every tactic to acquire such goals. Concentration camps, massacres, and famines are just simply some of the tactics used. As seen in both the Cambodian, and Rwandan Genocides, manual labor, along with malnutrition were primarily the cause of death amongst the captives. In Democratic Kampuchea, in 1975, the radicalistic Khmer Rouge party formed under the communist leader Pol Pot, who was inspired to create a political nation that followed the footsteps Stalinism and Maoism. Compared to the Holocaust, which was singlehandedly the worst genocide in the 20th century in my opinion, Pol killed a believed 1.7-3.0 million Cambodians.
When looking back at the millions of lives lost in genocides, one can only imagine a solution or aid that could have assisted, but also controlled the genocide. A genocide is the deliberate killing of a large group of people based on their ethnic group or beliefs. When studying past genocides, like in Rwanda and Bosnia, both genocides could have been prevented with the proper help from an outside group, the UN.
It’s hard to imagine that people would support and act upon plans to kill millions of innocent human beings. The Holocaust and Cambodian genocide were two of the most horrific genocides in the history of civilization. The Holocaust and Cambodian genocide has not only similarities but also differences. How they treated their victims, USA involvement, and that they both killed millions of people are some things they share. Differences they include are the people they targeted, how the two leaders took office and lastly where these to genocides took place.
All over the world, there are huge battles, wars, and genocide. Many people lose their families and everything they have. They are forced to be a slave, and to do things they do not want to do. It is possible that people who have been exposed to all this circumstances tell the world their experience, and how to heal their wounds. According to the articles, “Killing Fields Survivor Documents Cambodian Genocide” by Jennifer Hyde and “Why the Arts Are as Important as Hospitals in Cambodia” by Emely Wight, they both talk about a person who has been through a huge trauma such a genocide. Individuals and societies who suffered a trauma such a genocide can heal by looking for justice and music.
Parallel to the happenings of Night, victims of the Cambodian genocide also had to work for long hours, regardless of the weather and the condition they were in. “Sometimes, when I refused to work, they would torture me by wipping me and making me worked over time without rest of drink. I work like an animal during a hot sunny day which the temperature sometimes reached up to 120 degrees” (Shawn). Here, Shawn writes about the conditions he was forced to work under. He describes them as being cruelly hot and long. He also mentions that when he refused, he would be beaten. In both Night and the Cambodian genocide, victims were forced to work under harsh conditions and were beaten if they refused. To the leaders of the Cambodian genocide, it did
I will compare the Holocaust and the genocide in Rwanda. I would also identify the aggressors, the target groups, the reasons why aggressors engaged in genocide. I will also explain what occurred, the attempts made to stop the genocide and by whom and analyze the outcomes. Last of all, contrast them. I will explain why it's so different.
The day that the survivors of the Cambodian Genocide will never forget, was the day that the Cambodian society took a turn for the worse. On April 17, 1975, Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge went to Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh, took control and renamed it Democratic Kampuchea also known as DK. Pol Pot announced to all the citizens that he had to “purify” the Cambodian society. Although the Cambodian genocide did not kill as many people as other genocides such as the Holocaust it is still just as important. I think that the Cambodian Genocide is an awful thing that took place and I feel bad for all the victims of racism. I also think that the perpetrators in this situation are heartless because of the torture that they put the people Cambodian society through because those people were discriminated and did not deserve it. Just like other people who get discriminated by in other genocides.
“Genocide: the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation” (Merriam Webster, Incorporated, 2013). Today the term varies, as different aspects of harm are included, ranging from murder, to serious mental harm.Genocide was first declared an international crime by the United Nations General Assembly in 1942. Genocides have occurred across the world, and share many common factors. Throughout the 19th century mass murder and rape swept across the world, many of which sharing common influences. The most infamous mass killing, the Holocaust is known around the world, however many fail to acknowledge similar tragedies throughout world history. Both the Rwandan Genocide and the Holocaust
The genocide of Cambodia started on the year of 1975 and ended on 1979. This is considered the Khmer Pogue period, where Pol Pot , Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen, Khieu Samphan and the Khmer Rouge Communist party took over
Long time ago, there was one couple who lived in a small village in Cambodia. They married with each other since they both were both 24 years old. A year after married, they decided to run a small business in order to support their life and everyday expansion. Unfortunately, the business did not go very well and they did not have any children. When they turned to 65 years, they promised each other if anyone die first, the one who still survive has to put the coin into the death person’s mouth. 5 years later, the husband has passed away. So his wife put the coin inside his mouth as they promised since 5 years ago.
The aftermath of this mass genocide made Cambodia known for its infamous “Killing Fields” during the time of Pol Pot and his men. Last but not least, the genocide nearly exterminated the population of two million Cambodians out of six millions (Yale University, 2003).
Genocides are defined as a large group of killings often of a specific ethnic group or nation. Genocides targeting specific groups happen all over the world. Sometimes they are well known, while in other cases they are hidden and not published as much. Unlike the Holocaust, The Khmer Rouge Regime caused a smaller scale genocide in the heart of Cambodia. Beginning in the late 1960s the Khmer Rouge Regime came into power. Their leader Pol Pot committed atrocities, killing a little over two million innocent people. Pol Pot believed that this new society was becoming evil. He decided to bring the city of Phnom Penh back to the middle ages with communal farming. He murdered every “intellectual” of the country. He killed anyone who had any education, or even worse, glasses. He isolated the city and everybody in it. There are many stories coming from the victim's point of view and how they felt as 2.2 million of their own were killed. There are also reasons of why the Cambodian government's committed this atrocity. Finally, there are the views from America and its feelings towards watching the genocide go down from outside the country. Looking through all of these different lenses of this genocide help get a big picture of how and why something so horrific could have happened.
War never changes, it will always be around for as long as we are here, with it, it brings genocide. Every day we are in a constant battle with each other, whether it be at home or across the oceans. We have invented weapons solely to cause mass destruction across entire continents. This has led to limitations being placed on warfare, but sometimes it's not enough. "We have to protect our Earth, so our children and grandchildren will never suffer like that"
Cambodia is a small country of Southeast Asia, less than half the size of the state of California (“World Without Genocide: Cambodian Genocide”). The Cambodian government in the mid 1970’s was unstable as Lon Nol, the Cambodian prime minister, and his forces were being stretched dealing with conflicts of Vietnamese communists, and a rising group of Cambodian communists called the Khmer Rouge Party. (Peace Pledge Union) As the government grew weaker and began to loose control, The Khmer Rouge Party overthrew the country. They began killing for their cause in 1975. The Khmer Rouge Party, under the rule of a man called Pol Pot, enforced a new way of life following values and rules similar to Maoist-Communism (“World Without Genocide: Cambodian Genocide”). The Khmer Party attempted, in simplistic terms, to nationally centralize the middle or farming class of Cambodia (“World Without Genocide: Cambodian
The Cambodian Genocide happened between 1975 and 1979 in Cambodia where the Khmer Rouge, a guerrilla group, over threw the government and started a regime to bring Cambodia back to year zero . The Khmer Rouge called this the Democratic Republic of Kampuchea . Their aim was to purify society from the influence of the west, and to create a communist country . The Khmer Rouge started this by destroying what was left of the old society and executing the wealthy, educated and military people. They banned all outside languages and religion. An estimated figure of 1.7 million Cambodians where killed during this period by the Khmer Rouge .
On April 7th, 1994 in the small East African country of Rwanda the darkest and most brutal tragedy occurred, the Rwandan genocide. 800,000 Tutsi’s and Rwandan men and women were grossly slaughtered by the Hutu government. This was one of the worst genocides in history and yet not many people spoke about it, why? I believe many people did not say anything is because they were scared that they would be caught and then killed. A man by the name of Philippe Gaillard was a part of the Red Cross international committee in Kigali. He was one of the few people who spoke up about the tragedies occurring in Rwanda. He told his friend who was a news reporter for the BBC in France and published his story. By Gaillard not “shutting up” about the situation it made the Hutu extremists embarrassed and this lead to the Hutu government allowing the Red Cross committee to have safe passage throughout Rwanda. “America, the beautiful America, the brave”, was what America was known for being, but after the ethnic cleansing of the Rwandan people it changed.