The Cambodian Genocide : A Period Of Complete Chaos And Destruction

The Cambodian Genocide was the result of imperialism, ethnic supremacy, ultra-nationalism, anti-colonialism, a power grab, and religion. It began with the Cambodian people struggling against French colonization and grew in inspiration from Vietnam (end genocide). The French believed that Cambodia was a gateway into China to expand their trade with Southeast Asia. The French occupied southern Vietnam and wanted to expand their territory. There were many civil wars and invasions in Cambodia fought between the Vietnamese and Thai, and it greatly affected Cambodia. While the French did help Cambodia become independent and grew their infrastructure, while exploiting Cambodian labor, they failed to educate Cambodian people and establish a solid and effective judiciary system (Cambodia tribunal). Thus began their feelings of anti-colonialism. During the Vietnam War, the U.S. used Cambodia as a base to regroup, but also bombed the country to kill suspected Viet Cong targets. This began their feelings of imperialism and ultra-nationalism. The Khmer Rouge began feeling great animosity towards the West for their influenced corruption to Cambodian land and its people. Between January and August of 1973, 300,000 Cambodians were killed by American bombers that had joined forces with Lon Nol, head of the Khmer Republic.

The Cambodian Genocide has the historical context of the Vietnam War and the country’s own civil war. During the Vietnam War, leading up to the conflicts that would contribute to the genocide, Cambodia was used as a U.S. battleground for the Vietnam War. Cambodia would become a battle ground for American troops fighting in Vietnam for four years; the war would kill up

Later that same year, Pot and the Khmer Rouge took control over Cambodia. Pot wasted no time in starting his mission to reconstruct Cambodia. He thought that all the educated people needed to be killed (Melicharova). Also he thought that all noncommunist aspects of Cambodia needed to be wiped out. All rights you had were now gone. Religion was banned and if you were any kind of leader among the Buddhist monks, you were killed instantly (Melicharova). All kids were taken away and sent to work in the fields (Melicharova). If anyone was currently working and had a job, they were immediately killed along with their family members. It got so bad that you could be killed for just laughing, crying, and knowing another language. The Khmer Rouge motto was “To spare you is no profit, to destroy you is no loss” (Melicharova). If you were lucky enough to escape death, you were put into the fields working usually from 4am to 10pm unpaid (“Pol”). From lack of food and sleep, people often became very ill which sadly led to death.

In the late 70’s, nearly 2 million Cambodians died of overwork, starvation, torture, and execution in what became known as the Cambodian genocide. A group known as the Khmer Rouge took control of the country in April 1975. Over the course of

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 .

Between the years of 1975 and 1979, an estimated 1.5 to 3 million people were killed by the Khmer Rouge during the Cambodian genocide. First They Killed My Father is the story from the perspective of a five year old girl, Loung Ung, and how her life was changed by the Khmer Rouge. Her and her family were forced out of their home, and into labor camps where they were to work for food in order to survive. They relied on each other, and pushed through the Hell that they were unfortunately placed into. In the memoir, First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung, the author demonstrates how the Khmer Rouge use the techniques of confiscation, dress regulations, and food rations in order to remain in control of the citizens.

The Khmer Rouge forces took over Cambodia, and evacuated the nation's cities. They emptied schools, hospitals, factories and abolished all forms of money and wages. Religion, popular culture, and all forms of self expression were forbidden. They were forced into the countryside to do forced labor, and got less than 90 grams of rice a day. Where most people died from fatigue, disease, execution, and starvation. Now people of Cambodia are exchanging this terrible genocide for healing. Trying to find peace and a resolution for all those who have lost loved ones, or encountered this terrible genocide

During times of trouble it is the structure of families which bring stability and fuel resilience. Families often support each other to survive a trauma because they are support systems. The Cambodian genocide led by the Khmer Rouge regime attempted to tear apart families and exploit their special bond. The Khmer Rouge soldiers took towns captive or burned them, and recruited youths to join their cause (Pran IX). From 1975 to 1979, all Cambodians were forced to live in labor camps and were forced to work fourteen to eighteen hours a day with only a single bowl of rice to eat. Family members were separated from one another purposefully to lower morale. During this period an estimated one-third of Cambodian’s population died due to malnutrition, illness, and execution (Pran X). Children of Cambodia’s Killing Fields: Memoirs by Survivors compiled by Dith Pran is important because it confirms the horrors of the Khmer Rouge regime, explains how the Khmer Rouge gained power, and how the Khmer Rouge attempted to indoctrinate young children against their parents.

Webster Dictionary defines the word genocide as; the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group. Cambodia was a mostly peaceful, small country in South Asia with a population of about 7 million.

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

In 1975, The Khmer Rouge became the ruling political party of Cambodia after overthrowing the Lon Nol government. Following their leader Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge imposed an extreme form of social engineering on Cambodian society. They wanted to form an anti-modern, anti-Western ideal of a restructured “classless agrarian society'', a radical form of agrarian communism where the whole population had to work in collective farms or forced labor projects. The Khmer Rouge revolutionary army enforced this mostly with extreme violence. The book “First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers”, written by Luong Ung, is the author’s story of growing up during this time period. She was five years old when the Khmer Rouge came

A genocide is the systematic extermination of an entire social, racial, or political group or nation, specifically those of a particular ethnicity. While the genocide in Cambodia is not as widely recognized as that of Rwanda or the Holocaust, millions of Cambodian citizens were murdered between the years of 1975 and 1979 under the control of the Khmer Rouge. The government depopulated cities and forcibly relocated citizens to collective farms known as Killing Fields because of the unspeakable amount of deaths of all ages that occurred there. Approximately 14,000 lives were taken in these fields due to the stringent rules placed upon the citizens. The Khmer Rouge advocated for social equality and transformed Cambodia into a pre-industrialized nation centered around agriculture. The loss of millions of lives led to significant demographic changes, ranging from an increase in the amount of elderly, homeless citizens, and to a decrease in ethnic diversity across the nation. The dictatorship simultaneously lessened the culture and identity of coming generations due to the execution of artists and musicians who brought forth important aspects of tradition. The destruction of infrastructure also contributed to the limitations of postwar Cambodia. In summary, The Khmer Rouge carried out a genocide that strongly influenced the demographics, culture, and infrastructure of Cambodian society.

In 1975 in Cambodia, Asia a warlord named Pol Pot with his party named Khmer Rouge took control of Cambodia. You may asked what their plans were there plan was to change the country into a communist agrarian utopia. If you are asking what is Agrarian utopia this means perfect society. So to complete this goal he evaluate millions of people in the city of Cambodia. Then the Khmer Rouge took the citizen of Cambodia to labor camps where they were starved, tortured, and abused. Doctor, Teachers, Monks, Rich people, and other educated people where the people who were mostly tortured and killed. This genocide had a humongous death toll of 1.7 to 2 million Cambodians that died in the four years of the Khmer Rouge rain. With little to no help from

“During the three years, eight months and twenty days that the Khmer Rouge held power it is estimated that around 2 million people perished…from torture and execution or from starvation or untreated illness”. One may look at this figure, and automatically assume that these brutalities committed by the Khmer Rouge, fit the definition of genocide. Through a critical appraisal of a variety of sources, one may discover two very contradictory arguments towards this statement. One perspective illustrates that because the Khmer Rouge targeted specific groups, such as the Cham Muslims, Vietnamese and Buddhist monks it can be considered, ‘clear cases of genocide’. However, there is a great degree of counter arguments revealing that the actions of the

Ever since the actions in Cambodia occurred, it has been debated whether it was an actual genocide. The general definition of genocide is the purposeful and methodical execution of a national, racial, political, or cultural group. The Khmer Rouge in Cambodia demonstrated that a government can be guilty of genocide against its own nation. The radical communist party led by Pol Pot took over Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. After 1979, the Khmer Rouge left a traumatized Cambodian culture that continues to undergo the repercussions of the genocide. People over the age of forty in Cambodia have stories to tell of fear, cruelty, hunger and the loss of family members. However, the Cambodian government is not making an effort to recognize the negative occurrences that have posed itself in the history of their culture.