The Consequences Of The Khmer Rouge And The Genocide In Cambodia

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 took place from 1975 to 1979 in the Southeastern Asian country of Cambodia. The genocide was a brutal massacre that killed 1.4 to 2.2 million people, about 21% of Cambodia’s population. This essay, will discuss the history of the Cambodian genocide, specifically, what happened, the victims and the perpetrators and the world’s response to the genocide.

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 .

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.

Imagined being brutally ripped from your family and never seeing them again, being ran out of your home, and never knowing what will happen next. In 1975, Cambodia hit all 8 stages of a genocide, being one of the deadliest genocides.The genocide began after The genocide first began after the Cambodian war with the Khmer Rouge taking over Phnom Phen with the help of U.S bombings. About 2 million people died during the genocide because of Khmer Rouge.

The angered Prince Sihanouk formed a small movement called the Khmer Rouge that plotted to overthrow Lon Nol who was now our leader. Thankfully; after a few years of derelict, the Khmer rouge began to lose political power; But, that changed with the rise of Pol Pot, who is formally educated in radio technology. Pol Pot revitalized the fading Khmer Rouge and the group began regaining popularity as a Marxism-Leninism group which attracted the support from other communist countries such as China; but the Khmer rouge even received extensive military aid from the U.S and Britain. Even today as I am forced to work twelve hours a day at hard labor I think to myself if the genocide would all be possible without the "help" of the U.S, Britan, and

Did you know that one and a half to three million people died in the genocide by the Khmer Rouge which was led by Pol pot? The Khmer Rouge was a organization that took over the country of Cambodia and forced their people to live in villages, that were controlled by them. The Khmer Rouge had beliefs that modern day items such as technology, jobs, and other necessities were a negative stimulus to a person's life. In the memoir, First they killed my father a young girl named Loung Ung tells her story of how the genocide affected her life. The book starts off with her and her family in Phnom Penh, before the Khmer Rouge takeover, which occurred in 1975 from 1979.

The Cambodian oppressors wanted everyone to be equal, no differences (Friedman 32). Genocide is a serious topic as it disrupts all peace and tranquility. This genocide occurred in 1975 through 1979, in which people suffered tremendously for this long period of time. Places and buildings were taken over, and as Tyner said, “Former wats and schools, for example were converted into security centers.”

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.

The Khmer Rouge wanted to start over and isolate the country from western ideas and to create a classless society for all who resided within. They aimed to reteach and reform the minds and lifestyles of Cambodian people. They would separate children from their family’s and sometimes separate men and women into different camps. To be separated from parents at a young age plays a huge role in the psychological development of a child. Children are vulnerable and the Khmer Rouge took advantage of them.

Located in Southeast Asia between Thailand and Vietnam, Cambodia was home to one of the bloodiest political regimes to exist in the 20th century. In a country, in which American government reports in 1959 documented, was full of “ ‘docile and passive people…[who] could not be counted on to act in any positive way for the benefit of US aims and policies’”, the United States conflict in neighboring Vietnam brought about incredible changes to an unsuspecting people (qted. in Dunlop 70). The countryside was bombed by the United States in order to uproot suspected North Vietnamese holdouts and supply routes starting in 1969. These bombing raids, which devastated

By the time the Khmer Rouge regime was ousted from power in 1979, the United Nations Human Rights Commission had already received a 995-page report of testimonies on massive human rights violations in Democratic Kampuchea . The gravity of the crimes perpetrated was so great that the need for a judicial instance to render justice seemed evident. According to Francis Deron, the proposal for a Khmer Rouge Tribunal had significant historical importance as it was the first authentic trial of a communist regime. Never before had officials pertaining directly or indirectly to this type of ideology had to answer for their actions before impartial judges, but also, to their people and their contemporaries . However, the road leading up to its creation would prove to be long and arduous.