The Cambodian Genocide

“The bones cannot find peace until the truth they hold in themselves is revealed,” stated by Nhim Selia. This quote refers to the Cambodian Genocide that took place during 1975-1979. This genocide has a lot of background available to those interested in this type of mass killing. Many survivors have given exceptional stories on what they experienced during this cruel period.

According to hmd.org.uk, the Cambodian Genocide has a variety of information about this horrific topic. Before the genocide took place, there were many events that led up to it. During 1970, Prince Sihanouk, the current monarch, was disposed of while in a coup aboard. So the Prime Minister Lol Nol assumed power and ordered the army to go fight the North Vietnamese soldiers

At first, they started with anyone that had an education and ethnic or religious minorities. The reason they targeted the educated people was so that no one would rebel or be smart enough to rebel. But then, they started killing anyone who could not work or make the journeys to the concentration camps. Pol Pot then developed the “Killing Fields” which were sites set up in desolate areas all over the country. This is where all the Cambodian’s who could not work ended up being killed and left there when they could not work anymore. As soon as the Khmer Rouge came into power, they abolished anything related to the Khmer Culture. The local building in Phnom Penh turned into prisons or camps to hold the people of Cambodia. The money and the styles of clothing also spontaneously changed during Pol Pot’s reign. In addition, the genocide ended after the fall of the Khmer Rouge. This happened when the Vietnamese army invaded Cambodia and overthrew Pol Pot and his communist party. The surviving Khmer Rouge members fled to the neighboring country of Thailand. Once the party left, the Cambodians set out on rebuilding their government. They set up a temporary coalition

Sayoun Soeun is one man who shared his experiences before and during his life at camp. He was captured when he was 6 years old during early 1974 He saw roughly 30-40 kids in the military truck he rode in. When he arrived at camp, he watched many kids come and go and thought he would stay only for a little while. Next, came his life at the camp he stayed in, and how he lived through it. Soeun worked like an animal and only ate once or twice a day, and one time he received a punishment for giving potato to an old lady. During his entire life at camp, he witnessed many cruelties like having no one to talk to and never going home. Another cruelty that scared his eyes forever was when he saw many people around him die. Another survivor, named Kowith Kret also experienced many tragedies. He faced many struggles during the reign of the Khmer Rouge like suffering from doing forced labor. Often he would sneak out to eat food, because he did not have enough food during the day to keep him healthy. Kret observed many events and scenes that took place during Pol Pot’s reign. One time he saw the overnight plunge of happy and calm Cambodia turn into a dark and angry version. Another time he watched innocent Khmer people moved to camps in the countryside. His life, while the Khmer Rouge was in power, was hard and a sad one. Often the Khmer Rouge people enforcing the camps