The Cambodian Genocide And The Khmer Rouge

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.

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.

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 20th Century was an era marked by growing turmoil in the world stage. As countries fought for hegemony, it was often groups of people who were most affected by the political turbulence of the times. Throughout this era, many of these oppressive states existed, yet none quite like Nazi Germany and Khmer Rouge Cambodia. Told by the young voices of Elie Wiesel in Night and Chanthity Him in When Broken Glass Floats, each author tells their story of what it meant to grow up as a victim of these regimes. And through the analysis of their experiences are we able to observe the similar tactics two radical government groups imposed and how these tactics-both similar and different- advanced the politics of the aggressors.

For genocide survivors, the agony does not end when the killing stops. The annihilation of families, communities, and the entire ways of life make it difficult for survivors to move on with life. My family and many other Cambodians, survivors of the Khmer Rouge regime, shared a history of survival, suffering, and loss. My grandparents and parents are not afraid to share their painful past with my brother and I. Typically, the question of how did I manage to survive comes up. For many Cambodians, 1975 to 1979 was a four-year journey to hell on earth. For the purpose of this assignment, I decided to interview my grandfather, who basically jump-started my family migration to the United States. My family was separated when my grandfather has to

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

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

On the one hand, Youk Chhang was a survivor when the Khmer Rouge came to power in Cambodia. One of his opinions was “Some Cambodians are anxious to forget and forgive. Others are angry and searching for justice” (Hyde 2). Chhang lost everything, and tells us this story. He was 13 years old when the Khmer

“To spare you is no profit, to destroy you is no loss.” Pol Pot, the leader of the Khmer Rouge, once said this truly horrifying statement (Cambodian Genocide 1). It is no wonder that he went on to orchestrate the killings of more than two million innocent Cambodians. At the time of the mass killings in Cambodia, the Vietnam War was raging on. It is possible that the Vietnam War masked the true horrors of what was happening in Cambodia. The terrible events left emotional scars and traumatized countless people.

The Cambodian Genocide has had drastic effects on the country of Cambodia like, the economy, geography/wildlife, and people/population. For five years Cambodia suffered and no one knew it was happening. President Nixon secretly bombed Cambodia which ended up killing thousands of Cambodians and Americans. After the bombing nobody even looked back at Cambodia giving the genocide perfect cover, without anyone knowing it was even happening.

In First They Killed My Father, Loung Ung writes of her family’s struggle for survival during the Khmer Rouge Killing Fields. Her purpose for writing this was to inform the reader of the hardships that not only her family but the entire country endured during this genocide and the toll that these hardships and the brutality of war can take on an individual. She reflects back on this time in her life and focuses on the importance of family in difficult situations such as the one she experienced, and she expands on the personal growth she experienced during this time in her life.

Pol pot's had been taken over and many Cambodians suffered so much from the genocide during the Khmer Rouge in the late 1970. One out of Three of the population in Cambodia died during that time. It has been established that the Khmer Rouge targeted particular groups of people, among them were educated elites. The elites consisted of masters, Ph.D., professors, students, and international student. In addition, people who have survived from the Khmer Rouge (pol pot) lied about their education. If they knew that they lied, they would have died in the camp. The most sadness, memories ever which were, they had lost their friend, cousin and family. According to this two article "SCREAM BLOODY MURDER" by Jennifer Hyde, and "WHY THE ARTS ARE AS IMPORTANT

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 was able to inflict a great deal of misery on the people of Cambodia due to this country being located in the wrong place at the wrong time. Discuss.

Despite of all these dreadful atrocities, the Khmer Rouge never reached their aspiration to increase the agricultural productivity to a treble in order to being able to export agricultural products. The ones responsible for this was the system itself. When they destroyed the majority of the economic infrastructure, they did not think about the lack of work tools that was a result of this action (Rohde 1999).