Madiha Undiscovered: Cambodia

Last month I visited Cambodia with one of my friends. Coincidentally, we both had work trips in Southern Vietnam the same Week, and decided to use some of our Vacation days to do some travelling. It was the first time in Asia that I crossed a boarder by land, and because we took the bus from Ho Chi Minh City, I was able to cross an item off of my bucket list – standing in two countries at the same time! I am aware that I could have done this with USA and Canada, but it just does not cut it the way Vietnam and Cambodia does!

I did not know much about Cambodia prior to planning the trip, but before our journey I did my research and read up on its history... and I was shocked at what I read. In the mid 70’s, Cambodia underwent an awful genocide that wiped out over 2 million citizens and left the country in shambles.

History Lesson

In 1962, Cambodia was governed by Prince Norodom Sihanouk and his Royal Government of The National Union of Kampuchea, which was overthrown in 1970 by a USA-backed military coup lead by the Prime Minister General, Lon Nol. You see, the American army was in the region because it was trying to eliminate the Northern Vietnamese Guerrilla forces known as the Vietcong that were hiding in Southern Vietnam during the Vietnamese Civil War. The Americans bombed the border of Southern Vietnam and Cambodia to eliminate any rebel forces, and until 1973, they caused much havoc in Eastern Cambodia, killing thousands of people and causing many others to flee the country and take refuge in the capital city of Phnom Penh. These events stressed the Cambodian economy and military forces, and gave popular support for the leader of the Cambodian Communist Party Pol Pot and his movement the Khmer Rouge. After Sihanouk and his rule were overthrown, Lon Nol became the new leader of Cambodia. Nevertheless his position of power did not last very long as he was quickly overthrown by Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge. In 1975, The U.S. troops moved out of Vietnam after the South lost the war, and therefore also withdrew their influence in Cambodia. Pol Pot decided to take advantage of this and on April 17^th 1975, he and his troops invaded Phnom Penh to seize control of the entire country.

Pol Pot envisioned Cambodia to be a self -sustainable agrarian utopia enthused by Mao Zedong’s communist China and his Great Leap Forward Program. Pol Pot then began “purifying” the society by exterminating western influence and culture, all religion, and city life. The Khmer Rouge shut down television stations, newspapers, and educational facilities. They eradicated foreign products (including medicine), businesses, and mail and postage facilities. In the 70’s, Cambodia had a film industry which rivaled Hollywood before the Khmer Rouge’s rule, and after, this entire industry was shut down. City dwellers were forced to evacuate their homes and travel to the countryside. Over 2 million inhabitants were forced to relocate, many travelling by foot, and thousands perishing along the way. During Pol Pot’s regime, over 2 million people were killed from overwork through forced labour, malnutrition from insufficient food rations, diseases, and plain execution. Those who were accused of being true to the old society (the educated, wealthy, and religious) and disloyal to Pol Pot were exterminated. Doctors, lawyers, teachers, monks, artists, and former government officials were taken to prisons and the killing fields to be tortured or executed in large masses.

Pol Pot held his rule over Cambodia until January 7, 1979, when the Vietnamese army successfully invaded the country and Phnom Penh fell. The Vietnamese were threatened by Pol Pot and his regime operating so close to the border, and therefore stepped in to overthrow his rule. However, after the four years of his rule which wiped out 2 million inhabitants of the country, and the succeeding 17 years of his counterattacks which lasted until the 1990’s, Cambodia was left unstable, taking five steps backwards with regards to development. To this day, there are landmines all over the country because the Khmer Rouge planted numerous bombs in the earth and made no record of where they were planted. There are many signs throughout the country, warning people not to stray too far from the main path.

Our Trip

While in Cambodia, we had the chance to visit The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum which was formerly the Security Prison 21 (S-21). We saw photographs of those entered into the prison, the torture chambers (and photographs of people being tortured), and the jail cells. The place exerted an eerie vibe because 1) we were there in the evening when it was getting dark, and 2) because it was evident that many horrible ways of man slaughter were performed in the buildings and many lives were lost. I felt pain for those who were brought to the prison grounds on the backs of trucks with blindfolds covering their eyes. They were men, women, and children who simply wanted what you and I want – a chance at life – but sadly were never given the opportunity. What’s most ironic is that before S-21 became a prison, it was the Chao Ponhea Yat High School – an educational facility altered to torture and dispose of the educated.

While walking on the streets, I saw numerous people without limbs – results of landmines – and whenever I came across anyone who looked to be over 40, my heart hurt because they had gone through the genocide. They experienced the very grotesque acts of human injustice and cruelty I read about... that I couldn’t imagine actually living.

Thoughts

I cannot believe that four years passed before the genocide was stopped. Was the UN not established at that time? Weren’t they supposed to be the peacekeepers and prevent crimes against humanity such as this? Shouldn’t the UN representatives have stepped in? But no, instead the Khmer Rouge continued to hold a seat at the UN during the course of the genocide. The UN did little to intervene and stop Pol Pot’s massacre, and as a result over 2 million innocent people perished.

Anyways, this has been quite the hefty blog post. I apologize that it is not the happiest, but I think it’s extremely important to become aware of historical events such as these so that we can (hopefully) avoid similar tragedies in the future.

Some Sources

http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/pol-pot.htm

http://www.sussex.ac.uk/Users/hafa3/cambodia.htm

Also, a great book to read is First They Killed My Father. It is a story written by a woman who lived in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge takeover, and is told through the eyes of her as a young girl. Click here to buy a copy!