Upon arrival in Cambodia, we made our way from Siem Reap to the capital city of Phnom Penh. To my surprise, we were told that we would stay in a hotel for a couple nights before heading off to ministry to allow for a cultural briefing. We have been in Southeast Asia for two months now and honestly I thought it was silly to spend the time. Little did I know, how important this would be (to understand Cambodia’s past) in order to understand their people whom we came to serve. Much like the idea of walking another person’s shoes before understanding their point of view.
When you hear the word “Cambodia”, what comes to mind?
I used to draw a blank or in the best of cases I thought it was a far east land of oriental looking people who drove motorbikes and wore one of those silly hats while wading around in rice fields.
I certainly never thought of the word Genocide.
Over a four-year period in the mid to late 1970’s the Cambodia people experienced things you may think only exist in movies. During the unrest of war a group of people saw an opportunity to take control and introduce a new type of government that brought this country to its knees.
After taking power of Cambodia, in 1975 the communist regime known as the Khmer Rouge (KR) invaded Phnom Penh. They forced an evacuation leaving a desolate shell of a city. The KR wanted to transform Cambodia into a rural classless society, which was solely sustained by farming. Immediately, they shut everything down. There was no money, which meant no buying or selling. They closed all schools, universities, shops, government buildings, and churches. They were turned into prisons and stables. There was no public or private transportation, no private property and absolutely no entertainment.
During this time, everyone was stripped of his or her basic rights. They were forced to wear black uniforms and when those ran out they had to dye their clothes black using mud. They would not allow anyone to gather and hold discussions. If three or more people gathered and talked, they could be accused of being uncooperative and executed. Family units were broken apart to create disunity.
“To keep you is no gain, to loose you is no loss.” This was a slogan of the KR. In order to stay in complete control and reduce the risk of an uprising, the KR killed off everyone who didn’t fit the mold of a rural uneducated farmer. They executed people for the most ridiculous reasons. If you wore glasses, you were accepting of modern medicine and had to go. If you had soft hands, it meant you were a city dweller who was incapable of hard work and there was simply no reason to keep you around. They murdered all of the socially elite. Doctors, lawyers, teachers were considered a threat to communism and had to be removed. In order to prevent future resentment for the new government they also killed all of their families, including children.
The ones they decided were an asset to the greater plan were forced to work from sun up to sun down with little more than one small bowl rice per day. Hundreds of thousands died from malnutrition and disease. I read one testimonial of a woman whose family was starving to death and her children would sneak away to steal food. She feared they would not return because if they were caught, they would be suffocated using plastic bags. However, it was worth the risk because she knew they would all die anyway.
