We finished our debrief in Bangkok on October 10th. We then spent a
long day on the bus traveling from Bangkok to Phnom Penh (the capital
of Cambodia). We spent 2 days in Phnom Penh – getting our Chinese
visas, being briefed on the culture and history of Cambodia, and taking
a tour of the city.
It was immediately evident that we were in a different country as we
crossed the border. The roads have experienced much destruction. The
roads are rarely paved. Usually the roads are made of dirt and rocks –
they are very bumpy and often have big rain puddles (it is the rainy
season now). Some of the paved roads are covered with large potholes.
The main mode of transportation is motorbikes or bicycles. I love
riding my bike everywhere. The border is scattered with children
begging for money. Some buildings are very nice, but it is apparent
that others have suffered much damage. It is not as clean as Bangkok
and trash lines the streets.
The people are beautiful with their dark skin, round faces and
almond shaped eyes. They are kind, as our group of sixty makes its way
across the border and to the restaurant. The landscape is beautiful.
The land is lush and green, which is refreshing after a month in the
city of Bangkok.
Cambodia has suffered a bleak history, particularly in the recent
years. Fifty years ago Cambodia was doing well as a nation. They had
been through a lot, but they gained complete independence from France
in 1954. Just as things were looking better, the Vietnam War began to
escalate…and Cambodia felt the effects. The States bombed parts of
Cambodia in efforts to prevent Northern Vietnamese from traveling into
Southern Vietnam via Cambodia. This killed many Cambodian farmers.
Animosity toward America rose, as many Cambodian farmers lost their
lives as a result of the bombings. Fearing that the King would side
with Northern Vietnam, America helped the military overthrow the
Cambodian government. Because the people were unhappy with America,
they were suspicious of the new government and offered little support.
The King, who the Cambodians loved and supported very much, joined the
communists in Beijing. These two factors gave the Khmer Rouge movement
momentum. The Khmer Rouge was a communist group. Khmer is what the
people of Cambodia are called and Rouge is French for red, the color of
Communism. Now it is 1970 and there is civil war in Cambodia between
the new government and the Khmer Rouge. Life is still good for some,
but things will change drastically when the civil war ends. The new
government is losing and America stops sending support when the war in
Vietnam ends.
So
in April 1975 the Khmer Rouge wins the civil war and they immediately
move in to the capital city of Phnom Penh. At first they are met with
cheers and they come in as a parade. But shortly after they arrive, the
atmosphere changes drastically. They begin ordering everyone to
evacuate the capital city. Families are forced to leave immediately,
allowing little time to prepare for the journey. The Khmer Rouge claims
that America will bomb the city and everyone must leave for 3 days. In
actuality they were forcing everyone from the cities into farming
communes in the countryside. The Khmer Rouge is ambitious – they aim to
institute communism in the shortest amount of time in history; the
philosophy of the government is to build a classless, pure, agrarian
society, where there are no crimes, no deceit, not trickery and no
Western influence. They want to be rid the nation of other races,
deemed the source of evil, corruption and poison. They desire a pure
and “equal” Khmer nation. This is accomplished in many ways. They
immediately began to kill anyone associated with the previous
government, as well as any educated people – doctors, teachers, and
religious people – monks and Christians. They force everyone into
communal living. Everything belongs to the Angkar (the government).
There is no private property. Everyone dresses the same. Everyone does
the same work – working 12+ hour days, 7 days a week, in the fields.
There is no education. The entire nation is stripped of any
individualism, any potential for thinking, and any connection to the
outside world; there is no money since everything belongs to the
government; the people were denied everything, working only for the
government and barely surviving with the smallest glimmer of hope that
things would one day change.
Daily, soldiers would come to the villages and take fathers away to
be executed. They lied to the families, saying that the fathers would
be home in a couple of days. But they never returned and there was
never an explanation. Entire families would disappear if they were
suspected of a previous life of education or if they were suspected of
being against the Angkar. Families were torn apart. Sickness was
rampant. Children were forced to become soldiers. Often times the
people were only given a cup of rice for the entire day. Everyone was
hungry.
From 1975 to 1979 – through execution, starvation, disease, and
forced labor – the Khmer Rouge systematically killed an estimated 2
million people, over a forth of the country’s population. In December
1978, the Khmer Rouge became too ambitious in their desire to take
control of Vietnam. By January 1979, the strong Vietnamese military had
taken control of Phnom Penh and the government.
Cambodia was liberated to an extent. The years of war were over, but the Khmer Rouge continued to launch attacks. Many people were forced to live to camps or they fled to Thailand to live in displaced people’s camps. The effects of the war are still felt by land mines that daily injure people in the country. There was
and still is much to be done. The country and the people need
restoration.
During our tour of the city and the history of Cambodia, we visited
Tuol Sleng – a prison and torture center used by the Khmer Rouge.
We also visited a killing field, one of many throughout the country.
They killed 8985 people at the killing field we went too. At times they
could not kill all the people brought there in one day. It was
genocide. Pol Pot was the evil man behind the mass killings.
After many years of war, Cambodian people were finally given the
right to elect their leader in 1993. There is so much restoration that
needs to take place. The land cries out for restoration. The people cry
out for healing. It is sobering for me to walk down the streets,
knowing that everyone over the age of 28 lived through a portion of the
Khmer Rouge reign and destruction.
This led me to question….how do we simply carry on with life when
the world is flooded with injustice? So many people are unaware that
these things even took place in Cambodia. How, in this day of
technological advancement and scientific breakthroughs, are we still so
lacking in our treatment of human beings? How is genocide still taking place? How are we still subjecting humans to slavery and degradation (not limited to other nations)? How are children being forced to become soldiers and killers in war? How can we (myself included) support the oppression of others in sweatshops?
I cannot understand it. I realize that there are no simple answers,
but are we, not only as a nation, but as the church, doing our part to
be a voice for the least of these? It isn’t about right or wrong, it is
about life or death. Are you bringing life or death with your daily
encounters and choices?
