To understand the culture here you need to have an idea of Cambodia’s history. I will summarize as best as I can. I do however suggest that you get the full version because this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Cambodians have been at war for hundreds of years with only a few years of peace in between wars. Traditionally, Cambodia was ruled by a king. When the king was strong they would invade Thailand, Vietnam, or Laos. However, when they had a weak king they would be invaded by these countries. This was a repetitive process that happened for many years.
Then the American/Vietnam war began. Americans realized that strategically it was smart to post bomber planes in Cambodia for attacks. But our technology wasn’t as good as it is today and we accidentally bombed many Cambodian farmers and killed very few Vietnamese soldiers.
Afraid that the Cambodians may become our enemies we helped a new general come to power, but we also allowed the old one to remain in power to keep everyone happy.
Unfortunately civil war broke out between the two generals. One of the groups known as the Kymer Rouge led a genocide against Cambodian civilians. People of all ages were tortured and killed despite their innocents. Babies were brutally beaten against trees. I’ve heard different estimations on the number of kids killed but it was somewhere in the tens of thousands. I personally visited the killing fields and was horrified
Eventually the Kymer Rouge was forced out of Cambodia. But while they fled the country, they left thousands of land mines all over. Because this it is common to see people missing limbs, especially legs.
This atrocity only ended about a decade ago. This has left the Cambodian people feeling deeply wounded. Somewhere around 80% of Cambodians are in their 20’s or younger.
Living here you would never had guessed the pain these people have been through. They are so nice and generous even though they have very little. Please pray for peace and restoration in Cambodia.
God Bless
Clint
