How can two bordering countries seem so different? The physical appearance, the mannerisms of the natives, and the spirit that hovers above…
Eleven of us piled into the back of a small pick-up truck seated on benches around the perimeter of the bed. The truck dropped us of at the Cambodian border, so we could cross the border by foot. Children 
holding infants and wearing only rags greeted us asking for food or money. Women seated on concrete blocks stared off in space. Trash lined the streets. The smell of old rubbish and unknown odors filled the air. My mind kept thinking, “How can I already see a drastic change between Thailand and Cambodia, and why is this the case?” My heart continued to break for the nation of Cambodian, as I tried to process what my mind was trying to capture.
During the afternoon, we were briefed on the history of Cambodia. This led me into understanding a little more about the extreme variation between the two countries only a border apart. Here is a timeline that gave a glimpse of what occurred in Cambodia since my parents were twenty years old…
1970 – Open civil war began between Lon Nol’s government (democratic) and Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge (communist). Many joined Khmer Rouge because they were unhappy with the American bombings and the new government.
April 1975 – Khmer Rouge took the capital of Phnom Penh and forced everyone out of all the cities in Cambodia. Everyone was forced into farming communes in the countryside. Once the Khmer Rouge was in control, they began to kill anyone associated with Lon Nol’s government or his military. The also killed educated people, teachers, and doctors, because they thought they had been corrupted by Western thinking. In addition, they killed religious people such as Buddhist monks and over ninety percent of the Christians. Conditions were hard; people had to work long days in the fields and sometimes got as little as one cup of rice each day. Therefore, starvation and disease began to grow. By the end of the Khmer Rouge rule, as many as two million people died (almost one-third of the population).
December 1978 – Khmer Rouge invaded Vietnam.
January 1979 – Vietnamese troops had taken control of Phnom Penh and the government.
1979 – Vietnam set up a new government. The Khmer Rouge fled to the Thai border and continued to fight
from there.
1979-1989 – Many Cambodians fled to refugee camps to get supplies to bring back to their families, but due to thieves, they eventually moved to the camps. During this time, many resistance fighter groups formed along the border to fight the Vietnamese-controlled government. The Khmer Rouge placed many landmines, but the Vietnamese and resistance fighter groups placed even more to prevent each other attacking easily. Therefore, Cambodia became one of the most heavily land mined countries in the world.
1989 – Vietnam backed out of Cambodia for financial reasons. Then the resistance fighter groups along the border began to fight each other for control of the government.
End of 1990 – United Nations had fighting groups sign a treaty promising to stop fighting and work together to form a new government. All groups signed, but the Khmer Rouge backed out and continued fighting.
1993 – Because peace needed to be made, the UN named two prime ministers of Cambodia: Hun Sen, leader of the Cambodian People’s Party, and Prince Norodom Ranariddh of the royalist party.
1997 – Hun Sen took away the title from Prince Ranariddh to become the highest leader of Cambodia.
1998 – Pol Pot, leader of the Khmer Rouge, died of natural causes.
1998 – The Khmer Rouge became officially disbanded as a political and military force and ended its fighting against the Cambodian government.
1999 – First year of peace since 1969
2003 – Elections were peaceful and Hun Sen in once again elected.
Steps are continuing to be made to rebuild the infrastructure of Cambodia.
This may be a lot of history. But because of this information, I was able to begin to understand the unrest that Cambodia is in due to the first year of peace out of thirty only occurred eight years ago. This allows me to look deeper into the hurt and pain of the Cambodians and gives me insight of what to be in prayer for.
My prayers are for:
- Restoration for the broken families
- People living with memories of what happened
- People who are disable due to activities within the past 30 years
- Healing of the land
- Breaking generational curses, including fear, hopelessness, and violence
- Cambodians would overcome the past and be release in order to move on
- Cambodians would come to know a Godly worldview.
*Information gathered with the help of University of the Nations (YWAM Cambodia). www.uofncambodia.org
