Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge

Timeline 1963: the Khmer Rouge begin an armed rebellion in Cambodia beginning the Civil War 1975: the Khmer Rouge take over Phnom Penh and begin to enact their “communist utopian” vision in a brutal way 1976: the four-year plan is enacted, eliminating private ownership and sending Cambodians to work the rice fields (many die of starvation in the fields) 1977: more Cambodians are purged for disloyalty or being moderate 1979: with Vietnamese support, the Khmer Rouge regime is toppled, but the execution of intellectuals, artists, and the educated makes rebuilding difficult After years of civil war, Khmer Rouge forces seize Phnom Penh and establish their regime. They drive city-dwellers into the countryside in an attempt to create an agrarian, communist utopia. Brutal persecution of intellectuals, religious figures and ethnic minorities begins. The Khmer Rouge bans family relationships and begins an aggressive campaign of brainwashing young children to worship the state and spy on their parents. If parents try to disguise themselves as uneducated peasants, children are instructed to report them as enemies of the state. http://www.pbs.org/pov/enemies/photo_gallery_timeline.php#.VVOHB9pViko

http://www.pri.org/stories/2014-01-29/khmer-rouge-may-be-partly-blame-diabetes-cambodia Refugee Children

Genocide The Cambodian genocide of 1975-1979, in which approximately 1.7 million people lost their lives (21% of the country's population), was one of the worst human tragedies of the last century. The goal was to centralize and nationalize the peasant farming community, eradicating all who were educated, wealthy, or an ethnic minority Most were killed with poison, spades, or bamboo sticks to save ammo Killing fields: mass burial sites where nearly 2 million are buried (there are tributes to the massacred now) http://www.yale.edu/cgp/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_Fields Sometimes bones/clothes wash up at the killing fields during heavy rain

The Killing Fields Monuments http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choeung_Ek#/media/File:Buddhist_Stupa_at_Choeung_Ek_killing_fields,_Cambodia.JPG The Killing Fields Monuments Buddhist Stupa

Legacy The Khmer Rouge period had long-term impacts on the educational attainment of the Cambodian population. The mortality rates were higher among the educated population and the education system collapsed during the period. Not any accountability for those who perpetuated the genocide http://elibrary.worldbank.org/doi/pdf/10.1596/1813-9450-3446 http://www.history.ucsb.edu/faculty/marcuse/classes/33d/projects/genocides/cambodia/CambodiaHistoryLavinia.htm