Asian American Lit, Jan 13: Cambodian Genocide

I actually remember reading the memoir First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung in ninth grade. We studied a bit of the history, and (after doing a bit more research as a refresher) here is a brief background to the conflict:

Due to Cambodia’s proximity to Vietnam, Cambodia became involved in the Vietnam War. The Khmer Republic of Lon Nol backed the U.S. government and began harboring U.S. troupes and bases. Consequently, Cambodia was not acting as a neutral country and became a target in the war. 750,000 Cambodians died because of the Vietnam War, which caused more supporters to join Pol Pot’s army, the Khmer Rouge, in retaliation to Lon Nol’s support of the U.S. In 1975, Pol Pot took over the government of Lon Nol and wanted to create an independent country which was founded on farming and military. They even restarted the calendar, calling the year the Khmer Rouge came to power (1975) “year zero.”

The purpose of the Khmer Rouge regime was to eradicate western influence and create a self-sustained country; however, Pol Pot’s ideals backfired since many of the farm laborers were forced from their homes, lived in constant fear of the military, and were starved to death. Pol Pot exported most of the food and rice to China or gave the military priority for the rations. I remember reading in Loung Ung’s memoir that one day rations were so short in her farming village that she was given soup with only 11 grains of rice.

The Khmer Rouge viewed its citizens as expendable. One of the famous lines which illustrates the mentality of Pol Pot’s regime is this: “To spare you is no profit, to destroy you is no loss.” As the farm laborers weakened because of malnutrition, the military killed people who were no longer viewed as useful. Eventually, because resources for the military became so scarce, soldiers no longer were able to use bullets or ammunition to kill people. Instead, they began executing people with shovels, hammers, or axes.

Many of the Cambodians who were executed in this manner were buried in mass graves together. It is estimated that between 1.2 million and 3 million people were killed during the four years Pol Pot was in power. That was about a quarter of Cambodia’s population. Today memorials can be found at killing fields were mass executions occurred. There is a tower where skulls are piled onto shelves.

I think this event connects to CRT tenet 3: Racism is a social, not a biological construct. It was a genocide of class. Those who were middle or upper class were targeted first, followed by those who were less able to contribute to society – the elderly or the sick. I think this makes the Cambodian Genocide one of the hardest things to reason with. Fellow countrymen were turned against one another. It was not a genocide between races – there was no physical or biological distinction between those who lived and died.

Here are some pictures of the memorials today:

The Killing Fields Memorial