Cambodian
Genocide
The Cambodian genocide was a devastating event where many people were killed. Did you know that America actually taught the Khmer Rouge Party how to use landmines?
Pol Pot wanted to take over peasant farming land in an attempt to make it like the Chinese communist farming model. Pol Pot was one of the main leaders who led the Khmer Rouge Party who killed a ton of people. He wanted people to farm and the party forced people to do that.
Any in opposition to the Khmer Rouge Party beliefs was killed. If someone was too old, too young, sick, or disabled and were not able to work on a farm they were killed immediately . If anyone showed any type of emotion such as smiling or crying they were shot. If you were religious, you would be killed. In addition, if you had Chinese, Vietnamese, or Thai ancestors you would be killed.
Pol Pot forced people to leave their homes and start farming in their Chinese-based farms. He killed the educated, ill, old, young, and people who refused to go with them or those who did not leave fast enough. Anyone in a professional field was killed, this includes: doctors, scientists, and the army. The people in professional fields were killed because they were educated, so the Khmer Rouge was the only defense. The only people left were farmers. The Cambodians were not allowed to practice religion, either, all monks and religious practitioners were slaughtered, and they didn’t even have a chance to come peacefully. All of the traumatic loss of life led to some downsides for the country as a whole. As stated previously, all laborers who practiced in professional fields were killed, which means that there was no technology, no medicine, and no contact to the outside world. All of those people were stuck with no way out in a place where they could be shot and killed for simply wearing glasses, laughing or crying, being of a certain minority, or even getting sick in a place without doctors or medicine. The Khmer slogan is ”To spare you is no profit, to destroy you is no loss.” Pol Pot murdered many groups of innocent people who would otherwise live innocent lives. He banned many things that would have been lifesaving to people, and under his rule, all that came out of that country was the crops created with alot of blood, sweat, and tears that came out of innocent people.
Around 1.7 million people were killed including 8,000 Christians. Pol Pot killed killed so many people that the society was destroyed and they turned the crippled government into a dictatorship. The U.S. and U.K. had bad reputations after supporting them and teaching them how to use landmines, which are still armed and left behind today.After the genocide 6,500 people died because of unclean landmines and there were a few small groups of people who were still killing people because they still believed what Pol Pot believed. Killing fields became memorials and Pol Pot was put in prison and died in 1998.
One lesson from the Cambodian genocide is to take recognition to a genocide taking place and stand up against it in the early stages. For example, Khmer Rouge Party leader Pol Pot tried to take over Cambodia very quickly which over time resulted in the killing of 25% of Cambodians in three years.
One lesson from the Cambodian genocide is to take recognition to a genocide taking place and stand up against it in the early stages. For example, Khmer Rouge Party leader Pol Pot tried to take over Cambodia very quickly which over time resulted in the killing of 25% of Cambodians in three years.