Cambodian Killing Fields Research Paper

The Cambodian Killing Fields occurred from 1975-1978 and under Khmer Rouge's rule, hundreds of thousands of Cambodians died from execution, forced labor, disease, and starvation. The Khmer revolution is known as one of the most destructive genocide in history. The revolution reversed class order, destroyed all markets, banned private property and money. The Killing Fields is not only historical for what it accomplished but for what it destroyed. Although this tragedy happened over a generation ago, Cambodians are still struggling today to fully recover as a country and they have unresolved impunity and corruption in their society and law as a direct result of the Cambodian genocide (Rennie, 2016). Cambodia is a country in Southeast Asia which
A few days after Khmer Rouge took power, they forced 2 million people in Phnom Penh and nearby cities into the countryside to do agriculture work. Thousands of people died during this evacuation. The Khmer Rouge had plans to do away with poor people, rich people, and exploitation. Their way to accomplish this feat was to: abolish money, free markets, normal schooling, private property, foreign clothing styles, religious practices, and traditional Khmer culture. Public schools, pagodas, mosques, churches, universities, shops and government buildings were shut or turned into prisons, stables, reeducation camps and granaries. There was no public or private transportation, no private property, and no non-revolutionary entertainment. Leisure activities were severely restricted. People throughout the country, including the leaders of the Khmer Rouge, had to wear all black clothing (Khmer Rouge History). The Cambodian citizens had absolutely no power and every move they made was criticized. They were constantly watched by the new communist government and were unable to do anything without being suspected of being enemies of the
People that lived during this time or family members of these Cambodians, now suffer from mental problems, disabilities, and injuries. These factors can account for the fact that poverty is a huge problem in Cambodia (Khmer Rouge History). Although Pol Pot is dead, other leaders are no longer around, and the war is over, Cambodia still suffers from violent crime, including banditry, armed robbery and kidnapping. Landmines are still in the ground and since 1979 nearly 200,000 people have lost their lives because of those landmines. It is estimated that it will take another 25 years to demine Cambodia. The country has slow economic growth and is tremendously behind other South East Asian Countries. It is the poorest, least developed country in Asia (Rennie, 2016). A country that went through all this destruction cannot recover in just a few years. A devastation this big is going to take multiple generations to fix and is going to need the help of other countries. It is unbelievable that Pol Pot and the rest of his government thought that this was okay on any standards. They took so many lives in such a short amount of time that the country had no hope for survival. We can only hope that history does not repeat