Cambodian Genocide Research Paper Cambodia is the land in which my parents were raised and my livelihood encompasses. I was born in America, with Chinese blood, but my history lies with Cambodia. The Cambodian Genocide is the most impactful event to have entered my life, for a very important reason: my parents were personal participants. A South-Eastern country in Asia, with neighboring countries Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand, it was previously known as the Khmer Empire of Angkor. Everything changed when the Khmer Rouge rose to power. The glorious ancient Khmer Empire, flourishing in the 18th and 19th century, was a highly populated kingdom of ethnic minority groups and the famous Angkor Wat temple at its capital, Angkor. In 1953, Cambodia
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With hundreds of thousands misplaced from their homes, the economic and social being of Cambodian society was fragile. In 1970, Marshal Lon Nol lead a military coup that dethroned Prince Sihanouk as a testament to the political climate of Cambodia (Cambodian Genocide « World Without Genocide). He proceeded to drop a half million tons of bombs with U.S. support (The Cambodian Genocide) in early 1973. The Khmer Rouge allied with Sihanouk and fought against Lon Nol’s forces, priming the situation for civil war. Animosity was strong against the West because of the bombings, and this event, along with further sufferings, caused many recruits to join what was known formally as the Communist Party of Kampuchea. With fascist ideals, the party sought to return Cambodia to its former glory during the Angkor Empire. In later 1973, the U.S. withdrew from the Vietnam war and left the Cambodian government “undemocratic, unstable, and corrupt” (Cambodia 1975-1979), creating an opening for the Khmer Rouge to take over with its leader, Pol Pot. The Cambodian Genocide was about to begin. The mission was to completely transform Cambodia into an extreme communist society, modeled after Mao Zedong’s China, that was “based on strict one-party rule, rejection of urban and Western ideas, and abolition of private property” (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum). On the fateful date of April 17, 1975, Pol Pot lead the Khmer Rouge to conquer …show more content…
Along the way, many endured rough living situations and environments that most would believe to be impossible to survive in. People died of starvation and/or disease, stepped on old land mines, and experienced other suffering that, for those who didn’t die, haunted them for the rest of their lifetimes. On January 7, 1979, the Khmer Rouge was overthrown by the Vietnamese. A socialist regime was established in its place, consisting of Khmer Rouge defectors (The Cambodian Genocide). Conflict did not stop, however, and guerilla attacks ensued against the Vietnamese from regrouped Khmer Rouge members who had fled along the Thai border. A decade passed with this clashing; the horrors would take their time to
With hundreds of thousands misplaced from their homes, the economic and social being of Cambodian society was fragile. In 1970, Marshal Lon Nol lead a military coup that dethroned Prince Sihanouk as a testament to the political climate of Cambodia (Cambodian Genocide « World Without Genocide). He proceeded to drop a half million tons of bombs with U.S. support (The Cambodian Genocide) in early 1973. The Khmer Rouge allied with Sihanouk and fought against Lon Nol’s forces, priming the situation for civil war. Animosity was strong against the West because of the bombings, and this event, along with further sufferings, caused many recruits to join what was known formally as the Communist Party of Kampuchea. With fascist ideals, the party sought to return Cambodia to its former glory during the Angkor Empire. In later 1973, the U.S. withdrew from the Vietnam war and left the Cambodian government “undemocratic, unstable, and corrupt” (Cambodia 1975-1979), creating an opening for the Khmer Rouge to take over with its leader, Pol Pot. The Cambodian Genocide was about to begin. The mission was to completely transform Cambodia into an extreme communist society, modeled after Mao Zedong’s China, that was “based on strict one-party rule, rejection of urban and Western ideas, and abolition of private property” (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum). On the fateful date of April 17, 1975, Pol Pot lead the Khmer Rouge to conquer …show more content…
Along the way, many endured rough living situations and environments that most would believe to be impossible to survive in. People died of starvation and/or disease, stepped on old land mines, and experienced other suffering that, for those who didn’t die, haunted them for the rest of their lifetimes. On January 7, 1979, the Khmer Rouge was overthrown by the Vietnamese. A socialist regime was established in its place, consisting of Khmer Rouge defectors (The Cambodian Genocide). Conflict did not stop, however, and guerilla attacks ensued against the Vietnamese from regrouped Khmer Rouge members who had fled along the Thai border. A decade passed with this clashing; the horrors would take their time to