Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge

Paper Summary:

This paper explains in the review of Loung Ung's book "First They Killed my Father" that the Khmer Rouge was one of the most vicious and violent regimes in world history and asks why the world stood by and watched while two million people died horrible deaths. The author believes that while the book vividly shows the experiences of Ung's family, it is important to understand how a regime like the Khmer Rouge could gain such power, keep such power, and eradicate so many people in such a relatively short period. The author thinks that, historically, Ung's account of her four years under Khmer Rouge rule is an accurate account for the people in her area; but written by another, in another area of Cambodia, the story could have been entirely different.

From the Paper:

"Before the regime, Cambodia was reasonably technologically advanced, and relied on a wide variety of trade and business options. The Khmer Rouge seemed to want to take the country backward into the dark ages, reliant on no outside corrupting "Western" influences, but also unable to compete in the modern, mechanized world. A country cannot survive when it is held back from advancing along with the rest of the world, and becoming "self-reliant" based totally on rice is not only ridiculous, it is short-sighted. As the author notes, "Though the Angkar says we are all equal in Democratic Kampuchea, we are not. We live and are treated like slaves. In our garden, the Angkar provides us with seeds and we may plant anything we choose, but everything we grow belongs not to us but to the community" (Ung 66). This shortsightedness will be the regime's downfall, as it has with any cruel and violent regime throughout history. You cannot treat people so cruelly without them rising up in revolt, no matter how much you try to control them. The killing and the viciousness turned the author into someone who truly hated Pol Pot and his regime, and it did the same to thousands of others. "His government has created a vengeful, bloodthirsty people. Pol Pot has turned me into someone who wants to kill"."

More papers on Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge:

• Research Paper # 58142 : "Cambodia: The United Nations' Shame"
• Research Paper # 97003 : "Khmer Rouge & Cambodian Education"
• Essay # 91041 : "Khmer Rouge"

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