Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge

Timeline• 1963: the Khmer Rouge begin an armed rebellion in Cambodia

beginning the Civil War• 1975: the Khmer Rouge take over Phnom Penh and begin to

enact their “communist utopian” vision in a brutal way• 1976: the four-year plan is enacted, eliminating private

ownership and sending Cambodians to work the rice fields (many die of starvation in the fields)

• 1977: more Cambodians are purged for disloyalty or being moderate

• 1979: with Vietnamese support, the Khmer Rouge regime is toppled, but the execution of intellectuals, artists, and the educated makes rebuilding difficult

Refugee Children

Genocide• The Cambodian genocide of 1975-1979, in which

approximately 1.7 million people lost their lives (21% of the country's population), was one of the worst human tragedies of the last century.

• The goal was to centralize and nationalize the peasant farming community, eradicating all who were educated, wealthy, or an ethnic minority

• Most were killed with poison, spades, or bamboo sticks to save ammo

• Killing fields: mass burial sites where nearly 2 million are buried (there are tributes to the massacred now)

The Killing Fields MonumentsBuddhist Stupa

Legacy• The Khmer Rouge period had long-term impacts on the

educational attainment of the Cambodian population. • The mortality rates were higher among the educated

population and the education system collapsed during the period.

• Not any accountability for those who perpetuated the genocide