Taking a Closer Look at The Cambodian Genocide

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“To spare you is no profit, to destroy you is no loss.” Pol Pot, the leader of the Khmer Rouge, once said this truly horrifying statement (Cambodian Genocide 1). It is no wonder that he went on to orchestrate the killings of more than two million innocent Cambodians. At the time of the mass killings in Cambodia, the Vietnam War was raging on. It is possible that the Vietnam War masked the true horrors of what was happening in Cambodia. The terrible events left emotional scars and traumatized countless people.
In the 1960’s a group named the Khmer Rouge surfaced, but was with few members. They were led by Pol Pot, a man who would soon bring terror to all Cambodians. Their goal was to bring Cambodia into a primal state, where everyone would work as laborers. When the 1970’s came, Cambodia found themselves in the middle of the Vietnam War and soon found their country facing a civil war (Genocide in Cambodia 1). The Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, wanted to overthrow Lon Nol’s anti-Communist government. Eventually, the Khmer Rouge was successful in defeating Lon Nol’s government in 1975. Soon after Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge went on a deadly mission to make Cambodia a communist country, much like Mao’s China, which Pol Pot admired. The Khmer Rouge put all Cambodians to work as laborers at farms. Anyone who refused to work or opposed their opinions was killed. The fields in which the Cambodians were forced to work were labeled the Cambodia killing fields. People that the Khmer Rouge saw as a possible threat were educated people, monks, religious enthusiasts, Buddhists, and Christians. The Khmer Rouge was cruel and heartless with what they did. They even interrogated their own members of treason and often executed them. Since the Khmer ...

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