The Killing Fields
“The dead bodies of men will lie like refuse on the open field, like cut grain behind the reaper, with no one to gather them” Jeremiah 9:22
POL POT
It was estimated that out of the population of 7 million Cambodians, 2 million died from execution and starvation in the 1970’s. The fall of Cambodia, with the capture of the capital city of Phnom Penh on April 17, 1975 by the Khmer Rouge Communists, led by the ruthless dictator Pol Pot, finally ended the cruel five-years of civil war. But contrary to what the celebrating crowds on the street of Phnom Penh had hoped for that April morning, it was far from the end of Cambodia’s suffering.
It was a revolution so horrific, so inhumane, and so radical. The cost of human lives is incalculable resulting in a devastated nation of which surviving widows, orphans and primarily farmers were left to rebuild the nation. The long-term physical, emotional and spiritual ravages that laid waste on an entire generation will never be comprehended.
On April 17, 1975, the Communist party marched into Phnom Penh victoriously with tanks and armed soldiers. Two hours later, Communist soldiers spread throughout every street of the city, cruelly forcing two million civilians to abandon their homes and flee to villages; they used the excuse that the American B52 Bombers were going to bomb the city. Those who hesitated to abandon their homes were shot and in two weeks the city was left empty.
For four years every business closed. The monetary system was destroyed. The Communists announced everywhere that all soldiers, government officials, doctors, professors, teachers, lawyers, high school and college students, and business men, should register to return to the city so they could work for the new Communist government. Those who believed their lie, and identified themselves, were carried off in trucks and were killed, leaving behind thousands of widows and children who gradually died from illness and starvation.
Everyone became slave workers in the rice fields and on farms. Once a year, the Communists gave 3 days off to celebrate the Communist Victory Day; the only days off in the year. The policy of Communist is: No Work, No Food. Sick people were considered unproductive parasites. The penalty for fornication, adultery, divorce and disobedience of any of the Communist’s orders was death.
Children were separated from parents to be brainwashed. Young people were sent to Youth Brigade to be disciplined to do hard labor work. All freedom was lost. Life was considered the property of the Communist Party. They decide how long each person should live and what they should eat, where they should go, who they should marry, etc.
Survival through 4 years of hunger caused the breakdown of mental and physical health. People ate anything that they could swallow. At that point, everyone’s focus in life changed from “how could I have a better life on earth” to “how can I have enough food to survive”. Since no doctors and medications were available, learning to use natural herbs to treat sickness was not an option. Many preferred death to the sufferings that seemed to have no end……..
However, contrary to the thoughts of the afflicted, it did have an end. The brief summary of the closing stages of Cambodia’s horrendous past is as follows:
~ In 1979, The Vietnamese Communist party invaded Cambodia and took control of Cambodia for 10 years; millions of survivors returned to Phnom Penh and thousands of people escaped across the Thai border to refugee camps.
~ In 1991, Paris Peace Accords. The United Nation had brought the 4 fighting factions together to talk about peace which set up the framework for the 1993 elections.
~ Prime Minister Hun Sen was re-elected in 1998 and in 2003. Praise God that Hun Sen continues to give religious freedom to Cambodia.
