Cambodian Genocide Essay - 1327 Words

Cambodian Genocide Dead bodies everywhere you turn. The smell of gunpowder, filth, and death choke your lungs. You wonder everyday whether it will be your last. All your body feels is pain; all your heart feels is emptiness. One might think this is how life was for Jews during the Jewish Holocaust. In reality, this is how life was for many Cambodians during the reign of Pol Pot between 1975 and 1979. This event, known to many as the Cambodian genocide, left a profound mark on the world around us. In the late 70’s, nearly 2 million Cambodians died of overwork, starvation, torture, and execution in what became known as the Cambodian genocide. A group known as the Khmer Rouge took control of the country in April 1975. Over the course of†¦show more content†¦People were ordered out their houses so that the Khmer Rouge could convert them into bases of operation. Houses that weren’t being used as bases were instead being used as make shift orphanages. Besides having labor camps, Pol Pot used many prisons to get rid of many Cambodians. Out of 150 death camps spread across the country, the most famous is Tuol Sleng Prison, or S-21 as it is more commonly referred to. There are only 7 known survivors out of an estimated 14,00 total prisoners. The purpose for the prisons was to question and kill those that were opposed to the Khmer Rouge. Even people from Western and European nationalities were kept as criminals. Before being placed in cells, prisoners were photographed. They would then be tortured until a confession could be made about whatever crime they were charged with. These confessions and photographs were then sent to High-ranking officials in the Khmer Rouge as a confirmation that the â€Å"traitors† were eliminated. Those that were waiting for their time come had to endure many horrible things. Their legs were shackled onto iron bars placed around the room. Permission from the guards was needed to do things like adjust themselves while sleeping or even defecating into buckets that were provided for them. Bathing was merely opening a hose on a room filled with prisoners. Babies that were brought in were killed either by a Machete or by being thrown into walls and trees. Those who died in theShow MoreRelatedThe Cambodian Genocide Essay971 Words   |  4 PagesThe Cambodian Genocide took place from 1975 to 1979 in the Southeastern Asian country of Cambodia. The genocide was a brutal massacre that killed 1.4 to 2.2 million people, about 21% of Cambodia’s population. This essay, will discuss the history of the Cambodian genocide, specifically, what happened, the victims and the perpetrators and the world’s response to the genocide. The Cambodian Genocide has the historical context of the Vietnam War and the country’s own civil war. During the Vietnam WarRead MoreRwanda and Cambodian Genocide Essay2251 Words   |  10 Pagesout of control. It’s amazing how ignorant and stubborn the human race can be. This is exactly the response of many nations when it comes to genocide. Genocide is the systematic killing of all the people from a national, ethnic, or religious group. Two of the most recent genocides in history are the genocide of Rwanda and the genocide of Cambodia. The genocide of Cambodia started on the year of 1975 and ended on 1979. This is considered the Khmer Pogue period, where Pol Pot ,  Nuon Chea,  Ieng SaryRead MoreEssay about The Holocaust and the Cambodian Genocide 1201 Words   |  5 Pagesdefinition of genocide is killing a large group of people of a certain origin. The Holocaust was in Germany and started in 1933. Adolf Hitler and the Nazis were in charge of the Holocaust. The Cambodian Genocide took place in Cambodia. Cambodia is in Southeast Asia (â€Å"Cambodian†). Pol Pot was the leader of Khmer Rouge and the group was in charge of the Cambodian Genocide (â€Å"Cambodian†). 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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 countles sRead MorePol Pot, The Khmer Rouge, and Cambodian Genocide Essay1143 Words   |  5 Pageseight-month, and twenty-one day rule of Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge committed some of the most heinous crimes in current history. The main leader who orchestrated these crimes was a man named Pol Pot. In 1962, Pol Pot had become the coordinator of the Cambodian Communist Party. The Prince of Cambodia, Norodom Sihanouk, did not approve of the Party and forced Pol Pot to flee to exile in the jungle. There, Pol formed a fortified resistance movement, which became known as the Khmer Rouge, and pursued a guerrillaRead MoreMany Years of Civil War in Cambodia840 Words   |  3 Pageswar with their neighbour, Vietnam. In 1975, a new leader Pol Plot gained power and genocide broke out in the country as minority ethnic groups like the Vietnamese, Chinese, Cham Muslims and other smaller groups were attacked. Other people were also targeted such as all professional people as well as any political oppositio n. This essay will discuss to what extent the mass murder in Cambodia can be considered a genocide or a Civil war. Lieutenant- General Lon Nol became the leader of the Khmer RepublicRead MoreI Have A Love For Music And Basketball1801 Words   |  8 PagesSergio Liranzo Essay Who Am I? My name is Sergio Andres Liranzo the fourth and do not mind my sarcasm, because at times I can be really sarcastic. My grandfather is named Sergio Andres Liranzo the first and named two of his sons after him and my dad named me after him as well, which makes me the fourth of all the Sergios in the family. When I’m older I would like to go for the NBA or work with music. I have a love for music and basketball. I do not necessarily have a favorite food or color becauseRead MoreManufacturing Consent1408 Words   |  6 Pagesgreatest intellectual alive (Fox, 1998) by the New York Times as he not only is a very outspoken professor, he is also an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, logician, historian, political critic and activist. The information in this essay was obtained from his video called: Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media. Manufacturing Consent is the control of distribution of ideas and stories by media to purposely be in charge of the results and beliefs held by theRead MoreEssay Humanitarian Intervention2376 Words   |  10 Pages(Keohane 1). After the prosecution of Nazis in the Nuremburg trials on the basis of â€Å"crimes against humanity† and genocide, the abuse of human rights has become a more salient issue in international society (Buchanan 136). However, when situations of human rights violations escalate to emergency levels, it becomes complicated to intervene despite the international laws condemning genocide and other large-scale human rights violations. This is due to Article 2(4) and Chapters VI and VII of the UN Charter