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Genocide In Cambodia Essay

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The Cambodian Genocide is considered to be one of the worst human tragedies in the last century. The Genocide in Cambodia should be more recognized around the world for its severity and intensity. Khmer Rouge, a communist group led by Pol Pot, seized control of the Cambodian government from Lon Nol in April of 1975. He then renamed it the Democratic Kampuchea. The Cambodian Genocide lasted until Khmer Rouge was overthrown by the Vietnamese in 1978. It only lasted three years, but over 1.7 million people were killed by means of torture, starvation or being overworked. It left lasting impacts on many of the countries around the world. Khmer Rouge was the communist group responsible for the Cambodian Genocide. The Khmer Rouge guerrilla movement …show more content…

Doctors, lawyers and military and police were targeted. Factories, schools, hospitals, and other private institutions were shut down. The previous owners and employees of these businesses were killed on site along with their extended families. Some of the intellectuals, soldiers and even members working for Khmer Rouge were put in jail. They were detained, tortured, humiliated, interrogated, and executed.
Also, churches and temples were burned and destroyed while the Christians, Buddhists, and Muslims were targeted. Religion was banned all throughout Cambodia. People were even shot for doing things that were out of the ordinary, such as, speaking a different language, wearing glasses, laughing or crying.
The people in the camps were separated even farther based on how much they were trusted by Pol Pot. The most trusted people were known as “old citizens.” The least trusted were called “new citizens.” The people could move up a class when they were trusted more. After “new citizens,” there are “deportees,” “candidates,” and “full rights citizens.” Most people never moved up these classes though. Pol Pot also tried a system of re-education for all the citizens to try to get them to learn the ways of the Communist model. Those who refused to be re-educated, were killed in fields around the camps, or a prison camp called Tuol Sleng Centre or

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