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In just four years of rule, from 1975 to 1979, the Khmer Rouge administration managed to leave behind over 20,000 mass graves where at least 1.5 million and as many as 3 million people were buried after being murdered by their own government.

While this was going on, most of the world was caught up in the "energy crisis", Middle East wars, Vietnam, and other events. During the slaughter of 2-3 million innocent people by their own government, nobody knew and nobody cared.

Those Cambodians who managed to escape and make their way to the United States were maligned and discriminated against as "gooks" or "boat people" along with the Vietnamese.

Cambodian refugee children, who fled with their families
after Khmer Rouge raids, wait for food at aid station outside of
Phnom Penh in 1975. (AP Photo/Tea Kim Heang aka Moonface)

Under the rule of Pol Pot, the Communist Khmer Rouge government led a brutal assault on their own countrymen using forced relocation, systematic execution, and starvation to exterminate educated people, intellectuals, Muslims, Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai, and anyone else who had the potential to be anti-communist (whether they were or not).

With the stated goal of nationalizing agriculture the government instituted a policy in which everyone must work for the newly-federated farms that were seized from the people. Anyone who refused or opposed this system was eliminated. Educated people (from college students or graduates to anyone who wore glasses) was deemed to be in opposition to this agricultural system as were many others. Professionals, lawyers, doctors, and other "white collar" workers fell into this class as well. These people posed a threat to the system and were systematically eliminated.

Other victims included those who were of undesirable "races" which included Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai and Cambodians who had mixed lineages.

A large percentage of Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge soldiers were
children. Sayon Soeun, pictured here holding an M16-A1
taken from government forces, learned to kill at the age of 6.

Young victims of Pol Pot before they were tortured and executed.

Learn More:

Wikipedia

The Cambodian Genocide: United to End Genocide

Why the world should not forget Khmer Rouge and the killing fields of Cambodia

Cambodian Genocide: World Without Genocide

Cambodia 1975: Peace Pledge Union

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