Reader 73:

The Cambodian Genocide through the eyes

of Look Tha

Compassion had to
come before
knowledge
Why did the
author choose Look Tha to
narrate the story?
His role in the community: An elder and a

Monk
(p. 562) He appeared to embody many

characteristics of traditional Khmer culture

But, he was reluctant to to talk about the

Khmer Rouge atrocities

By telling the story in Look Thas voice, we

get to see the Khmer Rouge through his lens:

Early Years
Born November 1926
Village Life (p. 563)
Recounts experience with Vietnamese

fisherman:
What of politics in Cambodia can be seen in

this early encounter?

Religious Celebrations (Pchum Ben)

Temple Life
First begins schooling at Temple at age 9:
What was it like?

Experiences:
What events occurred that led to Look Thas only

corporeal punishment by the Monks? (p.565)

Leaves Temple at age 14, why?

Returns to temple at age 20

Dhamma:
Dana (giving)
Seela (disciplinary precepts)
Bhavana (meditation)

Government School
What was the noticeable difference between

the temple and the government school?

Khmer Rouge
Cambodia before the Genocide:
Cambodia is a country in SE Asia, roughly half

the size of California

Gained independence in 1953 after 100 years

under French rule

In 1960 the population was roughly 7 million,

mainly Buddhist
Ruled by Prince Sihanouk
Civil War in Vietnam
Sihanouk maintains neutrality

 In 1970 Sihanouk was deposed by a US-

backed military coup.

The Khmer Rouge movement, led by Pol Pot,

was initially small

Pol Pot, who was educated in France, was an

admirer of Maoist communism/suspicious of

Vietnams relations with Cambodia
In 1975, Lon Nol was defeated by the Khmer

Rouge

 Under Pol Pots leadership, and within days of

overthrowing the government, the Khmer

Rouge embarked on an organized mission:
they ruthlessly imposed an extremist
program to reconstruct Cambodia (now under
its Khmer name Kampuchea) on the
communist model of Maos China.
The population must, they believe, be made

to work as laborers in one huge federation of

collective farms. Anyone in oppositionand
all intellectuals and educated people were
assumed to bemust be eliminated, together
with all un-communist aspects of traditional
Cambodian society

 At short notice and under threat of death, the

inhabitants of towns and cities were forced to

leave them.
No one was spared the exodus
Ill, elderly, handicapped, very young were all driven

out
People who refused to leave, or left too slowly were

killed
Children were taken from parents and forced into

separate labor camps

All religions were banned
Leading Buddhist monks were killed
Also, many Muslims and Christians were killed

 Those who were not killed became unpaid

laborers
Food rations were scarce
Work hours were impossibly long

Civilian deaths in this period, from

executions, disease, exhaustion and

starvation, have been estimated at well over
2 million
During the civil war that led to the Khmer

coup, nearly 156,000 civilians died

 The Khmer Rouge carefully documented all

their victims. They took photographs before

subjected civilians to torture

Refugees

The Killing Fields

 How did Buddhism influence Look Thas

understanding of the atrocities he

experienced?
(p. 570) I believe that when people die, they

are reborn, and that those who observed

Panchaseela [the five precepts] and led good
lives will be reborn in the heavens or in the
universe. Those who did bad things will be
born in hell or as animals. Therefore, in the
future, the result of kamma will not bring Pol
Pot soldiers to a good place. Someday they
too will suffer and be killed, either in this life
or in a future life. Already they have had to
suffer in this life; I saw them living in the
jungle like animals, after the Vietnamese
came.

Vietnamese Liberation
In 1978, Vietnam invaded Kampuchea and

overthrew the Khmer Rouge

In November 1979, Look Tha and his family

decided to head towards the Thai-Cambodian

border
(p. 570) I decided I would not return to

Cambodia until the Vietnamese left

Life in America
What does Look Tha like about life in

America?
What doesnt he like about life in America?

(p. 571)
When I am lonely I think of Cambodia; but

then I think of Pol Pot, and I get so upset. I

think, Why did they kill so many people?
They all had the same religion, the same
nationality, the same dress; they were all
Cambodians!