When it comes to war, politicians make the decisions and enforce the rules, but who suffers the consequences of war the most? Historically, it has often been the women and children. A leading children's humanitarian organization, Save the Children, explained that in the last ten years, 93,236 children have been killed or maimed in conflicts. This would equate to about 25 children a day, or the average elementary classroom size in America. Children are suffering mentally, emotionally, and physically through conflicts all around the world. Many of these wars and hostile acts may be well known to us; others, not so much.
The genocide in Cambodia was one of those tragic conflicts that wasn’t well known to me. The horror came at the hands of the Khmer Rouge regime. The regime began as a small guerilla group that called themselves the Communist Party of Kampuchea. As it grew, it became more well known as the Khmer Rouge. In the early 1970s, Cambodia was going through political mayhem. In March 1970, Norodom Sihanouk, the country’s Prime Minister, was overthrown by an American-backed military coup headed by General, Lon Nol. This action not only increased violence and hostility in the country, but helped the Khmer Rouge gained wider support (Encyclopædia Britannica). Eventually, the Khmer Rouge took control of the entire country, enforcing their extreme nationalism and intense ideology of self-reliance. The Khmer Rouge committed horrible atrocities against the people of Cambodia and left a lasting impact on the nation.
I recently had the opportunity to visit Cambodia during a study abroad program with Utah State University. I was joined by more than a dozen students and given the opportunity to learn about its turbulent history and explore its unique culture and historic sites. In Phnom Penh, we visited the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. The museum was once an old school that was converted into a prison during the Khmer Rouge regime. In reality, it was a school turned torture center. Many of the Cambodians who were put into the prison were people who the Khmer Rouge deemed as intellectual. Their families were also taken along with them. The prison served as a central hub for the regime, and was more formally known as the S-21 interrogation and detention center. Out of the over 18,000 inmates taken here, only 12 survived the prison, 4 of them were children (Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum).
My friends and I were able to walk through the eerie hallways and rooms of the old prison. The floor was a white and tan checkered tile, but at times the pattern was hard to make out because it was stained with dirt and blood. Around a dozen cells filled each room and usually, two or more prisoners were often sharing the same cell area. The cells were very tight spaces only separated from each other by cinderblocks and cement. In other words, the living situation was far from ideal.
Upon arrival at the prison, it was protocol to have the prisoners photographed. In each mugshot, the prisoner was typically wearing dark clothing with a number attached. These pictures have been preserved and are now presented in such a way that as you walk through the museum, you are met by the faces of thousands of victims, hung up on walls and spread throughout the rooms.
As I walked through the museum, one picture stood out to me. It was a photograph of a young girl who couldn’t have been older than 12 years of age. She was wearing the same dark clothing as everyone else, and the number tag tied to her read 241. I could see the desperation and confusion in her face, which broke my heart. I wanted to save her. I wanted to take her away from the horrifying place she was just brought to. I wanted to give her a hug and tell her everything would be okay, but I couldn’t.
Looking at her grief-stricken face, I imagined myself at her age. Back in my home in Utah, I rode my bike and ran through sprinklers with my friends; I read, drew, and played with Barbies. Looking at her photo, I bet she also liked to do some of those things. I bet she had friends, and hobbies, and even had a favorite meal that her mom would cook. I bet she was like me. I can’t imagine being separated from my family like she probably was. Her life was changed forever and then too quickly it came to an end. I couldn’t help but think that I could have been that girl if I were born in a different time period and on the opposite side of the world. No words could adequately describe the way I felt. This girl was just one of the thousands of kids who met the same fate. Each child's story is valuable, whether it is well-known or not known at all. Though many children, like this young girl, were unfortunately killed, some did survive. However, the survivors were left to live in a broken world.
One survivor was fifteen-year-old Teeda. She still holds many memories of when the Khmer Rouge rose to power. She suffered from starvation and was a witness to many horrible and scarring deaths. In a memoir done by Yale University, she shared, “My greatest fear was not death, but how much suffering I would have to go through before they killed me...The Khmer Rouge gave a new meaning to corruption” (Buttmam). No child should ever have to endure the things many of these young Cambodian children went through. Though Teeda survived, she had to go through unbelievable pain and suffering. The power and determination of that young girl is inspiring.
As I pondered Teeda’s strength along with the heartbreaking photo of the unknown girl, the word “unfair” kept coming to my mind. It is unfair that at the hands of evil, the innocent are killed. People say that life isn’t fair, but to me, that statement is just as harmful as it is true. It enables one to choose a more passive reaction to conflict and become a bystander. If we can make the world more just and fairer for even one singular person, why wouldn’t we want to? Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” This statement includes children. Children are dependent on others for many of their needs and should be able to rely on the older generations to deliver the justice they deserve.
Though the Cambodian genocide is now an issue of the past, there are still many conflicts currently taking place all around the world that are putting children at risk of injury and death both now and into the future. Recently in 2018, children made up eighty-nine percent of civilian casualties from explosive remnants of war in Afghanistan (United Nations). The UNICEF organization disclosed that there are more than five million Ukrainian children in need of humanitarian aid due to the developing war. Regarding Ukraine, the organization also stated, “Attacks using explosive weapons in populated urban areas have inflicted civilian casualties, including children” (UNICEF). Whether it is in Cambodia, Europe, the Middle East, our hometown, or anywhere else in the world, these issues are real, and they are extremely serious. Unfortunately, conflict seems to be a constant in the world we live in, but child suffering shouldn’t be.
Sources
Buttmam, T. (1997). Children of Cambodia's Killing Fields. The New York Times. Retrieved August 22, 2022, from https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/first/p/pran-cambodia.html?scp=86&sq=children%2520of%2520men&st=cse
Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Khmer Rouge. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved August 23, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Khmer-Rouge
King, M. L. (1963, August). Letter From Birmingham Jail. Birmingham, Alabama.
Save the Children. On average 25 children killed or injured in conflicts every day for the past decade: New report. Save the Children. (n.d.). Retrieved August 22, 2022, from https://www.savethechildren.org/us/about-us/media-and-news/2020-press-releases/25-children-killed-injured-in-conflicts-every-day
Tuol Sleng genocide museum. (n.d.). Retrieved August 22, 2022, from https://tuolsleng.gov.kh/en/museum/
UNICEF. (2022, August 17). War in Ukraine: Support for children and families. UNICEF. Retrieved August 23, 2022, from https://www.unicef.org/emergencies/war-ukraine-pose-immediate-threat-children
United Nations. (2018, December 28). Children suffering 'atrocities' as number of countries in conflict hits New peak: Unicef | | un news. United Nations. Retrieved August 23, 2022, from https://news.un.org/en/story/2018/12/1029461
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. (n.d.). United States holocaust memorial museum. Retrieved August 22, 2022, from https://www.ushmm.org/genocide-prevention/countries/cambodia/case-study/violence/s-21