Pol Pot - The Khmer Rouge & the Killing Fields Documentary

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G.Garitan, CC BY-SA 3.0
Io Herodotus, CC BY-SA 4.0
Allervous, CC BY-SA 4.0
Willuconquer, CC BY-SA 4.0
Michael Darter, CC BY-SA 2.5
Woo King Tam gwiam, CC BY-SA 4.0
Clay Gilliland, CC BY-SA 2.0
Adam Jones from Kelowna, BC, Canada, CC BY-SA 2.0
Jean-Christophe Windland, CC BY-SA 3.0
Michael Gruijters at Dutch Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
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Kimlong Meng, CC BY-SA 4.0
Michael Darter, CC BY-SA 2.5
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#Biography #History #Documentary

[PeopleProfiles]

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[auntbutton]

In college I had a classmate in my writing class that was a refugee from Cambodia. He read his paper to the class. I remember him relating how he and his sister and his mother had to flee to the jungle. They were starving, and figured out what berries and seeds were hopefully safe to eat by watching the birds and what they ate. And after he got to the parr where, while searching the jungle for food he came to a clearing and looked down to find himself staring down into a massive and deep pit full of dead people. He was pretty sure his father was among the dead in that pit. There wasn't a dry eye in room. It was 30 years ago and it haunts me still.

[MC-vpeg]

Thank you for the insightful documentary.

My dad lived through the killing fields executions in Battambang.

He witnessed his 2 older brothers beheadings because they couldn’t speak Khmer well enough due to being ethnically Chinese/Vietnamese. The rest of the family spoke fluent Khmer so their lives were spared.

Both of his parents died of disease from bad drinking water. He was separated from his siblings due to the war, ending up on the streets at the age of 13.

He was, unfortunately, one of the many children who would become child laborers by the Khmer Rouge. Dad would constantly remind me, when I was a kid, of what he went through. He worked for about 4 years, 20 hour days farming and piling bodies/ throwing bodies in ditches. He said that bodies were piled high everywhere that it was impossible to count. He told me that a 10 pound rice bag had to feed his camp of 200 people. He had to eat fish and frog tadpole, snakes, and other undesirable things to survive. Among other stories he told me, he had a gun pointed to his head while relieving himself to ensure that he wouldn’t run away.

He tried escaping twice, first time to the mountains to the border of Thailand, to which many were turned away. The second time, he was able to enter Thailand and was rescued by the Red Cross. He told me when he boarded the plane that he was wearing rice bags as clothing. Out of his entire family, he was the only one who sent in the US, the others went to Australia.

He did very well for himself despite only having the clothes on his back. Because of his work ethic and survival instincts, he worked his way up in the restaurant industry to becoming an executive chef and managed several restaurants and eventually owning a few restaurants.

Every year in August he celebrates his refuge to the US, paying respects to the country that brought him in, giving him an opportunity to become successful and have a better life, and expressing his thankfulness to President Jimmy Carter for taking in refugees from his country.

[BullyMaguiretheForbiddenOne]

Khmer male here, my mother and grandmother were survivors of the regime. Unbelievably, i was born April 15th, 1998, the day of his death. My mother sees me as a blessing and new era to her life after i was born. She was a child during the regime, and had to eat tarantulas and snakes. We now live in America, and we have a nice home and she never wants to hear his name ever again.

[heylow]

my heart till sinking from sadness hearing this and even reading the story of civilians comments. I can’t believe that my grandfather who is a Vietnam soldier went thru wars like this. I just hope those who can will live the life to the fullest, and those who can’t will be peacefully be asleep away from the misery ❤😔 my greatest condolences to all who suffered.

[mikekennedy]

I was shocked to discover a few years ago that the hair-cutter at the shop I frequented escaped with her sister from one of the Khmer Rouge jungle prison camps where many died. One day, we were making small talk as she cut my hair and I asked where she was originally from, and she said Cambodia. She then told a story how they left during Pol Pot's rule, and that she and her sister escaped to save their lives. At first, I thought she was kidding, but then I saw her sad eyes and the emotion in her voice. They escaped at night preferring to die trying rather than wait for an almost certain eventual death in the camp. The two hiked quietly for many days through the jungle until they reached Thailand and safety. From there, they eventually were allowed to resettle in the US. She and her sister are brave. Sadly, many in their family disappeared during that bad time.

[paulc]

This evil man was the worst kind in human history... in a short five years, he killed 25% of the population of Cambodia at the time. Those who lived through Pol Pot regime will never forget or forgive this evil for what he had done to the country. May his soul rot in hell.

[unbindingfloyd]

Never forget, he did not do these things alone. He was human supported by other people. The killing fields were ran by everyday people. Thats an important point to remember when looking back on dictators. How people came to do these things are just as important as who was at the head of government.

[ElKSar]

What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. At just seven years old, I endured the Vietnam War, the horrors of the Khmer Rouge's Killing Fields, the Vietnamese invasion, and life in refugee camps. These harrowing experiences became the crucible that forged my resilience, adaptability, innovation, and compassion. Through it all, I thank God for His unwavering protection. It is in hardship that we cultivate kindness, rediscover our humanity, and uncover the depth of our shared strength.

[Luke-hsbf]

As a long time student of Asian history. This relatively brief documentary was very well put together. Thank you for putting this info out on utube. People must not forget these atrocities nor the suffering of so many innocent people at the hands of these monsters.

[cun]

My father was just 5 years old during the Khmer Rouge take over. He said, he was terrifled, seeing that one of his family member was gone, which was his sister. The reason why, was because, his sister was married to a weathly Police Officer and they found out about it, and she was killed. My dad, and his 3 other brother was suggling to survive during the Genocide. Evenaully, the civil war would end and at that time, he was still shock. Luckily, he was one of the few that return back to the capital with only one family member gone. He soon became a leading member of the Cambodian Ministry of Justice in Kandal and in around May or April 2021, my dad get to see one of the Khmer Rough leader, who was also sent on a trail was passed away infront of my father, the same person who ordered a Execution of my father sister. My dad was sad for his family but not for him. My dad would leave the hospital and talked to his daughter and sons about his passing.

I am happy that I get to live in a Modern society of Cambodia. I have friends who their loves one would be on the wall of the people who got executed. May those who died as a innocent, would live in heaven and the family would be bless my the richest they lose. And for those who didn't see mercey in those eyes of the innocent Khmer people, shall die in the same condition as their so called "Brother 1" or "Bong ti muoy”

[alediazofficial]

I've never had such an eerie feeling as I did whilst standing in front of the killing fields memorial in Cambodia. To see such a tower of human remains and know it's only a fraction of all people killed was truly horrifying and mind blowing..

[haroldpearson]

As a Brit I lived and worked in Cambodia from 1998 to 2018. I met a lovely Cambodian lady in 1999 and we were married on 2002. My wife had experienced the whole period of the Khmer Rouge, abandoned with 2 small children. I have been involved in raising and upbringing of these children. Both are now married with successful businesses in Cambodia.
My wife and I are now settled in UK.

[ilove]

Thank you for the education of pol pot, I am a survivor 53 yrs old, mom, dad passed away during those time. It's sad but I won't live or looking back but to look forward for a better life .

[joememphis]

I went to school many years ago with quite a few students whose parents survived Pol Pot. One kid told me that his father lost his mother and all nine of his sisters and he and his twin brother went into hiding as they walked over 40 miles over a few days trying to get to safety. They first moved to Australia in 1980 and in 1988 they relocated to the United States settling in California and Colorado.

[davanmani]

I was in Cambodia at those Killing Fields museum. There were in-cased skulls. A tour guide showing the grounds and telling stories. One of the visitors asked the guide if he did any of these killings. He simply said, “I’m alive.”

[trevoranderson]

I spent some time at the killing fields today in Cambodia. There are still bones and clothes coming up through the ground, being eroded by rain and sun. The row after row, room after room of photographs of the victims. And millions more lost and unknown. Each one a person with family, hopes and dreams. The school, which would have been built with the best of intentions, was turned into a slaughterhouse prison. Blood splatter still stains the high ceilings, walls and floor. Everyone in this country is deeply effected. Only 8 escaped the prison when the Vietnamese came. Only 2 are alive today. They return to the prison each day to share their story, in the form a small book available for purchase. One kept alive because he was a mechanic and could fix the typewriters. The other, a skilled painter. It was truly a surreal experience.

[catdzoozed]

This is one of the best presentation I' ve ever seen. I knew about Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge but not as detailed as how it was presented in this video. This an excellent and highly recommended video. Thanks for this!

[rubennilsson]

I worked in Thailand for an international company back in 88-96. 90 or 91 a Cambodian trade delegation cam to visit us and asked us to start purchasing products ftom there. I went to Phnom Phen to have a look. The town was a ghost town in rubble. The UN troops was there. Streets full of garbage and junk, people living on the side walks. No electricity except from a few generators. An open bar ( Martini)? entertainment area full of UN soldiers, a few NGO workers and a lot of Vietnamese girls. Occacion machine gun could be heard in the evenings. I concluded I was there way to early for us to start up any business. Since then I’ve been back in recent years and I am happy to see that Cambodia has evolved. Lovely people! Fantastic video many young people need to see!

[pedroborda]

Fantastic video. Drip-dry, straight to the point information to leave a 90's child nostalgic of documentaries of old. No nonesense, no sugar coating, no added fat.

As a dyslexic who has trouble reading, yet *loves* learning, channels like yours are godly blessing.

Thank you.