Children of Cambodia's Killing Fields

These children's memoirs give a human face to the unacceptable genocide committed by the Red Khmer in Cambodia in the name of a Western totalitarian ideology (Marxism - Leninism), which the top cadres `learned' in western universities (Paris). As Dith Pran explains in his introduction, children were at the heart of the Red Khmer's fanatical ideological policies. The Red Khmer mounted an all out attack on family life. Children didn't belong anymore to their parents, but to the Red Khmer's ruling organization. Children were deprived of real knowledge of their natural parents. The aim of the ideologues was to indoctrinate completely all `clean' newborn members of the population in order to build a `Brave New World'. But the top of the Party themselves contradicted these unnatural and inhuman policies. Ieng Sary (Pol Pot's brother-in-law) put his sons at the helm of the province he controlled, while Ta Mok put all his siblings in high positions in his province. Nepotism at the top was rampant! As one of the children remarks, the victory of the Red Khmer was positively greeted by the majority of the population, because people wanted `peace at any price'. But afterwards, of course not at any price. The Red Khmer regime turned into a butchery, an endless slaughtering (clubbing to death, not shooting, because gunshots would have sown panic among the victims in waiting), a genocide through outright executions, overwork, exhaustion, starvation and illnesses. Whole families (women, children and babies) were killed because the rulers feared `revenge'. But ultimately, the most cynical aspect of this atrocious story is the fact that this regime was supported by the West, because the Red Khmer were an enemy of Vietnam, which was an ally of the USSR. In fact, the Red Khmer mass murderers could escape to an ally of the West, Thailand. One needs a strong stomach to digest these memories of an ideological and partisan genocide. They are a must read for all those who want to understand who we are and of what mankind is capable of doing when it disposes of unlimited powers.

This is one of the most powerful books I have read. The writing may not be the greatest. After all it is not a novel; it is a composition of the stories of Cambodians that have survived horrendous atrocities. Before we blame the U.S. we must realize that The U.N. and the rest of the world failed to take action as well. Would the public have supported sending troops into a situation similar to Vietnam? Is Burma the next killing field? We still ignore similar circumstances that are occurring as I type this review.

This is a good introduction for anyone who wants to learn about life under the Khmer Rouge. The stories may be different, but they all provide a vivid detail of children struggling to survive Pol Pot's regime.

Twenty-nine essays compiled by Dith Pran, each written by a Cambodian who was still in childhood when Cambodia fell into Pol Pot's hands. Ben Kiernan ties the collection together so well in his introduction: "Children had to work like adults. Adults, given instructions like children, were treated like animals." As Kiernan notes, Pol Pot's efforts to build his twisted revolution on the backs of these children certainly backfired! The accompanying photos of the contributing authors and the details of their successful new lives in America will make any American recognize what a 'promised land' our country still remains. In so many many ways America has failed the Cambodian people, but most of those fortunate few who reached our shores have made successful lives for themselves and their families. The difficulties confronting those who remain in Cambodia today are seemingly insurmountable. As has been said so many times, every Cambodian has a story to tell, and a river of ink could not describe their nation's suffering. Dith Pran has once again served his people proudly with this touching collection.

Many texts review the adult experience in the uniquely heinous Pol Pot epoch. The perspective of children as they witness the brutality of what are essentially other children lends a horrific quality to an otherwise corroborative work