Genocide is one of the most debated crimes in the world. The Cambodian genocide is a dreadful occurrence that took in the mid-1970, but its consequences are still being felt today (Le Billon & Bakker, 2000). Much has been written about it movies have been acted with regards to its condemnation, and more is yet to come. In this essay, I explore the Cambodian genocide concerning the movie Escape from Sobibor 1987.
The Khmer Rouge rose to take over the Cambodian government in 1975, with the primary intention of converting Cambodia into a communist agrarian utopia. In doing so, they cleared the cities and jostled millions of Cambodians into labor camps where the latter was famished and abused. The elite including doctors, teachers and other educated persons regarded as the opposition were mistreated and slaughtered. It is guesstimated that between 1.7 and 2 million innocent citizens lost their lives during the four-year rule of the Khmer Rouge, with minimal, if any, condemnation from the international community (Escape From Sobibor, 1987).
As Escape from Sobibor 1987 starts, the beautiful scenery of the city houses can be seen with green vegetation; an indication of peace and calmness before the onset of massive displacement and the wanton killings. This reflects the situation before the Communist Party of Kampuchea, familiarly referred to as Khmer Rouge took over. The movement began as a benefactor of the people following the Indochina War between 1950 and 1960, progressing into a registered political party in 1968 and expanded over next two decades. During decade spanning between 1960 and early 1970’s, the Cambodians were a peaceful lot courtesy of the efforts of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (Escape From Sobibor, 1987).
Hypocrisy is prevalent in the movie. As its begins, the slaves in the labor are lined up to welcome new recruits. As the general addresses them, he sarcastically mentions that he does want any problems to happen like the previous day. The same hypocrisy was prevalent in the leadership of the Khmer Rouge; the majority of their leaders have highly learned persons and yet they executed the elite in society. One of the elites in Khmer Rouge Movement is Pol Pot himself alias “Brother Number One.” He came from a relatively prosperous family that owned over 50 acres of rice paddy, which was tenfold the general average. He was well educated; he went to a French Catholic primary learning center in Phnom Penh after which he relocated to Paris for post-secondary education where he joined other like-minded elites to form Communist Party of Kampuchea.
People who were unable to work or trek to the labor camps were executed and those deemed to be in antagonism to the party (regardless whether its was true or false) a like; in some situations, the families were executed too when considered unfavorable. The soldiers did not want to look over their shoulders to watch out for families seeking revenge for their brothers and sisters in the labor camps or killed.
Just as the movie shows, children and babies were not spared from the cruelty; it was often remarked that to halt the weeds, one has to pull up their roots. At some point in the labor camp, one of the women gave birth, she hid her baby with the help of the other workers, lest the infant would have been slaughtered. Anyone going to the showers, mostly women, children and the elderly, got killed and their bodies burnt. As they were planning an escape, one of the men suggested to take his four-year-old son with him; the leader of the resistance narrated to him that every day when the train arrived, and the capable people were isolated, the rest taken to the shower to be slaughtered and burnt, and I quote, “ this is a death camp every day when a train arrives, the people going to the shower are massacred the fire is the funeral” (Escape From Sobibor, 1987).
At the start, killings were not common, starvation acted as a useful tool to rid unsuitable populations, however, as more and more people got imprisoned, the Khmer Rouge transitioned over to a routine of “killing fields,” inaugurating hundreds all over the country. As the genocide advanced, continued existence was influenced by one’s capacity to work in the collective farms. Survival of the fittest translated to massive loss of lives among the elderly, the physically challenged, the sick and children because of their incapability to carry out inconsiderate manual work (Rashke, 1982).
Currency, free markets forces, learning institutions, state and private property, overseas styles of clothing, religion, and other various aspects of traditional Khmer culture abandoned. The structures that formerly served as such as learning centers, pagodas, and government offices were converted into holding cells and prisons, camps, and storage for looted property. Familial interactions were immensely undermined, and the Khmer Rouge emphasized that all people regard “Angka” (meaning the Organization) as their mother and father. Children were recruited to serve as soldiers for the Khmer Rouge; they were an easy target because of minimal chances to revolt against the rogue regime (Escape From Sobibor, 1987).
References
Le Billon, P., & Bakker, K. (2000). Cambodia: Genocide, autocracy, and the over-politicized state. The Weak States and Vulnerable Economies: Humanitarian Emergencies in Developing Countries, 2.
Rashke, R. (1982). Escape from Sobibor: The Heroic Story of the Jews Who Escaped from a Nazi Death Camp.
Escape From Sobibor. (1987). Hollywood.
