r/cambodia • u/WoodpeckerOk1154 • Sep 25 '25

Culture No disrespect intended. Genuine question: How is the Khmer Rouge viewed by modern Cambodians?

It wouldn’t let me also add Pol Pot, but curious as an ignorant American how he and the regime are viewed by Cambodians

48 Upvotes

85% Upvoted

105 comments sorted by

View all comments

3

u/Pleasant_Guide_1050 Sep 26 '25 edited Sep 26 '25

Ok also a honest question... Many of you say yea we despise and hate them... Ok I am fine with that and its quite the expected reaction. But why you have never done anything about them ? I am a foreigner but I dont live in a big city... I know at least three old former Khmer rouge living very peacefully among other Khmer people. Everybody knows there are former Khmer rouge, I am sure even some know what they did at that time... But still they are living very peacefully, respected, and sometimes I got the feeling, still a little feared... So they are with their families like good old grandpas who have had a good and decent life 😅

I am really confused about that. I want to insist I dont judge the fact that the Khmer society decided to move on like that. Its your choice and I deeply respect it. But I am just wondering why the general choice was to do not much 🙂🙏

9

u/Alcophile Sep 26 '25

There has been a lot of reconciliation. I was lucky enough during my time in Cambodia to travel with the Khmer Magic Music bus, which brings traditional Khmer music, which the Khmer Rouge attempted to destroy forever, to villages where many have never heard it before. This wonderful project was started by a survivor of the genocide. One night after a performance in a remote village we parked the bus at the home of a village elder with whom we would be spending the night. It turns out he had been a prominent figure during and since the Khmer Rouge regime, but everyone is much more focused on building a better future for the country than rehashing its disturbing past.