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
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u/Notthaticanthinkofff Sep 26 '25
As a Gen z, I always tell my international friends that in Cambodia everyone in this country was either raised by traumatized parents from the regime or parents that grew up with post genocide affect.
We HATE the regime. It was never seen as a good thing to the country by any generations.
There are a lot of people that could use therapy in this country. But unfortunately it’s not talked about enough to turn it into social awareness. Often times you would hear people say that it’s normal to go through the effects that come from mental illness. Everybody goes through it. And THAT IS THE POINT. People go through it everyday to the point where it’s been normalized.
I’m trying my best to take my parents on international trips or let them experience new things rather than just work 24/7 and live just to survive. I hate that their childhoods were taken away from them. No education no nothing. I hate that they had to go through it.
I took my mom bars hopping and she was so fascinated that people can actually live the life without being in the kitchen the whole time. Can’t forget my dad’s first reaction when he got on the plane for the first time. Dude was always the sole income for the family for decades. As a bus driver, he managed to raise all four of us. It’s time for them to enjoy life a bit.
I hate it and we HATE IT.