Cambodia’s search for peace after genocide

The face of torture: Former Khmer Rouge torture chief Kaing Guek Eav aka 'Duch.' Photo via Telegraph.co.uk

Back in the summer/fall of 2005, I was working on what was intended to be a short article for Swindle magazine. It was a piece that was going to look at the significance of Parallel World’s Cambodian Rocks compilation of garage/psych-rock from the pre- and post-Vietnam War era. The compilation featured music performed and recorded by Cambodian musicians channeling the style of American and British rock acts of the day, mostly to cater to U.S. servicemen frequenting small clubs and bars on the border between Vietnam and Cambodia. The recordings were lo-fi but displayed impressive musicianship and raw energy, not to mention stylistic twists that foreshadowed a burgeoning rock scene in Southeast Asia.

The 'Cambodian Rocks' compilation captured the creative output of the country's slain musicians.

But when I began digging into the research for the article and attempting to track down the artists responsible for the music, I sadly learned that most, if not all, had likely been slaughtered during the Khmer Rouge regime’s rule in Cambodia. Going into the article, I was  aware of the Cambodian genocide (mainly as a result of seeing the 1984 film, The Killing Fields), but was admittedly unaware of just how much misery the regime had inflicted on the Cambodian people. Fascinated by these musicians who for the most part simply vanished, I continued digging deeper, and the piece quickly transformed from a short article about a music compilation to a 5,000 word story about the embattled survival of Cambodia’s artistic and intellectual communities (see: “Eve of Destruction,” Swindle).

The most difficult part of the story though was that there was no definitive ending. Not necessarily for me as a writer, but for the Cambodian people. No justice had ever been served for the 1.7 million Cambodians who died at the hands of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. At the time I wrote the article and up until last year, the international community was still squabbling over the establishment of a war crimes tribunal to prosecute the surviving members of the Khmer Rouge, who have dwindled to a mere dozen or so.

Khmer Rouge leaders (L to R): Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen, and Vorn Vet. Image courtesy Documentation Center of Cambodia.

This past March, however, the tribunal was convened. And while it has already been plagued by claims of corruption (read here), the country’s national nightmare is now, more than three decades later, being put under the microscope (Note: The New York Times‘ Seth Mydans has been providing  stellar coverage. So too has the Cambodia Tribunal Monitor). Front and center in the trial is a man named Kaing Guek Eav, aka ‘Duch,’ who was a torture chief at the infamous Tuol Sleng, or S-21, prison (now a genocide museum). So far, the most profound aspect of the trial has been Kaing Guek Eav’s apology for his actions. His apology may be nothing more than political posturing, but it is the very nature of what this tribunal is seeking to extract from those on trial. With the lionshare of the Khmer Rouge already dead, including Pol Pot, the most heinous offender, there will be no long prison sentences for those who killed and slaughtered their fellow countrymen. Though the tribunal is being viewed as a serious matter, it is hard to see it as anything more than a purely symbolic gesture — a means to give some sense of closure to the Cambodians who lost so many of their family members in the genocide.

I was curious though how Cambodians and Cambodian-Americans perceived the tribunal. Was it a sign of progress and final justice? Or was it too long overdue? I contacted some people who had been helpful to me back in 2005, and some new people as well. What I found was a mixed reaction to the proceedings.

Youk Chang, director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, lost his sister in the genocide.

“The process is most important for Cambodia and its genocide survivors, so they can move forward and shape the future,” says Youk Chang, Executive Director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, a project begun by the Cambodian Genocide Center at Yale University. “[The apology] from Duch has no significance, court is not a forum where a criminal seeks forgiveness. Cambodians understand this very well. It is time for a conviction and it is time for a final judgement so they may be able to forgive.”

Youk Chang makes a valid point. Duch made his apology, however strategic it may have been, but the words of an alleged torture chief who ordered or committed so many atrocities has little to no weight. Justice is, after all, the end goal.

“[Cambodians] are all well prepared not to get too excited,” Chang says. “They [are] reserved: wait and see. They are not only the victims, but also prosecutors, defense, and judges. They are [now] taking charge of their own history.”

Prach Ly, a Cambodian-American rapper from Long Beach, is dedicated to educating his listeners about the genocide.

Prach Ly, a Cambodian-American rapper from Long Beach, tells me the tribunal is a major topic of discussion in his neighborhood. “The Cambodian people are more tuned in than ever,” Ly says. “Talk of genocide and ‘the killing fields’ are everywhere.” But he goes on to say many Cambodians are still living in fear because they believe members of the Khmer Rouge may still live among them. “How can you blame them?” he says. “These are the same people who witnessed their families murdered in front of their eyes.”

Ly says even though more than three decades have passed and most of the Khmer Rouge are now dead,  that doesn’t change the fact that nearly 2 million people were murdered. “That is a reminder of reality and what had happened,” he says.  “The aftermath of the war still lingers over us to this day. The people want to know what happened, who was involved, and why it happened.”

A still from Socheata Poeuv's documentary New Year Baby.

Socheata Poeuv, the filmmaker behind the acclaimed documentary New Year Baby, believes the tribunal is an “opportunity for the country itself to engage in a much-needed dialogue about the Khmer Rouge genocide.” But she also admits that she and others in the Cambodian-American community have their reservations about the overall effectiveness of the tribunal.

“I would characterize reception to the tribunal as a cautious moral support,” Poeuv says. “Due to the delay, and the allegations of corruption, many still doubt that the Cambodian government is invested in delivering justice on behalf of its people. For many survivors, the loss of their entire family and the trauma they suffered continue to stay with them regardless of the trial.”