Cambodia lost a fourth of its people during those four years to starvation, disease, forced labor, torture and murder. You've probably heard the stories. Tens of thousands of human remains – men, women and children - lie in what have come to be called the killing fields throughout Cambodia. Buddhist monks, teachers, doctors, engineers and their families were among the executed. Children were separated from their parents, husbands from wives. Temples, hospitals, universities and schools were destroyed. Books burned. Electric and water systems destroyed. Roads reduced to rubble. In less than four years, a whole civilization was gone.
The war ended in 1979 and was followed by ten years of Vietnamese occupation. Most of the roads are still rubble even in the cities. Phones and electricity do not exist in most of the country. The clean abundant water that we all take for granted is not within reach of the majority of Cambodians. Malnutrition is prevalent and twenty percent of all children die before the age of five. Health care is available only for the rich. The education system is broken. Poverty is extreme. HIV/AIDS is growing dramatically and it is estimated that over 60,000 children in that tiny country are AIDS orphans.
The war continues to kill civilians. There are an estimated four to six million land mines buried in Cambodian soil on roads, footpaths, farms and forests. Half of those who step on land mines die. The others are maimed and/or blinded. Most of them are women and children looking for food and firewood. One out of every 236 Cambodians is an amputee.
People learned during the war to keep to themselves, that trusting others could lead to torture and death. Many were forced to "confess" and accuse neighbors and family members of treason. They used extreme measures to survive as they watched their children die of starvation and disease. Corruption, crime, alcoholism, distrust, post-traumatic stress and fear are the legacy. It will take generations to recover. Restoration in Cambodia is a slow tedious process, but there is restoration, one person at a time, one day at a time. Caring, compassionate people work hard to rebuild their society. It is a privilege to work among them.