history of Cambodian genocide

 Following the Cambodian Civil War, the Khmer Rouge took power in 1975. The next four years would prove to be a struggle for survival for all Cambodians. The Khmer Rouge consisted largely of Cambodian peasantry, a group that had faced decades of subjugation: first by the Vietnamese, then the French, and lastly the U.S. (during the Vietnam War, the U.S. dropped 500 thousand to 2.7 million tons of bombs along the Cambodian countryside). Led by Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge envisioned a purely agrarian, communist country, unmarked by western society. To accomplish this, they successfully killed about 90% of educated middle and upper-class individuals (Many who survived escaped from Cambodia early or were traveling abroad at the time). They then forced almost all of Cambodia into fierce labor, growing rice and other crops. However, Pol Pot's plan was unsuccessful. Many Cambodians had no experience farming, and rice is among the hardest crops to grow. As a result, the yield was far smaller than expected, leading to widespread malnutrition and starvation. With the slaughter of most Cambodian physicians and educated, disease was also rampant. Furthermore, with a mistrust of adults, the Khmer Rouge instead recruited child "physicians" to treat illness, who went to extremes such as performing experimental surgical procedures without anesthesia. Altogether by 1979, not including deaths due to the Cambodian Civil War, the Khmer Rouge were responsible for 1.5 to 2 million total Cambodian deaths or approximately 25% of the population. Pol Pot's rule ended when several high ranking Khmer Rouge officials escaped to Vietnam, returning with an army of 120,000 Vietnamese soldiers who quickly crushed the thinly spread Khmer Rouge soldiers. In the end, millions of Cambodians were displaced by the end of Pol Pot's reign. Many ended up in refugee camps along the Cambodia-Thai border, supported by western aid, ultimately resettling in America, France, and other countries. Between 1975 and 1994, about 158,000 Cambodian refugees gained entry into the United States. 

Primary references:  Chan, Sucheng. “Cambodians in the United States: Refugees, Immigrants, American Ethnic Minority.” Oxford Research Encyclopedia of American History, 2015, doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199329175.013.317.
Owen, Taylor, and Ben Kiernan. “Bombs Over Cambodia - Gsp.yale.edu.” The Walrus, 2006, gsp.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Walrus_CambodiaBombing_OCT06.pdf. ​
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Cambodians in long beach, california

With the end of the Khmer Rouge regime, the U.S. received a large influx of Cambodian refugees—many arriving in California, Massachusetts, Texas, and Pennsylvania. Today, Long Beach, California is home to the largest population of Cambodians outside of Cambodia itself and is a symbol of the Cambodian diaspora (5, 6).

However, without education and suffering severe trauma, many Cambodians had difficulty assimilating. As a result, a large proportion of Cambodians live in poverty and experience severe health disparities (1). 

Cambodians score dramatically worse on nearly every indicator of health compared to other Asians and the general U.S. population (1, 2, 4, 8). In a 2005 study, 89% of Long Beach Cambodians reported health as “fair or poor”—a marker linked to a twofold increase in mortality risk compared to ratings of “good, very good, or excellent.” Meanwhile, only 18% of other Asians or Pacific Islanders and 19% of the general California population reported “fair or poor” health (8). 

Studies across America show similar results. In Lowell, Massachusetts, the second largest population of Cambodians in America, Cambodians scored dramatically worse on nearly every indicator of health according to 2001 CDC study (4). Smoking was especially prevalent (50.4% of men smoked) and chronic, preventable diseases were left uncontrolled--just 41.9% of Cambodians with diabetes had an A1c test the year prior (4). Meanwhile, in a 2003 Connecticut mental health survey, 74% of Cambodians self-reported depression and 45% reported symptoms consistent with PTSD (1). 

The reasons for these health disparities are complex and multifactorial. These include the mental and physical trauma experienced during the Cambodian Genocide, along with factors within America--limited access to care, poor socioeconomic status, language barriers, and distrust of western medicine (1). Despite California's 118,000 Cambodian residents, a 2008 report from the California Medical Board reported only 40 Cambodian physicians (3). With a traumatic past, Cambodians are often distrustful of physicians' offices; stethoscopes, auriscopes, and other physician tools resemble the tools used to torture family members (9). Instead, Cambodians resort to alternative medicines--when I personally suffered from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, my Cambodian father brought me to a herbal doctor and acupuncturist rather than a physician. 

It will take time to heal the wounds of Cambodian refugees--many who have suffered unimaginable terrors. However, as fellow Americans, we should use our voices to advocate for and educate the public on the silent struggle that Cambodians face. With more culturally competent citizens, government officials, teachers, and healthcare providers, we can begin to heal these wounds. 

Long Beach (Image by skeeze from Pixabay)

​works cited

1.) Caballero, Jeffrey, et al. “Silent Trauma: Diabetes, Health Status, and the Refugee Southeast Asians in the United States: Issues and Recommendations for Approaches to Reduce the Burden of Diabetes in This Vulnerable Population.” PsycEXTRA Dataset, 2006, doi:10.1037/e566982010-001. 

2.) Chan, Sucheng. “Cambodians in the United States: Refugees, Immigrants, American Ethnic Minority.” Oxford Research Encyclopedia of American History, 2015, doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199329175.013.317.

3.) Grumbach, Kevin, Kara Odom, Gerardo Moreno, Eric Chen, and Christopher Vercammen-Grandjean. "Physician Diversity in California: New Findings from the California Medical Board Survey." Center for California Health Workforce Studies (2008). Print.

4.) Koch-Weser, S., MS, S. Liang, and D. Grigg-Saito, MS. "Health Status of Cambodians and Vietnamese—Selected Communities, United States, 2001-2002." Jama 292.18 (2004): 2208. Print.

5.) Lopez, Gustavo, Anthony Cilluffo, and Eileen Pattern. "Cambodians: Data on Asian Americans." Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends Project. 31 Dec. 2019. Web. 10 Sept. 2020.

6.) Needham, Susan, and Karen Quintiliani. “Cambodians in Long Beach, California.” Taylor & Francis, 2008, www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1300/J500v05n01_03. 

7.) Owen, Taylor, and Ben Kiernan. “Bombs Over Cambodia - Gsp.yale.edu.” The Walrus, 2006, gsp.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Walrus_CambodiaBombing_OCT06.pdf. ​

8.) Wong, Eunice C., Grant N. Marshall, Terry L. Schell, Marc N. Elliott, Susan H. Babey, and Katrin Hambarsoomians. "The Unusually Poor Physical Health Status of Cambodian Refugees Two Decades After Resettlement." Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health 13.5 (2010): 876-82. Print.

9.) Shin, Heidi. "Why a US Health Clinic Suggests Cambodian Treatments for Everyday Maladies." 2016. Web. 10 Sept. 2020.