Coping With Genocide in Cambodia

PBS Frontline / World

Coping With Genocide in Cambodia
Target Grade Levels:
Grades 9-12

Themes:
Vietnam War (Legacy), Genocide, U.S. Influence Abroad, Reconstruction
• The Activity
• Extensions
• Relevant National Standards
• Cross-Curricular Activities
• Ties to Literature


The Activity


In the 1970s, the Vietnam War spilled into Cambodia. Rebel Khmer Rouge forces, led by a man named Pol Pot, took power and set out to establish a classless, agrarian society. One out of every four Cambodians died under the terrifying rule of the Khmer Rouge. In reference to this genocide, Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen has said, "We should dig a hole and bury the past." Prach Ly, a young Cambodian American living in Los Angeles, disagrees, and he's using his rap music to tell the world what happened in Cambodia so that history won't repeat itself. 

To introduce students to this dark chapter in Cambodian history, show them where Cambodia is on a map, then play "Power, Territory and Rice"

pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/cambodia/ly.html

from Dalama: The Education of the Lost Chapter, Prach Ly's yet-to-be-released album. Allow students to read the lyrics of the song while it is played. (Print the Web page with the lyrics and pass it out to students, or use a computer projector to present the lyrics to the classroom.)
When the song is over, ask students these questions.

• What is the subject of the song?
• What images does the song describe?
• What do you think is the rapper's purpose in writing the song?
• How does the music affect the message of the song?

Next, expand student understanding of the rule of the Khmer Rouge by watching the story "Cambodia: Pol Pot's Shadow" (about 24 minutes long). Help students focus their viewing by asking them to take notes on the various ways in which Cambodians have coped with the memory of the mass killings.

After the video, ask students to write a journal entry about what they think should be done in order for Cambodians to feel justice and peace for the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge. Would it be best for Cambodians to simply "dig a hole and bury the past," as suggested by the Cambodian prime minister? Why or why not?

If time permits, consider having students compare and contrast Cambodian reactions to genocide with those of the people in Rwanda, where approximately 800,000 people were slaughtered in 1994. The FRONTLINE/World Fellows story, "Rwanda: After the Genocide" provides background information on the conflict in Rwanda, as well as the perspectives of a perpetrator and a victim.

Additional resources on the genocide in Rwanda can be found at the FRONTLINE Web site feature, "Ghosts of Rwanda."
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Extensions



Expand class discussion on genocide by exploring these related FRONTLINE/World stories:
A Question of Genocide
Experience the refugee camps at the Chad/Sudan border in Summer 2004.
Dark Shadows: The Legacy of War in Serbia and Bosnia (from FRONTLINE/World's 'Rough Cut' series)
Ten years after the genocidal Srebrenica massacre, find out what progress has been made in reforming the Serbian and Bosnian political systems and overcoming the deep ethnic divides between Serbs, Croatians and Muslims. (July 2005)
Rwanda: After the Genocide
See how Rwanda is trying to heal itself after 800,000 people were slaughtered in just three months in 1994.
Sudan: The Quick and the Terrible
Learn about the roots of what many consider to be genocide in the Darfur region of the Sudan.
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Relevant National Standards


These standards are drawn from "Content Knowledge," a compilation of content standards and benchmarks for K-12 curriculum by McRel (Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning), at http://www.mcrel.org/standards-benchmarks/.
United States History, Standard 27: Understands how the Cold War and conflicts in Korea and Vietnam influenced domestic and international politics

Level IV, Benchmark 2
Understands the political elements of the Vietnam War (e.g., the constitutional issues involved in the Vietnam War, the legacy of the war)

World History, Standard 44: Understands the search for community, stability and peace in an interdependent world Language Arts, Standard 5: Uses the general skills and strategies of the reading process

Level IV, Benchmark 4
Understands writing techniques used to influence the reader and accomplish an author's purpose (e.g., organizational patterns, such as cause-and-effect or chronological order; imagery, personification, figures of speech, sounds in poetry; literary and technical language; formal and informal language; point of view; characterization; irony; narrator)