Portland Public Library

Facing death in Cambodia, Peter Maguire

eng

Includes bibliographical references (p. 231-248) and index

illustrations

index present

non fiction

Facing death in Cambodia

bibliography

55286777

Peter Maguire

The Khmer Rouge regime took control of Cambodia by force of arms, then murdered at least 1.5 million people between 1975 and 1979. Yet no individuals were ever tried or punished. Maguire documents the atrocities and the aftermath through personal interviews with victims and perpetrators, discussions with international and NGO officials, journalistic accounts, and government sources gathered during a ten-year odyssey in search of answers. According to Maguire, Cambodia holds the key to understanding why recent UN interventions throughout the world have failed to prevent atrocities and to enforce treaties. Was the Cambodian genocide a preview of the genocidal civil wars that would follow in the wake of the Cold War? Is international justice an attainable idea or a fiction superimposed over an unbearably dark reality?--From publisher description

"So you've been to school for a year or two..." -- "Do not kill any living creature, with the exception of the enemy" -- The angkar is more important to me than my father and mother" -- "The weapon of the mouth" -- "Only the third person knows" -- "I am excellent survivor" -- "Am I a savage person?" -- "She is nice girl, but she is sick" -- "I am no longer HIV positive" -- "I am not dead, I am alive."