Enemies of the People

My good friend and Cambodia outreach photographer Vanessa sent me a link to a documentary on Cambodia yesterday. I went to bed not to interested in watching the trailer, and then this morning when I was going through my emails I came across it again. Now, after watching the trailer I am fumbling around the Internet trying to see when it is coming out on video as it totally grabbed me. This is a movie that I have wanted to see made for a long, long time.

Between 1975-1979 approx. 1.5- 2 million Cambodians (1/3 of the population) were executed or died due to the government take over by the Khmer Rouge. Led by Pol Pot, they came in after the Vietnam war and over the next 4 years did a cleansing of the country. They executed all who were religious, educated, of another government party, babies, and everyone else they considered to be an enemy of the people.  In other words, they committed genocide.

This country, which I deeply love and am committed to has gone through some of the most difficult times imaginable, yet they continue to move on, they continue to smile, they continue to find life. This is one of the main reasons that we are going to Cambodia this summer, to serve and learn from the people there. As a result of the genocide, the country of Cambodia is young and in many way’s trying to rebuild their infrastructure. 50% of the population under the age of 22, 80% of the population under the age of 32, and 3% of the population is over 67.

Over the next few day’s I will be posting more info on the trip to Cambodia, including some more history, language, and pertinent information to the trip. Till then, I am attaching the trailer to Enemies Of The People. And you can read more about the Cambodia trip and apply here.