Letter to the Editor
The Cambodia Daily
I am a Buddhist, but this letter relates to the harsh treatment of Muslims under the Khmer Rouge. This incident happened in 1977, in Sob commune in Kratie province's Prek Prasap district.
One day, the Khmer and Cham workers were gathered for a special meal, but only pork was served. For the Khmers, this was delicious but the Chams did not get to eat at all, except some teenagers and children. Many Khmer workers took pity on the Chams and that night, they shared salt and rice with them that they had gathered secretly.
Before then, when other workers and I were plowing fields in the area, there were many oxcarts carrying people. But whenever they came back they contained only the drivers. A short distance away, there were many pits containing dead bodies.
Dr Chuong Sengly,
Kratie province
One day, the Khmer and Cham workers were gathered for a special meal, but only pork was served. For the Khmers, this was delicious but the Chams did not get to eat at all, except some teenagers and children. Many Khmer workers took pity on the Chams and that night, they shared salt and rice with them that they had gathered secretly.
Before then, when other workers and I were plowing fields in the area, there were many oxcarts carrying people. But whenever they came back they contained only the drivers. A short distance away, there were many pits containing dead bodies.
Dr Chuong Sengly,
Kratie province
4 comments:
It me be brighten your brain a little bit DR Choung Sengly. In the communist pol pot rigime, there was no body care about Cham or Muslim or if you are god. The whole country was mistreated and starved to death. If they who got pork to eat are special. If you wanted to live, you ate what ever you could get. I don't care if you are Cham or Muslim. If you ate pork, you would never die right away and god (ALAH) never say any thing to you( He would never complaint). Those people Should not think about God (ALAH), They should think about themself first. ALAh is never been visible. But Buddah statues were every where. Pot pot rigime killed buddah statues, burned temples and killing monks. Cambodia was facing Million obstacles that were waiting to be resolved. Our culture, our land and lots other thing were more important than those Pork issues. I would like to encourage you to write something putting on the Internet, something about what causing the killing in Pol Pot regime? this is very simple Question, but it is not for simple Answers. if you knew please tell the whole world in 100 pages.
By Norodom Reajeasie
Obviously, the KR knew that the Chams did not eat pork but they forcibly made these people to abandon their faith just like they forced the Buddhist monks to kill chicken. The Buddhist monks did not even get the chance to eat enough rice, let alone the chicken meat they were forced to prepare. And, the killings were not limited to the Cham minority. The "New" Cambodian people, who were expelled from cities around the country, were among the first to go, especially if they were identified to be teachers, civil servants, or soldiers. The few Chams in the KR army also mistreated the "New" people when they were being herded into the countryside.
It is OK to highlight some aspect of the KR regime that the world may overlook, such as the Cham/pork case, but it should not be described as the only thing that deserves attention.
Chritian also were destroyed and killed!
Even my brother who believe in not thing, he was killed just because he Cambodian!!!
I wish he was Vietnamese so he can be send to Vietname instead of be killed!
I don't know what the author's intention is..but the Chams experience under Pol Pot are no different than mine. I was forced to smash Budhist statues in the temple and use the remain as chalk to write on the little hand held black board. Since I am a Budhist, this is sacrilegious.
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