Kambol (Phnom Penh, Cambodia). 25/08/2009: Sotheara Chhim, psychiatrist, during his testimony on a screen in the press room on Day 64 in Duch’s trial at the ECCC
(Photo: John Vink/ Magnum)25-08-2009
By Stéphanie Gée
Ka-set
Sotheara Chhim, Cambodian psychiatrist and director of the Phnom Penh based organisation TPO (Transcultural Psychosocial Organization), was heard as an expert on Tuesday August 25th. A testimony that was necessary to assess the trauma of the victims of the Khmer Rouge in the Cambodian society and its impact, both individual and collective. Unfortunately, the interpretation struggled, as some of the doctor’s answers were cut and the technical vocabulary was confused. The expert explained how the Khmer Rouge Tribunal could represent a starting point for healing and reconciliation and believed this process must be completed by another – later – mechanism on reparation.
The Khmer Rouge’s work of destruction
Dr Sotheara Chhim started by painting a very dark picture of the social situation under the Khmer Rouge, marked by a climate of distrust and fear resulting from a people categorisation in particular, the destruction of Khmer culture and its religious foundations, the ban on the freedom to worship decided by the new rulers of the country, keen to erase the past. “Cambodians thus suffered a massive psychological impact. People used their beliefs as a basis to solve their problems and confer a meaning and logical explanation to what happened around them. But the destruction of these beliefs resulted in a psychological deficit. So, when they encountered a problem, people could no longer find any solution. The Khmer Rouge did not allow them to pay tribute as they were taught by tradition or to practice their religion. The Khmer Rouge also forced families to separate. Children were taken away from their parents. While at a young age, they need their parents’ love, they were deprived of it. In addition, people were tortured, deprived of food, and this also contributed to the trauma. […] [Children] were also forced to spy on their own parents and some of them even killed them. This experience left a more than bitter taste in the mouth of these children, because the Khmer Rouge destroyed the health of each of these beings by forcing them to work excessively and not giving them decent enough accommodation. Also, there was the state of constant fear in which people used to live, over a long period of time.”
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The Khmer Rouge’s work of destruction
Dr Sotheara Chhim started by painting a very dark picture of the social situation under the Khmer Rouge, marked by a climate of distrust and fear resulting from a people categorisation in particular, the destruction of Khmer culture and its religious foundations, the ban on the freedom to worship decided by the new rulers of the country, keen to erase the past. “Cambodians thus suffered a massive psychological impact. People used their beliefs as a basis to solve their problems and confer a meaning and logical explanation to what happened around them. But the destruction of these beliefs resulted in a psychological deficit. So, when they encountered a problem, people could no longer find any solution. The Khmer Rouge did not allow them to pay tribute as they were taught by tradition or to practice their religion. The Khmer Rouge also forced families to separate. Children were taken away from their parents. While at a young age, they need their parents’ love, they were deprived of it. In addition, people were tortured, deprived of food, and this also contributed to the trauma. […] [Children] were also forced to spy on their own parents and some of them even killed them. This experience left a more than bitter taste in the mouth of these children, because the Khmer Rouge destroyed the health of each of these beings by forcing them to work excessively and not giving them decent enough accommodation. Also, there was the state of constant fear in which people used to live, over a long period of time.”
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1 comment:
yes, good observation. reconciliation in cambodia may take time to heal. it's not going to happen overnight like wishful thinking or something! that's the reality, not a skeptic! it is natural for people to want to take revenge, that's why only god can help to heal us all! patience is the key here!
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