In 1978 photographer Gunnar Bergstrom was shown factories, fields and classrooms, in a Khmer Rouge propaganda effort.By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
13 November 2008
A Swedish photographer who in 1978 was given a staged tour of the Khmer Rouge’s communist utopia will return to Cambodia for the first time Saturday, in part to exhibit the photographs he took on the trip and in part to apologize for missing the truth.
As part of the Swedish Cambodian Friendship Association, Gunnar Bergstrom spent 14 days in Cambodia in August 1978, where he was given a public relations tour by top leaders of the regime, including Pol Pot and Ieng Sary.
He visited factories and rice fields in Phnom Penh and the countryside and walked away believing Cambodia’s economy was showing promise, that the communist agrarian experiment was working. Only later did he learn of the nearly 2 million who died under the regime.
Bergstrom will return Saturday to begin a two-week tour “to speak with over 400 commune chiefs and villagers,” the Documentation Center of Cambodia, which is supporting the exhibit, said in a statement. “He will tell Cambodians—and ultimately the world—about the things he saw, ignored, and was never shown during his first visit.”
Bergstrom will be visiting a post-war Cambodia where some the regime leaders who hosted him are in jail under the Khmer Rouge tribunal, awaiting trials for atrocity crimes. The first, for jailed prison chief Duch, is expected in early 2009.
The 93-photograph exhibit, “Gunnar in the Living Hell,” features “never-before-seen photographs taken exclusively from Bergstrom's personal archive of his 1978 tour,” the Documentation Center said. “They are in color—unusual for pictures taken in Democratic Kampuchea.”
The exhibit will open at Reyum Arts Gallery and the Khmer Rouge tribunal building in Phnom Penh Nov. 18, before traveling to the provinces of Kampong Cham, Takeo and Battambang later in the month. Finally, the exhibit will be permanently displayed at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, with a duplicate exhibition shown in Stockholm, Sweden.
“The Khmer Rouge prepared [the visit] for him, so he could tell his people what he saw,” said Kalyanee Mam, a public affairs officer for the Documentation Center. “He was shown factories, and he visited a hospital and schools, but those were only an ideal picture that they had organized for him. He could not see behind the scenes.”
“What he saw was busy activity, and that made him think that Cambodia was developing its economy,” she said. “But later, he knew that nearly 2 million were killed in Pol Pot’s regime, and then he felt so guilty. He wanted to present his apology to everyone, because he did not know the truth.... He strongly supports the Khmer Rouge tribunal.”
“As with most visual documents produced for the Khmer Rouge, Bergstrom's collection includes no photos of the torture, starvation, death, and despair for which the Khmer Rouge is so reviled,” the Documentation Center said. “These omissions beg the questions: Was there any justification for the Swedes' support of the Khmer Rouge? Did the Khmer Rouge cadres filter what the Swedes saw, or were the Swedes willfully blind to the conditions surrounding them? Were the Swedes hapless bystanders—or were they, too, victims of the Khmer Rouge, manipulated and duped by the regime?”
As part of the Swedish Cambodian Friendship Association, Gunnar Bergstrom spent 14 days in Cambodia in August 1978, where he was given a public relations tour by top leaders of the regime, including Pol Pot and Ieng Sary.
He visited factories and rice fields in Phnom Penh and the countryside and walked away believing Cambodia’s economy was showing promise, that the communist agrarian experiment was working. Only later did he learn of the nearly 2 million who died under the regime.
Bergstrom will return Saturday to begin a two-week tour “to speak with over 400 commune chiefs and villagers,” the Documentation Center of Cambodia, which is supporting the exhibit, said in a statement. “He will tell Cambodians—and ultimately the world—about the things he saw, ignored, and was never shown during his first visit.”
Bergstrom will be visiting a post-war Cambodia where some the regime leaders who hosted him are in jail under the Khmer Rouge tribunal, awaiting trials for atrocity crimes. The first, for jailed prison chief Duch, is expected in early 2009.
The 93-photograph exhibit, “Gunnar in the Living Hell,” features “never-before-seen photographs taken exclusively from Bergstrom's personal archive of his 1978 tour,” the Documentation Center said. “They are in color—unusual for pictures taken in Democratic Kampuchea.”
The exhibit will open at Reyum Arts Gallery and the Khmer Rouge tribunal building in Phnom Penh Nov. 18, before traveling to the provinces of Kampong Cham, Takeo and Battambang later in the month. Finally, the exhibit will be permanently displayed at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, with a duplicate exhibition shown in Stockholm, Sweden.
“The Khmer Rouge prepared [the visit] for him, so he could tell his people what he saw,” said Kalyanee Mam, a public affairs officer for the Documentation Center. “He was shown factories, and he visited a hospital and schools, but those were only an ideal picture that they had organized for him. He could not see behind the scenes.”
“What he saw was busy activity, and that made him think that Cambodia was developing its economy,” she said. “But later, he knew that nearly 2 million were killed in Pol Pot’s regime, and then he felt so guilty. He wanted to present his apology to everyone, because he did not know the truth.... He strongly supports the Khmer Rouge tribunal.”
“As with most visual documents produced for the Khmer Rouge, Bergstrom's collection includes no photos of the torture, starvation, death, and despair for which the Khmer Rouge is so reviled,” the Documentation Center said. “These omissions beg the questions: Was there any justification for the Swedes' support of the Khmer Rouge? Did the Khmer Rouge cadres filter what the Swedes saw, or were the Swedes willfully blind to the conditions surrounding them? Were the Swedes hapless bystanders—or were they, too, victims of the Khmer Rouge, manipulated and duped by the regime?”
20 comments:
I was about that age and I don't remember there was any schooling. But I remembered I was force to work on the rice field and not given enough to eat.
It must be their kids they put on the show. It make me very angry.
The world knew what had happened, but they didn't do a thing about it!
The Khmer Rouge turn schools into a torture chamber!
Hell! he was right. There were no schooling. Why would the KR wanted to educated a person? When the First place the KR targeted a person to be executed based their presumptuous education level.
I was 7 y.o. when I was in the Concentration, sleeping on the dirt bare ground, and having nearly nothing to eat.
Mr. Bergstrom, you were taken for a Ride by Saloth Sar, Ieng Sary, Hor Namhong, Hun Sen, and MF Chea Sim.
I recognize the girl on the fare right(second row).It's Bopha Angkor
These children look happy and healthy. What a good show?
I was very boney and fragile. The same as the rest of Cambodian children in that regime.
8:25AM is she still alive today? if so and if you know her can you ask her to tell her story on that day.
Most children who are strong enough to carry gun are sent to the battle field to fight the Vietcong and I was one of the fortunate one.
Mr. Bergstrom do not care who lives or die. Why took him so long for him to show these story? May be he can get some benefit as during khmer rouge?
I DON'T KNWO WHAT NGOs AH KWACK HUN SEN REFERRING TO, BUT THE NGOs I KNOW IS 501(3)(C)) PER IRS code in America. I am the founder of the non-profit charitable organization -- raising funds, collecting funds from donors/trustees/and use the money to drill water well in order for the impoverish Khmers to have access to clean water where all these Hun Sen's clan enjoy the access to potable clean water.
What is the wrong with giving a hand to help the needy? Why enacting laws to prohibiting us (NGOs) not-for-profit organization like WHF.
IF WE (KHMERS) DON'T DESERVED TO PRACTICE OUR RIGHTS AS HUMAN BEING, AT LEAST GIVE A RIGHT TO RECEIVE CLEAN WATER FOR BETTER LIVLIHOOD.
WHF, Founder
who said educated people could do a better jobs for the country? So, Khmers do not be proud of just being educated or living oversea, but be prepared to accept the challenges, be honest and be helpful. A child sometimes has a unique idea that adult/educated people do not have. Treat people the same regardless their background or education.
He must be a communist, a hypocrite who tries to make a profit from the wars at the cost of 2M lives.
The whole Cambodia during Khmer Rouge were partionally ruled. Depending on where you were, some kids had chance to learn how to read and write Khmer. It was true, I learned how to read and write, basic math 1bout 1 and 1/2 hours each day after lunch. Right after class, kids reported to work until about 5 or 6 pm.
Living condition were also varied from location to location depending on the commune leaders. Part of Battambang living condition were good and some parts were worst.
I guess by now, Hun Sen committing crime against Khmer is somewhat comparable to Pol Pot Regime.
I'm waiting to see the day Hun Sen and his cronies run out of batteries.
Nothing is last forever! Hok Lundy is gone... Who is next...
"After all, the man in the dock (standing trial)is my brother, said a Bristish judge and Buddhist scholar.
Many of us have experienced the Khmer Rouge barbarity and/or its physical evidence, including, the torture centre, mass graves, pictures of atroctious scens and of victims.
However, it is long overdue that we, Cambodian people claiming to be Buddhists, do some introspection or self-examination as well, and from there search for ways and means to avoid the repeat of our brutal past, repeat which has been still seen, under milder forms, since the Khmer Rouge ousting 25 December 1978 by the Vietnamese invading troops.
The Khmer Rouge were and still are but our brothers and sisters, whether we like them or not. Many of them had been Buddhists, claimed to be Buddhists, or been considerd as Buddhists.
The Buddha is teaching to his followers respect for life, non-violence, loving kindness, compassion, tolerance, etc.... Where were this Buddhist ethics and Buddhist values in the 1970s?
How coud they just disappear from the hearts of those bothers and sisters of ours, just like that, almost overnight?
Or perhaps this Buddhist ethics and Buddhist values had not taken root at all in their hearts, or just superfially only?
In this case, perhaps there was a failure in the work to instill them in their hearts, before they embraced Communism.
LAO Mong Hay, Hong Kong
How many leaders in the world who really respect the religions? They only do in front of the public for propaganda. Religion is kind of magic power to discipline the public. It is a personal education, respect and love that ensure a good leadership.
During Khmer Rouge regime, I prayed to every gods including Allah to help me. But not even one dame god come to rescue me.
There are information around the Internet of how yuon manage to kill Khmer and fool the world.....
10:39 AM,
"GOD is your parent" as Buddha Said. Feed them and do whatever to please them when they are alive. With their love, you will be loved by your kids, your wife and others, that is the way you reciprocate them.
Get more info. from Temple. and don't go to temple where fighting took place. Fighting temple means Hell.
Keep peace in mind
Buddhism is a religion of ethics. It has no god, and it does not believe in external power.
LAO Mong Hay, Hong Kong
I read all anonymous... make me remind every thing when i was living with Khmer rouge My group family dies 32 persons ,only one is me living...and get night mare 30 years until now never disapear from my dream...
khmer poor in P.Penh
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