Intro to cambodia ppt

Editor's Notes

• #2: Lesson for this week is going to be about Cambodia. What do you know about the country of Cambodia so far? Do you know where Cambodia is? Let’s think about it now for a second, then pair up with your friend or partner and then share the information. You may take note on the space provided on your study guide
• #4: Ancient Kingdom of Angkor - The first government in Cambodia was a kingdom. The ancient Kingdom of Angkor lasted from 802 to 1431 AD. At it’s peak, this powerful empire extended into Thailand, Vietnam and Laos and had a population of 30 million people. Many of the kings who ruled during this time associated themselves with one of the Hindu gods and then built a temple using slaves to honor the god and himself. Most of the temples were built of stone and have myths and stories carved in their walls. Beautiful dances were performed for the king. Today people from all over the world travel to Cambodia to visit these beautiful ancient temples which are one of the largest religious structures in the world. Another word for temple is wat. The most famous temple is named Angkor W at.
• #5: Over time the predominant religion of the Khmer kings shifted from Hinduism to Buddhism and fewer temples were built. In 1431 an army from Thailand invaded Cambodia and took treasures from one of the temples. Later the Vietnamese invaded. Cambodia eventually lost a large part of it’s territory to Thailand and Vietnam. The capital of Cambodia was moved to Phnom Penh. Even though the kingdom downsized, life for the peasants, which was most of the population, didn’t change a lot over the next 400 years. They grew rice, lived simple lives in the rural areas, and sought protection from those in power.
• #7: French Colonial Period - The French arrived in 1863 and took over Cambodia. They controlled the country, but allowed King Norodom to be a symbolic king. One positive contribution from the French was the restoration of Cambodia’s ancient temples from the Angkor period. The French also offered protection from Cambodia’s invading neighbors, Vietnam and Thailand. The negative side of French colonialism was that Cambodia lost its freedom and was being controlled by a foreign country. In 1954 Cambodia became independence from France. Prince Sihanouk ruled the country until 1970. This picture shows French colonial architecture that is well preserved in Battambang province in the northwest of Cambodia.
• #9: US Bombing of Cambodia - In 1969 the Vietnam-American War spilled into Cambodia when the US started bombing Cambodia. International law states that it is illegal to bomb a neutral country, which Cambodia was, but the bombing continued for four years. The US felt that some people in Cambodia were helping the Viet Cong. The Viet Cong was the military arm of the National Liberation Front (NLF). It was created by the North Vietnamese communists to escalate the armed struggle in South Vietnam. In 1970, when Prince Sihanouk was on a trip to France, General Lon Nol took over Cambodia. Lon Nol supported the US in the Vietnam War. In 1970 US and South Vietnamese troops invaded Cambodia and war broke out throughout the country. Between 1970 and 1975 several hundred thousand people died in Cambodia.
• #11: Khmer Rouge Genocide - The communist movement started in Cambodia in the 1940’s to oppose the French rule. After independence from France, the communists continued to work for better treatment of the peasant farmers in Cambodia. The communists were called the Khmer Rouge (meaning red Cambodians) and were led by Pol Pot. In 1975, the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia. They had a vision of creating a country without class, where everyone was equal. However they were very brutal and started executing everyone who was middle or upper class. They moved everyone out of the cities and put them in slave labor camps in the rural areas. There was not enough food or medicine, so many people died from starvation or disease. During the four year reign of the Khmer Rouge, 1.7 million people died.
• #12: The Khmer Rouge invaded Vietnam, in an attempt to reclaim Cambodia’s former territory. This provoked Vietnam into invading Cambodia, ousting the Khmer Rouge and taking over the country in 1979. Many Cambodians fled to the Thai border in 1979, when the Vietnamese were fighting the Khmer Rouge. These people became refugees and lived camps just over the Thai border. Some were given permission to move to the US. Now there are about 250,000 Cambodian-Americans living in the US today.
• #14: Vietnamese-backed Government - Vietnam controlled Cambodia from 1979 to 1991. Vietnam was a communist government, but it was very different from the Khmer Rouge. Vietnam helped Cambodia rebuild roads, hospitals and schools – everything the Khmer Rouge had destroyed. This is a picture of Tuol Sleng, a prison where prisoner were brought here before being executed during the Khmer Rouge. It was once a school building.
• #16: Civil War - Some Cambodians did not like being controlled by Vietnam, their former enemy, so they started a war against the Vietnamese-backed Cambodian government. This civil war included people who were loyal to the king, people with business interests, and the largest group was the Khmer Rouge, still led by Pol Pot. The Khmer Rouge kept fighting the government until 1998 when Pol Pot mysteriously died the day before he was to be taken prisoner by the US.
• #18: Democratic Elections - In 1991 the Vietnamese left Cambodia because the Soviet Union collapsed and withdrew their aid from Vietnam. The United Nations then took over and helped Cambodia prepare for democratic elections. The first democratic election was held in 1993. Hun Sen and Prince Ranariddh became co-prime ministers. Hun Sen won the national election in 1998 and again in 2003. Hun Sen’s government has had a lot of corruption. Powerful government officials have taken land, forests, and fishing rights from poor peasants.
• #20: Cambodia Today – The Cambodian culture is strongly influenced by the Angkor Period. The music and royal dance from the ancient empire are still performed today. The religion of ninety-five percent of the people living in Cambodia is Buddhism. The two biggest holidays are the Cambodian New Year which falls in April and the Water Festival in November. Once one of the most powerful countries of the world, Cambodia is now among the 10 poorest.
• #22: Cambodia’s Challenges – Cambodia is still recovering from the Khmer Rouge genocide, when a quarter of the population, including most of the educated people (such as doctors and teachers) were killed. There still is a shortage of schools and hospitals. Half the women and 25% of the men living in Cambodia did not have an opportunity to go to school and cannot read or write. Only 30% of the population has access to clean drinking water. Almost half of the children in Cambodia are malnourished. There are 4 to 6 million landmines in Cambodian soil which are still being stepped on each day by civilians. Cambodian’s greatest challenges today are poverty and government corruption.
• #23: Let’s spend about 10 minutes to try to answer the following questions
• #24: Now... what is the capital of Cambodia? Yes, it is Phnom Penh. This is a picture of Sihanoug Blvd in Phnom Penh city with the Independence monument here. This monument was built in 1958 for Cambodia's independence from France in 1953
• #25: It is located close to the equator, it is hot and tropical with a rainy season and a dry season
• #26: Tonle Sap is a great lake in Cambodia and there are so many rivers. Cambodians catch fish and grow rice. 85% of people are rice farmers.
• #27: The language spoken in Cambodia is called Khmer or Cambodian. The people who live there are also referred to as Khmer or Cambodian. You can use either word.
• #28: Cambodia has had many different types of government during its history. Can you name some types of government? Kingdom refers to monarchy . Monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house . Communism aims at establishment of equality between people. It showed during Khmer Rouge.
• #29: It’s The Kingdom of Angkor, which flourished for more than 600 years.
• #30: In 1432, Angkor Empire decreased in size and power due to invasions from Thailand and Vietnam. Capitol was moved to Phnom Penh. This is a picture of a temple in Ayuthaya, the ancient capital of Thailand. This temple is built in Khmer style, very similar to Angkor Wat in 1630. Prince DamRon Rachanuphap noted that its architecture was similar to that of Angkor Wat and inferred that this temple might have been built to commemorate the king’s victory over Cambodia.
• #31: The French took over. In 1863, Cambodia under king Norodom became a protectorate of France Cambodia was protected from its invading neighbors. They lost their freedom. They felt resentment toward being controlled by foreigners. Was America ever controlled by foreigners? How did we feel? What did we do? Does the US exercise colonial power over any countries or territories? Puerto Rico, Siapan (location of US sweatshops)
• #32: Cambodia became independent from France in 1954 and Prince Sihanouk ruled the country at the time. Because they thought Cambodia was supporting the Vietnamese communists.
• #33: The genocide began. The Khmer Rouge took over, put everyone in work camps and started killing educated people. 1.7 million people died from execution, starvation or disease over the next 4 years.
• #34: The genocide ended when the Vietnamese invaded and pushed the Khmer Rouge out in 1979. They were glad to be free from the Khmer Rouge but they didn’t like being controlled by the Vietnamese. The Cambodian government vs. the Khmer Rouge and other groups.
• #35: Pol Pot’s death in 1998 . It is interesting that one man was able to keep the brutal Khmer Rouge movement going for over 20 years after the genocide ended in 1979. After the fall of Khmer Rouge, he fled into the jungles of Southwest Cambodia. From 1979 to 1997 he and his followers of the old Khmer Rouge operated from the border region of Cambodia and Thailand , where they clung to power, with nominal United Nations recognition as the rightful government of Cambodia.
• #36: Hun Sen is the current Prime Minister of Cambodia . He h as been the sole leader of the Cambodian People's Par ty (CPP), which has gove rned Cambodia since the Vietnamese-backed overthrow of the Khmer Rouge in 1979.
• #37: The United Nations and Cambodia set up an international tribunal to bring the Khmer Rouge leaders to trial. Pol Pot died and Son Sen died in 1998 and 1997. Nuon Chea or ‘brother number two’ presently in detention awaiting a United Nations trial for crimes against humanity for his role in the genocide. Former foreign minister Ieng Sary, former head of state Khieu Samphan and Ieng Thirith, wife of Ieng Sary are also awaiting trial with Nuon Chea. In November 25 this year, a couple of days ago, Here is the picture of trial on November 25, a couple of days a go. The three leaders, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, and Khieu Samphan are on trial being accused of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity; subsumed within that list are the crimes of murder, extermination, enslavement, imprisonment, torture, persecution and willful killing among others. They denied all charges.
• #38: Buddhist, democratic, recovering from genocide, poverty, lack of schools and medical care, government corruption.