Background

In the 1960’s and 1970’s Cambodia was being pulled in many different directions. They were in the middle of a civil war and, at the same time were being drawn into the conflict in Vietnam. Cambodia is a small country, made up of mostly Buddhists. Prince Sihanouk was in the middle of a military coup, and was being overthrown by General Lon Nol, the president of the Khmer Republic. Prince Sihanouk eventually joined forces with a communist organization called the Khmer Rouge. Civil war began wreaking havoc across the country. While this civil war was going on, the Vietnam War was happening right next door. Americans killed over 750,000 Cambodians in the effort to destroy the North Vietnamese. It is estimated that over 150,000 Cambodians died in the civil war, most of them civilians.