Cambodia: Why are we there?

Cambodia’s tragic past – first in 1975 with the merciless Khmer Rouge regime under Pol Pot, then the invasion in the eighties of the Vietnamese forces - resulted in close to 3 million people either dying or ‘disappearing’ and left a legacy of trauma and grief.

During the Khmer Rouge regime and genocide entire cities, including the capital Phnom Penh, were emptied of their populations as a curtain of silence fell across Cambodia. Over the years schools, hospitals and homes have gradually been rebuilt- but rebuilding and repairing shattered lives and relationships has proved more difficult.

Cambodia has a young population bereft of its elders, and with little capability of dealing with the traumas which still reverberate today. It is estimated that 25% of adults are suffering from mental illness.

As a result there is little trust between communities, underlying tensions often remain unresolved, and with ineffective government or laws, disputes are increasing over land, forestry and fishing and other natural resources.

There is little redress for the huge social injustice and extreme poverty countrywide, with the rich powerful elites in many cases seemingly immune to the voices of the poor.