Cambodia // Current TV

Pol Pot's grave draws 'worshippers'

Ten years after the death of brutal Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot, his grave has become a symbol of spiritual comfort to some in the village where he is buried.

Villagers pray at the site, asking for blessings of luck, happiness and even protection from malaria -- despite the mayhem he wrought upon their country. He died on April 15, 1998, apparently of heart failure.

"I know it is odd, but I just do as many people here do, asking for happiness from his spirit," said Orn Pheap, a 37-year-old woman who lost a grandfather and two uncles during the Khmer Rouge's reign of terror from 1975 to 1979.

"I don't know how long I can stay angry with him, since he is already dead," she said. Her house sits 100 yards from the grave.

Officials in Anlong Veng, 250 kilometers north of the capital, Phnom Penh, say only few of the area's 35,000 residents pray at Pol Pot's grave.

For most, Pol Pot is remembered as a murderous tyrant with fanatical communist beliefs. Under his leadership, the Khmer Rouge turned the country into a vast slave labor camp, causing the deaths of some 1.7 million people from starvation, forced labor and execution.

But Cambodians believe in the influence of spirits and superstitious forces on their daily lives and fortunes, which may be why some worship at Pol Pot's grave.

Last week, the grave -- a pile of dirt covered by a knee-high corrugated zinc roof -- was cluttered with clay jars filled with half-burned incense sticks, a sign of prayer and worship.

Many may still view their former tormentor as a powerful figure, said Philip Short, author of "Pol Pot: The History of a Nightmare," a biography of the former despot.

"Evil or good is not the issue," Short said. "He has imposed himself on Cambodians' imaginations, and in that sense he lives on" in the spirit world.

Some Cambodians have traveled to Anlong Veng to spit on the grave and curse him in anger, said 37-year-old Sat Narin, who owns a nearby clothing shop.

"Given his bad reputation, he should not be venerated," he said. "But somehow he is popular with some people."

Among the worshippers who seek blessings from Pol Pot's ghost are ethnic Vietnamese who live in the community -- a sharp irony given Pol Pot's massacres of ethnic Vietnamese during his rule.Ten years after the death of brutal Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot, his grave has become a... more

jcwelker
added this
4 years ago
|
1 comment

Doc says no to money from Bruni`s pic

Geneva, Apr 14 : A doctor running hospitals in Cambodia said on Sunday he had refused... more

sinlung
added this
4 years ago
|
2 comments

Mith Samlanh - a program for street children in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

A short film about a program for street kids in Phnom Penh, Cambodia called Mith Samlanh.

Mith Samlanh is Khmer for Friends.

Anyone who has traveled to Phnom Penh has seen the staggering number of street children in Phnom Penh. Someone once told me that handing money to a child on the street is equivalent to telling them that you agree to their lot in life. That's why I love what Mith Samlanh does for street children and their families

Mith Samlanh’s mission is to get children off the streets. The parents of street children are given an income generating project, Mith Samlanh agrees to buy the product and sell it in there shop with the agreement that the children stay in school, instead of being sent to beg on the street. The shop where the products are sold in Phnom Penh is called Friends n’ Stuff. The charming products are made from local, recycled and easily sources low-cost materials such as recycled newspapers and magazines. So much better than buying a souvenir that is probably made in China

I love Mith Samlanh’s mission, so I am including it below.

Mith Samlanh’s mission is:
1. Meeting the street children's immediate essential needs in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child:
- the right to life: providing nutritional meals, shelter, a safe environment and medical care;
- the right to development: providing education and reintegrating them into public school and by developing their curiosity;
- the right to protection: fighting all forms of abuse against children including physical, sexual, family, and emotional abuse;
- the right to participation: making children aware of their responsibilities and promoting action within the center and in the community;

2. Reintegrating the children into their families, into society, into the public school system, into their culture;

3. and building the capacity of the staff so that  the Cambodian nationals are able to run the  program independent of foreign intervention in  the near future.

How great is that!!

A short film about a program for street kids in Phnom Penh, Cambodia called Mith... more

brendadnyc
added this
4 years ago
|
3 comments

Cambodian Roots

A young girl who traces her family roots back to get a better understanding of what... more

pstuart
added this
4 years ago
|
10 comments

Ecotourism in Cambodia

Ecotourism is a relatively new development in Cambodia where the majority of tourists... more

schroederlisa
added this
4 years ago
|
5 comments

Cambodia: Rights razed: Forced evictions in Cambodia

11 February 2008 "Before, we did some farming… I was able to feed my... more

AmnestyInternational
added this
4 years ago
|
0 comments

1 1/2 Years for 3 Murders

Dimitri Sidorchuk, 24, once faced 80 years in prison for shooting 3 people with a... more

uroborus8
added this
4 years ago
|
0 comments

Running the Angkor Wat 1/2 Marathon

Lisa Schroeder runs the 12th Annual Angkor Wat International Half Marathon near Siem... more

schroederlisa
added this
4 years ago
|
1 comment

8 Foot Catfish Caught In Cambodia

This week, fisherman in Cambodia captured a Mekong giant catfish - a whopping 8-foot... more

EleanorK
added this
4 years ago
|
1 comment

First public court session for Khmer Rouge figure

Photographs of some of the children executed by the Khmer Rouge. The head of the... more

ish757
added this
4 years ago
|
2 comments

Another Top Khmer Rouge Leader Arrested

Police in Cambodia have arrested the Khmer Rouge's former head of state and taken... more

abbym0308
added this
4 years ago
|
2 comments

12 Yr. Old Breadwinner

This is a look into the lives of children who sell books on the streets of Phnom Penh,... more

vagabondreporters
added this
4 years ago
|
13 comments

Cambodian Street Children

A documentary about the lives of street children living in Sihanoukville, Cambodia and... more

stu
added this
4 years ago
|
20 comments

Photography by James Adolphus

Documentary and portraiture photography are combined to bring a new perspective to the... more

James_Adolphus
added this
4 years ago
|
2 comments

Deportee uses break dance to empower Cambodian street youth

Tuy Sobil's life has everything Hollywood would need for a blockbuster - a humble... more

nickmattos2
added this
4 years ago
|
2 comments

Khmer Rouge Leader Arrested, to Face Trial

Noun Chea, also known as Brother Number 2 or "Pol Pot's shadow", was... more

Tori
added this
4 years ago
|
0 comments

From Buddha to Jesus

A look at why some young Cambodians are turning to Jesus.

carrieaching
added this
5 years ago
|
7 comments

Landmines in Cambodia

There are still 6-10 million landmines in the ground in Cambodia. Kaj Larsen travels... more

Tobes
added this
5 years ago
|
3 comments

Cambodia's Landmine Victims

Cambodia has one amputee for every 290 people - one of the highest ratios in the... more

Kaj
added this
5 years ago
|
12 comments

74 ancient temples discovered in Cambodia

They used Satellite data to find them

curleysound
added this
4 years ago
|
0 comments

select your country

Community Spotlight

TAGS

tagged w/ Cambodia

top videos

find current on tv

find current online

recent comments

© 2012 Current TV, LLC All Rights Reserved

the basics

follow us online

tools

stay in touch

© 2012 Current TV, LLC
All Rights Reserved