""When I come here, it reminds me, and I will never forget this Khmer Rouge regime because it was extremely cruel and barbaric," said 71-year-old Nhem Sovann, a Phnom Penh resident who lost six family members. "I saw with my own eyes that even children were taken and had their heads smashed against the trunk of a coconut tree.""
""I feel scared, and I think the Khmer Rouge made our people afraid and I don't want that regime to happen again," said 23-year-old art student Pen Kunthea. She mentioned learning about the regime from her parents and studies, emphasizing its emotional impact."
Cambodia recently marked the 50th anniversary of the Khmer Rouge's rise to power, which resulted in a genocide that claimed approximately 1.7 million lives from 1975 to 1979. A commemorative ceremony at Choeung Ek, a killing field near Phnom Penh, drew around 2,000 attendees. The event included a re-enactment of the atrocities, serving as a reminder for younger generations, highlighted by personal testimonies from survivors. The Day of Remembrance emphasizes the importance of educating the youth about the past atrocities to prevent recurrence.
Read at euronews
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