Cambodian Refugees and the Effects of Surviving Genocide

Due to the actions of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, almost one-fourth of the country's population died while many more Cambodians became refugees. The refugees fled to other Asian countries at first, but many of them eventually journeyed to the United States. The United States needed to "rescue" these refugees because many of them were still dying of starvation and had nowhere else to go. The horrific genocide that took place in Cambodia during the late 1970s left a lasting impression on the refugees who managed to escape. The refugees had lost family members and friends in the genocide. Many of the refugees were emotionally distraught by the actions involved in the mass killings. Loung Ung, a Cambodian refugee, wrote about her experiences and the impact the genocide had on her in First They Killed My Father. The distress poured onto the refugees during their time in Cambodia reflected many refugees' mental health as they continued their lives in the United States. Although the death count related to the Cambodian genocide is somewhere around two million, the genocide destroyed many more people's lives including the lives of many refugees who ended up in the United States.