It has been a bit of a sad day for me today, because I have been learning about some terrible things that happened in Cambodia around 30 years ago. An organisation called the Khmer Rouge took over the government of the country in 1975. The Khmer Rouge was communist - does anyone know what that means?
Because they were communist, the Khmer Rouge wanted to change everything about how Cambodia was run. Some of the things they did included :
- Changing the year 1975 to "Year Zero"
- All money was destroyed and the banks closed down
- The post was stopped
- All flights to other countries were stopped
Everybody who lived in Phnom Penh (even sick people, old people and children), were forced to march out for many miles into the countryside. They had to work in the fields for 12 to 15 hours a day. Some people became sick because of the work, and died. All of the food was taken away, so even more people died of starvation. Can you imagine what it would be like if that happened to all the people in London?
Anybody who did not agree with the Khmer Rouge was put into prison. The prisons were very uncomfortable - you can see in the picture below how small the cells were. Even worse, all the prisoners were then killed.
A cell in prison S-21, Phnom Penh
Around 2 to 3 million people died because of the Khmer Rouge. I went to see one of the prisons, and also a place where lots of prisoners were buried - called the Killing Fields. It made me very sad, but it also made me feel very lucky. We are all lucky to live in a country where we can vote for our Government, and we can say if we do not agree with them.
It also made me think that I should use my power to vote and say what I want. There will be elections for the London Mayor on 1st May - if you are over 18, why don't you think about using your vote?
If you have never voted before, perhaps you need some help? There is an easy-read guide to voting on the internet, here :
Take Care,
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