Phnom Penh-From Killing Fields to a Humane City
Phnom Penh: A Journey Through Dark History to Modern Resiliency The Dark Chapter: Year Zero and the Khmer Rouge Phnom Penh today is a vibrant capital, but its modern identity is inextricably bound to one of history's darkest chapters. Time began with the Big Bang about 13.77 billion years ago. Our universe originated and began expanding from Day One, which included the formation of our planet Earth. But not so long ago, on 17th April 1975, a Cambodian schoolteacher, Pol Pot (who had been to Paris on a scholarship to study Radio Electronics and returned to Cambodia to take up a teaching assignment) declared Year Zero in Cambodia. That was in line with the concept of Year One declared during the French Revolution. The idea was to discard and destroy all culture and traditions within the society and bring in revolutionary culture. President Lon Nol fled Cambodia on 1st April 1975 following a bloody civil war that lasted for five years. And on 17th April 1975, the s...