Another Human Cost of Conflict
As a scholar and an ordinary citizen, the conflict between Cambodia and Thailand is driven by politicians, not by the people. It's a political agenda fueled by nationalism, with figures like Hun Sen, Thaksin Shinawatra, and the Thai military at odds in a battle for influence and power. While they've used social media and other political means to gain public support, the true cost of this conflict is always paid by the ordinary people and the front-line soldiers.
After observing the five-day war and its aftermath and interacting with the victims, I witnessed firsthand that when political leaders and military officers rally citizens to "fight to protect sovereignty," their own families aren't the ones being bombed, forced into displacement, and settled into an encampment. It's the innocent people on both sides who suffer. Due to the secrecy surrounding the leaders, it's impossible to say who is right or wrong. Taking sides would be subjective and divisive. This cycle of unlearned lessons is a recurring pattern in our history, from the Sihanouk era and Lon Nol to the Khmer Rouge and beyond.
It was this profound truth that I encountered at Wat Prasat Kokchork in Siem Reap, where my family and I went to assist the victims. We arrived with clothes to donate and money to give, thinking we were helping, but what they gave us was far more valuable: their perspective on the conflict. We saw their stories firsthand, which were heartbreaking. Most of the people we met didn't even understand why the war was happening. They were living peacefully and get along with their neighbors. All they knew was that bombs fell, homes were destroyed, and loved ones disappeared. They taught me a profound lesson about war: the ones who suffer are never the ones who start them. The victims we met showed incredible strength and an inspiring spirit of survival and hope that the war would end and peace would prevail.
As a survivor of the Khmer Rouge regime, I stand with the people—the true victims of war and conflict. They deserve to live free from fear, want, and indignity. I demand "never again," a commitment from leaders to prioritize the safety and well-being of the population over politics. I will never forget the Killing Fields, where Pol Pot used nationalism and absolute power to justify the deaths of an estimated two million innocent people.
