So, from last weeks post we can safely say I hate what Brother Number Two stands for and what He has done. His hands are filthy with blood and he will face the consequences of his acts along with 3 other of the regimes top leaders. I’m excited to praise the Lord as I trust his guilty verdict will be read soon.
Last week I simplified his crimes, simply stating he had killed about 1/3rd of Cambodia’s population. The reality is the Khmer Rouge regimes impact is still being felt today.
Uloma, a native Cambodian women, researched the sex trade in Cambodia for AIM's team. This is incredibly helpful as we begin ministry, giving great insight into the cultures history and ministry needs. Last week the team recieved a report highlighting implications of the Khmer Rouge’s rule. In it Uloma stated:
In 1975 the Khmer Rouge began what would be four years of a radical revolution against its own people. Through execution, starvation, disease, and forced labor; they would successfully eliminate an estimated third of their countries population…‘Better to destroy ten innocent people than let one enemy go free,’ [was their ideology]… I believe that the Khmer Rouge numbed a country and the painful remembrance/legacy has created an array of consequences.
These implications include imprinting a mentality of destruction, helplessness, and violence. This is combined with inprinting a mentality where consciences become void and people become a mere object. An explotation mentality has also been ingrained.This brainwashing is the root cause of a cultural norm that allows parents to sell their own children without feeling any guilt.
The communist regimes impact does not stop there. Still today their torture methods are being used against innocent victims. Now, instead of “traitors” it is sex slaves held in brothels that are forced to endure them. Electric shock is most popular, with coffins full of biting ants also being popular. These torture chambers are hidden underground to muffle screams, found when brothels are torn down.
In a documentary on the Khmer Rouge, Brother Number Two only mentions the impact he had during the war. Unfortunatly, the consequences of his evil acts will be passed down for generations.
& yet, I have great hope for God to bring about cultural restoration in Cambodia. Even as I write, my excitement continues to build as I see the Lord raising up prayer warriors on behalf of Cambodia. Continually, I cling to Gods promises found in Isaiah 42:
6 “I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness;
I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people
and a light for the Gentiles,
7 to open eyes that are blind,
to free captives from prison
and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
8 “I am the LORD; that is my name!
I will not yield my glory to another
or my praise to idols.
9 See, the former things have taken place,
and new things I declare;
before they spring into being
I announce them to you.”
Please, join me in ferverent prayer to the Lord on behalf of those in Cambodia. Fall on your knees, scream at the top of your lungs, whisper, and let tears fall – that the Sovereign God of ALL would breath out justice & compassion on Cambodia.
