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Vietnam and Cambodia Vietnam and January 2014 Cambodia Featuring: Cambodian Genocide- A book review of First They Killed my Father Destruction- The effects of Agent Orange A Larger Glance at Cambodia- A timeline of events through- out the world A wider look at the Vietnam War 3 Letter from the editor 4 Cambodian Genocide By Caitlyn Swartwout 6 Destruction By Caitlyn Swartwout 8 A Larger Glance at Cambodia By Caitlyn Swartwout Dear Readers, The magazine you are about to read centers on the lasting effects and the specifics of the Cambodian genocide, the Vietnam war, and how they intertwine with each other. To look at the Cambodian genocide, there has been a book review of Loung Ung’s book, First They Killed my Father. There has also been a timeline included in the magazine to show world events and spe- cific events that happened in Cambodia and to Ung’s family. A lot was learned about the topic in order to show an accurate depiction of it to readers. Personally I learned that one persons views can start a huge amount of trouble in a country. I also learned a great deal about the hardships soldiers have to face during war and how those hardships can be a lot worse for the people of the country they are fighting in. This issue is important because of the fact that if the young people of this country know what has happened in the past, then they are less likely to commit similar crimes. Everyone learns from the past, no matter how old or young they are. Sincerely, Caitlyn Swartwout whatever means they can accomplish. Revenge is Cambodian probably the second most prominent because of things that happen in her life; Ung feels the need to seek revenge from the Khmer Rouge at multiple Genocide points. Hunger is something every single person in Cambodia had to deal with to a fatal degree for By Caitlyn Swartwout some. “However fearful I am, my hunger makes me want to go myself, but I do not have the strength or courage to actually do it” (Ung 114). My first impression of First They Killed My Fa- Stealing was strictly forbidden and the law against ther by Loung Ung was very confused in some it was strictly enforced by Khmer Rouge soldiers. parts of it. I wasn’t very interested in it, and as the Hunger is what caused a lot of the deaths in Cam- book went on I began to like it. It showed to me bodia. how horrible someone can be when they are fight- The book as a whole was very well written. ing for something they believe is right or good. There were some parts that I felt needed more em- Loung Ung shows her past by showing ex- phasizing and more details. Parts like when a new actly what went on during the Cambodian geno- character is introduced. When some characters are cide in the 1970’s. The book follows Ung and her introduced they are not very well explained. At the family between 1975 through about 1978. The same time, all aspects are very well developed and book starts off showing what life was like for the detailed, sometimes even overly done. Ung family in Phnom Penh. When the Khmer This book made me cry in multiple places. Rouge took over they were forced out of their It made me laugh, more so in the very beginning home and into the country side. and Ung gave so much detail in certain things that The book primarily follows the Ung fam- I felt very connected to it. I would say that the ily, but centers on Ung herself through her hard- book was appealing to me on more of an emo- ships throughout the 3 or so years. Her family tional level than a logical one. The details were so went through the worst things imaginable; things well written that I almost felt that at parts I was like being beaten, murdered, almost being worked feeling the sadness or rage that a character was to death, sickness, and starvation. “One soldier’s feeling. face darkens and he raises his rifle. Seconds later, The thing that caused me to like the book Geak too is silenced” (Ung 162). Chou, Kim, and the most was the amount of detail that was put into Loung were told by their mother to leave the vil- it. Ung could have just put minimal detail into it lage they were at. About a year and a half after this and basically said the same thing, but the fact that happened, Ung felt the need to go back to see her she put so much detail and information in the book mother and her sister Geak. When she arrived made me like it a lot. The book tended to be a little there she heard of their murders. Thousands of slow sometimes though, so at those parts I wasn’t people died in this way, no matter how old they super fond of the book. In general, I liked it very were. much. My overall opinion of the book is that it is This book made me think about how one horrible that people have to go through these person with enough influence can change the way things every day. I don’t think my family would be an entire country works. I definitely see how this is able to handle it all. Just everything that happens horrible for everyone involved. Throughout the to Ung and her family is just so horrible and sad reign of the Khmer Rouge thousands, if not mil- that a reader can’t help but feel sorry for everyone lions of people died through horrible ways. My involved in this genocide. feelings about this will always be bad. Themes that are in this book include sur- This book is something that readers who vival, revenge, and hunger. All three of these enjoy historical books would enjoy. This book in- themes are very prominent throughout the book. cludes a lot of sadness, rage, and things of that na- Survival is probably the one that is the most seen. ture. People who enjoy books that are very sad Throughout the book Ung and her family fight to would enjoy this. survive the harshness of the Khmer Rouge through Loung’s mother, Ay Choung Ung. Loung Ung, the author of First They Killed my Fa- ther. Resources: "Loung Ung Writes Home - Page - Interview Magazine." Interview Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2014. Ung, Loung. First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers. New York: HarperCollinsPublishers, 2000. Print. Loung Ung’s father, Seng Im Ung. tion, only 1-4 parts per trillion (PPT) of Dioxin in Destruction breast milk can cause severe deformities in fetuses and even death. But up to 1,450 PPT are found in maternal milk in Vietnam. (TruthOut Archive). By Caitlyn Swartwout Millions upon millions of people have had to deal with some form of health side effect from Agent Orange. One of these people is To Nga Tran. To Nga Tran is a French Vietnamese woman who worked as a journalist during the spraying. Her daughter weighed 6.6 pounds at the age of three Agent Orange is a toxic substance that was used months. Her skin began shredding and she could during the Vietnam War to clear the area of forest not bear to have skin contact or simple demonstra- lands so that American soldiers could travel tions of love. She died at 17 months, weighing 6.6 through the area unimpeded. It also cleared the pounds. Ms. To described a woman who gave birth area so that the forest could not provide enemy to a "ball" with no human form. Many children are cover. At the time the effects that this substance born without brains; others make inhuman sounds. would have on not only the Vietnamese people but (TruthOut Archive). the American soldiers fighting the war were un- Besides having devastating health side ef- known. We now have a more clear understanding fects, Agent Orange was, and still is, the cause of of the damaging effects it has and is having on millions of acres of farmland and forests to now be people and forest lands. wiped away. About 5 million acres of land were Agent Orange is comprised of a very toxic sprayed with Agent Orange and is now either com- substance called Dioxin, which is thought to be the pletely gone or is fairly close to it. The most heav- component to have caused the health problems and ily sprayed areas in Vietnam were Rung Sat Spe- the environmental damage. It is actually one of the cial Zone, the Ca Mau peninsula, and the inland most toxic substances known to man. Agent Or- forests. About 34% of the areas that were sprayed ange was not the only chemical that was sprayed were sprayed more than once. Many areas were in Vietnam. There was also Agent White, Agent sprayed more than four times. Many ecosystems Blue, Agent Pink, and Agent Purple. They were have been destroyed and Dioxin continues to poi- named after colors because of the color of the bar- son Vietnam, especially in the several "hot rels the chemicals were in. Agent Orange is the spots." (TruthOut Archive). combination of the code names for Herbicide Or- Rodney Smith was 19 when he went to ange and Agent LNX, one of the herbicides and Vietnam from the U.S. to fight in the Vietnam defoliants used by the U.S.
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