The Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, forcibly took power in 1975; “Year Zero” in the newly named Kampuchea. Within days of the coup, all figures associated with the previous government had been executed. City dwellers were relocated to the countryside to work in agriculture, money became worthless, religion was banned – and the “cleansing” began. Hundreds of thousands of educated Cambodians were sent to special interrogation centres to be tortured and murdered in the most grisly and barbaric ways; those left in the fields died of disease and starvation. Landmines were planted across the entire country by opposing factions. The total number of people estimated to have died during these three and a half years varies wildly – but between one and three million lost their lives, an incomprehensible number in this small nation. Entire ethnic minorities were wiped out in certain parts of the country, and 95 percent of the Buddhist temples were destroyed, along with virtually all of the monks – taking with them the spiritual and cultural traditions of Cambodia.

The Vietnamese took power of Phnom Penh in 1978, but fighting continued and many thousands more became refugees. A delicate peace would not arrive until the early 1990s, when the Kingdom of Cambodia was re-established. Buddhism once again became the state religion and thousands of Khmer Rouge members surrendered.

UN-backed tribunals against the Khmer Rouge members did not begin until 2005, long after many suspects – including Pol Pot – had died. They continue today, and a law passed in 2013 made it illegal to deny that the genocide occurred. The purging of the educated classes – including teachers, monks, doctors and engineers – still has a massive impact on modern-day Cambodia, as generations have grown up not only in poverty or as refugees, but with gaping holes in their education and knowledge. Additionally, an estimated 40,000 amputees live in Cambodia today – testament to the landmines that remain buried there.

Phnom Penh’s Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and the nearby Killing Fields are upsetting yet highly enlightening experiences, and the government encourages tourists to visit and learn more. The film The Killing Fields is another pre-trip recommendation for those who want to learn more about Cambodia’s disturbing – and very recent – past.