War & Transition

Cambodia became a battlefield as the war in Vietnam drew to a close in the early 1970’s. The US bombed North Vietnamese supply routes in eastern Cambodia. After the US withdrawal, the Cambodian government fell to a communist Khmer-Rouge. Its leader, Pol Pot, and his soldiers seized the capitol in April 1975. The Khmer Rouge reigned with terror. An estimated two to three million Cambodians lost their lives. The Khmer Rouge evacuated cities and executed most educated, professional and upper class Khmer. Families were separated into age-based labor camps and sent to dig ditches, plant rice, and clear forests. Buddhist monks were forced to leave their religious orders and their temples were used as warehouses. Half a million Cambodians fled to refugee camps in 1979, when Vietnam invaded and overthrew the Khmer Rouge. United Nations camps at the border with Thailand offered refuge to those who managed to survive the difficult journey across war torn Cambodia. More than 150,000 refugees found new lives in the United States. Lutheran Family Services helped those who came to Greensboro to find homes and jobs, enroll in English classes, and register children for school. Khmer families worked hard, saved money, and bought cars and houses. They now call North Carolina home.