Khmer Rouge Regime Poem by Elannia Lake

Kampuchea,1975
Not too long ago
The Khmer Rouge Regime arose
All the intellectual, religious, and foreigners fell

Do you wear glasses?
Are you educated?
Do you follow a religion?
Are you anything other than Cambodian?
If yes, you would be dead

For four years this occurred
Because Saloth Sar despised education, and anything foreign
A building, once a highschool
Now the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum
Prisoners kept inside
Could not drink water
Unless the guard permitted it
They were forced to do gruesome things
And if they refused
They died

The toll taken by this horrific event
2.5 to 3 million lives
20% of Cambodia’s population
This included Saloth Sar
His life was taken to keep peace

All this began in 1975
Some are still alive,
To tell the horrid tale of the Khmer Rouge Regime