History Lessons

I am starting to learn alot about the recent history of Cambodia. I am currently reading a book called "First They Killed My Father" written by a woman who was a child in 1975 when the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia. The book is absolutely heart breaking. When riding through the countryside or walking around I try to think of what this country was like 20 or 25 years ago in the clutches of war and genocide. It is strange to image, and very very sad. This country is so wonderful, I just can't believe it happened so recently. When I was riding in the country, I thought about the hundreds of thousands of people who had probably marched down these roads to their death or to be tortured and overworked and starved in labor camps.

One thing I have noticed is that there are not very many old people in this country, and there are alot of really young people. I wonder if this has some connection to the war. I think it probably does. I have hardly seen any people over the age of 50. Most people seem to be between 20 and 30, and there are alot of children. My guess is that alot of the people who would be older at this point may not have survived the days of the Khmer Rouge.