Cambodian Concepts of Justice & My First World Syndrome

Cambodia suffers from a dark past. The Khmer Rouge regime was responsible for the death of over 1.2 million Cambodians from 1975-1979. While there is a formal mechanism of justice now in place, known as the ECCC (an international hybrid court), many Cambodian’s have embraced the Buddhist values embedded in their society and live alongside ex KR soldiers. This is a story of Cambodian concepts of justice vs. the Western driven notion of punishment for perpetrators.