"FIRST THEY KILLED MY FATHER" - GOOD TIMING:

By Sokha Ou-Uun

09-25-2017

Ms. Angelina Jolie, one of the great directors and activists for humanity,  mentioned about her waiting for the right time to produce this movie.

The introduction scene seems to imply that what to follow was the result of the American bombing. Since I already read the book, I stopped watching it once I saw the introduction.

Yes, perfect timing indeed. It may be a coincidence that the propaganda machine of the Cambodian government, for the past few months, has aggressively blamed the US bombing** for the birth of Khmer Rouge, and warned people about the return of the Pol Pot era. What happened under Khmer Rouge was a human tragedy that must be told, and I am glad it was made into a movie.

At the same time I am sad that many remnants of the same Khmer Rouge are still in power, and are using the movie as a propaganda tool to support their agenda, which are to blame the US, and scare the Cambodian people about what could happen if they continue the course of demanding real justice, freedom, and democracy (JFD) from the dictatorship regime.

The lack of JFD had played a role in the downfall of Cambodia, and the history may repeat itself again. The peaceful atmosphere in Cambodia claimed by the dictator is superficial and is no different from the atmosphere at a cemetery where dead people can't talk. 😡

** Only half true. See:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifwfYG6B7LE

OLD WOUNDS ...BOOK AND MOVIE ABOUT KHMER ROUGE ... THERAPY OR CASH COW

Books About Khmer Rouge

It has been more than 40 years that a large scale atrocity took place in Cambodia under the hands of communist regime lead by Pol Pot and many others who are still in power, and continue to use Khmer Rouge culture to intimidate Cambodians.

“Much had been documented, and much had already been written.”

During the last 40 years or so, the atrocity committed by Khmer Rouge has been written and documented hundreds of times over. The world has become fully aware of what happened, and so have Cambodians. As time passes, victims of this large scale human tragedy have come to term with the past and for the most part, have moved on. They have put the past behind and are looking for their futures and the future of their nation. 

In an interview with ABC Good Morning America, Angelina stated that while shooting the movie " First They Kill My Father" in Cambodia, she was surprised by the easy going attitude of most Cambodians despite having lived through the tragedy. This should not at all be a surprise; it should be a testimony that healing had already been taken place and people are beginning to work toward the future. Bringing up this darkest moment of Khmer history is amount to opening up old wounds, and for what?

Hun Sen Issued Threat

Now a day, references to this dark era of Cambodia are often brought up for either political or financial gain. Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen uses this to put fears into people to vote for his party. Vietnamese government tries to keep this in the mind of people so it can continue to demand gratitude from Cambodians, to justify the invasion, and to redirect Cambodians from realizing the true Vietnamese intention, which is to dominate or colonize the former Indochina which includes Laos and Cambodia.  

Vietnamese Monuments in
Cambodia

As ways to remind Cambodians and to keep Cambodians from moving forward, the Vietnamese, with the help of their puppet government of Cambodia, has built monuments tagged as friendship monuments, all over Cambodia. Through threats and briberies (sticks and carrots), Vietnam has been able to control most of the leadership of its puppet Phnom Penh regime of Hun Sen.  

Hun Sen and his clan are not the only people who are trying to benefit from this dark history of Cambodia; others are trying also. Stories about the atrocity and human sufferings under Khmer Rouge continue to pop up now and then, each claiming that they must be told to help Cambodian victims to cope, although the same stories had been told and documented hundreds of times over, and despite the fact that most Cambodians had already moved on. 

          

While Hun Sen uses it for political benefits, others are using it for financial gain. Recent surges of stories either in book or multimedia format, for the most part, serve as a "cash cow" rather than a real meaningful therapy for the victims. One must always ask: What is the point, and who are the beneficiaries? Does personal and financial gain play a part of this updated revelation? Will this politically benefit Vietnam and its puppet?

Let's stop the milking!

To really help Cambodia and its people, efforts should be made to show how and why the atrocity took place, who else and what foreign countries were involved in the Killing Field? Most importantly, efforts must be made to uncover the remnant of Khmer Rouge who are still in the government and who continue to intimidate Cambodians ala Khmer Rouge. Simply telling the story just is not enough.

LINK: First They Kill My Father - Movie Review

FIRST THEY KILLED MY FATHER MOVIE

(to sooth or to re-open old wound)

While many Cambodians and people in the movie industry are busy promoting the movie, "First They Killed My Father," poor Cambodians and Democracy in Cambodia continue to be victimized by many other actions of " First they ..."

The new "THEY" are taking advantage of the distraction created by the movie, to quietly work toward setting up scenes for another movie: "They Finally Succeed Their Quest To Commit a More Gentle But Deadly Killing Of Justice, Freedom, and Democracy (JFD) in Cambodia."

In an interview with ABC Good Morning America, Angelina stated that she was surprised by the easy going attitude of most Cambodians despite having lived through the tragedy. Has she ever thought that may be after some 40 years, the wounds have already been healed and people are beginning to work toward the future?

Despite the good intentions claimed by all parties involved in the making of this movie, I still have my doubts. Is it a good idea to reopen old wounds that had already been healed? Would this project be nothing but a cash cow for some? Would this become an unintentional tool/opportunity for people who would like to see the death of JFD in Cambodia.

Are we going to wake up one morning and see this headline: " They Finally Kill JFD in Cambodia?"

I appreciate what Angelina has done to help Cambodians. However, as important as remembering the history, one must also be mindful about the present, or the history will repeat itself.

I sincerely hope that the movie would miraculously make people aware that what is happening in the Kingdom now is very similar to what the Khmer Rouge (all of them - no exception) were doing in 1975.

WE WISH WE HAVE A MAGIC WAND

" President Trump pledged to ‘Make America Great Again’. On the campaign trail he promised when it came to our military, he would rebuild it and return it to one of the finest. Trump promised he would increase the size of our troops – adding 350,000 soldiers to our U.S. Army and adding 10-15 battalians to the U.S. Marine Corps. He also said he would add 1200 figher aircraft to the U.S. Air Force, as well as, 350 Surface Ships and submarines to our U.S. Navy."

Of course, every Presidents, every Americans, all want our military to be all mighty. If we could magically wave our hands and make this happened, we all would. However, there are things called reality. Social, financial, and military components are all intertwined. Balancing these three components are very difficult. Great Presidents are the ones who have the skill, knowledge, and common sense to strike a good balance between these components. I sincerely hope that Donald Trump would be one of them. If only one component were sufficient for the success of our country, a FOOL could do it.

THREE-CARD TRICK 

Speed Is The Essence

Just a few week ago, the push to replace ACA* was dead. Now it has become Johny 5** again. What change during the last few weeks? The official answer is that modifications have been made to the initial proposal. Were the modifications any good? Were there anything hidden from the public? Lets analyze some of the comments made in this video:



1. "ACA has failed": Not in my book. If it was not for the ACA, I would ha...ve been in a deep shit a few years ago. But this is just my personal experience.


2. "All law makers should come out and work together": Nice remark, but how can people work together if the GOP is doing the Mig 17*** thing, putting​ it up for vote only 17 hrs after the modification became public.

3. "Afraid of the truth be known": I am not Pelosi's fan, but I believe she is right on this one. Why the Mig 17? Why not giving a week or two for us to understand and may be to write our congressmen about how we see or feel?

ACA is not North Korean missiles. It does not need Mig 17 to resolve it. Is this a three-card shuffling trick where the soul purpose is to cheat with speed?

* Affordable Care Act.
** In reference to a movie about a robot being brought to life.
*** In reference to the speed of a Russian fighter, MIG 17.