S3: Bonus: A Recount of My Interview With an Ex-Khmer Rouge Doctor

He trained as a doctor in the Khmer Rouge's main hospital during the civil war and worked as a surgeon in Phnom Penh under Democratic Kampuchea. Asked what went wrong, his answer was that nothing did, not until 1977. He does not blame Pol Pot. He blames saboteurs, factions and the Vietnamese, which is exactly what the regime told him to believe, and he still does.

In this bonus episode, I sit down to go through and explain an interview I recently conducted with an ex-Khmer Rouge doctor, who we will refer to as 'Uncle'.

He lived through the events we have been covering so extensively in the last few episodes of the podcast: the start of the war, Sihanouk's call for his people to join the resistance against Lon Nol, the Vietnamese communists fighting in Cambodia, training to become a Khmer Rouge doctor in their primary hospital during the civil war, and then going on to become a surgeon in Phnom Penh during the regime's time in power.

While he obviously has certain biases and beliefs about what the Khmer Rouge were, what went wrong, and why, this is still a fascinating piece of history to contend with. Hearing from the Khmer Rouge themselves about what they felt they were trying to accomplish, his own thoughts about communism, and his conviction that nothing was going wrong in the country until 1977. He did not blame Pol Pot but, like many Khmer Rouge, he instead blamed 'factions', bad actors, saboteurs, and those who were colluding with the Vietnamese.

We get a very one-sided view of the story here, and I put it into context for you, and challenge the views this Khmer Rouge doctor had come to believe about their war, their time in power, and who was really responsible for what happened.

I must extend a deep gratitude to Chhay Lim, who organised this trip, and organised contacts for me to be able to speak with.