What actually happened?

The Khmer Rouges were communist minded rebels that wanted to turn the entire country into a peasant and agrarian society. Hence they went all out against anyone with any religious ideology. The people living in Phnom Penh the capital were all sent to the villages to go and farm. They worked an average of 12 hours a day with little to eat. Children were separated from their parents. Husbands and wives were separated. It was a chaotic living experience.

At Present
Although Cambodia is in democracy now, but there is another genocide that is subtly plaguing the society. It is corruption. Unlike the Khmer Rouge genocide which wiped out over a million of the population, this one is drowning the soul of the country. Cambodia is impoverished. Can you imagine a high school teacher getting a salary of US $60 dollars a month? That is the level of poverty in the land. I learnt Policemen and Soldiers get a salary of $30 a month.
Just to check how powerful the money is, I went to the local market to have lunch, which is like one of the lowest places to eat; I discovered that to have a plate of rice or noodle, you need at least $1, i.e. not taking any drink at all. You now wonder how the people are surviving on that kind of salary.