Conflicted

Doctor to the Khmer Rouge: Much has been written on the genocidal regime of the Khmer Rouge, led by the infamous Pol Pot, who ruled Cambodia for four years 1975-1979. During this apocalyptic time and in its aftermath tens of thousands of Khmer people fled to seek sanctuary in camps along the Thai-Cambodian border.

Populations controlled by the Khmer Rouge entered camps under the administration of the Khmer Rouge and inaccessible to outside aid and intervention- with one exception. Named Site 8 it was situated just inside Thailand and was home to around 35,000 displaced Khmer people.

There is very little written about Site 8. Because of the secrecy of the Khmer Rouge access was strictly limited and only one humanitarian health agency was given permission to provide medical care. Photographs were in theory forbidden unless formally sanctioned by the camp’s Khmer Rouge leadership so there is a paucity of images documenting life in Site 8.

This book written by Dr Edwin Pugh provides a UK doctor’s personal first-hand account of providing humanitarian medical care over the year 1988 in Site 8. Illustrated with over 100 previously unseen photographs taken by Dr.Edwin Pugh along with extracts from his personal diary and papers this book takes the reader inside the camp and inside the secretive world of the Khmer Rouge.

Within the writings are reflections of Dr. Edwin Pugh, contemporaneous through his diary and current having had 36 years to ponder. What are the morals of ‘treating the enemy?’ Can it be justified? Why choose to work in a conflict zone? Can you dissociate humanitarian aid from political intent? What were ordinary Khmer people really like? Why did they side with the Khmer Rouge? Why is the role of America in the rise of the Khmer Rouge seemingly underplayed?

The reader needs to be aware that some of the images in the book provide graphic accounts of the medical work and as such may be disturbing.

Although it is 50 years since the Khmer Rouge came to power and around 40 years since the border camps closed, the faces of individuals in some photos have been covered to respect anonymity. The stigma of being associated with the Khmer Rouge still lingers.

Site 8 is part of the recent history of the Khmer people. This book gives a unique pictorial account of a year in its life through the eyes and observations of a medical humanitarian worker.