Prampi Makara - 7th January.

[Lucky Lucan]

Quite a momentous day. It still took a long time to recover but was a huge turning point.

[YaTingPom]

Great if a bit saddening pictures.

It’s a shame the politicians on all sides have used it (7th Jan) for their own agendas.

[Lucky Lucan]

Great if a bit saddening pictures.

It’s a shame the politicians on all sides have used it (7th Jan) for their own agendas.

I don't see how it could be any other way. It was the end of the Pol Pot Regime. Sure, he fought on for almost another two decades but his governing of Kampuchea effectively finished that day. The people who refuse to accept that date as beneficial are usually from opposition parties who were aligned with the "Party of Democratic Kampuchea" in the 80's and even much later.
It wasn't a magical day when everything suddenly became hunky-dory, but it was the start of a long road out of Pol Pot's nightmare society.

[YaTingPom]

Great if a bit saddening pictures.

It’s a shame the politicians on all sides have used it (7th Jan) for their own agendas.

I don't see how it could be any other way. It was the end of the Pol Pot Regime. Sure, he fought on for almost another two decades but his governing of Kampuchea effectively finished that day. The people who refuse to accept that date as beneficial are usually from opposition parties who were aligned with the "Party of Democratic Kampuchea" in the 80's and even much later.
It wasn't a magical day when everything suddenly became hunky-dory, but it was the start of a long road out of Pol Pot's nightmare society.

Exactly. Definitely the start of a new Cambodia for sure.

I asked my wife what day was tomorrow (7th) and she said “When we got rid of KR and ‘him’”.

I asked about the Vietnamese having to come over and do it and she said they wanted to keep Cambodia and didn’t do it to “save it” for the Cambodians.
I know the KR kept doing raids on Viet villages, which pissed off the Viets.
I believe, you can correct me if I’m wrong, financially they were struggling after the Viet war and tired of fighting plus international pressure to leave?

Also, didn’t the retreating forces pretty much strip anything (metal?) that was left?

[Lucky Lucan]

Also, didn’t the retreating forces pretty much strip anything (metal?) that was left?

I don't think they had time to, they did drag a lot of civilians off with them though. The Vietnamese apparently did quite a bit of scrapping themselves.

[YaTingPom]

Also, didn’t the retreating forces pretty much strip anything (metal?) that was left?

I don't think they had time to, they did drag a lot of civilians off with them though. The Vietnamese apparently did quite a bit of scrapping themselves.

I actually meant the Vietnamese. Maybe “withdrawing” would have been a better description!

[Lucky Lucan]

I don't believe that happened when the Vietnamese withdrew. When that happened, Khmer officials were the ones doing the scrapping and selling off state assets.
When the Vietnamese invaded they found a lot of stuff in storage that they looted. Also desperate civilians started scrapping and scavenging anything they could. Many places said to have been ransacked by KR were actually destroyed in the period following their retreat west.

[Kimbo]

Most people also think the KR destroyed the books in the national library but in fact it was the Heng samrin government that pulped the books.

[YaTingPom]

What a mess.

That Mercedes T2 van is a very strange sight. Just abandoned in the carnage.

[Lucky Lucan]

What a mess.

That Mercedes T2 van is a very strange sight. Just abandoned in the carnage.

I thought so too. My dad had a van like that around 1981, he never drove it - it was just for a business. Quite expensive at the time like 20,000 quid or something and was written-off within 18 months.

[kinard]

I believe... financially they were struggling after the Viet war...

Ironically, the US was the first country Vietnam approached for aid but no deal.

[YaTingPom]

What a mess.

That Mercedes T2 van is a very strange sight. Just abandoned in the carnage.

I thought so too. My dad had a van like that around 1981, he never drove it - it was just for a business. Quite expensive at the time like 20,000 quid or something and was written-off within 18 months.

How was it written off if he never drove it?
I used to drive one for work (later model, 2002?). Unbreakable.

Anyway back on topic. Regarding older trucks like that and cars it surprises me how little remains here of classics. You’ll just see those cannibalised trucks that carry coal and the odd 70s Mercedes but not much else. All scrapped I’d imagine.

[YaTingPom]

I believe... financially they were struggling after the Viet war...

Ironically, the US was the first country Vietnam approached for aid but no deal.

Well they bailed out Germany after WW2 so maybe they thought better if it, what with Germany later being a powerhouse of economic growth in later years.

[Lucky Lucan]

Most people also think the KR destroyed the books in the national library but in fact it was the Heng samrin government that pulped the books.

Nobody thinks that because most of the books weren't destroyed other than a few on the ground floor.