Year of the Rabbit is a graphic novel telling the story of author Tian Veasna’s family during the Khmer Rouge rule in Cambodia. The Khmer Rouge guerrillas entered Phnom Penh in April 1975 and soon tricked the city into evacuating. The author’s family shared the fate of many other evacuees, heading towards the most difficult period in their lives together, while the Khmer nationalist militia elevated the supreme leader of the revolution, Saloth Sar, also known as Pol Pot, to the highest position in the country.
Trough the eyes of one family, we observe forced migrations within the country, dramatic crossings through waters and forests, and often – close encounters with death. Widzimy także rzeczywistość panującą w obozie pracy przymusowej — jednym z wielu ośrodków, nazywanych „kolektywnymi gospodarstwami rolnymi”, w których zginęło z przepracowania, głodu lub w wyniku egzekucji, wiele osób. The exact number of victims of the violent policies ordering Cambodia to start anew is still unknown, because – as the author explains – every year new mass graves of victims of Khmer terror are discovered.
Tian Veasna’s comic is not a pleasant and easy read. It is however a unique history lesson based on family oral history which provides valuable background to the events of the 1970s in Cambodia. If you are interested in the history of this period, or in the events that shaped modern Cambodia, Year of the Rabbit will be a perfect choice.
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