A Khmer Veteran Remembers

Abstract

The argument made in this article is that while the Cold War rhetoric has retained a stranglehold on Kampuchea and her people, methodology driven by feminism and gender–sensitive methods gives an alternate reading of Khmer history. The detritus of war that includes landmines has played a significant role for over half a century. Fieldwork was conducted in a minefield in northwestern Kampuchea in 2005 and 2007. It was early in the research project that it became evident that the respondents in the study area had another story to tell. Based on ethnographic material that was gathered and analysed through the prism of gender relations, this article challenges the stereotypical images portrayed of Khmer war and its aftermath. One story in particular, herstory, reflects gender relations during a hot war conducted during the Cold War, disparagingly referred to as a ‘sideshow’ to the Vietnam War.