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Story: Cambodians

Children executed by the Khmer Rouge

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Children executed by the Khmer Rouge

These children did not escape the atrocities that forced many Cambodians to flee their country – they were executed at Tuol Sleng, a former Khmer Rouge prison in Phnom Penh. An estimated 1.7 million people were killed under the Communist Khmer Rouge's rule, including old men, young women and infants. Many of the Cambodian refugees who arrived in New Zealand lost family members, and were forced to flee across borders to escape being murdered.

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Rosa Chhun

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How to cite this page

Man Hau Liev and Rosa Chhun, Cambodians – Immigration: refugees and resettlement, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/1105/children-executed-by-the-khmer-rouge (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Man Hau Liev and Rosa Chhun, published 4 March 2009, updated 1 August 2024.