Robert Carmichael

Broschiertes Buch

When the Clouds Fell from the Sky

A Daughter's Search for Her Father in the Killing Fields of Cambodia

Beschreibung

'To keep you is no benefit, to kill you is no loss' Khmer Rouge motto In 1977, young diplomat Ouk Ket was recalled to Cambodia 'to get educated to better fulfil [his] responsibilities'. Left behind in Paris were his French wife, Martine, and their two young children, Neary and Mackara; they never saw him again. Through this single family's tragedy, Carmichael explores the infamous S-21 prison, the trial of its commander and Cambodia's years of terror. Under the Khmer Rouge, between 1975 and 1979, an estimated two million people, or one in every four Cambodians, died or were killed. More than 12,000 of them were tortured prior to their execution in Tuol Sleng prison, better known today by its codename S-21. In describing the quest over many years of Martine and Neary to learn what had happened to their husband and father, and through the lens of the war crimes trial of Comrade Duch, When the Clouds Fell from the Sky illuminates not only the tragedy of a nation, but also the fundamental limitations of international justice. 'Crisply written, elegantly constructed and thoroughly researched . . . a perceptive, often heart-breaking book' David Chandler, author of Voices from S-21: Terror and History in Pol Pot's Secret Prison 'A beautifully written book that does a masterful job weaving the history of the Khmer Rouge tribunal with a more personal story of human tragedy and redemption' Peter Maguire, author of Law and War, Facing Death in Cambodia and Thai Stick. 'Arguably the most vivid and terrifying literary portrait of the prison to date' Phnom Penh Post

Autor

ROBERT CARMICHAEL worked for a decade as a foreign correspondent in Cambodia, leaving in 2017. His first stint was from 2001-3 when he was the managing editor of the Phnom Penh Post. He returned in early 2009 to cover Duch's trial, working for German wire service dpa, Radio Australia, Voice of America, the BBC, Deutsche Welle and others. Robert developed excellent relationships with some of the leading lights at the tribunal as well as experts in related fields including academics David Chandler, Stephen Heder and Craig Etcheson and Youk Chhang, who runs the genocide research organization DC-Cam. Robert travelled widely, interviewing people about the Khmer Rouge period, the impact of the tribunal and the thorny issue of reconciliation. Robert's website www.robertcarmichael.net contains many of his articles.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Little, Brown
• Erscheinungstermin: 1. August 2019
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 233mm x 154mm x 35mm
• Gewicht: 492g
• ISBN-13: 9781472143754
• ISBN-10: 1472143752
• Artikelnr.: 56765282