The Debate | Society | Southeast Asia
A majority of Khmer Rouge survivors surveyed cited monetary circumstances as a motive for not searching for therapy for psychological or bodily well being circumstances, disabilities, or illnesses.
For over 20 years, The Documentation Middle of Cambodia (DC-Cam) has been surveying the survivors of the Khmer Rouge regime to develop a greater understanding of survivor wants, pursuits, and views. Because of a beneficiant grant from the USA Company for Worldwide Growth (USAID) in the summertime of 2021, DC-Cam has been in a position to considerably develop its efforts on this space, notably because it pertains to creating a greater understanding of the well being and welfare circumstances of survivors. As of August 2022, DC-Cam has collected info from over 31,000 Khmer Rouge survivors, and the next displays some preliminary observations gleaned from this work.
Maybe unsurprisingly, DC-Cam has discovered nearly all of Khmer Rouge survivors who took half in its survey cited monetary circumstances to be the first motive for not searching for therapy for psychological or bodily well being circumstances, disabilities, or illnesses. DC-Cam additionally discovered that among the many bodily or psychological well being circumstances reported by survivors, hypertension and gastrointestinal issues, adopted by malaria, psychological sickness, and coronary heart illness, have been, on this order, an important well being issues and debilitating circumstances for survivors.
Whereas DC-Cam has extra work to do in creating an understanding of those points, it’s notable that these circumstances additionally coincide with preliminary observations of survivor reminiscences. Eighty-seven % of survivors who have been surveyed by DC-Cam reported having troubling reminiscences of the Khmer Rouge interval that resonated with them as we speak, and 25 % of respondents reported nonetheless struggling nightmares of this era, even supposing it occurred over 40 years in the past.
Lastly, DC-Cam discovered that treatment, versus visits to a public or non-public healthcare supplier or hospital, is the first methodology used for therapy in lingering or surprising medical care wants. Survivors’ reliance on medication to satisfy medical care wants might point out that, reasonably than monetary assets alone, one’s entry to care may be drastically influenced by different overlapping geographic or socio-organizational circumstances of accessibility.
Entry may be conceptualized in numerous methods — from the distribution of medical providers, assets, and amenities to the exterior traits of a inhabitants, akin to insurance coverage protection, attitudes to medical care, and earnings It’s attainable that enhancing entry, and consequently enhancing the well being and welfare of survivors of atrocity crimes, could also be much less a matter of addressing the monetary circumstances of survivors, and extra a query about tips on how to make medical care extra handy, trusted, and dependable.
DC-Cam’s analysis on this space is nowhere close to full, and these findings are preliminary in nature; nevertheless, they elevate many questions and implications that bear vital relevance for ongoing and potential future work with the survivor neighborhood in Cambodia and in different post-conflict international locations.
As DC-Cam continues its work on this space, we look ahead to sharing our findings and proposals with the general public, not solely to shine gentle on the plight, challenges, and limitations of entry to important well being and social providers for the survivors of the Khmer Rouge, but in addition the place enhancements may be made within the worldwide neighborhood’s conceptualization of justice for survivors of atrocity crimes in all post-conflict societies around the globe.
