Rauru Kong
Guest on the Freedom Writers Podcast (hosted by Erin Gruwell) who shares a personal story of family, identity, and inherited history, alongside archival material from Cambodian genocide survivor and author Loung Ung.
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APPEARANCES
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PODCASTS
Sep 16, 2026
Erin GruwellHOST
From the community of growing up in a refugee community, did you know much about the regime, Pol Pot's regime, and the Khmer Rouge? Can you educate any of our listeners about what the movement, who they targeted, and why?
Rauru KongGUEST
So they bombed the outskirts of Cambodia into supply route from Vietnam to China, of course, collateral damage in Cambodia and Laos.
Rauru KongGUEST
And then there's this guy named Pol Pot, right? He went to school in Europe somewhere, France, and he learned about the history of the Golden Age of Cambodia, and he wanted to bring that back.
Rauru KongGUEST
The Golden Age was when Cambodia had one of the strongest empire, and they took over 90 of Southeast Asia from Malaysia, all of Thailand.
Loung UngSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
And so that's why it says a blessing