The idea behind a Year Zero Event is that all culture and traditions within a society must be completely destroyed or discarded and a new revolutionary culture must replace it, starting from scratch.
All of the history of a nation or people before Year Zero is largely deemed irrelevant, because it will ideally be purged and replaced from the ground up.
Under the Khmer Rouge, New People (intellectuals and members of the old government) were especially singled out and executed during the purges accompanying Year Zero
Generally, anyone who was from an urban area was made a New Person and people from rural areas were made Old People
New People were not allowed any property and they were forced to work at least 10 hours a day, and often more
Their food rations were so small they led to starvation
Disease was rampant and in 1976 it was estimated that 80% of the Cambodian population had malaria
Their food rations were so small they led to starvation
Disease was rampant and in 1976 it was estimated that 80% of the Cambodian population had malaria
One of the Khmer Rouge mottos, in reference to the New People, was "To keep you is no benefit. To destroy you is no loss."
