Cham Muslims

According to Ben Kiernan, the "fiercest extermination campaign was directed against the ethnic Chams, Cambodia's Muslim minority." Islam was seen as an "alien" and "foreign" culture that did not belong in the new Communist system. Initially, the Khmer Rouge aimed for the "forced assimilation" of Chams through population dispersal. Pol Pot then began using intimidation efforts against the Chams that included the assassination of village elders but he ultimately ordered the full-scale mass killing of the Cham people. American professor Samuel Totten and Australian professor Paul R. Bartrop estimate that these efforts would have completely wiped out the Cham population were it not for the overthrow of the Khmer Rouge in 1979.

The Cham began to rise in prominence through joining the communists as early as the 1950s, with a Cham elder, Sos Man joining the Indochina Communist Party and rising through the ranks to become a major in the Party's forces. He then returned home to the Eastern Zone in 1970 and joined the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK), and co-established the Eastern Zone Islamic Movement with his son, Mat Ly. Together, they became the mouthpiece of the CPK to get the Cham people to take part in the revolution. Sos Man's Islamic Movement was also tolerated by CPK's leadership between 1970�"1975. The Chams were gradually made to abandon their faith and distinct practices as early as 1972 in the Southwest.

Defilade: (pronounced DEH-fih-lade) To arrange walls, embankments and other features of a fortification or field work so that the enemy cannot make an accurate shot inside.

Kepi: (pronounced KEH-peeh) Cap worn by Civil War soldiers; more prevalent among Union soldiers.

Infantry: A branch of the military in which soldiers traveled and fought on foot.

(Attack) In Detail: To destroy the enemy piece by piece �" by attacking smaller segments one at a time �" instead of attacking the entire force all at once.

Pontoon Bridge: (pronounced pawn-TOON) A floating bridge which was constructed by anchoring a series of large, flat-bottomed boats across a waterway and then laying wooden planks across them. The planks (the "chess") were anchored by side rails and then covered with a layer of soil to protect it and to dampen sounds. Pontoon bridges were extremely important to the outcome of several battles, including Fredericksburg.

Classicide

The Khmer Rouge regime frequently arrested and often executed anyone who it suspected of having connections with the former Cambodian government or foreign governments, as well as professionals, intellectuals, the Buddhist monkhood, and ethnic minorities. Even those people who were stereotypically thought of as having intellectual qualities, such as wearing glasses or speaking multiple languages, were executed out of fear that they would rebel against the Khmer Rouge. As a result, Pol Pot has been described as "a genocidal tyrant" by journalists and historians such as William Branigin. The British sociologist Martin Shaw described the Cambodian genocide as "the purest genocide of the Cold War era". The attempt to purify Cambodian society along racial, social and political lines led to purges of Cambodia's previous military and political leadership, along with business leaders, journalists, students, doctors, and lawyers.

Vedette(or vidette): A mounted sentry stationed in advance of a picket line.

Ambulance: A two-wheeled or four-wheeled wagon or cart used to transport wounded or sick soldiers.

Indian Territory: The area that is now Oklahoma (except for the panhandle.)

Bummer: A term used to describe marauding or foraging soldiers. Although armies on both sides often had rules against foraging or stealing from private residences, some soldiers often found ways to do so.

Ratify: To formally approve or sanction.

Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum - Discovery

In 1979, H�" Văn Tây, a Vietnamese combat photographer, was the first journalist to document Tuol Sleng to the world. H�" and his colleagues followed the stench of rotting corpses to the gates of Tuol Sleng. The photos of H�" documenting what he saw when he entered the site are exhibited in Tuol Sleng today.

The Khmer Rouge required that the prison staff make a detailed dossier for each prisoner. Included in the documentation was a photograph. Since the original negatives and photographs were separated from the dossiers in the 1979�"1980 period, most of the photographs remain anonymous to this day.

Sentry: (pronounced SEHN-tree) A soldier standing guard.

Breach: A large gap or "hole" in a fortification's walls or embankments caused by artillery or mines, exposing the inside of the fortification to assault.

Vedette(or vidette): A mounted sentry stationed in advance of a picket line.

Copperhead: Term for a Northerner who opposed the war effort.

Theater: A theater of war is a region or area where fighting takes place.

Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum - Prison Staff

Some of the staff who worked in Tuol Sleng also ended up as prisoners. They confessed to being lazy in preparing documents, to having damaged machines and various equipment, and to having beaten prisoners to death without permission when assisting with interrogations.

"Graybacks": A slang term for lice, or occasionally an offensive "Yankee" slang term for Confederate soldiers.

Dropsy: (pronounced drop-see) Nineteenth-century term for the condition known today as edema. Fluid builds up in the tissues and causes limbs to swell up horribly.

Bedroll: Blanket or other bedding rolled up and carried over the shoulder by a soldier. Sometimes soldiers would include personal belongings in their bedroll.

Recruits: The term used to describe new soldiers.

Cartridge: Roll of thin paper which held a small amount of gun powder in the bottom and a ball or bullet in the top. A soldier needed to tear off the top of the cartridge in order to fire his weapon - part of the nine steps to fire a muzzle loading gun (or five to fire a breech loading gun).