AANHPI History Calendar

· Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Fall of Phnom Penh

history

Content note: this entry describes genocide.

The Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penh and emptied the city at gunpoint, beginning a genocide that killed some 1.5-2 million Cambodians and drove waves of survivors to seek refuge in the US. (Shares Apr 17 with the 1900 American Samoa cession.)

Communities
  • Cambodian
Topics
  • refugees
Regions
  • Southeast Asian

Sources

  • ushmm.org ushmm.org/genocide-prevention/countries/cambodia/day-one
  • history.com history.com/this-day-in-history/april-17/cambodia-falls-to-the-khmer-rouge

Also on April 17

history

American Samoa Deed of Cession (Tutuila)

High chiefs of Tutuila signed a Deed of Cession transferring the island to the United States; American Samoa's people became US nationals-a status that, uniquely, still does not confer birthright citizenship.