Sillars
tells the story of Radha Manickam, a victim of the Khmer Rouge.
Radha
had become a Christian in 1973 through an independent missionary
teaching English classes. For the three previous years, the U.S. had
done intensive bombing in Cambodia aimed at aiding the pro-American
Khmer Republic government in a brutal war against Khmer Rouge,
communist guerrillas backed by North Vietnam. The Americans ended up
officially leaving in 1975.
Interwoven
with the background information about the war is the story of Radha.
His whole family was forced to evacuate Phnom Penh when the Khmer
Rouge invaded in 1973. They were forced marched to settlements where
they were forced to work in cooperatives. Radha saw much horror and
thanked God every day for letting him live. They experienced
malnutrition. Radha was forced into marriage (and was surprised to
later find his wife was a Christian too). They suffered under
leadership purges and saw many atrocities. He and his wife survived
when the Vietnamese invaded and eventually ended up in a U.N. refugee
camp. They later emigrated to America and Radha was involved in
ministry to Cambodians in Seattle. He made several visits to Cambodia
to minister and connect with his remaining family members.
I
recommend this book to those interested is a very good history of
Cambodia in the 1970s. While Radha's story is the main theme of the
book, there is a great deal of information about the country during
this time. Radha's story is a powerful one of survival, forgiveness and a
determination to help Christians remaining in Cambodia.
You
can find out more about Radha's current ministry at
http://www.cmcnews.org/Home.html.
My
rating: 4/5 stars.
Les
Sillars has been a journalist for over twenty years, seventeen of
those with WORLD magazine. He is a journalism professor at
Patrick Henry College in Virginia.
Baker
Books, 312 pages.
I
received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. My
comments are an independent and honest review.
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