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The Gate (By François Bizot)

<< August | July 2005 | June >>

“I detest the notion of a new dawn in which Homo sapiens would live in harmony. The hope this utopia engenders has justified the bloodiest exterminations in history.”

- François Bizot, in The Gate

(Do note that inclusion of these snippets does not imply unfettered endorsement of the viewpoints expressed!)

The Gate is based upon two experiences endured by French ethnologist François Bizot before and during the Khmer Rouge takeover of Cambodia in the 1970s. The first episode (comprising the majority of the book) describes Bizot's imprisonment at the hands of the Khmer Rouge in 1971. (It was assumed the Frenchman was a CIA operative working for the United States.) Among the more interesting aspects of his imprisonment is the fact that the man in charge was one Comrade Douch, who would go on to become the primary leader involved in the torture and execution of prisoners at Tuol Sleng Prison. Douch, most would contend, was among the primary sowers of "the killing fields." Bizot does a splendid job recognizing and describing the man's humanity, his principled approach to life, and his belief in the revolutionary cause. Bizot himself is spared because of Douch. Ta Mok (aka "The Butcher") demands the Frenchman's execution twice, but Douch manages to prevent the unjust killing of a man he'd come to believe was innocent. (Bizot was indeed in Cambodia for the sole purpose of studying Buddhism and Khmer culture.) François Bizot is often cited as the only Western captive to be released by the Khmer Rouge.

The second portion of the book describes the chaos that unfolded in Phnom Penh during the Khmer Rouge takeover in 1975. Bizot describes events at the French embassy just before and after the Khmer Rouge seized the city. He describes the exodus of some 1000+ foreign nationals (who were sent to Thailand by the revolutionary Cambodian leaders). An afterward includes comments describing the author's visit to Cambodia (and the location of his imprisonment) 30 years later.

The Gate provides a unique first-hand account of revolutionary Cambodia – and paints a fair picture of the complexity of the politics involved. Bizot avoids taking sides, though he is critical of all involved: the revolutionary government, the United States ("I do not know what to reproach them for more, their intervention or their withdrawal"), France, and "the West" for failing to acknowledge the reality of the situation in Cambodia at the time. He portrays well the humanity of the Khmer Rouge but also exposes the sheer insanity of the regime's revolutionary dogma. The book is a gripping read – not nearly as mind-numbingly "fact-based" as some of the other oft-cited accounts of revolutionary Cambodia. Of course, absent abundant facts, The Gate is not a comprehensive summary or analysis of how and why the Khmer Rouge and subsequent genocide came to be.

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