Many survivors of this genocide sustained grievous Injuries. of which the women described In this article are but one example. This should serve as a strong reminder of the horrors wrought by the communist Khmer Rouge. they must never again be allowed to assume power in Cambodia. under any circumstances. (The article follows:] [From the Los Angeles Times. Oct. 15. 1989] CAMBODIANS VISION Loss LINKED TO WAR TRAUMA Scores of Cambodians complain they are blind or suffer blurry vision although their eyes are normala malady some experts blame on the horrors they witnessed in the killing fields of their native land. "These women saw things that their minds just could not accept." said psychology professor Patricia RozeeKoker of Cal State Long Beach. who studies vision complaints of the Khmer Rouge regimes refugees. "Seventy percent of the women had their immediate family killed before their eyes." she said. "So their minds simply closed down. and they refused to see anymorerefused to see any more death. any more torture. any more rape. any more starvation." The majority of the refugees with vision complaints are 40- to 70yearold women who fled the Khmer Rouge regime. which was toppled a decade ago. Experts believe that the refugees suffer hysterical. psychosomatic or functional blindness. in which psychological turmoil spurs people with normal eyes to believe that they are blind or see poorly. Many of the Cambodians also show signs of severe depression and posttraumatic stress disorder. which afflicted many Vietnam War veterans. RozeeKoker said.
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refugees