The phrase is used to describe a number of sites in Cambodia where millions were killed and buried by the Khmer Rouge Communist regime that ruled from 1975 to 1979. After torture and execution, victims were buried in mass graves.

In 1984, the film The Killing Fields was made by director Roland Joffe, based on the experiences of journalists Dith Pran, Jon Swain and Sydney Schanberg. It went on to win three Academy Awards. No souvenir shop in Cambodia -- and there are many -- is complete without a copy. You can buy excellent pirated DVDs for 3 dollars each, unchecked pirated copies for 2, or pirated VCDs with photocopied covers for as little as a dollar.

For a country as poor as this, sentimentality is a luxury. It doesn't put bread on the table.

Image: A sweeping view of Cambodia from atop a hill within the Angkor Wat temple complex, a World Heritage Site.

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