Cambodia (also known for a time as Kampuchea) is a nation of Southeast Asia. In the northwestern part of the country lie the ruins of the abandoned city of Angkor, a reminder of Cambodia's great past. Angkor was the capital of the Khmer empire, which centuries ago ruled a large area of southeast Asia. Wars and foreign conquest eventually drove the Khmer kings from Angkor. In 1863, what was then the kingdom of Cambodia fell under the rule of France. Cambodia regained its independence in 1953, but in the years that followed, it was caught up in the struggles of stronger powers and devastated by civil war.

                [RIGHT] Portrait of a Cambodian boy at Angkor Wat who earns his living by selling drinks to tourists. (January 1995, Siem Reap, Cambodia)

                Cambodia is mainly a land of rural people who cultivate the fertile rice-growing regions of the country. Life traditionally has revolved around the family, the village, the rice fields, and the local Buddhist temple.

                 Most of the people are of Khmer stock. Minority groups include Vietnamese, Chinese and Chams. Buddhism is the country's dominant faith. Special efforts are being made to preserve the traditional songs and dances of the old Khmer court, ancient arts that have been admired throughout the world.

                 [LEFT] A trader looks at trucks loaded with Cambodian refugees headed home at the Thai-Cambodian border crossing of Poipet. The refugees fled to Thailand after fighting erupted in July 1997 between forces loyal to "Second Prime Minister" Hun Sen and now-exiled Prince Norodom Ranariddh. UNHCR has been repatriating refugees on a voluntary basis even though the flow of refugees going into Thailand from some areas of Cambodia has not yet stopped [as of November 1997] (October 1997, Poipet border crossing, Cambodia/Thailand).

                [RIGHT] A young girl dries off after a bath at a camp for people displaced by fighting between Khmer Rouge and government soldiers. (November 1994, Sisophon, Cambodia)

                Children wear simple clothes that can easily be washed and dried quickly because of stains they play and stain their clothes daily. Their clothes differ according to each family's background either in the upper class or lower class.

      [LEFT] A blind boy studies mathematics on an abacus at a school for blind children. (April 1995, Phnom Penh, Cambodia)

      Teenagers wear clothes that are colorful and attractive. They are bought at shopping complex or made by parents. A youngster from a poverty-stricken family will have to wear their older siblings clothes.

      sometimes they also wear accessories such as bangles, rings, band and jewelry.

      [BELOW] A squatter family gathers in and around their cyclo at a public park after a bath in the Tonle Bassac River. (April 1995, Phnom Penh, Cambodia)

         Working adults wear clothes that are thin and can absorb sweat. The climate in Cambodia is hot so fabric that are used to make clothes are of cotton. They also wear head gears such as a  hat to protect their heads from the blazing sun.

           People from the high class such as kings wear expensive clothes that are made especially for them. Silk fabric are used to make such clothes.

          [LEFT] A Cambodian who fled fighting between Khmer Rouge and government forces takes a rest from road building in a food-for-work program. (February, 1995, Kralanh, Cambodia)

          [BELOW] A Cambodian man shields his face from the sun with his ration card while he waits for food distribution at an internal refugee camp for people who have fled fighting between the Khmer Rouge and the national army. (November 1994, Sisophon, Cambodia)

           [BELOW LEFT] Cambodia's King Norodom Sihanouk greets well-wishers at a temple outside Phnom Penh. (February 1995, Phnom Penh, Cambodia)