December 8 1997

ARTICLE TOOLS

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In 1975, a British Columbia couple was among the few Christian families that adopted a Cambodian orphan of the infamous killing fields genocide.

But the life of their adopted son, Michael Senior, 23, was cut tragically short in July when a coup in Cambodia was accompanied by an outbreak of violence.

Airlifted out of Phnom Penh at the age of 13 months, Senior's life had recently come full circle. In 1995, he returned to Cambodia and was teaching English in Phnom Penh, and his Cambodian wife worked for World Vision. With Senior's death, his infant daughter, Nina, joins yet another generation of Cambodians whose families have been shattered by decades of bloody conflict.

"Michael was a miracle," Judy Senior, his adoptive mother, told Christian Info News of Vancouver. "I know that God is going to use his short life for some good. Out of his death will come the life of God … the presence of Jesus in Cambodia."

Cambodia is not only one of Asia's poorest countries economically, it has also been a modern war zone since 1970. Following the costly United Nations- sponsored elections four years ago, Cambodia's experiment in democracy has been precarious.

An unwieldy coalition government, led by co-prime ministers Prince Norodom Ranariddh and Hun Sen, attempted to rule Cambodia. But by mid-1997, tensions between the bitter political foes had reached the breaking point. Then, on July 5, taking advantage of Ranariddh's absence from the country, the units of the national army loyal to Hun Sen seized control of Phnom Penh and most provincial areas. At least 35 people died in the fighting, including Senior.

DEPENDENT ON FOREIGN AID: Since the 1993 elections, the Cambodian government has been heavily dependent on foreign financial assistance. ...