Preah Vihear Temple
As Phnom Penh came under siege by the Khmer Rouge, Pierpaoli moved to Bangkok. After the Khmer Rouge victory in April 1975, she began visiting refugee camps on the border of Thailand to help Cambodians who fled their country and sought refuge in Thailand. Plying the border with a small car, she brought them food and medicine and took into her house in Bangkok as many as she could help escape. In 1979, the Thai government forcibly repatriated thousands of Cambodian refugees. Pierpaoli, along with American Lionel Rosenblatt, rescued as many refugees as possible before they were forced across the border, especially at Preah Vihear Temple, where 40,000 Cambodians were pushed off a cliff into a minefield. Thousands died as they attempted to cross the minefield.