The Killing Fields

I guess I'll start with maybe two of the saddest places I have ever visited. This provided the context in which I could start to understand the Cambodian people and their history. Between 1975-1979 there was a mass genocide carried out by the Khmer Rouge and their infamous leader Pol Pot. Although I read about the details of what went on before going on this trip, visiting Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek helped me see the utter darkness and cruelty that decimated this country. 

Tuol Sleng is a former high school located in the capital of Phnom Penh that was converted into Security Prison 21 (S-21) by the Khmer Rouge. An estimated 20,000 prisoners were tortured and killed here. It is only one of approximately 300 sites that were used throughout the country to carry out executions. Now it has become a well known museum to help educate both locals and foreigners about the Khmer Rouge.

There are thousands of pictures posted of the prisoners who were tortured and killed here. The Khmer Rouge targeted foreigners (especially Vietnamese, Chinese, and Thai), politicians, doctors, teachers, military, and generally any professionals or educated people. Wearing eye-glasses was a sign of intelligence and seen as a threat by the Khmer Rouge. It is estimated that 2 million people were killed over the 5-year period of the Khmer Rouge. This accounted for about 25% of the population at the time. Can you imagine the impact of killing 1/4 of a country specifically targeting those who were helping lead and develop the country?

This is one of the four buildings at Toul Sleng. Some of the rooms have been preserved as they were found by the Vietnamese during the post-Khmer Rouge regime (often with just a metal bed frame and torturing devices). Other rooms have storyboards and historical documents of survivors from the Khmer Rouge. 

Some people believe that the ghosts of the victims of S-21 still remain here. Buddhists especially hold this belief because the dead did not receive a proper burial. The place does have a very eerie vibe as you walk down the halls and into the rooms. Some of the classrooms that were transformed into small sectioned prison cells were definitely harrowing to walk through. If these walls could speak, they would have some horrific stories to tell.

The philosophy of the Khmer Rouge was very twisted - to create a classless society of agricultural laborers. It was a very primitive communistic ideology. In order to carry this out and isolate themselves from the rest of the world, the Khmer Rouge attempted to shut down all schools, hospitals, banks, churches, and private enterprises. Anyone seen as a threat to this end goal was immediately terminated. Propaganda and lies were used by the Khmer Rouge to deceive the Cambodian people.

Choeung Ek is the site of another execution center and burial grounds. It's about 30-minutes away from Tuol Sleng just outside of Phnom Penh. Many of the prisoners from Tuol Sleng were brought here to be killed and thrown into mass graves. An estimated 10,000 people were killed here and new bones are still emerging from the ground after heavy periods of rain. 

This is the site where 450 victims were found buried in one large grave. Some of the mass graves included corpses with no heads. Others were dedicated for women and children. Visitors have left their bracelets on these bamboo enclosures surrounding some of the graves.

This is a large memorial building (Buddhist stupa) that was built in 1989. It houses 9,000 skulls enclosed in multiple levels of glass cases. This stupa was built not only to remember those who lost their lives on these grounds, but also to give them a more proper burial.

Here's a picture of one of the glass cases. It's surreal to see so many skulls next to each other. You walk into the stupa and look up to see multiple glass cases filled with bones. Wow. How can this happen? After visiting this memorial I had to take a moment to sit down on the steps outside. It reminded me of the the Valley of Dry Bones. I looked it up and found it in Ezekiel 37. That text has taken on a new meaning for me. 

I had to include this picture because it is where I spent a lot of time reflecting on Cambodia's history. One of the reasons why so many people were killed under Pol Pot's regime was the fear of revenge. It was common for entire families to be killed out of fear that the children would grow up and seek revenge for the deaths of their parents and older siblings. One of the mottos of the Khmer Rouge was "to kill off the weeds, you must also take out the roots." This tree is where babies were taken to be executed. They were flung head first into the tree while being held by their feet. Then they were tossed into a mass grave next to the tree where this memorial structure has been built. Yes, this was a tough place to visit.