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The Killing Fields & the S-21 Prison
Phnom Penh, 8th
June 2002 (Part 1)
Today Amy & I decided to visit two of Cambodia's most famous, yet
depressing, attractions. Cambodia has a very terrible and horrific
recent history. In the 1970s a Cambodian military & political group
called the `Khmer Rouge' took over the country by force. They then
embarked on an extreme and brutal forced reconstruction of Cambodian
society. They wanted to cleanse the country of `destructive Western
elements' and restore Cambodia to `an ethnically pure Khmer
country'. I won't go into the complete history here. Suffice to say
ensuing madness quickly escalated out of control and ended up with
the Khmer Rouge killing just about anyone in the country. The
following years resulted in huge massacres and a large percentage of
the population perished from the Khmer Rouge's senseless behaviour.
There are a number of monuments in remembrance of the people who
perished during these terrible years. We visited the 2 most famous
ones, The Chong Ek Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng S-21 Prison.
For the visits we hired 2 moto drivers from our guesthouse for the
day. In the morning we took the short drive out to the Killing
Fields. A few kms out of PP, this innocent looking field was the
site of over 10,000 murders by the Khmer Rouge. We stood and looked
over the peaceful, green fields. It looks just like any other quiet,
countryside field. Trees, animals, lush green grass and silent
butterflies hide it's horrific past. The first thing to catch out
eyes was the large, white tower, the main monument to the dead. We
walked slowly up to the monument, and we noticed what looked like a
large collection of smooth, polished, white & off-white stones. When
we were a few paces away, we could see what the `stones' really
were. Human skulls. Over 8000 human skulls, arranged by gender, age
and ethnicity. We stood in respectful silence, just staring at this
powerful and emotional monument. The seconds stretched into hours as
we walked slowly around the tower, trying to take in the sheer scale
of the horror and killing. How can someone believe they are doing
right by slaughtering 10,000s of innocent men, women and children?
And how could they get away with it in the 1970s? Surely there are
international safeguards to prevent atrocities like these.
We then paced slowly around the Chong Ek site. Dozens of mass
graves, now grown over into innocent looking, natural holes & dips.
Half of the graves had been opened up, giving over 8000 bodies. The
other half of the mass graves have been left undisturbed. Walking
around the site, we occasionally saw what looked like bits of
splintered bone or pieces of torn clothing, half buried in the dirt.
We tried not to step on them, but at some points the whole path was
covered with such pieces.
At one side of the field was an innocent looking tree with a small
plaque on it. Walking closer, the writing became legible, it was
along the lines of: ''The tree against which babies & infants were
beaten to death.''
In one corner of the field is a small building that explains the
purpose of the field during the terror of the Hmer Rouge and what it
represents now.
After an hour or so we left this emotional monument in shocked
silence. As we drove back to the city, we looked round to see
children running around the fields, playing games amongst the trees
& bushes. The field had resumed it's innocent face.
Back in Phnom Penh, the drivers took us to the Tuol Sleng S-21
prison. This building was formally a school, then during the reign
of the Khmer Rouge it was used as a barbaric and horrific prison.
Now the building is kept in it's original state and is used as a
museum to ensure that the terrible events are never forgotten.
We walked through the old school buildings. From the outside, the
whole place looks like a normal school, except for the barbed wire
fences surrounding it. On the lower floor of the first building were
a line of largish cells. Empty except for a hard, steel bed, various
bits of prison paraphanelia and a harrowing image on the wall of
each cell, showing prisoners in differing states of brutal
punishment.
The rooms of the second building were divided up by makeshift brick
or wooden walls into a large number of tiny, basic individual cells.
Walking slowly along the narrow corridor left between the cells, I
tried to imagine the horror that existed here less than 30 years
ago. My success was limited. I don't think you can truly imagine
events like these unless you have actually experienced them.
The final building contained a large gallery of images of the people
who were kept and murdered here. The sheer number of faces is a bit
overwhelming and the individual faces meld into a crowd. Also in
this building were some paintings of various methods of torture
imposed upon the inmates, along wth some of the actual implements
and instruments.
It is difficult to explain the way I felt after my experiences
today. It's a powerful and disturbing set of events that are
remembered here. The impact is magnified by just how recent the
events are. One photo of a baby that was killed had it's date of
birth marked. Less than a month before Amy was born.
The Killing Fields and S-21 museum are two of the most important
sights in Phnom Penh. Although visiting them means a profoundly
depressing day, it is important to visit them and learn about the
recent events in Cambodia.
By the end of my visits, I was determined to learn more about these
recent events & atrocities. Before my visit to Cambodia I knew
almost nothing about Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, but after
witnessing a glimpse of the horror that went on here, I want to know
more about what happened and how it happened. I guess this the most
productive feeling you can get out of this experience...
Next Diary Entry >>
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To know the road ahead, ask those coming back
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