The Khmer Rouge came to power in 1975, and quite literally overnight life changed for the Cambodian people. The extreme communist regime abolished all of the country's infrastructure. This meant no more schools, banks, hospitals, public transport and or even the right to have a religion. Those who worked and lived in the cities were immediately shipped out to the country to work in the rice fields, with the rice quota set at an impossible rate. Anyone with an ounce of intelligence was eradicated, private housing was given to the state and families were torn apart. Over 2 million people died during four years, a fourth of the population. There is a large age gap between the very young and the very old.
The first place we visited was Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, otherwise known as S21. This former high school was one of many secret interrogation and torture centres used by the Pol Pot regime. Inmates were taken here, photographed and processed, kept in unsanitary conditions, tortured in inhumane ways and forced to sign false confessions. These were sensationalised confessions claiming connections with the CIA. Once doing so, they were officially signing their own death warrant. They were then transferred to Choeung Ek aka the Killing Fields.
As someone with hardly any knowledge of what had happened, I was horrified walking around the school. You could still see some blackboards with writing on them. They have exhibits showing all the photos of those who were processed through the centre, and it was too much to take in. Weirdly, it was difficult to see the few images of Westerners as they stood out amongst the thousands of Cambodians.
Some of the buildings had barbed wire on the side, to stop prisoners from escaping or attempting suicide. Classrooms were divided into makeshift cell blocks made out of wood or brick. The courtyard displayed some of the tools used for torturing those poor souls.
We then moved onto the Killing Fields, which used to be a fruit orchard. This is the site of many mass graves, where the prisoners from S21 ended up. This was a full on extermination centre of thousands of people, men, women and children. When you arrive at the gates, you are given a set of earphones and a device. This was excellent and informative, by allowing us to move along at our own pace. Every part of the compound was explained, and eye witness accounts were also available to listen to. I won't go into detail, but the experience sobered me walking around especially the Killing Tree.
I was shocked by the Magic Tree. This hollow tree was used to project out Communist songs, late into the night. Along with drilling, and other noises, these muffled the screams of those whose heads were being smashed in. I got really upset listening to a short snippet of this, and how this would have been the last thing the victims had heard.
The excavated pits have been taken back by nature, and appear to be teeming with wildlife. However, whenever there is a large amount of rainfall, some bone fragments and clothing surface. A constant reminder of the victims below. There are still some graves left undisturbed. The skulls and bones found are now displayed in a special Stupa which is the main focal point of the site. It is very eery, but will stand as a permanent reminder.
If you go to Phnom Penh, you must visit these places. The best way to get to both in a day is by a tuk tuk. The driver will wait at each place and take you back to your original destination. Agree the price beforehand. It cost us $15 for the day, and there were 4 of us.
On a much lighter note, there are places not solely focussed on genocide. The National Museum of Cambodia exhibits statues from as early as Angkor Wat. I was stopped by a group of girls who wanted to take my picture. It turned out they were all studying to be midwives and all had excellent English. It was amazing to see that they are taking full advantage of the opportunities laid out in front of them. School in Cambodia still costs money, but they are moving forward and the next generation will help to better their country. It was really positive meeting them, after the day before.
At night we found ourselves in the Foreign Correspondents Club, FCC. This was, as you can probably tell, where all the correspondents would meet up. The view wasn't too bad either!
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