Phnom Penh

Cambodia has some amazing sights to see, but is also plagued by a much more recent and violent history, which we were able to study a little of while staying in Phnom Penh.

During the 1960s, a group of communist leaders known as the Khmer Rouge led by Pol Pot took over the Cambodian government and radically reformed all aspects of Cambodian life. All of the cities were evacuated, electricity shut off, technology abandoned, and its inhabitants sent to work from sun-up to sun-down as farmers, with little to no food. Intellectuals, foreigners, dissenters, and anyone who wore glasses were tortured and executed in prisons around the country. For a more extensive history, see here. Today a few of the prisons and killing fields have been turned into memorials, which we spent a day touring.

Cheung Ek (The Killing Fields):

This is where the victims from political prisons were taken to be executed, when any and all information had been tortured out of them (most of the political prisoners were common citizens--they were forced to invent stories of espionage they had participated in to avoid further torture). As guns and bullets were expensive, the guards would use whatever else they could to kill their victims, dump them in mass graves, and cover them with chemicals.

At the center of the fields a seven-story stupa has been erected, and has been filled with all of the skulls that have been unearthed from mass graves.

We were asked to stay closely to the paths, as more bone fragments and clothing are constantly emerging from the ground. While the whole experience was disturbing, the fields have been very well preserved and the atmosphere as a whole is now peaceful and respectful.

Tuol Sleng--S.21 (Political Prison in Phnom Penh)

A former high school that was turned into a nightmare, it is estimated that approximately 17,000 people were incarcerated in this political prison alone. Only twelve are known to have survived. 

The Khmer Rouge kept immaculate records--every prisoner to enter had a picture taken of them when they entered, and some had pictures taken of them when they died. Many of the photos are displayed inside the prison. 

When Phnom Penh was finally liberated by the Vietnamese in 1979, they found the prison evacuated, although fourteen corpses remained in the largest cells reserved for high-ranking government officials.

The thing that really made it real for us was our tour guide. She was born and raised in Phnom Penh and was a child when she was evacuated to a farm village near the border of Cambodia.

She told us about how she was forced to work practically without food and rest, showed us her scars from being beaten, and explained how she still wakes up afraid that she will be murdered by the Khmer Rouge.

How grateful we are for where we live and the freedoms we enjoy.