The tortured story of Cambodia, or at least a major part of it, is right here. This is only one of the over 300 killing fields all over Cambodia, but it is the closest to Phnom Penh and it was where the prisoners from Tuol Sleng (S-21 prison) were taken to be exterminated. Over 20,000 people where killed here during the brutal 1975 – 1977 rein of terror where Cambodia lost more than 1.7 million people total. The $3 entrance fee includes an audio guide which is an excellent recitation of the horrors of the Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot and the poor souls tortured and buried here. It is gruesome, but it is so necessary to make you understand the brutality of humanity.
As with the Holocaust extermination camps, you almost don’t want to take pictures. But you end up just forcing yourself to do it – to remember what was…and quite frighteningly…what could be.
We begin the tour by walking toward the memorial Stupa, which will be our last stop. There are signs and pictures all over the compound to further explain what we are hearing on the tape.
The first stop is where the trucks dropped of the prisoners to be executed. There was actually a truck remaining here for years, but they most recently took it away. Then we walk to where the detention hut was located – where they kept the prisoners before killing them. Heading toward the mass graves themselves, we pass an old Ceremonial Chinese kiosk and the chemical substances storage room where you can see remnants of things they used to spread the DDT around the bodies to keep the stench at bay.
Then comes the first mass grave of 450 victims. Now fenced off, but with thousands of bracelets and memorials around its perimeter.
We walk through the Longan orchard, where the KR literally worked people to death, than back to the lake where you could listen to survivor stories – which we decided to pass on. It was already incredibly emotional and we didn’t really think we could listen to such horror – even though good endings since they survived – while walking through what is not a placid lake and park like setting.
We walk back out around the lake, to the mass grave of 166 victims without heads. The saying went “Cambodian body, Vietnamese minds.”
As we walk through the burial mounds, we come to a glass case full of clothing. These are the clothes in which the victims were buried and probably the worst thing about this whole place – they are still coming up from the ground! Clothing and bones are found constantly as they rise up from the ground due to rain or erosion or I don’t even know what! There are signs all over to leave the clothing and bones alone, that the museum curators will take care of them.
The final stop out in the compound was The Killing Tree - where they beat children and babies to death against the tree. Ok. So that was the worst. If you had dry eyes before, you didn’t have them now. Especially when as you listen to the audio recording and its explanations and remember the KR played music over the loudspeakers to mask the sounds of death.
Our last stop was at the memorial Stupa, where they have organized many of the skulls and bones found here on the grounds. 7 levels of bones on 4 sides of the exhibit, all categorized into age range and means of death. There are also samples of the weapons used to kill here. Sobering in its magnitude. And it barely, barely scrapes the surface.
We make our way out of the Stupa, but don’t want to leave just yet. You need to sort of let things sink in somehow. So we walk through the little museum which provides more detail – as if you need it – to the genocide. It also shows some of the main participants in the KR leadership and gives histories. The thing that is so horrifying to understand is that Pol Pot lived until his 70’s in relative luxury and style. He wasn’t prosecuted or imprisoned for his crimes. Although there is an ECCC commission now that is trying to prosecute the crimes, the punishments, if any, have been relatively light compared to the horrors visited upon these people. And, as if that isn’t enough, even though the Khmer Rouge had been systematically killing their people, and were thrown out of power in the late 70’s when Vietnam invaded, the world continued to consider them the recognized government until the 1990’s.
Incredible. Frustrating. Depressing. Disgusting.
Time to decompress on the ride back to town. Of course we are going to the S-21 prison next – which won’t be any better – but we thought it would be better to do this all in one day, than to spread it out.
It takes us a few minutes to find Chaina, but find him we do – and off we go back into town to the S-21.
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