The Killing Fields of the Khmer Rouge 1975-1979

2.13.16

We got into Phnom Penh around 7am and went to a guesthouse that one of Juan’s friends had recommended. They didn’t end up having room for us there but the owner of the guesthouse was very accommodating with finding and booking another place for us to stay-something that doesn’t happen in the states. We sat there for breakfast and met a nice lady who was on holiday from Australia. The guys grabbed a guitar and asked me to sing so after a good few minutes of begging I sang for them and whoever else was sitting there. Good ol’ Disney never fails. We were talking about where we wanted to go during the day and mentioned visiting the killing fields, the area where Pol Pot had Cambodians taken to be executed during his reign in the 70’s when the owner of the guesthouse started talking about his experiences during that time. We went to the killing fields to pay our respects and learn more about those dark years. Here’s your history lesson for the day…

Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge wanted to create a new world at zero. Under their reign 80% of people lived in extreme poverty. They wiped cities clean taking everybody who was educated or even looked educated by the truckload to the killing fields thinking that the educated people would fight back against them and perform crimes against the state. The victims were told they were being moved to new homes. From April 17, 1975 until Jan 7, 1979 there were over 300 killing fields, Choeung Ek the one we visited, being one of them. The people came in truckloads of 20-30 at first, every few weeks, blindfolded and hungry. By 1978 they came by the hundreds. ANYONE who could be a potential enemy of the state was collected, even nuns and monks. It’s so sad...doctors, teachers, leaders all executed.

“To keep you is no gain and to lose you is no loss”.

“Better to kill and innocent by mistake than to spare an enemy by mistake”

It was extremely saddening to walk around the grounds. We all rented audio tours so we could listen to survivor’s stories and first accounts and we all walked at our own paces taking time to reflect. Every few months caretakers collect bones and clothing fragments that get unearthed on the grounds. It’s as if the spirits cannot find rest.

There are little birdhouse looking structures around and I learned that they’re called spirit houses. They’re supposed to be a safe place for spirits who haven’t found rest. A reflection of caring and respect for the deceased. It’s part of Cambodian culture and it predates even Hinduism and Buddhism.

In the middle of the grounds there is a big memorial that houses the skulls of thousands of victims. There are 17 levels and they’re all marked with little colors to show how that person most likely died. The weapons are all there too…victims of killing by axe, hoc, hook, knife, neck cutting, iron tools…it makes me absolutely sick to my stomach.

The memorial building itself has a Geruda bird on it. It’s a mythical giant bird crossed with a lion and human. Vishnu rides on one in Hindu religion. Right next to the bird there’s a legendary Naga which is said to have fathered the Khmer people. They are enemies of each other but when they come together they are a symbol of peace.

Half the group had had enough after visiting the killing fields and went elsewhere but me and the other half of the group went to see S21 for ourselves, one of the camps that served as a detainment and torture center for those poor people. It had once been a school and very much looked like one which made the visit even worse. There were thousands of photos in the rooms, panels after panels of pictures of people who had been admitted. Some were of when they were first admitted as a record and the rest were when they were killed, again, as a record. It wasn’t just pictures of people who had passed away though, they were gruesome pictures of people that had been severely tortured. These pictures served as the last memories for family members who went to S21 after the fall of the Khmer Rouge to find out what had happened to their loved ones. There were a few times when I had to walk out of a room or take off my headphones and walk away from Juan who was sharing an audio with me because I couldn’t listen to the gruesome stories. At one point we were walking through the prison cells and there was still blood on the floors. Somebody had died right where we were standing, it made my stomach just turn.

I learned a lot about the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot’s reign of terror. It really makes me feel for these people and what they’ve been through. Sometimes, in order to create timelines in my head for events that happened before I was born I’ll use my parents ages and my grandparent’s ages to gauge time. My dad was almost a teenager when these horrible things were happening on the other side of the world. Members of the Khmer Rouge were still receiving sentences TWO years ago in 2014. It is absolutely heartbreaking to know that not many knew about these killing fields at the time because the regime kept it hush and it’s even more heartbreaking to visibly see that the country is very much still recovering from these incidences and war to this day.

Always praying for a better tomorrow.

Much love,

Cas

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