The Killing Fields

Part of any trip to Cambodia must include some time learning about and seeing the devastation perpetrated on millions of people by Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge regime. For just under four years the Khmer Rouge ruled the country, enslaved its people, tortured and killed many of its most well educated and wealthy citizens. It is estimated that any where between one to three million people were killed. (the large discrepancy on numbers is based on different estimates and accounting for people differently.)

Pol Pot wanted the entire society to be agrarian and forced the majority of people into the rural areas to subsistence farm and the conditions were terrible and many died.

Toul Sleng Prison: formerly the site of a high school, this was turned into a notorious prison and torture center for the Khmer Rouge. It was run by a man namd Duch, who is responsible for sending at least ten thousand people to their deaths. The Khmer Rouge, much like the Nazis were meticulous in their record keeping, and much of this museum's powerful displays are walls and walls of hundreds ( if not thousands) of mugshots of the people who went through the prison. Men. Women. Children. All of whom were killed. It is said that there were only seven prisoners who came out alive. Two of whom are in the courtyard to talk about their experiences. They were all spared do to some special skills that were valuable to Duch and the leadership.

Once tortured, prisoners were taken the the killing fields in outside of Phnom Penh (one of three hundred such sites in Cambodia). 17,000 were put to death here. The majority of them were brought at night and didn't last a day. They were shot, most were bludgeoned to death with machetes, hammers, car axles, etc. Some had their necks cut and bled out. Most were stripped, valuables taken but thrown into mass graves blindfolded. This particular area had been excavated, with about 9000bodies exhumed. You can see the pits in the ground. Most unsettling here, though, was that there were still bones and clothing that were surfacing. Walking on the paths you would see bones sticking up, you could find pieces of bones and teeth on the ground, as well as some of the cloth used to blindfold prisoners. Periodically staff will collect any remains that they can find. It was a bit overwhelming. I have some pictures attached. Most of the large bones of the 9000 exhumed bodies have been examined and are kept in the peace pagoda I. The site.

The most moving exhibit of the day for me was at the prison. The curators had the opportunity to interview former guards (and perhaps torturers) at the prison. These were people who were teenagers when they joined the Khmer Rouge. They joined for several reasons: better food, better treatment, money, lifestyle. They spoke about their crimes and needing to pay for them. Many of these people had been in prison. They all took responsibility for their roles, but most stated that they didn't know what they were getting into, and that they were following orders. These were teenagers trying to figure out how to stay alive. Most acknowledge that following orders doesn't absolve them, but it helps to explain it. Also palpable in the interviews were their frustration that the Khmer Rouge leaders remained free after they lost power. Very few of the top echelon of leaders served any time even though they were found guilty of genocide. The Khmer Rouge played a role in Cambodia's politics for many years after they lost control.

Cambodia choose a model of reconciliation and forgiveness. ( it reminded me of South Africa.) this allowed the leaders to stay out of prison, although the top four living leaders have been arrested and their trials are on going. All told an informative and moving day. Genocide continues to plague the earth, and places like Cambodia, Rwanda, and others should be reminders to us all, that the world community needs to act to prevent this from occurring again.