The Khmer Rouge came into power in Cambodia in 1975 after years of Civil War. They were a Communist party, leaning on the side of Maoism. Their leader was the infamous Pol Pot. Within days of coming into power, they evacuated all of the cities, and marched the people to 'base' camps throughout rural Cambodia. Many of the Khmer Rouge and their soldiers came from impoverished rural backgrounds. They were attracted to the promise of equality for all, and that they would be brought out of there poverty. The city people or 'new people' as they would become known were forced to work in these rural camps, as were the native rural people or 'base people' although they were treated more fairly, as a reward for having been loyal to the traditional ways of life of the Khmer. The Khmer Rouge, under Pol Pot and his governments orders, began mass killings of anyone who was considered a threat to the Khmer Rouges rule or that was not 100% native Khmer. These killings were often carried out in secret, with the targets being told they were moving camp, when in fact, they were being taken to one of the many notorious Killing Fields. Anyone with a heritage outside of Khmer was killed, tourists were killed, anyone who worked for the previous government, anyone that was suspected to be a spy (often these suspicions were completely unfounded), anyone that was seen as too educated, all teachers, professors, doctors, nurses, even anyone that wore glasses.
The conditions in the work camps were horrific, with people being forced to work 12 plus hours a day and only given a bowl of water based rice soup to live on. Starvation killed many, particularly the young, but disease also spread rapidly, and with no real doctors or nurses or medication there was little chance of survival.
The Khmer Rouge preached about equality but little of it existed during their rule. If you refused to join the Khmer Rouge army, you were branded a traitor and were killed. If you were in this army, and refused to carry out an order, such as executing 'traitors' at the Killing Fields, you too would be killed.
The rice that the people slaved to farm was mostly exported to China for money for weapons. Pol Pot was paranoid of being attacked and had a deep hatred for the neighbouring Vietnamese, so his army began random assaults along the border of Vietnam. Children were taken as teens into training camps to learn how to use weapons. They were brainwashed into hating the Vietnamese and were told that the Vietnamese were invading to take them as slaves and take the Cambodian land. Vietnam did attack in 1979 but it was to liberate the people of Cambodia from the cruel Khmer Rouge regime. It is estimated that a quarter of the population were killed, three million people. But whats even harder to believe is that the world didn't truly understand what was going on in Cambodia, they had closed there boarders to all foreigners. After 1979 it did soon become apparent that something terrible had gone on, but the Khmer Rouge still held their seat in the UN. Because an alternative government had not been set up, they were still recognised by the outside world as the Cambodias leader, and were even given money by the UN and held a seat in the new Cambodian Government. Years of civil war and political strife continued well into the 90's when finally completely free of the Khmer Rouge. Whats worse is that only one Khmer Rouge official has been prosecuted, and that only happened last year. Pol Pot, lived a long and happy life, dying of natural causes, and never had to face up or pay for the absolute terror he inflicted on his own people.
So, one day in Phnom Penh we decided to visit the S21 prison and 'The Killing Fields' in one day. The prison was once a primary school but the Khmer Rouge turned it into a place of terror. It became a prison, first just for political prisoners and then for anyone accused of betraying the Khmer Rouge. Very often people were accused for no reason, even women and children. They were brought to the prison and tortured until they confessed. They were then either killed on site, but more often put in a van and brought to one of the killing fields. Every prisoner was photographed and documented. In the prison now, rooms are left as they were, some big with a single metal bed. Some are tiny, maybe 7 by 5 feet, with no light. When the prison was discovered by the Vietnamese soldiers in 1979, only 7 survivors were found. Freshly killed prisoners were found in many of the rooms and today in each of these rooms, there is a photograph of how they were found. Other rooms are filled with thousands of photographs taken by the Khmer Rouge of the prisoners. It was a very somber place, and little reminders of its school origin made it all the more eerie. It was done tastefully and the museums approach was one that it serves as a reminder to future generations that we should never let this happen again.
I'm glad to say the same approach was taken with the Killing Fields. It always feels a bit strange visiting such places as a tourist. I can say I have no regrets about going, and it was done very well and respectfully. You are given an audio tour which brings you around the field, which was unnervingly beautiful and serene. There is a lake at its center, with trees and flowers surrounding it. Surrounding this though were huge craters with cracking earth. In these huge pits mass graves were found. The gases from these corpses forced the earth open revealing them underneath, and this was how the killing fields were discovered, after the Khmer Rouge had fled. During the tour you're given heart breaking accounts of what went on at the site. Thousands and thousands of bodies and bones were found here. So many that although they tried to excavate as many as they could, there are still many more underfoot as you walk around. Every now and again you will see a bit of old cloth under the surface, from the clothes of those killed. Even worse, you might come across a bone. There are even more under the lake, where an excavation couldn't take place. While we were there, villagers were bathing in this lake.
Probably the hardest part of the tour was the 'Killing Tree'. Bits of skull, brain and blood were found on the tree when the site was first discovered.They didn't know why until a mass grave was discovered beside the tree, in which were thousands of naked woman (most raped before being killed) and their children and babies. The tree was used to smash the babies and young children off, and then they were thrown into the pit. Many of the victims at this site were killed in prolonged, agonizing ways, because bullets were too expensive to waste on them. This method however, seems particularly brutal. These children were killed because one or both of it's parents was accused of being a traitor. Pol Pot believed it better to exterminate a whole family so there was no one left to seek revenge.
It was an interested, but heartbreaking day. It was difficult to see and hear of all the recent atrocities that went on so recently, but I'm glad I did it. To ignore it, would gain nothing, and I'm sure Cambodia have had enough of the world ignoring its problems.
Upsetting, but important to share.
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