Cambodia is country that has been set back by the destruction of the Khmer Rouge, but it has come such a long way and the only direction is up. The genocide is something that you hear about in history books and documentaries, but when you're actually there you can truly feel the pain and suffering that had been inflicted on so many innocent people. It's a very difficult topic to write about and discuss because everything just comes back to "it was so awful," "I can't believe something like this could've happened," or "I'm at a loss of words." It's something that everyone can agree on that can never happen again and needs to be a lesson for future generations to highlight the evil that can exist in the world.
In this recount of my experience at the killing fields I will be writing about some pretty graphic material so be warned that what you will read will be distributing. We first started at the prison in Phnom Penh where upwards of 22,000 people were brought and only 12 survived. This prison used to be a primary school but when the Khmer Rouge took over, it became a place of torture and evil. In the courtyard of the prison there were a few white graves where lay the bodies of unknown prisoners that were left once the Khmer Rouge lost control. Their bodies were so destroyed that they could not be identified. In the prison compound there were different buildings where they conducted different aspects of the torture process.
The whole reason why the Khmer Rouge began taking people and imprisoning them is because it was thought that they were conspiring against the government, so each prisoner would be forced to sign a confession that they had been working with the American CIA or other intelligence agencies. These confessions of course would be fake, but if they didn't comply they would be tortured to extreme measures. Walking into one of the confession rooms I could feel the pain and could literally see blood stains on the walls. The thought that I was walking around in rooms where thousands of people have suffered and died made my heart heavy and it was like there was something constantly pushing down on me. It was like the spirits of the people who were all crammed in these rooms were all weighing in on me and made the room feel smaller than it was.
In the audio tour there was one confession story that stood out to me. Kerry Hamill was a New Zealander who was sailing across the world when the Khmer Rouge arrested him and took him to the s-21 prison in Phnom Penh. When the Khmer Rouge had asked him to write his confession he would write about things in pop culture and about his family that the Cambodians wouldn't be able to understand. His brother gave a speech about his confessions which said that:
"In his confession, Kerry stated that Colonel Sanders, of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame, a popular chain of fast-food restaurants, was one of his superiors,"
"He used our home telephone number as his CIA operative number and mentioned several family friends as supposed members of the CIA."
Hamill also highlighted the reference to a public speaking instructor named "S Tarr", saying it was evidence that Kerry was trying to send a message to their mother, Esther.
"He was sending a message to our mother, a message of love and hope," said Hamill, overcome with emotion. "And it was as if, whatever the final outcome, he would have the last say."
You can check out the article here: http://m.phnompenhpost.com/national/nz-man-confronts-s-21-chief
Kerry Hamill's story is but one of millions in the genocide committed by the Khmer Rouge. Being able to visit the prison was a great way to start off the killing fields tour because we could see where it all really began. Another thing that I thought was interesting is that they would target intellectuals, doctors, people who had skills because they were thought to have been a threat to the regime. The Khmer Rouge wanted to return society back in time to an agrarian based system, so anyone who was educated and had a skill was a huge target. By the end though the Khmer Rouge was imprisoning and murdering just about anyone that had been thought to be a threat, and with the confession system that was going on it was extremely difficult to fall through the cracks.
Once we made it to the actual killing fields we were all very somber and didn't even talk because we all knew that talking about it wont change anything and won't make us feel better. The actual killing fields is where the Khmer Rouge would bring people who had signed a confession and were no longer useful in their plot for power. They would be transported by bus in the night time and were blindfolded so they couldn't see at all where they were going. Some people were killed almost immediately while others were tucked away as they waited for their death. As we walked around the killing fields there were different sites at which the Khmer Rouge would conduct its killings.
This tree here has had parts of it trunk sharpened so that the Khmer Rouge would slit people throats in order to silence their screams before throwing them in their graves. They would shoot them, but it was more common to use machetes or other tools that didn't require ammunition.
There was another tree that is pictured here, which is where the Khmer Rouge would hang speakers and play propaganda music so load that it would cover up the screams of the people they were about to murder. From the outside of the compound it would seem that it was just some military bunker that was doing "military things," but on the inside it was pure evil.
Probably the most cruel and disturbing location is this tree where the Khmer Rouge would swing children and bash their heads on this tree and then toss them into the grave next to it. The tree has been adorned with bracelets to commemorate the loss of young life. I just had the look of disgust on my face as I listened to the audio guide and I really couldn't believe the horror that one human could inflict to another and especially to a child.
I feel so fortunate to have been able to go to the killing fields so that I can have a better understanding to the genocide and Cambodia as a whole. If you see any Cambodian person over the age of 35 then they will have some story of the Khmer Rouge. It's a recent wound and the country is still recovering from it. It's doing the best it can, and I think we are too by spreading news about what had happened. The only thing we can do is learn from our mistakes, love each other, and to not let anything like this happen again.