A City of Poverty and Greed

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Cambodia is a country that has been rediscovered by Westerners after the heinous acts committed over the centuries and in particular 1975-1979. For those of you who have read the books or seen the movie "The Killing Fields", I doubt that many foreigners understand or let alone know what happened to the people of this country.

After arriving and settling into our guesthouse ($3USD a night!) we decided that we would visit S-21 and The Killing fields of Phnom Phen. S-21 is a former high school that during the years 1975- 79 (the years the Khmer Rouge had control of the country,) was transformed into a prison that over 17,000 people went through. Only 7 people came out alive. It was a place of torture and death. We wandered around the buildings- looking at before and after photos of victims. We saw instruments of torture and the cells where people were held. If the prisoners were not killed at the prison they were taken 15 km outside the city- they were blindfolded, told to kneel and beaten, stabbed, strangled and dropped into pits on top of each other. (Bullets were too expensive to use.) The people that were imprisoned and killed were lawyers, doctors, teachers, even people who wore glasses, anyone that showed they were intellectual. This area has become known as 'The Killing Fields.' In 1980 these mass graves were found, 129 in total, with 43 yet to be opened. We hired a guide to take us around the graves, and it was well worth while. He supplied us with a vast amount of information- some I wish I didn't know. We walked along dirt paths that were in between the graves - looking down I noticed pieces of clothing and bone. The government had dug up the bodies, taken the skulls and placed them in a memorial, but had left everything else. Most countries would either pick up the bones or build boardwalks, but this country is so poor it can't afford to. So we spent the afternoon avoiding stepping on the bones, but when over 8000 people were buried here it was impossible.

It was a day of utter disgust for me, I could not comprehend how humans could do this to one another. At dinner Heidi and I discussed what we had experienced and we both agreed that we felt so much compassion for the Cambodian people.
Anyway apart from the horrible acts that were committed, the city and country have somehow rebuilt and are now on their way to becoming the 'Pearl of Asia.' It is a beautiful place and so are the people -they are so far, the kindest people we have met in all of Asia. Cambodia is indeed one of the strongest and most courageous countries on earth.

So on our second day in Cambodia we have made a decision, we were to spend 10 days here, then 14 days in Laos and then fly to Phuket, Thailand to meet my family for 10 days, and then finishing our trip in northern Thailand. But we have decided to remain in Cambodia for 3 weeks and travel though Laos after the Wigley/ Louden family Holiday.

We are off to the beach for 4 days (Sihanoukville) and then back through Phnom Penh to Siem Reap where the Temples of Angkor Wat are located. A place I have been waiting to see...

Sorry that there are no photos, for some reason it has been difficult to put them on. I took lots of photo's of S-21 and The Killing Fields. I didn't really enjoy taking them, but hopefully they will shed some light on the pain that the country has survived.

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Photos

Dan and Heidi on the Mekong
Riding the slow boat along the Mekong River in Cambodia. We got to stand on the top to watch the river life once the sun died down a bit

First Glimpse of Cambodia
Coming into the country via boat, our first images of Cambodia were of life on the Mekong River. Homes like these lined the banks every so often, little villages who live off the river.

The lake by our guesthouse in Phnom Penh
Sorry, can't remember the name of it, but this lake sits next to a number of guesthouses and local community in the middle of the city.

Prison Cell of S-21
Cell walls were built from brick and wood to separate prisoners. Often, 5-10 people would be squeezed into one, shackled to the floor and and only a tiny hole in the ground, the windows locked shut.

Apartment building in Phnom Penh
Big building like this one are all over the city. Better to live off the ground floor to avoid all the dust from the streets.

S-21 Building
In the middle of Phnom Penh, this old school building housed thousands of prisoners of the Khmer Rouge in the late 70's. Many were killed here as well.

The Killing Fields
The holes in the ground are the prior graves of thousands of people who died at the Killing Fields. Just one of many groups of graves all over the country.

Heidi talking to kids at the Killing Fields
Giving out more stickers

Comments

[sally hannah]

your trip
I've been enjoying your trip vicariously