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Me AK-47
Somehow, even with a machine gun in my hand, I still fail to look mean! As mentioned, we arranged for a Tuk Tuk driver to take us on a tour of the Killing Fields and S-21, however we also decided to pay a visit to a shooting range. After quite a long journey along very remote and run down track in the middle of the country side we eventually arrived at a large set of metal gates. On the other side we saw a partially covered porch area with a rack on one wall holding M-16’s AK-47’s, Tommy Guns etc. etc. We were greeted by a stern, but friendly Cambodian guy with a hard face. He and his friend were cleaning various weapons seated on garden furniture around a plastic table. He handed us a menu that was scarily similar to any everyday menu at a bar or restaurant, however this one did not list food. You had a choice of Shotguns, M-16s, Ak-47s, Tommy Guns, Colt 45s and various other rifles and revolvers, then you turn over to see the rest of the menu; hand grenade, anti-aircraft gun, rocket launcher!! The most worrying thing of all on that menu however, was right at the end where it said: ‘Angkor Beer (can) - $1’ (oh dear).
It was a great experience, I really got a feel for the power of the gun and how easy it is to use. I was however very pleased that we decided to use the gun before we’d visited the Killing fields and S-21. If we had gone there afterwards I really would not have felt like firing it. For a start the guys at the shooting range were probably ex-Khmer Rouge, and also who’s to say that the gun I fired wasn’t used to execute thousands of people in the 70’s? Not a nice thought.
Next stop was the killing fields. They are literally a set of fields dotted with what look like ponds. The ponds, in fact are mass graves that were excavated in the 90’s. There are 129 mass graves and in total 20,000 people were executed here. Towering above the fields is a column shaped building containing a glass tower that holds about 8000 human skulls. The skulls are arranged in groups according to age and gender - the lowest being 11-18 years. The majority of the skulls had visible holes in them where the Khmer Rouge guards had bludgeoned the prisoners to death using
the butts of their guns in order to save ammunition. It really was quite a horrendous sight. The Killing Fields are an eerily peaceful and beautiful place considering the atrocities that took place there in the not so distant past. It is a place for remembrance and reflection.
We felt rather subdued after the killing fields, however the worst was still to come. We got back in the Tuk Tuk and made our way to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (formerly the Khmer Rouge S-21 prison). The building was originally a school until May 1976 when the Khmer Rouge converted it into a prison designed to detain and ‘re-educate’ individuals accused of opposing Angkar. S-21 or ‘Security Office 21’ consisted of 3 main buildings all with 3 floors. The ex-classrooms in blocks A and B were converted into torture chambers with nothing inside except for a metal bed. The prisoners were shackled and tortured by various different means for up to several hours at a time.
On the ground floor of block B there a number of Perspex stands containing thousands of mug shots. The Khmer Rouge took photographs of all the prisoners before and even after torture
and subsequent death. The majority of photos are of Cambodian people however there are also many foreign faces among them. The pictures are of people of all ages. When a person was sent to S-21, their families were also taken and subjected to the same treatment, regardless of whether they are newborn babies or teenagers. Each prisoner had a number attached to their chest for identification purposes, in some cases this number is actually pinned to their bare skin. Some of the facial expressions you see in these pictures are quite disturbing. Grown men in tears, young children terrified, women and children with black eyes and fat lips where they may have been beaten or raped upon capture.
The third block was completely covered in barbed wire in order to prevent the prisoners jumping over the balcony to commit suicide. The ground floor was filled with small brick cells that were about 4’ x 6’. The first floor was filled with wooden cells of the same dimensions and the top floor was completely open plan for mass detention. Metal bars protruded from the ground and up to 10 people were chained to it at a time amounting to horrendous
living conditions. Walking around S-21 was a very intense experience and probably one of the most harrowing days of my life.
After leaving, the Tuk Tuk ride home was a very quiet one. We were all quite literally gobsmacked at the insanity of it all, I mean what did it all achieve? What was the point of killing a quarter of the population? Total insanity. We made our way back to the guesthouse for a stiff drink.
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There's really nothing I want to say, but I'm glad you've seen it. I had all the same feelings as a young person finding out in detail for the first time about the horrors of the holocaust. People need to know what human beings can be capable of.