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Published: December 20th 2007
Genocide monument
Shrine at Choeung EkThe first time I had passed through Phnom Penh on the way from Siem Reap to Sihanoukville I was struck by what an ugly, dirty, congested, chaotic city it was. It was however to be the staging point for our movement into Vietnam and the place where we arranged our visas, so a short stay was all but unavoidable. As it turned out, I ended up having a couple of highly educational experiences. I also made my much anticipated debut in the world of boxing in a bout sadly marred by controversy and high farce.
Phnom Penh isn't exactly a headline tourist draw, but has had a tragic yet fascinating recent history. Heading the list of sights to visit were the Tuol Sleng ("S21") interrogation facility and the Choeung Ek extermination centre (aka "the Killing Fields"), the two grizzliest reminders of the horrific nightmare that was 'Democratic Kampuchea' from 1975-1979. As I was reading 'Brother Number One - The Political Biography of Pol Pot' at the time, I had already begun to gain an understanding of just how bad the Khmer Rouge regime was.
The book makes for mind-blowing reading and poses several pressing questions. Aside from the obvious
Grizzly remains
Skulls recovered from excavations at Choeung Ek "how could anyone inflict such death and destruction on their own people?" arising from the outcomes of the regime on the ground, the other that kept coming up over and over in my head was "how could even the most dedicated Marxist revolutionary think that the policies and plans of the Khmer Rouge could possibly be sustained for more than a few blood-soaked years?" I guess that just shows the power of intensive ideological indoctrination coupled with a comprehensive terror apparatus.
Tuol Sleng has now been converted into a museum documenting the unspeakable crimes of the Khmer Rouge, but remains intact enough for the visitor to gain some sort of an idea of what it might have been like for a detainee. In four years at least 17,000 people went through S21, many of them for little more than having some sort of association with an arbitrarily designated "enemy of the revolution." After having a lengthy, wide-ranging confession tortured out of them, close to 100% of those were transferred on to Choeung Ek, about 15km outside Phnom Penh.
Other than the shrine built to the victims of the Khmer Rouge, which contains hundreds of skulls recovered from the
Horrific
One of the mass grave excavations surrounding earth, a series of excavations of mass graves is all that remains of Choeung Ek. It was after all just an extermination facility, and all the Khmer Rouge officers really needed to carry out their function was a few clubs, hoes and axe handles to bludgeon their victims to death, and then a few spades to dig the holes in which to throw the bodies. Seeing bits of human bones sticking out of the ground in places was rather confronting and disturbing. As we departed Choeung Ek in quiet contemplation our tuk-tuk driver asked us if we wanted to go to the firing range, where we could blast away at targets with a machine gun. Strangely, none of us felt like doing that at that moment.
The following day Greg, Gem and I went to an orphanage around the corner from our hostel. It was one of those experiences that is at once both heart-breaking and heart-warming. Upon arrival we met the guy who ran the orphanage, who showed us around and explained to us the operations and financing of the facility, what the kids learn in their classes, and what sort of backgrounds most came from. While
Evil
Speaks for itself really we were being shown around many of the kids came up and introduced themselves. Even in the very young, I couldn't help but be impressed with their English skills. More importantly, I couldn't help but be touched by their friendliness and smiles. I was thinking that communication would be quite difficult but it ended up being easy.
Once we were left to our own devices I met Sothy, a young fella who had something wrong with his voicebox and couldn't talk. Even communication with him was easy enough as, having been born with his disability, he had developed over the years a knack for body and sign language. He would be a wonderful team-mate to have in a game of charades. Clearly, he had sized me up from the moment he saw me, and it seems that he had assessed me as a soft target in the boxing ring. After an initial exchange of sign language pleasantries, he took me over to the boxing equipment (the orphanage also double as a light boxing club), picked out a pair of mits for me and then donned his own.
Minutes later we both reported to weigh-in. After discovering that I
The Killing Fields
Excavations at Choeung Ek had a decisive 45kg weight advantage, I decided that I was going to teach this young man a lesson he'd never forget. With "The Eye of the Tiger" ringing in my ears, I sat down for a moment to contemplate my fight plan. Casting an eye over my opponent's slight frame, I mentally conceded that he had the edge on me for fitness, and that if I was going to emerge victorious I would have to knock him out early on in the piece.
As I stepped into the ring, I sensed a hush fall over the crowd gathered at ringside. I could tell they were momentarily awestruck by the heavyweight's presence. The 85kg ball of muscle and fat (25/75) that stood before them cut an imposing figure, and had to that moment compiled a sparkling undefeated career (0 losses from 0 fights). Moments later, my adversary also took to the ring. Any lingering doubts I had about fitness melted away in an instant. Looking across at him with an air of arrogance and menace, I was buoyed by the realisation that, barring an upset the magnitude of David v Goliath, a maiden victory was nigh.
When the
Brutal
Actual sign at Tuol Sleng bell rang I came out breathing fire, delivering a series of heavy blows in accordance with my fight plan. To the naked eye it appeared that Sothy had a glass jaw, and I thought I felt it shatter after I landed the last punch in a devastating three punch combo. Observers later likened the opening minutes to the Ivan Drago v Apollo Creed bout, and I must admit the words "if he dies, he dies" did cross my mind. Although somewhat surprised that he was still standing, I was not to be distracted from the plan. I continued on with my savage attack all through the first round, and by the time the bell rang to end it, I was puffing and sweating profusely. I was however half expecting that my opponent's trainer would at that point throw in the towel, stop the fight, and take his young protege straight to the emergency room.
Much to my surprise he shaped up again for the second round. This wasn't as one-sided as the first, as even though I still had all guns blazing, I had slowed considerably. I started to take a few body hits myself, and was far less
Despicable
Gallows at Tuol Sleng methodical in my efforts to land the elusive killer blow. It was probably around half way through the third round that the momentum shifted. My fight plan had been revealed as ill-conceived, as Sothy just took everything I threw at him and continued to dance around on light feet. I on the other hand had started to float like a bee and sting like a butterfly.
Round after round came and went, and by the end I was pretty much just standing with my mits on my knees puffing while taking blow after blow to the stomach and kidneys. In the final analysis, the judges awarded the victory to Sothy on points. Though I felt slightly aggrieved, in that I felt I deserved some bonus points for the fearsome haymakers I landed early on, I took the decision on the chin. Magnanimous in victory, Sothy offered me a chance for redemption in a thumb war. In my sagging spirits I was once again easy pickings. I'd like to think that I had the last laugh when we began arm wrestling, but in reality it was a hollow victory which didn't come close to restoring my battered pride. Licking my
Tuol Sleng cells
The barbed wire was to prevent suicides wounds, I officially announced my retirement from boxing moments later, much to the shock of my fans and the press.
Seeking to flee my shame and burn some time while our Vietnam visa applications were being processed, we headed up to Kratie on the mighty Mekong River for a couple of nights. It was a pretty sleepy town, but notable for our boat trip out onto the Mekong to see the river dolphins, and an incredible sunset over the river later that evening. The dolphins weren't particularly active (I wanted them to be jumping over our boat, balancing balls on their snouts etc), but I think part of the reason was that they were spooked by the kids who came down to the water's edge where our boat was. Even though the kids would see many white faces due to the draw of the dolphins, I still got the feeling that we were once again being watched while we watched the dolphins ourselves.
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Paul
non-member comment
Wow
Great photos and you really got sweaty! I'll be looking out for that kid if I get over there. I'm headed to SE Asia to live soon. Thanks, Paul