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Published: January 25th 2007
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Peace at the Royal Palace
This is the Silver Pagoda on the grounds of the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh So it's been a little while since my last update...sorry again for those of you who check frequently. FYI: on the main page of my blog, you can click the small button that says "Subscribe" and enter your email address, so that when I post a new blog entry, you guys will be automatically emailed and informed that I have written something new.
Also, a word of warning...Cambodia is not a place for the faint-hearted. It is terribly dirty, poor, and many of the beggars on the street look sadly tragic. In the last 30 years, Camdodia has experienced some of the most brutal acts of humanity the world has ever seen. Obviously from the photos, you will all be able to get a glimpse of what I have just seen with my own eyes. But in describing my experience here, I will explain what I have learned with no hope of hiding the reality and sadness of the place. Visiting the killing fields and seeing the thousands of skulls had a profound effect upon my emotions. This blog will attempt to explain some of what I have felt. So, like I said before, this isn't a place for the
Royal Palace Grounds
One of many temple looking structures on the grounds of the Royal Palace, built around 1915 with help from the French faint hearted and if you're disturbed by reading and seeing photos of human skulls and mass graves, try avoid reading this entry in full.
After arriving in Phnom Penh I was struck by an interesting monetary situation. Although they have their own shabby currency, the most widely accepted method of payment is the US dollar. It was quite strange to exchange my Thai Baht for US cash...especially being over 8000 miles from home. I checked into a guesthouse along the banks of lake in the middle of Phnom Penh, the nations capitol. Carly, Julia (two friends from home) and I spent the first day exploring the Royal Palace and National Museum, which showcases some of the beauty and ancient history of Camdodia. The National Museum houses many relics that date back to the Ankor Empire that reached its height during the 13 and 14th centuries. The photos of the Palace and Museum and just a few of the many I took of the beautiful architecture and buildings that cover many parts of the city. After the sightseeing, we visited an old French-colonial establishment that sold delicious mojitos and other cocktails for $2 a piece. Following happy hour, we dined
Main Palace Building
When the King is hosting events, this is the main royal building. at a decent Indian restaurant in the city and then called it a night.
The next day (today) would be an experience that I will never forget. For those of you who don't know, during the late 1970's, the Khmer Rouge took power and quickly tried to make sweeping changes to the entire population of Cambodia. All told, around 2 million people died during the rule of the Khmer Rouge, led by the maniac Pol Pot. He ordered his soldiers to round up any intellectuals across the country, doctors, lawyers, teachers, English speakers, nurses, or anyone with an education and had them thrown in jail. His goal was to establish a nation of rural farmers that produced crops and nothing else. His belief was that anyone (and their entire families) of remote intelligence was a threat to his power and they had to be eliminated. Inside the city, the Rouge converted a high-school into the infamous prison now known as Tuol Sleng or S-21. Thousands of Cambodians were brought to the prison, jailed, beaten, and tortured until they gave up all information leading to the capture of more intellectuals. Many people were hung from the "gallows" in the prison
Pagoda at Royal Palace
Just another standard Pagoda on the grounds of the palace. courtyard until the passed out, then lowered down and dunked into a tank of chemical fertilizer to bring them back to consciousness. Other methods included electric shock treatments, lashing with whips or even electrified metal wires. Simply because they were of the educated class, the Khmer Rouge tortured and beat almost every single one of them before taking them to the killing fields to be executed. All told, only about a dozen of the 14,000 plus prisoners survived the jail.
Almost all were lead to the Choeung Ek killing fields where around 18,000 Cambodians were slaughtered and thrown into mass graves. In order to save bullets and partially because the Khmer Rouge didn't believe a human life was worth a bullet, almost every single person murdered there was killed with some sort of blunt object. Pick axes, farm equipment, sticks, butons, rocks, and trees were used to beat the victims to death. For those who survived the beatings, most were covered in the chemical DDT and thrown into a mass grave to die from the poison. From a branch of a tree at the center of Choeun Ek hung a microphone playing music to drown out the screams of
Another Pagoda
Did I mention there are a lot of these at the Royal Palace the victims as they were killed. Many of the mass graves found there during the 1980's were filled with women and children whose skulls were crushed or missing altogether. There was an entire grave that was filled with bodies that had all been decapitated. A tour guide who led us through the fields kept repeating the phrase, "difficulty to see but important to remember" because of the impact the place has upon people. As we wandered through the fields and saw the mass graves I was brought to tears on several occassions just thinking of the horrible tragedy that unfolded in this place. From the photographs and stories, it's hard to even comprehend the brutality of the prison guards at Choeung Ek. What's even more difficult to understand is how a country like the US could go in and fight the Vietnamese and not ever lift a finger to help the Cambodians during these insanely horrific time period. But that's something that I dare not attempt to elaborate on. Driving down the dirt road back to the main part of the city I could barely speak and only ponder what could or would possibly bring people to treat others in
National Museum
Museum in Phonm Penh housing many relics from the Angkor era, 12-16th century. this way. To kill their own people in the name of a better society in such a brutal way is completely beyond the realm of my comprehension. Today, the 25th of January, 2007 is a day that I will not soon forget. Reading about things like this is one thing, seeing the graves, bones, and skulls of the dead is a completely different story. If more people understood the impact places like these have on you, I really honestly believe that the powers at be would be more interested in intervening when tragedies such as these unfold.
I must admit, the entire day was not one filled with sadness and tragic experience. Before visiting the memorials dedicated to those who were killed during the Khmer Rouge, our guides took us to a local shooting range. Because there are still stockpiles of weapons left over from the war years, Cambodians now earn money by allowing foreigners to visit shooting ranges and fire off the excess of weapons. Available at the range we visited were the following, priced according to the use of each: Colt 45's, Chinese and German pistols ($10), M-16's and AK-47's ($30), grenade launchers and 50 caliber machine
National Museum 2
Another view of the beutiful building at the entrance to the National Museum. guns ($100), and the mother of them all...full blown rocket launchers at $200 a shot. I chose the lighter machinery and picked the AK-47. Stepping out into the shooting range was quite a surreal experience but quite exciting nonetheless. I took a few shots at the target in single shot mode before having the gun switched over to fully automatic. I unloaded the remainder of the magazine with the single pull of the trigger and left giant gaping holes in the paper target some 50 meters away. The photos at the end of this blog document my time with my AK's. Sorry to those family members who might think I've gone too far, but given an opportunity such as this, I felt hard-pressed to pass it up. Come to Cambodia and see if you'll skip a chance like that.
So...today was filled with a little fun and a whole lot of sadness. Aside from the tragic history of the place, much of Phonm Penh is charming. The old French-colonial style building now house French restaurants and cafes, complete with gourmet food, coffee and fresh baguettes. It's an interesting mix of SE Asian flavor and old-world France. Seeing the old
Museum at Killing Fields
Inside this building there are over 8,000 skulls that were found at the mass graves of the Choeun Ek killing fields. I could only shoot in black and white because of how that place makes you feel. colonial architecture is fascinating when contrasted to the very different styles often seen in Cambodian construction. And even with their tragic history most of the Cambodians are extremely friendly and speak English very well. It's a bit of a shock coming from Thailand where good English is not that prevalent to a country where even five year old kids speak near-perfect English. It has definitely made getting around a whole lot easier.
I will be spending the next week or so in Sihanoukville, a popular Cambodian vacation spot located on their southern coastline. Hopefully I'll have another update to post soon.
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