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Published: August 18th 2017
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A difficult morning! We went to visit the S21 (Tuol Sleng Museum) and Killing Fields (Choeung Ek) of Phnom Penh.
Before 1975 the S21 was a school, but the Khmer Rouge converted it into a prison during what the Cambodians call the 'dark period'. When the Khmer Rouge originally came to Phnom Penh the people of the city welcomed them and came out in the streets to celebrate their arrival, it wasn't until later that their true colours shone through. The Khmer Rouge saw highly educated people as a threat so they convinced them all to go to Phnom Penh to 'use their talents'. They were then imprisoned and tortured for anything up to 4 months. The cells that they stayed in were so small, barely enough to lie down in and they were often stripped naked and shackled to the beds. They went to the toilet in a metal tin which was emptied once a day, if they missed they were forced to lick it from the floor. The prisoners were tortured in many ways: having their nails pulled off and then pouring chemicals on them, dunking them under water, hanging them, lashes with bamboo sticks and
many other ways. In addition they were not allowed to speak or look at any other prisoner if they did they were punished in front of other prisoners.
The Khmer Rouge took over the hospitals so that there was no medical system for the people of Phnom Penh, there was also no religion and no communication systems allowed. Despite all of this, through the deceit of the Khmer Rouge, the Cambodian people were fooled for many years, thinking that maybe the Khmer Rouge were helping to improve their lives. It's hard to imagine that after being shackled and beaten that they still believed that they were working to improve lives!
Building A was where the VIP prisoners were and their cells were slightly bigger, but they tended to be tortured for longer to try and find more educated people to torture and execute. It also held the photographs of each victim, as they were photographed as they came in. For some of the victims, there were two photos, One when they entered the prison and the next one to prove that they were dead. It was hard to maintain any kind of composure walking
around! In Building B the original cells were still in place. Men were on the ground floor, the women above and the children on the top floor. You could walk in the cells, it was claustrophobic to say the least and we only had to endure it for a couple of minutes. In places you could still see blood stains on the floors and up the walls. Building C was the torture building and we could see all of the leg shackles lined up... so haunting.
After the tour we were exceedingly privileged to meet two of the survivors, as they come every Sunday to educate others of what happened and the damage that occurred. One of our group, Nia, asked if the survivors could give one message to the world what would it be? They replied... That they wanted everyone to know their story and the hurt that was caused. He got very emotional when he answered, understandably! We all bought their books to support and spread the story, not quite sure when I will bring myself to read it though.
We then moved on to the killing fields. The people were moved
from the prison to the fields between 5:00 and 7:00pm so that the people in the villages did not see the people being moved. The prisoners were told that they had done well and that they were going back to the country, so the people went willingly. Once they were there the Cambodian people were forced to dig up the existing Chinese graves, often digging without any clothes. The Khmer Rouge rarely killed their victims with bullets as these were noisy and would attract attention from the neighbouring villages, who believed that the killing field was an army exercise base. The prisoners were made to squat, blindfolded as they were beaten or cut to death with bamboo or serrated sugar palm leaves. Mothers watched their children being killed, or the children were taken from their mothers while they were still breastfeeding and starved to death. How can human beings be so cruel?
At the killing fields, 86 mass graves have been found, 44 of these have still not been exhumed. In the monument at the fields there are more than 8000 skulls, which have not yet been identified - to emphasise the cruelty the skulls had been
labelled with stickers to show evidence of how the prisoners had been executed. The way the monument is structured, you walk around the inside in a very tight space next to the skulls - it was too much!
Although the morning was hard, it is so important that people learn from these atrocities. What struck us more than anything, is that only 5 people have been held to account for these crimes, but as the guide explained, the Khmer Rouge led using mind games and psychology, so that many people acted the way they did as they did not truly comprehend the nature of their actions. Harry said that the Cambodian people, with their Buddhist beliefs, have forgiven the Khmer Rouge. When we asked him about the after affects on the people, including children, he said that everyone was fine... I doubt that very much, I think they only show what they want us to see!
After a difficult morning we needed a treat! Harry told us about a fabulous bakery place called Joma, so we stopped here for lunch, it was just what we needed to cheer us up. I had a great
sandwich, followed by even better cake and proper coffee... Yum!
We then headed back to the centre of Phnom Penh to visit the National Museum and the Royal Palace. First we went to the Musuem, the building was just as impressive as the statues inside, a beautiful red building with sweeping rooftops and ornate details. We had a personal tour guide for the Royal Palace - we just happened to ask a monk which way the palace was, then he offered to take us so he could practise his English. The palace was beautiful, not as impressive as the Grand Palace in Bangkok, but still worth a visit. Having a guided tour meant we didn't miss a thing, he was so funny, we were a little bit rushed as Nia had to get back for the boxing, but every time we saw something he would say "Just one more." I think we saw about 5 'just one mores'!
After a quick swim and a shower at the hotel, we had a beer before heading out for the evening. A few of us were not keen on seeing the boxing, so instead headed to the
night market down by the river. There was a fabulous, bustling atmosphere. The market was not as good as the one in Siem Reap, but it was good to look around anyway. We then had some street food - you choose what you wanted, added it to a basket and then they fried it for you. Delicious! We found a place for cocktails on the way home and the had 'one for the road' at our hotel. The owner gave us free beers - this has certainly been our favourite place to stay, they have been so welcoming. A good end to am emotional day.
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