- A great conversation with our new friend Tung, whom we met on the bus journey from Mui Ne to HCMC. Tung, you made us feel welcome in a crowded, raucous city on Christmas Eve. :)
- Christmas dinner off the dollar menu of the rooftop bbq place across the street from our hotel, apple hookah, and then dancing 'til the wee hours of the morning.
- Walking around the city, mostly between our hotel and the camera shop several times, while trying to avoid being hit by traffic.
- Getting scammed and falling for it for our first time in six months of traveling, just minutes before leaving HCMC. Thank you cyclo drivers. Enjoy our $10.
We made our way by bus from Vietnam to Phnom Penh. We thought it appropriate to document the transition at the Cambodian border.
We were immediately struck with the beauty of the Cambodian landscape, although a camera through a dirty window of a speeding bus can't quite capture it.On the bus we met another new friend, Romain, from France, who we shared a tuk-tuk with to find reasonably priced accommodation at 9pm.
Our tuk-tuk driver Chheng turned out to be a stand-up guy, so we hired him the next day to drive us to the two places in Phnom Penh most significant to the mass genocide between 1975 and 1979: The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and the Choeung Ek Killing Fields. We were embarrassed by our lack of knowledge regarding the events of the Khmer Rouge; everything we knew about it came from a teaching colleague, internet research, and our guide book. I don't know why we weren't taught more (anything) about this in school considering over 2 million people lost their lives! If you have time, please read the signs as they are quite informative and explain the events better than we can.
Tuol Sleng (also known as S-21) was a school before it became a prison. The prison was designed for detention, interrogations, inhumane torture, and killing after "confessions" from the detainees were received and documented. The Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, imprisoned and tortured an estimated 17,000-20,000 men, women, and children here between 1975 and 1979.
These are the graves of last 14 people to be tortured and killed at S-21.
The harsh rules for prisoners, many of whom were imprisoned for merely being "intellectuals".
The photos on the wall were taken by Ho Van Tay, a Vietnamese combat photographer, who found the prison and bodies of the last 14 people to die at S-21. The photographs and the energy of the prison tell a gruesome and heartbreaking story of what these human beings went through.
One torture method used by Pol Pot's clique.
The regime even deprived the prisoners the privilege of taking their own lives.
The brick cells were extremely narrow.
The cells didn't require doors because prisoners were shackled to the floor. You can also see blood stains on the floors in many cells, which were left almost exactly as they were found in 1979.
The paintings depicting the atrocities at S-21 were created by Vann Nath, one of the very few (less than 20) survivors of Toul Sleng.
The wooden cells were even narrower. I can't help but imagine what the men, women, and children who occupied these cells must have been feeling, wondering, and experiencing in what was ultimately their final days.
A picture was taken of each prisoner upon entering the prison. Some of the victims were actually smiling for the photo, however most looked despairingly at their captors.
There were several rooms filled with these photos.Number of inmates at S-21:
1975 = 154 prisoners
1976 = 2,250 prisoners
1977 = 2,350 prisoners
1978 = 5, 675 prisoners
These numbers don't include the children, who bring the total close to 20,000.
Many prisoners died in S-21 from starvation, beatings, or torture.Most prisoners were not killed at S-21, but were blindfolded and then transported to the Choeung Ek killing field 15km SW of Phnom Penh, where they were summarily executed, and then dumped into mass graves.
The following series of photos are of the torturing devices used to extract "confessions" of anti-Khmer Rouge plots from the detainees. Each photo is followed by one of Vann Nath's paintings depicting how they were used.
These housed stinging insects like scorpions which were used to torture inmates.
This man was lucky enough to be executed by gunshot; most prisoners were bludgeoned to death by farm tools in order to save bullets.
After the prisoners "confessed" (sometimes after months of torture), they were blindfolded and transported to the Choeung Ek killing field, Cambodia's most infamous killing field. Dozens of other killing fields scattered the country of Cambodia during the reign of the Khmer Rouge.
This monument was built to house the remains of the victims exhumed from the Choeung Ek killing fields.
The remains were exhumed and categorized by age, sex and bone type.
The clothes of the victims are also housed in the monument.
We were struck by the ironic beauty and tranquility of this place.
This tree was discovered covered in blood.
The small squares represent the mass graves that have been exhumed. The large open space within the dotted line is the area of the Choeung Ek killing fields yet to be exhumed.
Each trench is a mass grave, the largest of which contained over 400 bodies.
Another mass grave contained 166 victims without heads.
Yet another was filled with naked women buried alongside their babies totaling 100 victims.
This is the expansive area left un-excavated.
As Nick and I walked along the paths, we saw bone fragments, teeth and clothing of the victims. The rains saturate the ground and bring these remains to the surface.
A skull and piece of clothing on the walking path.
The motives behind the horrendous acts of the Khmer Rouge:
"Duch" is the only leading official of the Khmer Rouge who took criminal responsibility in court for the actions of his subordinates including torturing and killing. He recalled in his confession the Khmer Rouge method of eliminating babies and children by "holding their legs and smashing their heads against trees." He is also the only leader to show remorse for his crimes.
Details of his confession and rational for the killing of babies.
Other heads of the Khmer Rouge escaped into nearby mountainous regions and avoided persecution until 2007 when a full trial became operational. Pol Pot died in 1998 without ever facing justice.Although other leaders were caught in 1998, the surviving leaders are still on trial.
For more information, this website offers a pretty cogent summary of the reign of the Khmer Rouge. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7002629.stm
After five hours at the historical sights, we returned to Phnom Penh, with a new perspective of the Cambodian people and their past. We watched these kids laugh and play football, and prayed for this generation to live free and joyful lives.
We then sat in the grasses and watched the sunset behind the beautiful Phnom Penh Grand Palace.
We feel fortunate to have each other, our families, our education, and our freedom.
This was a difficult blog to write as we were so saddened by the experience. Also, the 'feeling' at these two sights transcends words to some extent. Either way, this was an extremely meaningful and important part of our travels and we wanted to at least try to share it.We thoroughly enjoyed the magical Phnom Penh and have already connected with the people. It sounds corny, but the Cambodian people have a stillness about them that is relaxing to be around, many even seem to have a glow reminiscent of pregnant women or newly weds. The people we have met have been truly magnificent and we are excited to connect more closely with others.
It is not for sure yet, but we are currently looking into volunteering at an orphanage in Sihanoukville or one outside of Phnom Penh. We have a lot of research left to do, but we'd both enjoy working with some kids here for a little while.
We will celebrate our New Year here in Sihanoukville (a southern coastal beach town) alongside an estimated 50-70K Cambodian and tourists who will gather on the beach to set off fireworks, dance, and celebrate. We will be back on the blog soon, although, this one was tough due to the subject matter and bad internet connection - it took two full days to complete!
Hugs, kisses, and misses,
Ty and Nick
