The Khmer Rouge

Our second and third stop both relate to the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge; firstly, the Killing Fields Museum and secondly, S21, a prison during the fighting but it now houses the Genocide Museum.

The Khmer Rouge was the name given to the communist party of Cambodia (CPK - Communist Party of Kampuchea). The party, led by Pol Pot (Politique Potentielle - Potential Politics), were in power between 1975 and 1979. The Khmer Rouge were supported by other communist countries including China, Russia and North Vietnam and despite the Americans trying to defeat them with B52 bombs, they won the Cambodian civil war.

After the regime overthrew the government, they immediately went about destroying anoyone that they perceived to be a threat. It is estimated that Cambodia lost almost 25% of its population with many of these people coming from skilled occupations. The Khmer Rouge also killed numerous women and children just through association and as Pol Pot became even more unstable and paranoid, he even began to kill the young people that had previously been brainwashed into fighting for him.

Our first stop on the tour today was the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek; it is the site of a mass grave of victims of the Khmer Rouge killed during 1975 and 1979. The site is about 11 miles south of Phnom Penh and it is where people were taken to be executed. There is now a memorial, marked by a Buddhist stupa, which is filled with more than 5000 human skulls. There is also a walkway around the grounds as there are still bones appearing out of the dirt today, and particularly when it floods. There are various other plaques and areas of rememberence but the one that got me was a tree used for smashing babies heads in order to kill them; horrific. The guards had guns but they did not use the bullets to kill people as they were too precious; instead they used farming equipment, bamboo sticks for clubbing to death and even palm leaves to cut peoples throats. Once people were dead, we were told, they were disembowelled to “save space.” Basically, anything edible like the liver was eaten, but the aim was remove the gas in order to save space. 

It was a very sobering site, but it is made more real when you hear about people who suffered because of the war; our guide lost his grandfather who was tortured to death and one of his uncles was left with one leg after standing on a mine while tending his crop. 

We left the killing fields totally disgusted and more was to come; our next stop was Security Prison 21; originally a school but turned into a prison by the Khmer Rouge. Of the estimated 20,000 people who were imprisoned here, only 7 adult survivors got out alive; the amazing thing is that 2 of them are still alive to this day. There were different buildings for men and women, and education and skill would determine which floor you were put on; the better education, the bigger the threat to the regime. The torture chambers were tiny, you were not allowed to talk to anyone and the people were totally malnourished, some eating cockroaches and lizards to try and survive. The prison guards would torture people until they confessed to espionage against the regime; after they confessed, they were usually killed. It was still possible to see blood on the floors and even a spattering of blood on the ceilings. The prison had barbed wire all around it, and on each floor as many prisoners tried to throw themselves to their death. Some even went to confess so that they could stab themselves with the pen they were given to write the confession.

As we walked around the prison, we met one of the survivors, Bou Meng. He was tortured with electric shock, bamboo whips but was spared from being killed because he was a highly skilled painter, painting portraits of Pol Pot and other propaganda pictures. It seems crazy that someone would want to return to where they were tortured many years earlier but he hopes to educate people about this time. Our guide told us that he gets no support from the government but I think his book makes him a decent living now; we certainly bought it!

This is Stuart, many years earlier!

After the prison, and the now ridiculous heat and humidity, our touring was done for the day and we headed to the hotel for check-in....