When I write about Cambodia it can’t come from anywhere but the heart. For me, Cambodia became a journey of discovery; I have never before been to a country that has taught me so much about humanity and pierced me at my very soul. There is a radiance about these people, these people who have seen and experienced so much horror and yet remain optimistic; the very fact that they have retained any faith in humanity is unbelievable. Before I came here I had read a few books on Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge and also biographies of the survivors of this terrible regime. I am an educated individual and so am aware that there are many atrocities that have happened throughout the world and will continue to happen, but for some reason the story of these people has affected me like no other; perhaps because it’s the only country with this sort of history that I have visited first hand, however before arriving here i already felt inspired by the strength of character of the Cambodian people. When i arrived it was time to visit the places of these atrocities and see first hand what went on.
The Khmer Rouge originally formed in the north-eastern jungles of Cambodia as early as 1960. They were a communist group driven by communist ideals. Cambodia’s tragic fate was sealed when in 1970 the leader Price Norodan Sihanouk was deposed in a military coup and he leaned on the Khmer Rouge for support. At this time the country then descended into civil war which gave the Khmer Rouge an opportunity to appeal to the people and rise to power; they presented themselves as the party for peace and succeeded in mobilising support in the rural regions of Cambodia. In 1975 the Khmer Rouge captured the capital Phnom Penh and evacuated the entire population of the city (more than 2.5 million people) to camps in the countryside. Pol Pot was the leader of the Khmer Rouge and people from the city did not fit into the ideal he had created, he envisaged a Cambodia absent of social institutions like banks, religions and modern technologies; intellectuals, businessmen, Buddhists and foreigners were all branded the enemy and so exterminated either by execution or by working them to death in the fields. ‘What is rotten must be removed’ was a slogan that was used at this time. Cambodia became the ‘Democratic Republic of Kampuchea’ and time was changed to year zero. The Khmer Rouge exterminated anyone or anything that did not fit with their ideal. The people were arranged in camps in the countryside and worked like slaves with little or no food. The torture was horrendous; people were taken to torture camps for little or no reason at all to die a slow and painful death. Nearly two million Cambodians were killed between 1975-79 and thousands more died of malnutrition and disease. The upper classes were completely wiped out. The horror of this regime continued until 1979 when the Vietnamese troops invaded and sent the Khmer Rouge back to the jungle.
I visited the S-21 (security-21)detention centre (above) which is where many of the people were taken to be interrogated and tortured during 1975-79 and i cannot begin to describe how disturbing it was. In the first building there really isn’t that much there, just the empty bed frames with the shackles and instruments that they used for torture, however they really did not need any more than that, it was so real. There were mug shots of victims on the wall and when i looked into their eyes i felt like i was looking into their souls; they had a sad and steely look and it seemed they were resigned to their tragic fate. No one was excluded; women, men and children, old and young. The building used to be a school before they made it S-21 and one sight which was particularly disturbing was a frame that had been erected to hang prisoners from whilst being interrogated, well this frame is erected right next to three monkey bars which was obviously part of the original playground; the irony of this was not lost on me. Of an estimated 1700 people imprisoned in S-21, there are only twelve known survivors.
I then went to the killing fields where all the mass graves were discovered and it’s just awful. The whole thing had quite a profound effect on me and i started looking at all these faces I’m seeing every day wondering what they have been through; were they tortured? These guys i am seeing with their limbs cut off, this must be the work of the Khmer Rouge? Their faces always belie their age and so even those you think are too young, have actually probably experienced it all. On my final day back in Seim Reap i was chatting to my guesthouse owner who noticed how sad i seemed, i told him how it had all made me reassess my priorities and realise how easily innocent people can end up victims; he then held his hand up, it only had three fingers and he didn’t need to say anymore, his eyes said it all.
Above: The skeletons of those discovered in the mass graves, known as 'the killing fields', north of Phnom Penh.
Below: The graves of the eleven people who were found dead in the S-21 detention centre after the fall of the Khmer Rouge.
