Walking through Phnom Penh – Cambodia’s capitol city – conjures up mixed feelings. A trip to the Royal Palace via Wat Phnom provides impressive architecture, attractive surroundings and a peek at Phnom Penh’s local community. Wandering through the pretty parks it’s not uncommon to spot outdoor aerobics groups, friends playing badminton and kids skateboarding together.
For a while this feels like any other lazy city on a sunny afternoon. At times like this, Cambodia’s sinister and horrifying past seems most unbelievable.
Just 40 years ago Cambodia was forced into an internal war at the hands of callous dictator Pol Pot, which saw families separated, children enslaved and one of the most shocking and brutal mass genocides of all time. Just 4 decades ago, Cambodians were killing Cambodians.
Today, politically and economically Cambodia is still by no means stable. Police Officers and prisons are corrupt, poverty is rife and poor sanitation commonplace.
It is therefore essential that any trip to Cambodia includes a visit to Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre (commonly known as The Killing Fields) and Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (commonly known as S-21), ideally at the very beginning of your trip, so you can appreciate Cambodia’s journey from war torn disarray to its current societal structure.
Walking through The Killing Fields is a raw experience. This is the very site upon which the Khmer Rouge executed over 1 million people – including newborn babies – in unimaginably horrific ways. So many people lost their lives here in fact, that pieces of bone and clothing are often newly discovered in the ground after stormy weather. Listening to the gut-wrenching stories of victims as you walk through the very area in which their family were murdered is both chilling and emotional. The air is heavy here, the stillness unsettling. I wept throughout the experience.
S-21 is equally distressing to visit. The building used to be a school until it was transformed into a mass prison by the Khmer Rouge, in which victims were incarcerated, starved and barbarically tortured. An estimated 17,000 people died in detention at S-21, with only 12 known survivors.
The prison still stands today with many of the cells intact, as well as the rusted, archaic restraints originally used. The museum helps to answer questions such as how could this have happened? Why did it continue for so many years? Which individuals were behind the Khmer Rouge, and what happened to them? Who survived this barbaric prison, and where are they now?
One of the lesser known elements of the museum is a section explaining Sweden’s role in the genocide, shining a light on the psychology behind dictatorship and those who sit in denial.
After visiting both sites, you see Cambodia under a new light – a new awareness. You realise how limited the populations demographic is. Where are all the elderly people? Nearly a quarter of Cambodia’s inhabitants were wiped out from 1975 – 1979. That’s around 2 million people in just 4 years.
After visiting the Killing Fields on day one, and S-21 on day two, I get in my tuk-tuk for the drive home. I spot the driver’s I.D hanging in the trailer. It says his date of birth is 1956. That makes him nearly 60 years old. He would’ve been in his early twenties when the Khmer Rouge took hold of Cambodia.
What horror has he seen?
What pain has he lived through?
As he drops me back at the hostel, he asks ‘so how do you like Cambodia?’
‘I think it’s an amazing place’ I say.
‘Thank you so much!’ he laughs.
Smiling broadly, he waves as he drives away.
All I can think is the strength of the Cambodian people is inspiring.
Things To Note:
- The Killing Fields are located around an hours drive by tuk-tuk from the centre of Phnom Penh. A tuk-tuk should set you back no more than $10-12 for a round trip. Tuk-tuks can be arranged via your accommodation – if you do decide to flag one down on the street you may need to haggle for a cheaper price.
- S-21 is around a 30 minute drive from the centre of Phnom Penh, and should set you back no more than $7-10 for a round trip. Booking through my accommodation was pricier for S-21 (my hostel quoted $10-15) so in this instance I flagged one down.
- On the way to both sites your tuk-tuk driver will probably try and take you to other places or persuade you to book additional trips. A firm, consistent ‘no thanks’ will be enough to get you to your destination.
Jen Lee Travel 