The words would not come. Several times since our visit to the Cambodia Killing Fields and S 21 prison in Phnom Penh I begin to write of the experience. Each time emotionally overcome by the wretched horror of the Cambodia genocide I escape the memories and dash away from the computer.
Yet I feel strongly that our travel is to not only explain the beauty of waterfalls or the grandeur of ancient temples. It is vital to reveal what can happen when hate and prejudice flourish unchecked.
My promise to a tearful survivor of the Cambodian horror nags at my conscience.
Flowers at Cambodia Killing Fields near Phnom Penh
The following article may leave you feeling disturbed. During our Killing Fields Cambodia tour I had to step away on several occasions, distressed by the shock and haunting descriptions. Feel free to step away as you need here as well. My hope is that you take away at least one fact about this recent history of abhorrent treatment of fellow humans and pass it on to someone else.
May kindness rain down on humanity.
Facts You May Not Know About The Cambodia Killing Fields
Entrance to Choeung Ek a memorial park at the Killing Field near Phnom Penh
Who were the Khmer Rouge?
The name historically conjures up hideous images of death but who actually were the Khmer Rouge? The name was given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kumpuchea. Supported by the North Vietnamese army, the Viet Cong and the Pathet Lao, the group slowly grew in the jungles of eastern Cambodia in the late 1960’s. Winning Cambodia’s civil war the Khmer Rouge captured the Cambodia capital of Phnom Penh in 1975.
Why did the Khmer Rouge want to kill the people of Cambodia?
The Khmer Rouge stated they wished to create a perfect communist agricultural society. A ‘back to the land’ concept. In reality the policies of leader Pol Pot were radical adaptations of Marxist-Leninist theories. The actual goal was to produce a classless society of collective farms.
To procure their vision the Khmer Rouge emptied complete cities. Millions of evacuees were forced to walk at gunpoint into the countryside. With no provisions against the tropical heat and monsoon rains many succumbed to lack of food and water. Those who survived were forced to create new settlements in the jungles of Cambodia.
What is a Killing Field?
Merriam Webster defines a killing field as a scene of mass destruction as in a battle or massacre. The Cambodian Killing Field facts point to the heinous efforts of the Khmer Rouge murdering perceived political opponents.
String bracelets left to remember the children who died here at the Killing Tree at Choeng Ek Killing Field Cambodia
How many killing fields are there in Cambodia?
In a country that is one quarter the size of Texas more that 150 execution centers existed throughout Cambodia.
How many people were killed in the killing fields of Cambodia?
The sad truth is that the numbers of those lost in the Khmer Rouge Killing Fields will likely never be known. Estimates of the Cambodia genocide range widely from 1.5 to 3.4 million people or 25 percent of Cambodia’s population at the time. The total number of deaths include that from starvation and disease.
Instructions to visitors at Tuol Sleng Genocide museum
Which people were chosen to be executed?
At the Cambodia Killing Fields those executed included all former government officials or anyone having or suspected of having connections to a foreign government. All professionals, intellectuals, ethnic Vietnamese, Thai, Chinese, Cambodian Christians, Buddhist monks and all their family members were murdered.
The hypocrisy of the situation reveals itself in the fact that many of the leaders of the Khmer rouge and Pol Pot himself were university educated.
Why did the rest of the world do nothing to stop the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge?
At the time Bruce Springsteen released his third album, Saturday Night Live made its television debut and Microsoft became a registered trademark, the western world had grown weary of war. The length and impact of the Vietnam War on the United States left the country fatigued and prone to ignoring the unverified facts of genocide coming out of Cambodia.
Photo of child survivors who hid under laundry the day the Vietnamese liberated Phnom Penh
When did the genocide in Cambodia end?
On December 25, 1978 Vietnam launched a full attack on Cambodia. On January 7th Phonm Penh fell away from the control of the Khmer Rouge and the leader Pol Pot was deposed.
What happened at S 21 Prison in Phnom Penh?
This former high school was used by the Khmer Rouge as Security Prison 21 (S 21) from 1975 to 1979. Now open to the public, the Tuol Sleng Genocde Museum in Phnom Penh exudes a haunting peacefulness.
The exact number of academics, doctors, teachers engineers and monks imprisoned at this location alone is estimated between 12,000 – 20,000. Here prisoners were tortured into naming family members and associates who in turn were tortured and killed.
Sue speaking with Norng Chan Phal a child survivor of S 21
The day we visited S 21 we met one of only seven survivors of the prison. As a boy of nine years, Norng Chan Phal managed to hide his brother and other children in a laundry pile on the day the Vietnamese stormed Phnom Penh to end the Khmer Rouge reign of terror.
(Norng is the tallest child in the earlier photo with his Vietnamese rescuers)
Through a translator Norng told us his story and asked that we in turn tell others when we returned home so that such atrocity could never happen again. I promised him I would.
Should you visit the Killing Fields?
On the day we visit the memorial park at Choeung Ek, the 17km (11 mi) drive from Phnom Penh does little to prepare me for ghastly history I am about to learn. Constructed to encircle mass graves, the silence of those visiting is deafening. Filled with shock, sadness and respect we follow our guide while others listen to self audio guides, tears streaming down faces.
The memorial park centers around a Buddhist stupa. Glass walled, it holds over 5000 skulls of those whose lives were taken, most executed after interrogation at S21.
Choeung Ek Buddhist stupa containing skulls of 5000 who were executed at the Killing Field
Dozens of mass graves are visible above the ground, many which have not yet been excavated. The reality of pieces of clothing or bits of bone appearing after rainfall leaves us chilled to the core by the senseless tragedy.
A visit to the Cambodia Killing Fields will be a personal decision. More important is the understanding that only forty years ago millions of innocent people were executed as the world largely ignored the deplorable events.
To child survivor Norng Chan Phal my apologies for taking more than half a year to tell the story. I hope you will join me in ensuring Norng’s and millions of voiceless victims stories are never forgotten.
You have done a good service reminding people of this tragedy, so I apologize for injecting some political opinion.
It is only my personal opinion and not popular, but I do not believe it was just the rest of the world was tired of war and the Vietnam War left the U.S. fatigued. From the mid-1960s on, there was an active movement in the United States to portray Southeast Asian Communists in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam just as protectors of the people trying to overthrow colonialist powers, rather than the minority totalitarian forces they were. Because they had the least invested there, our policy makers first abandoned Laos, then Cambodia [enabling the rise of Pol Pot] and finally Vietnam. Their people paid for those decisions for generations.
No need for apology at all. This is a complex piece of history to which I sadly admit as then a Canadian teenager have very little recollection of. We welcome your comment, your views and discussion very much. I personally had not read about this viewpoint. Thank you.
It never ends and we never will learn.
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana
I’ve got news for Mr. Santayana: we’re doomed to repeat the past no matter what. That’s what it is to be alive.” – Kurt Vonnegut
Paul it worries me a great deal that such recent atrocities could have a possibility of recurring. Never have I been so shaken to the core by a travel experience. Perhaps we all need to be shaken to see what hate is possible of accomplishing.
Sue, I absolutely agree. It happens over and over again throughout history and continues even today in places like parts of Africa and the far East. Insulated as most of us are, we need reminders such as your post.
Insulated is the word that totally describes it. I feel as though a great deal of my life I have had a wall of happiness and goodness surrounding me. Puncturing a hole in the wall is necessary to see outside of the bubble and to help others see. Your comments and discussion are so very much appreciated and valued.
Thank you Sue for blogging about this!
Let us never forget what happened in Cambodia during those years, or how a bunch of pseudo-intellectuals seized power by force and, in the name of some asinine foreign ideology and their personal ambitions, killed millions of their countrymen.
Hien you have summed up our thoughts in such eloquence. So much about our visit frightened me, even my own lack of knowledge to my not remembering much about it other than an occasional headline at the time. Let us never forget indeed.
Well Said, Mr. Nguyen!
Sue, such a sad and difficult topic to write about and yet a topic that everyone should spend some time learning more about.
There are a lot of facts here that I was not aware of, so thank you very much for taking the time to write this post. I would like to visit Cambodia in the near future and I will no doubt visit the Killing Fields.
Gilda thank you for the kind feedback. I would certainly encourage anyone to visit the Killing Fields but so be prepared. I find the images and memories branded forever in my mind. I think it is a good thing to make me more aware and educated but there is such a sadness at the horror humans can inflict on others.
Such a terrible part of history in our time. You wrote this post with eloquence and feeling. I’m not sure I would be able to do the same. It would be difficult to visit but at the same time important.
Darlene that is very kind of you to say. This certainly isn’t my usual type of post but since our visit to Cambodia I have felt a responsibility to write it. Many thanks for sharing the post on Twitter.
A tragic time indeed. You did so well reporting your personal experience. You were braver than Don and me to even go there.
How blessed and insulated we are. I think we must never forget that, but instead give thanks every day for the rich blessing of the accident of our birth in a developed country, and fill whatever of the world we can with kindness and love. God knows the world needs it.
Alison
Alison we join you and Don in giving thanks that for the good fortune of being born where we have been. I am thankful for the experience in the way of having my eyes opened to the reality of what can happen in this world when hate runs rampant. I am with you in the wish to fill the world with love and kindness. Indeed we need it.
Sue, I felt this way after my visits to Auschwitz in Poland and Cape Coast Castle in Ghana. So numb and wordless that I couldn’t even imagine writing about these places and potentially having it “Liked.” I ultimately did put down some brief words because one of the parting messages we received at the visitor center at Auschwitz was to go out and be sure the whole world knew what happened there. We heard a similar exhortation at the slave prison. I know my main audience does not need the messages, but maybe, just maybe, my small words will penetrate a mind out there that discounts or, unfathomably, disbelieves these historical facts about man’s inhumanity to man.
Lex it seems as though our feelings are very similar. Perhaps it was my own lack of knowledge of the history of Cambodia that pushed me to write this when I had almost given up on doing so. If I barely remember hearing about it then certainly I would not be the only one. It horrified me when I see hateful actions in this world. Clearly catastrophic consequences are possible.
I won’t even get started on this… Communism and its ugly cousin, socialism, have killed more people than the plague. It is doomed to be repeated because the harsh honesty is papered over. It will happen again, because sooner or later you always run out of other people’s money. Then you have to figure out how to feed them with hope and promises. At that point, because communism always needs an enemy, it’s easier to kill people than feed them. You just make them the reason for the system failing, and Bob’s your uncle.
Jim thank you for sharing your thoughts here. As you know from following us for so long we welcome opinions and discussions. Such horrific topics such as this create an opportunity for explorations of ideas and views. Thank you for sharing yours.
I would like to think in today’s information based world something like this could never happen again, but I am not that naive. Thank you for finding it in yourself to not only visit, but to honor Norng by writing about it.
It was my honor to do so although I admit the memories of that day will haunt me. Still I think it has made me more aware of the need for kindness to be handed out at every opportunity.
Sue, I know you have been struggling with this for awhile…you have done an incredible job in communicating the horror that took place there. I can’t even begin to wrap my head around the sheer evil that creates this type of atrocity. It is a piece of current history that has got swept under the rug. You honor those souls that were killed there by sharing the story with all those that follow your blog. I applaud you and again, thank you for sharing this in such a respectful manner for those who lost their lives.
Kirt I am so grateful for your generous feedback. Like you the thought of such hate and evil flourishing to exterminate millions in recent history is beyond my protected imagination. I hope each of us can be reminded how much influence we have in creating love vs hate in this world.
This was a hard post to read, but this is a story and moment in history that needs to be told. And you told it in a level-headed manner, laid out the facts and stories that were unfortunately lived. It is very thoughtful of you to take the time to converse with locals who were around that tragic time. Norng Chan Phal seemed very open sharing the past with you and what he saw first hand – and thank you for sharing it all with us. As the others have said, for many of us living such privileged lives it is hard to imagine what happened back then and understand why what happened. Hopefully these stories live on and serve as a reminder to all of us that we get no where fighting wars and picking on each other.
Mabel my sincere thanks for taking the time to read the article. Such a difficult one to digest and and you say those of us who have had such privileged lives it is difficult to imagine such a thing could happen. My understanding is that form many years Norng did not share his story but more recently he has been coming to s-21 as he feels it is vital for others to understand. His younger brother who was also spared after Norng hid him apparently does not wish to speak of the events. I can understand that as well. I join you in hoping that as people become more aware of what can happen more focus is put on kindness and understanding rather than hate and killing.
Sue, I can appreciate how difficult it was for you to write this post … and you did the subject justice.
As a teenager in the 1970s, I do remember the stories of the Khmer Rouge, however it wasn’t until the movie The Killing Fields came out in the 1980s did I truly understand the horror that occurred there. I remember the stunned silence in the packed theatre in downtown Toronto when the movie ended and the lights came up. NO ONE moved for several minutes. EVERYONE – men and women – were openly crying … just like I am now as I write this. Even as people started to leave the theatre, no one spoke. I had never experienced anything like that – or since.
The atrocities committed by man against man is simply beyond my ability to understand why. Would I ever be able to visit the Killing Fields in Cambodia? Unlikely. I’m still haunted by our visit to Auschwitz-Berkinau. However I do believe that these places are critical reminders to future generations of what can happen when a radical ideology takes hold. It’s not so far fetched even in our world today. We don’t have to look far to see a ‘war’ being waged against journalists and other ‘elite’. The line isn’t nearly thick enough for my comfort level before a war of words escalates.
Joanne as you describe the scene in the movie theatre I can almost hear the pin dropping between the muffled sobs. I have never seen the Killing Fields. At the time I just couldn’t bring myself to go. I think if I had I surely would have had a greater understanding all these years. I have not been to any of the concentration camps but I can appreciate how haunting your experience would have been. So painful for us to visit and yet so important for us to remember. Perhaps I was more compelled to visit and ultimately to write about it because these are times when hate seems so prevalent and somehow accepted by many. It repulses me through and through.
Thank you for sharing your time in and about the Killing Fields. I saw the movie entitled The Killing Fields (1984) when it was released ; I left the movie theater sobbing, went home, and sobbed the rest of the day. Most of us don’t want to know what horrors we humans can create, but we ALL need to know about these events to try and prevent them. I don’t know, Sue. When I visit Holocaust memorial sites in Germany, when I read about what happened in Cambodia, I sink into despair about the human condition. And yet, I believe there are more good than bad people That is why each of us must individually show acts of kindness and compassion and giving. Perhaps, then, we can steer our race away from hate and horror.
Pam I agree it is easy to sink into despair that such hate can and does exist in our world. Yet in our travels the amount of kindness that we have encountered from strangers is more than can be counted or measured. From welcoming smiles to assisting with lost valuables, to giving directions the list goes on and on. What worries me greatly is when leaders are able to convince others that somehow hate has a higher purpose. This being such recent history perhaps that hit home for me more than anything.So I join you in the philosophy of starting from a heart filled with simple kindness and understanding for each person we encounter. It may seem like a small thing yet I believe each of us can make a big difference.
I can imagine how hard it must have been for you to be there and listen to the horrible story of the genocide. I didn’t go to this place when I stayed for one night in Phnom Penh back in 2011, but I felt the same way when I went to the War Remnants Museum in Saigon. As I followed the photos inside the museum, slowly I felt my tears running down my cheek for I couldn’t fathom the brutality of the Vietnam War. Here in Indonesia we’re still trying to deal with our own dark past; in the 1960s and 1970s it is estimated that millions of people who were associated with the Indonesian Communist Party were killed indiscriminately. Following the fall of the authoritarian military regime in 1998 there have been more talks about what really happened in the past and how we should deal with it to wound ourselves as a nation. However, intimidation is still rampant today, purportedly instigated by those involved in the killings who now happen to hold important positions in the government or the military.
Bama I so appreciate you sharing what is happening in Indonesia or perhaps the lack of information as to what is happening. I think it is vital, no matter how emotionally ardueous for all of us, to keep the conversatiosn continuing. Only through the remembering of what can happen, the spreading of kindness and acceptance can change ever be made.
S21 is the only place I visited that floored me Sue from a dark place. I walked in and felt the heavy, death energy the moment I entered the place. It is palpable in S21. You can feel so many people were murdered for absolutely no reason, other than being academics, or against the KR, when most were just human beings minding their own business.
When I saw the black and white pictures of folks whose eyes tore through my soul, their blank, lifeless, hopeless stares invading my being, I began crying. No way not to tear up when you open up there. Plus the rusty looking blood stains on floors; as of 2011 when we visited, they didn’t sanitize the place much. The real deal.
You did an awesome job recounting this chilling, horrifying event. Especially in today’s age, with so many world leaders gaining traction preying on the fears of people, we need to embrace this experience and heed the message that love wins, and fear leads to nightmares.
Ryan
Love wins and fear leads to nightmares. Brilliantly said Ryan. On several occasions I had to walk away from those rows upon rows of haunting photos. One of the things that still leaves me in nauseated shivers was the barbed wire barriers on the floors above ground level put there to preent prisoners committing suicide. So awful were their captors that death was preferential. I’m not sure I will ever quite be the same since the visit. I am grateful to have had my eyes opened. it only strengthens my resolve to spread kindness and good in this world.
Many thanks for sharing your own experience at S 21 Ryan. I think the prison has been more samnitized since your visit but the ‘death energy’ remains.
Tragic beyond words. I can see why it took you so long to be able to craft this heartfelt post. Sadly, rather than learn from such atrocities, mankind seems to repeat them time and again. I used to think that such things were part of the past, but the world seems once again to be infected with a hatred virus. I hope it can be cured this time around with dialogue rather than daggers. Heartbreaking!
Lisa heartbreaking indeed. The phrase dialogue rather than daggers is a perfect hope for this world. I just can not imagine why such hatred exists in this world and those who promote it are a complete puzzle to me. May out hope for tolerance and aceptance spread like wildfire.
Sue thank you for this important post. We agree though with Pauls comments above, that “it never ends and we will never learn.” Sadly. And I think there is an important reason: As humans, we seem not to be able to relate to humans as much as to the human subgroups of different ethnicities, religions, language groups, etc. Someone else mentioned that the feeling was akin to visiting Auschwitz.
Just as our generation of Jews has heard often the refrain of “never again”, by this, they mean “never again to us Jews”. This is the core issue of why it happens again. As you rightly write about the Cambodian Khmer Rouge and killing fields, again with a variant of a them of hopefully “never again” there are many that today would say that there are variants happening right now. Syrians, Muslim ethnic groups in China, the Rohinga in Myanmar….
The focus on the intelligentsia and anyone with “management skills, international contacts, Scientific knowledge etc” was intended to wipe out the educated and return to agrarian society and sadly they may have succeeded in extinguishing an entire generation which will take decades to recover from.
A tragic part of history but one that cannot be ignored.
Ben
Ben I appreciate your thoughts and reflections here very much. I’m not sure if you read Bama’s comment but he too reflects on current or more recent happenings of other groups. I came away from Cambodia with such a mix of distressing emtoions it has taken me so much time to even begin to sort them out. Perhaps the most uncomfortable realization that has come to surface is my own lack of knowledge, my insulated world. To think that in my late teens I barely recall a headline from the era leaves me shocked. The discussion going on here has increased my knowledge further and I value your input very much Ben. I end in complete agreement. This can not be ignored.
Sue, you’ve done a good thing with this post. As a traveler, visiting death camps of any kind is a grueling, heartbreaking task, and when you write a blog post about it you just have to relive it. It’s easy to despair and wonder if humankind will ever change, and if history is any indicator, the answer is probably no. As long as there are megalomaniacal men who are willing to do absolutely anything to achieve their goals, the possibility of a repeat is there. We all hope that Santayana’s “remember the past” quote will guide us, and if so, then maybe there’s hope. In the meantime, a reminder to prompt reflection never hurts. ~James
James as you can imagine this type of post is way out of my comfort zone. Since our time in Cambodia it has been gnawing at me. Several times I tried to convince Dave he should write it. So in the end it has been a collaboration. He did a lot of the factual research. Each time I sat down to read more about the Killing Fields I wanted to pound my fists and cry all at the same time. It seems the consensus from the comments is that likely such horrors will repeat themselves and as Ben and Bama each point out, they likely currently are. Still I am hopeful the more we talk about kindness instead of hate, some sense of good will fall on otherwise unknowing ears.
What an incredibly heartbreaking story Sue. I remember going to see the holocaust museum and also visiting a concentration camp in Germany. Both were utterly hard to stomach but so important to remember those who were so unjustly killed. I would go see this site even if difficult as it is important to not forget all the senseless death and destruction human beings are capable of. It still haunts me that genocide continues and continues on and nothing seems to stop it. Very sad. Excellent post Sue on a very difficult topic, Thank you.
Nicole with all of the incredible articles you write on social justice I have no doubt you would visit the Killing Fields and write an incredible piece. Thank you for your kind words. You have seen so much I’m not sure how you keep your heart from breaking. Bravo to you who keeps sharing the messages of hope and remembrance.
Sue, thank you for posting and sharing this; telling the story of the Cambodian genocide is especially pertinent now that so much of the world seems to be sliding backwards into hatred and bigotry. I think one of our responsibilities as travel bloggers/writers is to document reality and not shy away from telling the truth, however difficult it may be to swallow. It is astounding how humans can be capable of such evil; like Ben, I too thought of the Rohingya in Myanmar when I read this post. The fact that it is happening not all that far away from where I live is heartbreaking and leaves me wondering how I can help them.
James I appreciate your reflections and the solidarity in that we as travel writers need to bring these hard truths to readers. I am so sorry to hear that so near you this horror is happening. I think by using our voice as best we can we lend our voice to the injustice.
I can see why it took you over half a year to write it – this is heavy stuff. I agree with James that it is important to visit these places and write about them since there are some scary things going on in the world.
Definitely heavy and far from my usual type of writing. Still it seemed I couldn’t let it go. Scary things definitely covers it.
Are you settled back in Thailand?
In my mind travel should not only entertain but should educate us as well. History carries with it some immensely sad, tragic events, this being one of them. Thank you for writing this difficult post Sue. We should not forget.
I appreciate your support LuAnn. Part of me wanted to forget I had ever been to the Killing Fields but in my heart I knew it would forever haunt me. We should not forget. That is the truth.
Very impressed that you wrote this. You are right that we need to learn these types of things when we visit a country and hopefully never let this happen again. It worries me that so much goes on in the world today that we ignore and “let happen”. When will humanity learn? I can only imagine how hard it was to visit but thank you for writing this!
When will humanity learn? Such a good question Cherene. To think that this atrocity is in our world’s recent history is heartbreaking. I do feel strongly that we who are travel writers must share all of this world, not just the pretty and pristine. I appreciate your encouragement and support.
What a sad post but one that has to be written about and shared repeatedly. Thank you, Sue, for writing and sharing this tragic piece of history. We must not forget. 😢
Linda I feel badly it took me so long to sit down to share this. In the end I knew this was not about my discomfort but the importance of sharing and reminding of such a tragedy. I appreciate your support in that endeavour.
This sat in my e-mail, unread for a while, it took me that long to work up the courage to read about your experience here. Thank you for writing this.
Amy I can certainly understand you taking pause before reading. It took me over half a year to write it. Not easy to think that humanity is capable of such atrocity. Thank you for reading.
great article Sue and thank you for sharing. awareness of dark history is of paramount importance so as not to repeat itself.
yes, i have to step back for it takes courage to be able to take this all in. this reminds me of my visit to Auschwitz in 2014. i can never comprehend the horror and hatred.
Lola I have not been to Auschwitz and can only imagine the horrors you learned of and saw record of. As heartbreaking as these visits are I do think it is important that we continue to remind others of what can happen when hatred and prejudice is given fuel.
Thx for the blog post and info., Sue. I personally have not visited a death camp yet in our travels. Like you, I barely understood or even paid much attention to what happened in Cambodia when we were teens in Canada.
Jean I appreciate you sharing that you like myself were not very aware of what was happening in Cambodia at the time. This was a first for me in visiting such a camp. It has left such strong memories and resolve with me.
It never really ceases to chill and horrify how very wicked we can be as humans, Sue. Sometimes the inhumanity is beyond belief. Thank you for finding it in you to revisit this place in writing. The stuff of many nightmares.
The stuff of nightmares to be sure Jo. Yes the inhumanity of it all is stunning and important for all of us to remember what intolerance can lead to. I appreciate you taking the time to read and for sharing on Twitter. Greatly appreciated.
Thank you for writing about this. I can so relate to your first paragraph. Unlike you though, my post still sits in drafts, unfinished from almost two years ago. I just couldn’t find the words. I’m haunted by what I saw and learned at S 21 and the Killing Fields. Perhaps it’s time to give it another try.