The Killing Fields and S-21

Woke up this morning ready for the long journey ahead. We are taking a bus to Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia and it is a long journey (6½ hours) and, to be honest, a rather boring one. Everyone in the group is splitting their time between sleeping and playing games or videos on their phones. The most exciting part is at the border itself; it is a bit of an unorganised process and we all get a little worried when we hand over our passports and then are instructed to get back on the bus and are driven away, leaving our passports behind. However, it seems like this is the company’s normal process and we eventually get our passports back and continue on our journey. Once we are settled into our hostel we head out to get cash. One of the downfalls of not getting a flight is no airport on arrival to get cash and sort out SIM cards and the like. Luckily Linket, our new guide, or Little Bastard or LB as Viet affectionately calls him, has SIMs for us but first we need to get money. Annoyingly in Cambodia they use both their own currency, the Riel, and the US dollar, so we have to get out both, with a charge of $5 for each withdrawal. Once we have our money we head back to the hostel which has a lovely view of the Tonle Sap river. There is a festival on today in Phnom Penh which involves dragon boat races on the river which we can see from the roof of our hostel, which is also the restaurant/bar. The group is supposed to be going on a bar crawl tonight around the city but unfortunately, due to the festival, it has been cancelled Instead the group have a nice meal on the hostel roof and watch the races which turns into light display on the boats after sunset. We have an early night; tomorrow is Alex’s birthday and we have another day jam packed with history, which he will love and I am looking forward to too!

The next day I wake up excited; not only is it Alex’s birthday but we are heading to S21 prison and the Killing Fields today. I know it is a weird thing to be excited about, but ever since my sister-in-law Sarah told me about her experience here years ago I have been intrigued. At this point I know nothing of the horrors that occurred here, I know there are Killing Fields and that some sort of mass killing happened but beyond that I am truly ignorant to Cambodia’s history. The horrors really started with the Vietnam War. Cambodia, although not directly involved in the war, holds the unfortunate and infamous record of being the most bombed country in world history. This is because, as I mentioned, the tunnels that I visited the other day were a small link in the chain and many of the Vietcong’s tunnels and routes were used to transport weapons, rations and other resources across the border into Cambodia and, with the support of the Cambodian government, the US pretty much carpet bombed the areas that were suspected of being used by the Viet Cong leading to the loss of many innocent Cambodian lives. The support the Cambodian government at the time gave to the US and the subsequent mass loss of life, left the country ripe for Pol Pot and his party, The Communist Party of Kampuchea popularly known as the Khmer Rouge, to rise to power. With the support of China and the Viet Cong, the Khmer Rouge lead a revolution in Cambodia even with America leading a massive bombing campaign against them. Between the years of 1975 to 1979 the country was run with terror and fear fuelled by cruelty and paranoia, leading to mass imprisonment, torture and killings.

Elain loses her place on the board
(click on the top right hand icon)

Our first stop is the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, formerly S21 school and then the infamous prison that was used to detain anyone who may be seen as a threat to the regime. It is a fascinating but sad place, with a layout that is definitely more reminiscent of a school with buildings around a courtyard for kids to play in. To begin with, the paradox between a place that was built for fun, learning and hope for the future and the horrific acts that were committed here is hard to comprehend. However, when one starts to wander through the buildings and see the various exhibits it starts to sink in. The curation of the museum is amazing. Some rooms left empty except for the bare metal bed frame and a picture of the room when it was initially liberated, with a short description. The stark nature of the room forces you to focus on what truly happened here; you notice the blood stains that remain on the floor, the bare bed frame, the same one as in the pictures on the wall, except the picture includes the limp body of some poor nameless victim who had been tied up, tortured and then killed and then left to rot in the room you find yourself standing in. Another room is filled with pictures; every prisoner that entered the prison had an intake picture, these pictures capturing the horror, anger, defiance, depression, hopelessness – the full range of emotions that the different prisoners felt. The exhibition also highlights the variety in age, sex, religion and racial mix of those that found themselves here. In a conversation with Alex we both agree this is the first mass genocide we have heard of that wasn’t driven by some sort of them and us culture, whether religious, racial or ideological. There didn’t seem to be any group that was safe from the potential horrors of this place, with many of the regime supporters and workers finding themselves here as prisoners. Even Pol Pot and other leaders became increasingly paranoid. There are some survivors that talk about their experience that we listen to. It is clear that the horrors this place and the regime left are still very raw for many people. Along with some of the group, I buy a couple of books written by two of the survivors, still feeling ignorant on the subject even though knowing a hundred percent more than I did before.

S-21 detention and torture room

Once we are done with our tours Alex and I find ourselves sharing a tuk-tuk back with LB and our guide and we discuss all we have learnt and our desire to learn more. I point out it is a bit of a morbid way to spend one’s birthday but luckily I know Alex well enough to know that learning about history, the capabilities of human nature and the impossible challenge of trying to make sense of horrors like these, are things that he loves doing, much like me. Luckily the plan for the rest of the day is a little more light hearted. To celebrate his birthday I am paying for Alex at our next outing which is an hour at Birdies Mini Golf in Treellion Park with unlimited beers as we play. It is a decent course, definitely improved by the amount of beer we drink. The group is too big to go round all together so we split up into smaller groups.

Skulls inside the memorial stupa at Choueng Ek

Tuk-tuk back to the present day and happier thoughts

Dragon boat race on the Tonle Sap river

Memorial at Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum

The infamous prison, previously the S-21 school

After the prison we head to the Killing Fields (Choueng Ek), once again finding myself in another paradox. We get off the bus in a place of natural beauty: green fields by a marsh with the only natural clue of the horrors that occurred here being the mounds and dips that have now been grown over but make up the mass graves of thousands of people that were executed here. The reality hits as we get to the entrance and the guide tells us that bones, pieces of clothing and other remnants are still being uncovered by the weather on an almost daily basis, although the excavation of these graves has stopped out of a desire to no longer disturb the dead. As this is said, I along with others in the group, notice some worn and old clothes that are visible on a bit of land not far from us and then to really hammer the point home we notice a pile of small bones and teeth that visitors have clearly made next to the gate – it is harrowing. The group is lead round the fields to various pits. As mentioned only a few have been excavated but much has been learnt from these. Each pit had hundreds of bodies but did seem to be separated by group. The two that stick with me the most are one that was dedicated to babies, next to a tree now adorned with fabric braclets, left by foreigners as a sign of respect, although when Alex and I ask the guide it is clear that the locals aren’t a fan of them. The reason for the focus on this tree is that the members of the Khmer Rouge regime used to hold babies by their ankles and swing their heads against the tree to kill them in front of their parents before tossing the lifeless bodies into the pit with the other now nameless babies in there. The second that sticks with me is the pit used for regime members who were victims of the paranoia that ran through the regime and had been perceived as traitors who then, with or without proof (proof usually being torture-induced admissions of guilt) had been executed. What really stuck with me about this pit though, was that the hundreds of bodies that were found here, were all found without their heads. A special form of disrespect reserved for those accused of being traitors. It is a hard thing to learn about but one that I think needs to be spoken about more, especially in England. As I have said before, I had little to no knowledge of the sad history of this country. Between the bombings and the regime, the population of Cambodia halved.

Memorial tower in the Killing Fields Choeung Ek Genocidal Center

The Killing Fields

Birdies Mini Golf – let the challenge begin

The boys and I are joined by Poppy, Louis and LB and we have a great time, drinking, playing mini golf and being the slowest of all the groups to go round the course. Luckily our group have the course to ourselves for the whole time. Alex challenges himself to drink one beer per hole, a tall order considering this is a 19 hole course but he does pretty well ending the course by shotgunning two beers in a record time. Louis is the only one in our subgroup to get a hole in one which means he gets his name on the board and to add to his achievement he has managed to do it on the same hole as Elain, so her name is rubbed out, much to her chagrin, being one of the most competitive people I have ever met.

After the golf our group head to the strip enjoying a few different bars and then a great night in a club. All in all I think Alex had a pretty good birthday, at least I hope he did, because I had a great day: history, drunk mini golf and clubbing – what more do you need in life, hey!

The kid's birthday party begins

Alex partys late
(click on the top right hand icon)

The group arrive at Treellion Park