S21 & The Killing Fields

This entry is pretty hard to write, since I'm not really able to put my emotions into words that properly do them justice. So this will be brief. In the morning we met our guide, a Cambodian man, probably in his 40s, who worked in a work camp for kids during the 70s at the height of Khmer Rouge's power. He lost a number of family members to the Khmer Rouge's regime, and so having him as a guide and getting his first hand impressions was invaluable. Our first stop of the day was a former high school in the middle of the city that was used as a torture prison for prisoners of the Khmer Rouge. The place was left in basically the same form that the Vietnamese found it in when they came into the city in 1979. There were some terribly sickening pictures on the walls above the metal "beds." The prisoners = anyone a threat to the Khmer Rouge...so basically anyone that was educated, or looked educated, or could know something slightly relevant to their needs. Those that tortured the prisoners were also recognized here, as many of them were young kids (preteens) who had been recruited from the country by the Khmer Rouge and really did not understand what they were doing.

After S21, we drove about 20 min to the Killing Fields. These fields were part of the Khmer Rouge's systematic execution about about 1.5 million people. On the ride there, our guide told us his story because he could not tell it to us in a public place, for fear that the guards or others passing by would hear something that could be used against him. While many of the Khmer Rouge leaders have died or are on trial right now, there are still many present in the Cambodian government, making it difficult for freedom of speech on this topic. The fields were extremely hard to take in because bones, teeth and clothes still remain in the ground and were poking out everywhere you walked. At one point I thought I was going to throw up when I came across a large section of clothing and bones in the dirt that was I walking over. Only about 10 of the mass graves had been dug up by the government, the reason being that they want to leave the past in the past. I do understand that point.

While I think it is good that the government allows these sites to be open to the public, and they are much more upfront about this dark past than the Vietnamese were about any of their history, there is still a long way to go in terms of properly documenting and honoring their past. One thing that annoyed me was that on the description memorializing the Killing Fields the first sentence said something to the affect that this was more horrible than the Holocaust. While I agree that this was horrible, and definitely gets a lot less attention than the Holocaust, all genocide is horrible, and comparing it is not necessary, there are much more appropriate ways to recongnize the suffering.

While seeing the Killing Fields is something I will always remember, I found learning about the historical context during the day much more valuable. After talking with our guide, I went to a movie that night played in the upstairs part of a bar/restaruant about the rise of the Khmer Rouge. This video actually left me a lot more confused than when I started. A lot of that had to do with names for leaders changing, or poor translation, so it has motivated me to look at Western historical analysis, something that I can grasp a little easier. Also, because these events happened so "recently" it will take many more years before more thorough historical analysis is available. There is so much Cambodia needs to help ensure a better future than help looking back at the past, so I completely support their efforts to push forward and not spend resources on anything to do with the Khmer Rouge. 3/4 of Cambodia's population are too young to even remember the Khmer Rouge. Most of the citizens live on less than $1 US a day. They are a hopeful people, but they also live on a day - to -day basis. Those that can remember the attrocities of the Khmer Rouge know what is like to one morning be hopeful about the future and then a few hours later be told to leave your home immediately due to the threat of American bomgs, and then be led to these kiling fields.

It continues to mystify me how genocide can continue to occur. It also continues to mystify me how we have yet to find a way to prevent this from occuring.