As the title of this post suggests, this is not the happiest of times in Cambodian history, but it is an extremely important period to understand the country today. I learned of this during my stay in Phnom Penh, but feel that it deserves its own post and should not be roped into the rest of my stay in the city.
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| covered mass grave |
Between 1975 and 1979, The Khmer Rouge, who was led by a man named Pol Pot, came to power in Cambodia and killed 3 million Cambodians. This catastrophe led to a fourth of the population being massacred for being educated. People who had lighter skin or even wore glasses were subject for suspicion. Once one family member was killed, the whole family was targeted, including children, so that they did not seek revenge in the future.
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| remnants of mass graves |
Pol Pot completely uprooted Cambodian culture and beliefs, targeting monks and nuns and completely getting rid of the Cambodian monetary system. The effects of this are still seen today, as there are very few old people in the country, many children running around as a result of the country attempting repopulation, and their currency being so unstable that they use US dollars (1000 riel is worth 25 cents). The most shocking piece of information I learned was that most developed countries recognized the Khmer Rouge as the political leader of Cambodia years after the genocide. The UN had a seat for the Khmer Rouge until 1997.
The area of the genocide center is fairly small. It is in an old, shady orchard with a pond behind that visitors can walk around while listening to personal accounts to survivors. It is one of 300 killing fields around the country. It’s the largest and most-visited, partially because it is so easily accessible from Phnom Penh, and also because many of the other concentration camps are surrounded by land mines to prevent discovery.
It’s a very peaceful place, as people are asked to keep quiet out of respect, but when you’re actually there, there’s not much to be said. The $5 admission comes with an audio tour that does a wonderful job of describing the buildings that once stood there by many first-hand accounts from both survivors and officials of the Khmer Rouge.
To me, it is unbelievable that this only happened 30 years ago and that though the country is extremely poor and people are struggling, they are happy and kind. The idea that stuck with me the most through my audio tour was that this genocide was carried out by Cambodians against Cambodians. The people committing these heinous crimes spoke the same language and were of the same ethnicity. It is impossible to imagine that countrymen would turn on each other so easily.
Though the entire area is a memorial to the genocide, there is a structure in the middle commemorating many of the people found in the mass graves at this site. It is a tower-like structure. Inside there is a glass case that has 17 levels. The first 10 levels alone hold 9,000 skulls. It’s horrifying, but helps visitors understand how many people were really found on this site.
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| spirit house for the victims |
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| skulls in the memorial |
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| looking up at the memorial |
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| the memorial from the outside |
The area of the genocide center is fairly small. It is in an old, shady orchard with a pond behind that visitors can walk around while listening to personal accounts to survivors. It is one of 300 killing fields around the country. It’s the largest and most-visited, partially because it is so easily accessible from Phnom Penh, and also because many of the other concentration camps are surrounded by land mines to prevent discovery.
It’s a very peaceful place, as people are asked to keep quiet out of respect, but when you’re actually there, there’s not much to be said. The $5 admission comes with an audio tour that does a wonderful job of describing the buildings that once stood there by many first-hand accounts from both survivors and officials of the Khmer Rouge.
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