Phnom Penh unveiled to me the horrors of history that occurred during the regime of the Khmer Rouge. Between 1975 and 78 Cambodia was victim to mass genocide of its people, by its people. With communism spreading throughout South East Asia, Cambodia was in a time of great change. Once in power the Khmer Rouge sought to create an idealistic, communist style country. Farming and manual labour was of high value, however critical thinking, expression and education were seen as a threat to the new regime. As a result all intellectuals were rounded up and taken to camps for 're-education.'
As a primary school teacher this resonates strongly with me. Had I been living and working in Cambodia at the time, I would have been captured, taken to one of these camps and tortured. In cruel irony, the main 're-education' camp in Phnom Penh was in fact a former school. Once the Khmer Rouge gained control, buildings for education were seized and converted into prisons and houses of the worst, unthinkable torture. Rooms which should have been filled with the happy chatter of children learning were instead consumed with the screams of innocent, knowledgeable people being senselessly tortured.
Much of the prison has been preserved as it was abandoned during its liberation. The floor bares blood marks, tangible proof of the atrocities that were committed here. Most of the isolation cells have been left untouched. I stood inside one cell, the walls almost touching my shoulders on each side and thought for a moment of the people who were forced to spend years in silence, their mangled bodies aching following the beatings and vile instruments of torture that were inflicted on them. The torture devices were displayed in a museum section of the prison. There were countless sharp, heavy metal implements that cause unimaginable pain. Detailed pictures show the grotesque treatments these prisoners received. Words cannot express the horrors that result in a 25% reduction in population in only three years.
While the torture inflicted on prisoners was horrific, their ultimate death was even worse. While in Phnom Penh I also visited the Killing Fields. This was a sight where mass graves of up to twenty thousand people were discovered. With an audio guide I walked through the beautiful green landscape, aware that underfoot were the remains of innocent men, women and children. The result of private audio-guided tours is the creation of a serene atmosphere. There is a sense of isolation to the place, despite there being many tourists. The scale of the murders that occurred means that even today, bone and fragments of clothes become unearthed. I listened in horror to the guide at each point as it explained that prisoners were brutally hacked to death with farming tools before falling lifelessly into the waiting pits. Today the bones of the dead push to the surface as though eager to ensure that their history will not be forgotten.
To help preserve history there are documentaries where the few survivors of the Khmer Rouge prisons describe first hand the atrocities they experienced. In the s21 prison my tears fell silently as I watched an old man describe being drowned and beaten until he eventually passed out. He vividly remembers the moment the prison was liberated and joyfully reuniting with his wife as they escaped. I was so relieved to hear a happy ending to such a horrific story. Finally, I thought, there is justice in the world. No. This was not the end. His wife was shot and killed on the road out of the prison.
I left the room in silence, questioning the inhumanity of man, when suddenly a little old man gave me a wave and a smile. His eyes were so bright and his smile so genuine. I couldn't help but feel cheered up by his happy spirit. It was the man from the documentary. He had written a book about his survival and was selling it at a stall in the prison. I watched as he chatted with people, his eyes were warm and his laugh infectious. This man had suffered horrors I couldn't even imagine and yet his spirit seemed undamaged. He seemed so grateful to be alive.
His positivity inspired me. It made me reflect on my own life and really put things in perspective. All those little, things that I stress over, all of the problems that I have pale into nothingness when I compare with this man. That day I realised the privileged life I live. I felt thankful for the opportunities I have had to get an education and to travel. Even as I write this blog I am grateful for the liberty of free speech, freedom of choice and for the numerous opportunities I have in life.
