The most important thing to be seen in Cambodia is Angkor Wat. We came across another must see place entirely in a different context. We planned to stay in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia for two days. Cheoung Ek Genocide Center is at distance of 15 KM from Phnom Penh. We hired a tuk-tuk driver for the day for 10 USD. He picked us from our hotel at 8 0'clock sharp. The road was in pretty bad shape, but being Indians it really didn't matter to us much as we have seen much more worse than this.
Cheoung Ek Genocide Center is only one among thousands other Killing Field sites spread across the length and breadth of the country in late 70s and early 80s. We did our research and had pretty good idea about what it holds for us. Until then we were ignorant about the country's genocide. The death toll was estimated to be between 1.7 to 2 millions in a time span of four years.
Cheoung Ek Genocide Center has a entry fee of 5 USD per person. They offer audio guides for free at the ticket counter.
Cambodia gained its independence in 1953 from France after being under the rule of colonization for nearly a century. During the Vietnam War, Cambodia’s King, Norodom Sihanouk adopted neutrality as a policy. However, Sihanouk was toppled in 1970 by a military coup led by Cambodian General Lon Nol, backed by US. Now ousted king joined hands with his enemies, Khmer Rouge. An army led by Pol Pot, Khmer Rouge emerged as the super power taking Phnom Penh in 1975. People actually cheered for Khmer Rouge blissfully unaware of what to be followed for the next four years. Now renamed Kampuchea, Pol Pot implemented "Year Zero Policy". It means to wipe out everything from culture, tradition, work, ethics, habit, education, life style, all the nitty gritties only to start afresh from a scratch. Mass evacuation was carried out in cities beginning from Phnom Penh. People were told not to take any belongings as the move is only for 2 to 3 days. They were even told the move is important to evade the US bombing.
Thus begins one of the heinous genocides in the world history. People were forced to work in agricultural fields where they were starved, tortured, and executed. Khmer Rouge targeted intellectuals; city residents; ethnic Vietnamese, Thai, Chinese, Buddhist monks; civil servants; and religious leaders. They even went to the extent of killing people who wore glasses thinking they were nerdy. They stripped off possessions of professionals like doctors, lawyers, teachers, musicians and made them to work in field claiming to reeducate them.
Children were forcefully taken from home to join military. Money, private property, reading material, religion, each and every aspect of a person's life is controlled by the state. Schools and banks were closed down. People suffering from medical ailments were not allowed to seek treatments. The tools used to torture and kill were shackles, leg irons, hatchet, knives, hoes, digging hoes. Children were smashed against tree and adults were bludgeoned to death to avoid wasting precious bullets. Just looking at the piles of skulls are enough to tell how sickening this whole massacre was.
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| Mass Grave |
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| Clothes of Victims |
Very bitter and unfortunate history of Cambodia only supported our belief of world is not a safe place to live in. At the same time we had to admit perseverance of Cambodians is awe-inspiring. Our final thought was "those who forget the past may be doomed to repeat it".
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