The Killing Fields (Choeung Ek)

 **Trigger warning: This post talks in detail about the acts of genocide committed by the Khmer Rouge and there are also some pictures of human remains that some may find disturbing**

Memorial Stupa

I know I promised something a bit cheerier for my next post, but I've decided to go through my pictures and start uploading them to Her Wanderful Life. And in order to do it somewhat chronologically, I'm going to start with the first place I went to when I arrived in Phnom Penh: the Killing Fields (Choeung Ek).

One of the many mass graves

As you can tell from the pictures, the fields where this brutal part of Cambodian history took place are...gorgeous. The grounds are lush and verdant, there are flowers and palm trees, and quiet shady pathways. If you didn't know where you were it would seem like a nice place to string up a hammock and have a picnic. I don't know what I expected, but I was completely surprised by how peaceful it felt. But after having been there, it only seems right.

"The bones and teeth fragments that were exhumed in 1980 were in the ground. Nowadays, the bones and teeth fragments have come up after the flood and raining a lot, and they were collected to keep on."

There was an excellent audio tour to help guide you through the grounds. As you walked past roped off areas you would hear first-hand accounts of what went on there. Over here was a shed used to house the tools used to brutally beat people to death. And this large shady tree was used to smash babies heads in. The invisible horrors came to life as you walked silently past the many mass graves.

What was once beautiful farmland became the site of mass extermination of innocent human lives.

 It is no exaggeration when they tell you to watch for bone fragments and bits of cloth along the pathways. Over 1.3 million people were murdered at these Killing Fields during the merciless reign of the Khmer Rouge. Choeung Ek was just one of many of these camps set up to torture and kill "enemies of the people" (because pregnant women and children were such threats). There are many still scattered around Cambodia, but this is by far the most well known.

Mass grave

 During Pol Pot's reign, education and educated people were evil threats to a new "equal" society. Schools were shut down and teachers sent to places like Choeung Ek for punishment. Similar to the Cultural Revolution in China (oh, did I mention that China totally supported Pol Pot and his new government? Unfortunately, it wasn't just China.), being too educated was dangerous.

 "We will burn the old grass and the new will grow."

-Pol Pot, Quoted in Sulfur, Vol. 4 (1985), p. 53

Fragments of bone and cloth uncovered after heavy rain, now in glass cases along the paths.

In the first picture, you can see a large stupa. Inside are the unearthed skulls of many of the victims. The image of thousands of skulls and bones stacked carefully on top of each other is arresting, to say the least. I thought the way they chose to honor the victims of the killing fields was really beautiful. There was a definite solemn but peaceful feel to the grounds. Hopefully their spirits can finally find some peace.