I took a bus to Phenom Penh and visited "Security 21"or S-21 jail/torture house and the Khumar Rouge killing fields. Never before had I realized the scope, or brutality of the crimes committed by the Kuhmar Rouge when they held power in Cambodia in the mid-late seventies. I will describe some of my feelings below, but first a disclaimer: I'm not going to hold back some of the stories, and images I saw because I think its important for me to reflect on it, and important to share with others- as understanding such conditions provides one with a whole new level of gratitude for their own problems...
S-21: I paid for a personal guide for touring this site, as I wasn't too familiar with the history and wanted to fully understand what I was about to see. It was the best $3 investment I've made so far.. My guide was a boy of 14 when the Khumar Rouge came to power. He and his family had recently relocated to Penonh Phen after they had been forced to live in the villiages by the previous repressive government. Within 3 days of finally returning home, they had to flee Penonh Phen back to the villiage where they worked back-breaking shifts on the farm under armed guards. All of their posessions were taken, and they were given one set of dirty clothes to wear that would have to last them three years. Our guide explained he would wash his clothes at night, and hang them to semi-dry before waking up at 4am the next morning to put them on wet and get back to work. The guards would make everyone in the villiages sign a horrible anthem every morning that, when translated to english, is enough to scare even Chuck Norris. Our guide says the words are still burned into his memory, and that every morning when he was forced to sing it, he wondered whether he'd live to sing it again the following morning.
At S-21 the conditions were even worse. Intellectuals (anyone who is a doctor, lawyer, police officer, government official, educated) were seen as a threat to the working class Khumar Rouge. Therefore, they sought to eliminate anyone, and all of their friends and family members, to prevent retaliation. When captured they would be taken to be held and interrogated at S-21 before being transported to their final destination at Killing Fields. Many did not even live to make that trip. The conditions were so horrible- prisoners weren't given a pot to piss in, let a lone food. Most were granted 3 spoonfulls of rice soup/day. In some rooms there would be 20-40 people shackled together laying in the floor, in other cells, one or two high-up officials, or lawyers would be held in solitude and tortured for information. One form of torture was to pluck out all of the prisoner's finger and toenails one by one. Another was to heat up plyers and then pinch off the nipples of women in custody. Oh- and let's not forget rape, killing babies in front of their mothers by smashing their skulls on a tree trunk, and drowning men in fecal water. An artist who is a former prisoner at S-21 has depicted many of these images in paintings- and there were many more tortures that were too gruesome to depict, or share with tourists.... They did however, paint a pictures of guards throwing a baby into the air and stabbing it with the knife end of a bayonett riffle when it landed while it's mother watched. Makes you wonder what was too gory to show...
Only 8 people evaded death at S-21. One of them was onsite the day we visited shooting a documentary with a french network. Its unbelievable to think of the life our guide has had in his 45 years in Cambodia. He said that his family eventually was split up and his sister escaped to Thailand, and then moved to Canada- now living in Toronto. Despite numerous invitations from her brother, she has refused to ever visit Cambodia since leaving.
The Khumar Rouge depleated almost half of the population of Cambodia in a few short years. It is estimated they murdured 3 million innocent people in total. It makes me sick to think that this crime could go on post-WWII without superpower intervention. It makes me sick to wonder if the "It's not in my backyard" policy was applied here.
Moving along to the killing fields was an eerie experience, and nearly as emotional as S-21. There were still bits of bone and tooth scattered about the paths leading to the river where the murders took place. The way people were killed was barbaric. The Khumar Rouge did not use bullets, because they were working class, and the bullets cost too much money. Instead everyone was killed using various farmers tools, and in some cases- to increase pain- a palm leaf was used to slit the throat slowly. Many of the skulls on display have visible trauma where they were hit with a shovel, bamboo stick or an axe. Remember, this happened less than 30 years ago. Think about it....
I find myself now looking at Cambodians through a new set of lenses. Anyone over the age of 30 particuarly perks my interest because they were there... they have a story. I wish I spoke more cambodian so I could share more history with survivors. It's fascinating, and truly makes me unbelieveably greaftul for everything I have been afforded in life.
It's neat to see how well the country has rebounded, though there are still abundant problems. I feel pride when I see someone like our guide- who came from literally nothing- wearing leather shoes, clean slacks, a dress shirt, perscription glasses, and a peaceful face. It's amazing to see how far he has come in his life, without anyone to help. Makes me wonder about some of the issues still outstanding in Canada, and how little motivation many people have to turn their lives around despite getting ample government handouts. Backwards.
Right...... well, I hope I havne't depressed everyone with all that heavy stuff. I did warn you at the beginning it would be graphic. Go eat some comfort food or something. BYE!
No comments:
Post a Comment