A History Lesson

As I write this post, my parents are somewhere over the Pacific Ocean on their way back to the United States. They haven’t even been gone from Cambodia 24 hours, but I already miss them so much! I didn’t realize how much being away from my family these past 6 months would affect me. I mean, I’ve lived abroad before, and haven’t been “in the nest” for nearly 7 years now. Even still, seeing my mom and dad’s wonderful, smiling faces at the Phnom Penh airport was quite possibly the most welcome sight I’ve had in a long while.

(Here they are riding in their first Tuk-tuk!)

It didn’t even matter that their arrival came 3 DAYS later than expected, and completely shifted our whole trip’s itinerary. Because I wanted my mom and dad to have the best experience possible in Cambodia, I was fairly upset when I realized we would have to forgo our excursion to the ruins at Siem Reap. But we made the most of their 6 full days here, packing in a visit to Wat Phnom, the Russian Market, the National Park, and even an all-day trip to several village churches for worship. There will be more to come on that experience in a later post. But today, I wanted to write about our first day’s excursion to Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and Choeung Ek (or the Killing Fields).

(Tuol Sleng Museum's Entrance)

Anyone who has read anything on Cambodia knows that the horrendous genocide that took place barely 30 years ago under the Khmer Rouge has single-handedly shaped this nation in ways we Westerners will never truly fathom. Killing off 1/5 of the nation’s inhabitants, Pol Pot’s brutal communist regime mercilessly beat, starved and tortured between 1 to 2.5 million people during his rule from 1975 to 1979.

There are few, if any, Cambodians that have not personally suffered in some way because of the terror inflicted on their nation. Many of my peers here have had to grow up without parents, grandparents, aunts or uncles. In fact, so many people died during that small section of time that there is a gap in Cambodia’s population. Today, the average age in Cambodia is 20.6 years, and over half the people are under the age of 25! Land mine victims can be found on nearly every corner- some begging for spare change, others working selling cards or other handmade crafts. Even a short visit to Cambodia will reveal how deeply impacted everyone here continues to be by the aftermath of the Khmer Rouge.

I know none of that is something that many of you want to hear. However, I personally think it is essential that people the world over open their eyes to the atrocities going on around them. No, they are not pleasant to hear about. But unless and until we acknowledge the evil that exist in the world today, we can never hope to defeat it. That is why I was so eager to take my mom and dad to Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum as well as to the Killing Fields. I wanted them to see firsthand how horrible the Khmer Rouge’s actions were. While not a lighthearted day, our time spent touring those two sights was undoubtedly impactful.

Here are some photos of the victims of S-21, a prison in which the museum is located:

And here are the cells people were kept inside:

Here are a few of the excavated mass graves at the Kiling Fields:

I think this sign speaks for itself.

If you can't read that sign at the bottom, it says, "Please don't walk through the mass grave."
I will avoid a long explanation here of everything in these photos. Instead, here are some links to information about both the prison and the Killing Fields for those of you that are interested to learn more.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuol_Sleng_Genocide_Museumhttp://www.killingfieldsmuseum.com/genocide/genocide.html