A week in Cambodia -11/18/2023-11/24/2023
Phnom Penh -11/18/2023
Choeung Ek Genocidal Center (Killing Field)
The rise to power of the Khmer Rouge, a radical
communist movement led by the dictator Pol Pot that was formed in 1960s amid
the turmoil of the Vietnam War, the Khmer Rouge seized control of Cambodia in
April 1975 after a protracted civil war. Upon taking power, Pol Pot and his
cadres immediately set about trying to remake Cambodia into a classless
agrarian society. They forcibly evacuated cities, abolished money and private
property, and required all Cambodians to become laborers on massive collective
farms. Those deemed to be "enemies" of the revolution are intellectuals,
religious leaders, ethnic minorities, and anyone suspected of political
dissent were arrested and imprisoned.
Dangkao area
In the center of the site stands a 17-tiered Buddhist stupa that displays more than 8,000 skulls exhumed from the graves.
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More than 8000 skulls, arranged by sex and age, are visible behind the clear
glass panels of the Memorial Stupa, which was erected in 1988.
It is a chilling sight to see so many skulls.
Through the brief yet barbaric actions of the communist Khmer Rouge regime
from 1975-1979, Cambodia was devastated. It's estimated around 1.7
million (or 21 per cent of the population) lost their lives during
their genocidal four-year reign of mass torture, starvation, and murder.
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This is where it all started at the Truck Stop. Victims to be exterminated from Tual Sleng prison (S-21) and other places in the country are transported here to be executed.
Two or three trucks travelled every month with each holding around 20
prisoners who would make their final journey to the Killing Field.
Many were transported directly from the city's schoolhouse Tuol Sleng S21 prison. A fatal blow to the head or slit throat was the preferred method of execution, so that precious bullets could be preserved for more 'meaningful' purposes.
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When they cannot executed all the prisoners in one day they put them in this barrack to be executed the next day. The wall was built with 2 layers of flat wood to darken the room and to prevent prisoners to seeing each other. The barrack was dismantled in 1979.
A rest area.
The executioner's working office
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It was the place where executioners stationed and worked permanently at Choeung Ek, The office as well as the killing field were equipped with electric power which enable them to conduct executions.
As bullets were deemed too expensive, the victims were clubbed to death and
chemical substances were scattered over their bodies to ensure no one
remained alive.
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Mass grave of 450 people.
Executioners slit prisoners‘ throats and dumped their bodies into mass graves, the largest of which held 450 corpses.
When Vietnamese troops toppled the Khmer Rouge and uncovered Choeung Ek in
1979, they found a grisly sight with over 8,000 skulls scattered on the
surface and more than 100 mass graves up to 16 ft. deep
Visitors walking around in silence and listening to the audio tour.
This was a former Chinese grave before 1975.
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Remains of the old Chinese cemetery.
Lake at Cheong Ek site.
The lake is very serene and beautiful.
Rice filed surrounding Cheong EK
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Dirt road around the lake.
The area is really peaceful now.
Continuing our walk.
The site is well managed with lots of signs and information so it was really easy to follow with the audio guide.
One of the many dikes that was built in 2000 to be used as a conservation facility to prevent destruction of excavated mass graves from flood.
Pieces of bones remaining after excavation in 1980
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Pieces of bones remaining after excavation in 1980 on display in a glass box
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Teeth and femur bones.
Mass grave of 166 victims without heads.
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Chilling to think what went on at this place.
Clothes of the victims after excavation in 1980 on display in a glass box
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The Killing Tree.
Executioners would smash babies’ heads against this tree before throwing them into an adjacent mass grave. This was often done right in front of the mothers. This was a politically strategy to prevent the children from growing up to take revenge against the Khmer Rouge. Today, this tree is covered with bracelets in remembrance of all of the children who were killed here.
Next to the Killing tree is the Mass Grave of more than 100 victims that were children and women.
In some cases the children and infants of adult victims were killed by having their heads bashed against tree trunk, and then were thrown into the pits alongside their parents.
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This tree that was used as a tool to hang a loud speaker to avoid hearing the victims' scream while they were executed.
This is the end of the visit of the center.
We passed by a garden with a statue of a mother holding an infant.
Under the statue is a plaque to remind never to forget the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge.
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The Killing Fields were first discovered in 1979 by a Vietnamese
journalist who was sent to investigate reports of mass graves in the area.
The Khmer Rouge had used Choeung Ek as a dumping ground for their
victims since 1975, but it was not until 1980 that it was officially
recognized as a killing field by the Cambodian government. In 1985, a
memorial stupa was erected at the site to commemorate those who had been
killed there and to serve as a reminder to future generations about what
happened during this dark period in Cambodia’s history.
Next...Tuol Sleng Prison Museum