Today will, without doubt, be a day long remembered. We first visited the stunning Royal Palace, built by King Norodom in 1866 on the site of the ‘old town’. Located on the grounds of the Palace was the Silver Pagoda, named because of its floor, which is made up of 5000 silver tiles, each one 1 kg of silver.
We had an extremely sobering trip to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, known as the ‘S21’ prison. This prison was a high school before being used by Pol Pot’s security forces. It became the largest center for detention and torture during the rule of the Khmer Rouge. We walked around the prison and saw photographs of thousands of victims of the regime. The Khmer Rouge, like the Nazis, documented their atrocities with extreme precision, photographing each victim before and after their death. There were also many pictures depicting how the prisoners were contained (shackles) and tortured (an unspeakalbe number of methods).
When looking at photographs, our guide (Mr. Whad), called us over and introduced us to an elderly gentleman. We could not believe it when it was explained that he was Mr. Chom Mei, one of only seven survivors of those imprisoned in the Tuol Sleng Prison (and only one of the survivors still alive. We spent about twenty-five minutes with him as he, with Mr. Whad as interpreter, told us his story. He picked us, he said, because we had children and he wants to ensure that the story of the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge are told long into the future. Ryan and Brendan assured him that they would, indeed, relate what they were learning about genocide to others for years to come.
Mr. Mei was imprisoned four four months during which time he was interrogated and tortured. He had both his fingernails and his toenails removed with alcohol poured on the open wounds and experienced having electric shocks administered to his head. His greatest sadness was seeing his wife and four children being killed.
Mr. Mei and other survivors all had a special skill that motivated their captors to keep them alive. Some were photographers, some were painters. Mr. Mei was a mechanic and his skills proved useful. He and the six other survivors were liberated by the Vietnamese. There were twenty one prisoners living when the Vietnamese arrived at the prison. The Khmer Rouge, knowing that they would be defeated, killed 14 of the prisoners before the Vietnamese took over. Mr. Mei was one of the seven who survived.
When asked whether he was able to achieve any happiness in his lifetime after such unspeakable horror he replied that he had. He remarried and went on to have six additional children. He spends as much time as he can at the prison educating those that he meets. He is also, of course, one of the few witnesses of the Regime and is in great demand for interviews, films about the Khmer Rouge, and at trials which are still taking place regarding the Pol Pot regime. We shook Mr. Mei hand and gave him a traditional ‘wai’, and thanked him profusely before bidding him farewell. Our hearts had been so deeply touched and we cannot express how privileged we feel for being granted this exceptional opportunity. (A note to Bettina: when we told him that we had a special friend visiting at some point who would be equally honored to meet him, he gave us his cell phone number so that you could reach him while you’re here).
Our education continued as we visited the notorious ‘Killing Fields’, Choeung Ek, 15 km southwest of Phnom Penh. This is the site of brutal executions of more that 17, 000 individuals (men, women, and children), most of whom were first tortured and interrogated in Toul Sleng Prison during the Pol Pot regime (from 1975 – 1979). The remains of 8985 people, many of whom were bound and blindfolded, were exhumed in 1980 from mass graves in this one-time longan (fruit) orchard. 43 of the 129 communal graves have been left untouched. While walking around the fields we saw fragments of human bone and bits of cloth imbedded in the ground – it was overwhelming, sad, and so horrific. We were told that when the prisoners were transported from Toul Seng Prison they were told that they were being taken to houses on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. Upon arrival, they were blindfolded and their hands were tied behind their backs. Loud music blared from loudspeakers to muffle the screams of those being executed. They were brought to a large room from which they were taken one by one to a pit. There they were mostly bludgeoned to death in order to avoid “wasting” bullets. Once dumped into the grave they were covered with chemicals (to eradicate strong odours, but also to ensure that those who were still alive when buried would die). There was a large tree where, it was explained, they killed the babies and very young children. They were swung by their feet until their skulls crushed. It was very painful to hear these details and very difficult to write this now. One cannot fathom the extent of cruelty which human beings are capable of inflicting upon others. Throughout the morning the boys often related back to what they have learned about the Holocaust and drew many parallels. They were astonished to hear that there is a genocide currently underway in Darfur.
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. We lit incense sticks and put them into a vat of sand to commemorate the victims of the regime.
It was so heartening in the afternoon to visit the incredibly successful ‘Pour un sourire d’Enfant (PSE), a school and training center helping impoverish youth in Phnom Penh.
We ended our day with a short trip to the Russian Market, easily the nicest that we’ve seen on the entire trip.
We had an extremely sobering trip to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, known as the ‘S21’ prison. This prison was a high school before being used by Pol Pot’s security forces. It became the largest center for detention and torture during the rule of the Khmer Rouge. We walked around the prison and saw photographs of thousands of victims of the regime. The Khmer Rouge, like the Nazis, documented their atrocities with extreme precision, photographing each victim before and after their death. There were also many pictures depicting how the prisoners were contained (shackles) and tortured (an unspeakalbe number of methods).
When looking at photographs, our guide (Mr. Whad), called us over and introduced us to an elderly gentleman. We could not believe it when it was explained that he was Mr. Chom Mei, one of only seven survivors of those imprisoned in the Tuol Sleng Prison (and only one of the survivors still alive. We spent about twenty-five minutes with him as he, with Mr. Whad as interpreter, told us his story. He picked us, he said, because we had children and he wants to ensure that the story of the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge are told long into the future. Ryan and Brendan assured him that they would, indeed, relate what they were learning about genocide to others for years to come.
Mr. Mei was imprisoned four four months during which time he was interrogated and tortured. He had both his fingernails and his toenails removed with alcohol poured on the open wounds and experienced having electric shocks administered to his head. His greatest sadness was seeing his wife and four children being killed.
Mr. Mei and other survivors all had a special skill that motivated their captors to keep them alive. Some were photographers, some were painters. Mr. Mei was a mechanic and his skills proved useful. He and the six other survivors were liberated by the Vietnamese. There were twenty one prisoners living when the Vietnamese arrived at the prison. The Khmer Rouge, knowing that they would be defeated, killed 14 of the prisoners before the Vietnamese took over. Mr. Mei was one of the seven who survived.
When asked whether he was able to achieve any happiness in his lifetime after such unspeakable horror he replied that he had. He remarried and went on to have six additional children. He spends as much time as he can at the prison educating those that he meets. He is also, of course, one of the few witnesses of the Regime and is in great demand for interviews, films about the Khmer Rouge, and at trials which are still taking place regarding the Pol Pot regime. We shook Mr. Mei hand and gave him a traditional ‘wai’, and thanked him profusely before bidding him farewell. Our hearts had been so deeply touched and we cannot express how privileged we feel for being granted this exceptional opportunity. (A note to Bettina: when we told him that we had a special friend visiting at some point who would be equally honored to meet him, he gave us his cell phone number so that you could reach him while you’re here).
Our education continued as we visited the notorious ‘Killing Fields’, Choeung Ek, 15 km southwest of Phnom Penh. This is the site of brutal executions of more that 17, 000 individuals (men, women, and children), most of whom were first tortured and interrogated in Toul Sleng Prison during the Pol Pot regime (from 1975 – 1979). The remains of 8985 people, many of whom were bound and blindfolded, were exhumed in 1980 from mass graves in this one-time longan (fruit) orchard. 43 of the 129 communal graves have been left untouched. While walking around the fields we saw fragments of human bone and bits of cloth imbedded in the ground – it was overwhelming, sad, and so horrific. We were told that when the prisoners were transported from Toul Seng Prison they were told that they were being taken to houses on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. Upon arrival, they were blindfolded and their hands were tied behind their backs. Loud music blared from loudspeakers to muffle the screams of those being executed. They were brought to a large room from which they were taken one by one to a pit. There they were mostly bludgeoned to death in order to avoid “wasting” bullets. Once dumped into the grave they were covered with chemicals (to eradicate strong odours, but also to ensure that those who were still alive when buried would die). There was a large tree where, it was explained, they killed the babies and very young children. They were swung by their feet until their skulls crushed. It was very painful to hear these details and very difficult to write this now. One cannot fathom the extent of cruelty which human beings are capable of inflicting upon others. Throughout the morning the boys often related back to what they have learned about the Holocaust and drew many parallels. They were astonished to hear that there is a genocide currently underway in Darfur.
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. We lit incense sticks and put them into a vat of sand to commemorate the victims of the regime.
It was so heartening in the afternoon to visit the incredibly successful ‘Pour un sourire d’Enfant (PSE), a school and training center helping impoverish youth in Phnom Penh.
We ended our day with a short trip to the Russian Market, easily the nicest that we’ve seen on the entire trip.
A hard but unbelievable story. For these reasons, we travel outside of our comfortable lives in Canada. Thanks for sharing Kuffner team. Continued safe travels. From Hanoi,
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