But I can’t
leave it at that. Cambodia is a country where only 37 years ago, on the 17th
of April 1975, the Khmer Rouge with Pol Pot as leader took power and within 3
years killed about 2 million people, one fourth of the population. And why?
Because he wanted full power over a renewed and communistic Cambodia, an
agrarian society without any western influences. The ones who could make this
happen were people from the countryside without education, living a simple
life, earning their living by farming. Every other person that was more
developed in whatever way was a threat to his plan for Cambodia. Ministers,
doctors, teachers or whatever other skilled people had to be killed. Anything
that made you look the slightest bit educated from wearing glasses or a watch to
having clean hands meant that you were the enemy, so you were captured and
killed.
Within only
a few days everybody was moved from the cities to the rural areas to work on
rice fields. Schools and hospitals were closed or turned into prisons. The most
famous one is Tuol Sleng in Phnom Penh, before the Khmer Rouge took over it was
a school, now it’s a genocide museum where the pictures of hundreds of victims stare
at you in the many rooms you walk through. Eyes filled with fear of not knowing
what was going to happen to them. Thousands of people passed thru this horrific
place to be tortured until death or false confessions, just to make the
torturing stop. But that didn’t matter because they were executed anyway. If
they didn’t die in the prison they would be transported to Choeung Ek, also
known as the Killing Fields, not far from the city center. At first 2 or 3
trucks a week filled with in total 50 till 70 people would be transported there
with the false idea of finally getting peace and a house to live in. Most of
them knew they were transported to their last destination. But some were still hoping
to survive although in their hearts they knew they were just a few minutes away
from their death. In the last period of the Khmer Rouge, when Pol Pot had
gotten nervous and paranoid, every day they transported around 300 people to
CHoeung Ek. Holes were dug and one by one the prisoners were smashed to death.
Bullets were expensive so they used whatever they could. Rocks, farm tools like
shovels and if you were ‘lucky’ an axe. Babies were slammed to death on a tree
in front of their mothers eyes. The tree where Duch, the head officer of Tuol
Sleng, a few years ago kneeled down, asking for forgiveness and crying,
acknowledging his guilt of the brutal death of 10.000 Cambodians.
In Phnom
Penh we visited the Somaly Mam Foundation. A foundation that fights against the
effects of this genocide. One third of the population only earns 360 dollars a
year, people are incredibly poor. People are hunted by traumas caused by the Khmer
Rouge regime. Girls from poor families are forced into prostitution or go themselves
just because they don’t see any other way to survive. Somaly Mam is informing
and rescuing girls from the age of 3 from brothels, but because the country is
so corrupt, it feels like they are always taking one step forwards and ten 10
steps backwards. It’s incredibly difficult, but I admire so much what they are
doing and all they already achieved.
So yes,
Cambodia is a beautiful country with amazing people and much more. But their past hunts them. It is a country that confronts you with the hard
reality of life. It’s impossible to close your eyes for this side of Cambodia.
If there is a country in the world where I would want to dedicate myself to help
the people in their struggle for a better life, it would be Cambodia.
Links
ConCERT (NGO in Siem Reap)
Books
The road to lost innocence - Somaly Mam
First they killed my father - Loung Ung
Video
