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Phnom Penh, Cambodia

With the leader of the pack not joining us in Cambodia, it seemed as though we would need to divi up our friend Stephen’s jobs to be able to continue the next leg of the tour. We actually had a real tour guide but these skills were much needed in our ‘free time’. We had all become complacent with Stephen’s knowledge and his lonely planet guide. With a photocopied lonely plant guide (which was bargained down from $5 to $3) we split Stephen’s skills up: Dave was in charge of directions with a compass, me history, Sharon cheap drink research and Damo was on the language – or at least enough to say cheers in Cambodian… With that established, we could now set off for the 250km bus ride across the border into Cambodia.

After a long 7 hours we stepped off the public bus to board the car ferry across the Mekong and into Phnom Penh. Two little girls were giggling watching us westerners eat crickets for afternoon tea. Their smiles and shabby clothes were something you would see in a postcard. I said to our guide then, my first impression of this country is the Khmer people seem peaceful and happy. He didn’t say anything but just looked at me and simply gave me a weak smile. I didn’t think twice about that or comprehend the deep look he gave me – that was until we visited the killing fields used by Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge regime also known as Angkar (“the organisation”).

Today was one of the hardest days I have ever experienced in my life. The stories we have heard and pictures and things I’ve seen were too hard to share in detail. I’d heard of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, but that was about it. They were just words, but the words spoken to us today were so heartbreaking you just couldn’t listen. But you had to, because these people need to have their stories heard. From their perspective, for many years the world and the UN knew what was happening but turned a blind eye. It seemed ‘not possible’ but I just don’t know as I’m sure there’s more to it. In their eyes, Margaret Thatcher’s government supplied land mines to Cambodia and China swapped rice for guns during the regime. As a side note, post war, in 1991 Princess Diana spent millions rectifying the land mine issue so kids could return to school without fear.

When someone mentions a killing field, you would think it’s just a green paddock that had bad things happen there many years ago and there wasn’t much to see. The first thing I saw was a large glass building filled with cracked skulls. We walked through and there are hundreds of m***********s in the ground. Each one was the mass grave of hundreds of men, women and babies. You would think that they would have since excavated and pieced the bodies back together. There are 20,000 mass grave sites around the country. At this killing ground 20,000 were executed, but only 9,000 bodies were removed from the ground. As we walk through the claylike foot paths we were actually standing on bodies, unknowingly, until our guide tipped some water on the ground under our feet. What I first thought was light coloured sticks everywhere was actually bone. The remains of victim’s clothes also washes up with the heavy monsoonal downpours. Teeth are everywhere. So many people in such a small spot. The way in which these innocent people were killed is literally too horrific to repeat – A life was cheaper than a bullet. Over 3 years, 8 months and 20 days, 3 million of Cambodia’s men woman, children and babies died. Babies were killed because if they weren’t, they’d grow up and tell their story and seek revenge.

The man who went by the name of Pol Pot (political potential) gained power in the early seventies. His Dad was the king. With the hope of a better life and severe brainwashing he gained the trust of the people. It was ‘easy’ to gain the trust of the people because prior to 1975, they’d gone through years of Civil War. The countryside was bombed, so many millions moved to the capital Phnom Penh. On 17th April 1975, the Khmer Rouge told the 3 million residents living in Phnom Penh and other cities around the country, like Battambang and Siem Reap, that they would be moved only 2-3km away from the city and would return in 2-3 days. Families were forced to walk for 7 days straight to the countryside. They were told it was because of the threat of Americans bombing and they didn’t need to lock their houses as they’d be back soon. They were so desperate for a life without war, they believed the brainwashing tactics of the Khmer Rouge. Many were taken to the killing fields or torture prison and most to the the countryside for slave labour – 3 million people were taken away over 3 days.

With the banishment of all foreign influences, including any correspondence with the outside world, abolishing currency, closing of schools, hospitals etc the outside world had no idea what was happening – supposedly. The aim of the new policy was to turn Cambodians into an agrarian society. This form of labour and policy resulted in millions killed through murder, disease and starvation.

Following the visit to the killing fields was the genocide museum. Prior to it being used as a grave for 17,000 and prison for many more, it was a school. Many were taken there unknowingly to their fate, they thought they were going to the re-education centre. Although you can walk through it, it was only in the mid 80s that the smell disappeared. Once again the graphic stories our guide told, the people’s stories we read and the photos we saw were too horrific to repeat here. There was no dumbing down these stories for tourist’s weak stomachs.

These killings went on from 1975 – 1979. In January 1979, Vietnam invaded Cambodia. The Khmer Rouge fled to the border and the remaining prisoners were taken away and killed so that their stories couldn’t be revealed. Two Vietnamese journalists were walking through the town and could smell the prison stench, caused by the thousands who died there. They found 14 bodies which raised the first alarm that something wasn’t right. Their bodies now lay respectfully buried in the prison grounds. They also found, barely alive, but alive, 7 adults and 5 kids. As we stood at the museum our guide said “see the red umbrella behind you?”. A man was sitting there. He was one of the 7 men, and so was another man sitting close by. The way these people were treated and tortured made you literally feel sick. I asked the guide about a photo on the wall, taken in more recent times. In it are two men, one in his 40s and one in his 70s. They are smiling. The guide said that’s one of the 5 year old children found alive and the other one is one of the Khmer Rouge drivers who took thousands to the killing fields. They are both smiling. I asked how this is possible. Surely there is revenge or hatred there. There is, but it can’t be seen on the surface. The man in his 70s, like many hundreds more, has amnesty from today’s government.

Our local guide was also 5 at the time, he lost 5 brothers and his father. How did he survive? The Khmer Rouge were only after people of all ages who were educated. Educated (3 million were killed) was defined as wearing glasses, reading, writing, lighter skin (worked inside or not pure Cambodian) and soft hands. So the ‘lucky uneducated ones’, including our guide at the age of 5, were put to work in the fields and fed 4 teaspoons of watery porridge twice a day, working for 15 hours. Many eventually died of starvation with a life like this.The starving 12-15 year olds and some as young as 8 became soldiers with the promise of a better life – that was their hope for survival. Unfortunately they too would soon die as they knew too much. Our local guide said one of the thousands of former soldiers that now have amnesty, is his neighbour. Obviously the question was asked how do you not want revenge on someone who has killed most of your family. He said, “What is the point? We just want peace, we are Buddhist and want no more war”.

The population of this country was 7 million prior to the regime, with 4 million all ‘uneducated’ left after 1979. Life after the ‘war o
n people’ really didn’t improve until Pol Pot died of natural causes in 1998. Later the UN forced the government (which is still to this day made up some Khmer Rouge party members) to put the remaining leaders on trial for many crimes, including crimes against humanity. It is so recent only TWO weeks ago, one of the former leaders was moved from a nice jail to a jail for normal ‘bad people’. Some leaders of the regime are yet to be charged.

What has made this so real, and so, so hard is that absolutely every single person over the age 34 living in Cambodia has been dramatically affected. The only reason they are alive is that they survived starvation because they worked as slaves in the country. The ones born after 1979 grew up with the land mine issue and the famine of the early 80s. So it’s hard to look into the eyes of your tok tok driver, waiter or tour guide without seeing something very real. Today there are 14.8 million people, a 50% increase since 1979. In 2013, 50% of the population was under 18 years and 4% was over the age of 60. Additionally, as so many kids suffered from malnutrition, there is a generation missing.

After arriving back at the hotel, numb would really be the word to describe my thoughts. We were supposed to go and watch a local kick boxing match that afternoon but I can honestly, and not surprisingly, say it was the last thing I wanted to do. But I haven’t once said no to something on this trip, so I went with the group and I’m glad I did. On our 30 minute tok tok journey out there, we saw locals on the street pulling up plastic chairs, huddling around little T.Vs. We arrived at a fully televised kickboxing match. Shaz, Damo and us were the only white people there so we were given front row seats to this free game jam-packed full of locals. Obviously the movie cameras were moving around our faces and we were looked at continuously. But the reason I’m glad I went was that these people need something to smile at, to relax with, enjoy the moment in while looking to the future and not the past. These people were looking at us and smiling. They wanted us there. Tourism is what will get this very shaken country towards a better future.

These horrendous images and people’s stories will stay with us forever. But it’s a reality in the world we live in. When you travel and open your eyes you see so much – of the good and the bad. Every story needs to be told and every story needs to be heard, no matter how hard it is to hear.
This has been our first day in Cambodia.

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