It is definitely hard to describe this sensation, but there is a noticeable undercurrent of influence from the Khmer Rouge genocide still felt in this country. I think it certainly underlies the work we are doing here and obviously much of the development and social work in Cambodia as well.
This undercurrent was made even more clear to me upon visiting the Tuol Sleng Genocide museum here in Phnom Penh. The museum is actually only about a 5 minute walk from the volunteer house and right next to one of our new favorite restaurants in the city, the Boddhi Tree.
Tuol Sleng was formerly a high school, but when the Khmer Rouge took over in 1975, they turned the school into a detention, interrogation, and torture facility known as S-21. There are varying reports as to the number of people who were detained at S-21, but they range from about 12,500 to 20,000. What is clear, however, is that only 7 people who were detained at S-21 survived.
The Khmer Rouge detained people from all walks of life, including farmers, engineers, teachers, and students. Many diplomats and officials under the former regime were held and tortured, along with their entire families. Generally the people were held at S-21 and interrogated, and then transported to the Killing Fields for execution.
Today Tuol Sleng has been turned into a genocide museum, but it is unlike any other historical museum I've ever seen. Unlike some other museums commemorating traumatic historical events, this one was incredibly stark and felt very real. It was very easy to picture the former high school classrooms being used for torture. Each room was essentially kept as it was during the Khmer Rouge regime, with one bed in the center of the room with just a metal frame and various instruments of torture around the room. Most rooms had a gruesome picture of a detainee in the room. However, the most chilling part of the museum for me was a room displaying the mugshot pictures of many people who had been detained at S-21. It is very hard to stare into the faces of often very young-looking people who were captured and tortured for no reason besides the fact that they held a certain position in the old regime or that they were considered "intellectuals" by the Khmer Rouge.
Clearly the process of trying to digest the impact of the war and the genocide on this country will take a long time and likely will not be completed during my few short months here. Nevertheless, I am already thinking about how a genocide must affect a country. I wonder what Canada would be like today if we had experienced a genocide within the past few decades. And I wonder what the long-ranging after-effects of current Western interference with foreign countries will be. It is worth remembering that the Khmer Rouge rose to power following the American invasion and secret carpet bombing of Cambodia, which killed an estimated 250,000 people. Despite this horrendous intrusion onto the country, the western world turned its back on Cambodia after the Khmer Rouge came into power. Will that happen again in Iraq or Afghanistan?
3 comments:
I didn't know they had a museum for that, that's excellent. I had read, a long time ago now, that Cambodia was having great difficulty in acknowledging the genocide - particularly through public means such as museums. So, I'm glad to hear that it exists and that you went. I'll want to hear lots more about this aspect of your trip when you get back to Ottawa! And, re: genocide in Canada I'll save you (for now) my genocide of Canada's Indigenous peoples rant. Finally, have you read the Trial of Henry Kissinger? Very interesting (appalling) section in the book on the CIA/American govn'ts involvement in Cambodia. It's a quick quick read and not academic-ish but, a good controversial overview. Glad you seem to be having an amazing time already.
Hi Kevin, It's Aunt Patsy. You are certainly experiencing both the good and the ugly - the gentleness of the old man who blessed you contrasted with the ugly side of humanity displayed in the Khmer Rouge museum. I was deeply affected by the movie "The Killing Fields" and I can well appreciate your musings on present day situations.
I'm glad that you are keeping well and I excitedly await your writings each day. Thanks for opening up this part of the world to me, as I don't anticipate visiting there.But then .... who knows?
Hi Kev, Thanks for keeping a blog of your experiences. I will do my best to keep up with your postings.
I remember the churches in Rwanda had a similar effect on me as the one you described in your note. The first time I went to a massacre site inside what use to be a place of worship really shocked me. I think what caused this reaction was knowing the amount of human suffering that occurred in a place that use to be part of the communities daily life. I think we would have problems working and socializing in the atrium if we knew that people were tortured or killed there. I know that this was the case with the National Stadium in Chile where thousands of people were tortured and killed. After the coup people refused to return to the stadium for many many years.
Take care my friend and have a great time.
PS have you been able to catch the end of 24.
Post a Comment