Phnom Penh - Visit to the Sites of the Khmer Rouge Reign of Terror

Today, I focused on Cambodia's more recent history; specifically, visiting two memorial sites from the reign of terror of the 'Khmer Rouge' under Pol Pot from 1975 until liberation in 1979. I must admit; it's extremely heavy material that one needs to process...

After breakfast, I first visited the 'Killing Field Choeung Ek'. This is located a little outside of Phnom Penh, so I ordered a tuk-tuk for the 45-minute drive. Although there isn't much to see on-site anymore, you are guided through individual stations by a very good and impactful audio guide where executions of approximately 20,000 people took place. Witness accounts from perpetrators and the few surviving victims are repeated throughout. During the nearly four-year rule of the Khmer Rouge, almost 1/4 to 1/3 of Cambodia's population perished due to the communist regime (about 1.7 to 3 million people; the numbers vary widely). Anyone who could even remotely be considered an opponent to the regime was barbarically victimized by the regime's enforcers. Even someone young who wore glasses was classified as intellectual and thus was considered dangerous... The Killing Field was ultimately the final destination for the inmates of the Toul Sleng (S21) prison. This was my next stop of the day. This former school complex was converted into a torture prison, where confessions of conspiracy against the state were tortured out of the inmates. Of the 12,000 to 20,000 inmates, only 12 (!), as far as known, survived. This memorial site is also very impressive, and the audio guide recounts many incredibly barbaric fates. I deliberately chose not to include some images of what I saw here. A heavy part of the travel impressions seen but important for the culture of remembrance against dehumanizing genocides...