The Killing Fields - 1/2

Today I decided to break down the blog into two different posts simply because today had a larger tonal shift than if you were to splice bits of the Human Centipede into a My Little Pony movie.   

After getting up, morning routine blah blah blah we took a Tuktuk roughly 15km out of the city to Choeung Ek, The Killing Fields.  The compound was initially an orchard until, in 1975 Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge took over and twisted the space.  In some ways you're in utter disbelief because the total amount of people killed is almost beyond comprehension. Between the years 1975-1979 it's estimated that Pol Pot killed 20% of the Cambodian population.  That's around 2.5 million deaths due to wrongful arrests, disease and malnutrition.  

Entering through the front gate had the feeling of walking into a concentration camp.  The orchard / compound bordered on three sides by walls with a lake on the remaining side.  The admission was six American dollars which included an audio tour so it's a very fair price.  The tour leads you around the open compound commenting on the spaces where buildings once stood and on the several, visible mass graves.  The guide explains that every few months the keepers of the site have to walk around to gather any bone fragments or teeth that are still being unearthed by rain or wind.  In the tour you hear several of the few survivors telling their stories and explaining what life was like under the tyranny of the Khmer Rouge.

What astounds me most is how needless it all was. Two and a half million people died just because one insane, paranoid man had a twisted dream for the world.  If the deaths had meaning it would, not justify it, but have it make more sense in my brain.  This was just needless slaughter of millions for no gain or any, for lack of a better word, purpose.  

It's amazing how, through all of this, the Cambodian people haven't turned bitter or cruel. They are outspoken, at least in museums, about creating a world of Peace Culture.  To learn from the past and to ensure that this never happens again, for any country. 

My next post will be about the rest of my day, which ended up being way more cheerful. I just thought this deserved it's own post.  

G-