I always had a rough idea of Cambodia's recent history, what we saw today though left me feeling empty and shocked at what happened here. In summary
During the Vietnam War US bombing of Viet Cong extended to Cambodia, as a result some 800,000 civilians are estimated to have perished and the communist party started to strengthen as a result. In an attempt to halt the spread of communism the US turned to bombing the Khmer Rouge.
When air strikes were halted in 1973 the Khmer Rouge took control of Phnom Penh and the country in 1975. Under the regime of Pol Pot some 1.7 to 3 million people were either executed or died of starvation. Anyone who was linked to the previous regime, educated or religious was executed
In November 1978, Vietnam invaded Cambodia to stop Khmer Rouge incursions across the border and the genocide of Vietnamese in Cambodia.
Violent occupation and warfare between the Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge holdouts continued throughout the 1980s. Peace efforts began in Paris in 1989, culminating two years later in October 1991 in a comprehensive peace settlement.
Two of the more prominent reminders of the Khmer Rouge regime are the Killing Fields and the S.21 detention center. Both sites are a few km outside of the city and easily reached via tuk tuk. Below: Shelley and our Driver, what goes for a petrol station on the outskirts of town
As a result of the genocide that took place during the 70's over 50% of Cambodia's population is under the age of 25. The site outside Phnom Penh contains a mass grave of about 20,000 people. Most killed using farming tools to save bullets. As we walked towards the large monument (below) in the center of the fields I suddenly realised that it was filled, floor to ceiling with human skulls, some 8,000 of them. It gets worse.
Below is a photo I took from a distance of the mass graves, I couldn't bring myself to take a photos close up. As we walked through the field with our guide he pointed out where the rain was washing away the top soil, exposing the clothes and remains of those killed. Not at all pleasant.
So after we were totally drained of emotion a visit to the S.21 detention center (below) just about finished us off. Now a museum, the full detail of what happened here is told. I cant bring myself to repeat the story it tells. The old cells now house the photos taken by the Khmer Rouge of the genocide victims. After a guerrilla campaign the last of the Khmer Rouge surrendered in 1999, the UN War crime trials for the surviving leaders are expected to start this year.
Everyone in Cambodia was affected in someway by what happened in the 70's, our driver lost 20 members of his family. I don't have the words to express how sad we felt today.
On a lighter note Cambodia seems to be bouncing back fast, tourism playing a major part in this. Last year nearly 2 million people visited the Kingdom. So far we have found this to be an amazing country, the people are some of the friendliest I have met on our travels and there is always something to make you smile.
For instance the above floating bar in Phnom Penh, focused on customer happiness. It's sign below reads "Buy 1 beer get 2 free"
What every bar needs is a rug seller (below) When not trying to sell you his rug, this little chap provided a ferry service across the lake.
For dinner we met up with a friend of a friend who has lived out here for 7 years, working for various Non Government Organisations such as the UN. She took us to a traditional Khmer restaurant, apparently non one she knew had ever had the tarantula. Sounds like a challenge ;-)
I only managed to eat the one, not that bad really. In case your wondering the sauce on the plate was mint.
Summary: A very sad past but its great to see the optimism and happiness of the Cambodians today
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