On our arrival in Cambodia (Phnon Pehn) for $7 the tuk tuk driver assures of a good place to go because the places we want to go are too expensive, we have't slept in 24 hours and we lost the strength to barter for anything so its a leap of faith as we dodge traffic through the streets. It was as chaotic a scene as i can remember.We went past some fairly nice hotels some impressive buildings but as we started to turn off the main road it was clear that with our budget accommodation. You pay for what you get in life, we paid $4, we live in a run down part of town along side locals this place used to be vibrant with back packers that was when there was a lake.... (the Chinese drained it to build hotels!)
When we arrived we were then bombarded by deals, offers, name it we were offered it.... we went to bed.
Walking around town it is a real mix of beautiful buildings and amazing history, but every now and then there is a reminder of the plight in Cambodia, for example the young boy clinching his hands begging for money just as we had eaten. On the sign where our guesthouse is, which asked people to report any evidence of people involved in child sex tourism because its rife in these parts, you can see it with your own eyes.
On the plus side the food is great, i was even close to trying a spider.... next time. the People are quite timid but very proud of there country. The Angkor beer advert a good example " my beer my country" it feels as if with the Vietnam alliance and the use of US dollar its clear to me that the Cambodian want something to call there own which is a nice change to Malaysia.
But the real reason we have come to Phnom Pehn was to ""ünderstand"" the Kymer Rouge Regime and how it affected the people and the country. Me and Amy had a real thirst for this knowledge and were looking forward to finding out why Pol Pot did what he did so off to the S21 prison (Tuol sleng) and the killing fields (Choeng Ek) we went.
We got a Tuk Tuk to S21 by a man named Sally we went with him as he had a sign saying ""I wont ask you for Tuk Tuk if you need one please talk to me" which was a refreshing change and he was a nice man indeed. Sally told us when he dropped us off at Tuol Sleng that he lost 5 of his family To the Kymer rouge regime, including his dad and sister, with tears in his eyes.
I wish Amy was writing this blog as i have been trying to forget about yesterday , i thought that S21 would be upsetting sure, i felt that i was almost briefed about how to feel but the feeling i had walking round that museum I have never experienced before. I had to remove my self from rooms as the feeling in there felt like something bad lingering. I felt heavy and sick. The museum is now what an old high school once was before being turned into a prisin camp. The rooms haven't been changed since 1979, the scratches on the wall from the prisoners to the blood stains on the floor. Photos of the victims on the walls staring back at you like ghosts from the past it really cut to the core. Young boys and girls glaring back at you scared, some angry some confused, in pictures knowing they were to be tortured until they admitted they were spies and their crimes were that they did their homework and were top of the class or had a good job as a doctor or teacher. So their crime was intelligence. This place was designed for pure evil a place of education was turned into hell. the museum was a way for everyone to visit to learn from the mistakes of the past.
Next we were off to the place where they would go on and be killed and buried if they admitted to "crimes" which people often did to stop the horrific torture, not because they were guilty. We walked around and had an audio tour guide, the place is so tranquil these days and at peace with so much nature there now, but the audio tour guide soon showed us the reality. Pieces of cloth come to the surface everyday we could even see teeth in the soil.... The people of Cambodia still have no justice for what happened, even Pol Pot remarried after these events and lived until he was nearly 90. But thankfully there was some justice as in a court case 2 years ago the head of the S21 was taken to the killing fields and was placed at the killing tree and was made to listen to the story. The Tree was next to a pit, this pit was used to bury mothers and children (family of the accused) but even worse when the Vietnamese found the tree it had bits of hair and brain in the bark, they had used the tree to smash babys skulls against before tossing them into the pit. The Kymer rouge did this as they believe to kill a ""tree you must dig up the roots also"".
With this story the man that ran S21 fell to his knees and finally admitted responsibility.
Nearly 3 million Cambodians lost there life due to the Pol Pot regime.
I am sorry to be so depressive but they were the facts, me and Amy were just mentally drained yesterday but today is a new day, we booked a ticket to Siem Reap, we leave tomorrow. We drank sugar cane juice from the central market and I just saw Norwich won 4-1 - So we are all systems go!
I hope all is well back home and your new years resolutions are still intact
Take care
Love Adam
No comments:
Post a Comment