Phnom Phen



S21 prison



Today has represented somewhat a change of tack from the previous week, and it has been both humbling and sombering. We booked a tuk tuk to take us to the notorious S21 prison in phnom pehn and the killing fields just outside of the city. The prison was pretty horrific. It is no longer operational but was a former school that was siezed by the khmer rouge (communist party) in 1974. Over the next 5 years around a third of Cambodians were killed (3m+) and S21 was the point of arrival for many. We were told that the leader of the party (Pol Pot) ordered all intellectual people and the wealthy (doctors, teachers, lawyers) etc be taken to S21, where they were tortured and held for a number of months before being taken by lorry to the kiling fields and beaten to death. The Khmer Rouge considered that the less intellegent would be much easier to control.

They kept detailed records and pictures of all of those processed through S21 and there was pictures of them at arrival hung throughout the prison, along with blood etc in the cells and the torture machines and methods.



Open graves at the killing fields



We were then taken to the largest killing field in Cambodia, although this is only one of 345 around the country. The captives were bought here and killed on the day of arrival and thrown into huge open graves. We were told that the rouge had brainwashed children between 8 - 15 years old who were the one's who would be beating people to death. Pretty horrific stuff. We were shown things like a tree that they used to kill babies against infront of their mothers, who would then also be killed.



Since control was regained in 1979 a monument to those who were

 9,985 skulls in memorial

killed has been built, and contains the skulls of 9,985 victims, whilst many have never been exhumed. During the rainy season dirt is washed away and there are bits of bone and clothing sticking out of the top soil pretty much everywhere you look. Sorry to be so explicit but this blog also serves as a diary for myself and it's something that was really very affecting. The world was not aware that these autrocities were going on until control of Cambodia was regained with the assistance of the vietnamese army in 1979. A number of journalists from the USA and europe had tried to report on this but their remains were also recovered from the killing field when the remains were extracted in the 1980s.

So today has been quite an eye opening experience. Whilst Pol Pot died of natural causes in 1998 and was never brought before a courtroom, his 5 most senior generals were (or are awaiting) trial in Cambodia, one of which recieived 35 years. Many of the Cambodian people had only a choice of serve the party or be killed, and those involved are now free and have never been charged. It is difficult to know how to view those walking the streets around me over the age of 40, as you know that they have seen some awful, awful things, but for all I know they may have been actively involved. Only 7 people ever made it out of the prison alive.

So it has been quite an emotional day for us all, tommorrow I head off on my own again to a place called sianouk ville (or something) where I'm going to chill out a bit and do some more diving. The last six weeks or so has been pretty manic and I have only had a chance to lie down on a beach for one day, so it will be nice to relax and soak up some rays!