This post will be a little bit more depressing. I think everyone should read this and look into the horrible genocide that took place here in the late 70's. Without getting into too much details about the happenings, I would like to share my summarized version. Along with my thoughts and feelings upon my second tour of the S-21 Genocide Museum.
Pol Pot and the Promise of Revolution.
Keep in mind at this time America was in a war with Vietnam. America also bombed many parts of Cambodia, but I won't go into that much mostly because I don't know the exact details as to why. Cambodia was a war torn country. Pol Pot or Brother Number One enters in with the promise of rebuilding a crumbling society. Naturally many people sided with him. That's when the chaos started. Phnom Penh was evacuated, and many people were shipped off to the provinces to work in labor camps. People that were believed to be enemies to the revolution were taken to prisons such as S-21 the elementary school now turned torture camp/prison. Prisoners were interrogated to find out who had connections to CIA, KGB, or other agencies that could potentially overthrow Pol Pot. S-21 is now a museum, as well as a memorial to the people that were killed there.
My 2nd Visit to S-21
After my mission, my family and I went to the prisons. I had not been to the prison yet, because I knew my family would be coming back with me to Cambodia. My first time through I remember it being very sad, but something was different this time around. Maybe it's because on my mission we went day to day hearing horrific stories about that time period. Now (being 3 years since my last visit.) There was a greater reverence as well as a sullen feeling that hung over me. Upon entering S-21 there are two ladies at the front desk (you can always see them get ready to talk in English and you can tell they get a little nervous.) So naturally she was surprised when I spoke in Cambodian. I paid for my ticket and picked up my audio headset. It was nice to go by myself to really take the time to look at the pictures. The first stop is a memorial to the last 12 people that were killed in S-2. When the Vietnamese began to regain control over the city, the Khmer Rouge killed any remaining prisoners (with the exception of a couple dozen.) Here are some pictures I took of that monument. At that moment I began to feel the inexplicable feeling that you feel when you visit a place like this. I felt it at Normandy, I felt it at the Holocaust museum in DC, and I felt it today at S-21.
The first building shows the interrogation chambers. (I don't have too many inside pictures because they don't allow them.) Here is a picture outside of building "A"
This is a marker the signifies this as a place of historical value, and a place of remembrance.
This picture shows a little bit of the courtyard, as well as the barbed wire fence that surrounds the compound.
These next two pictures shows a method of torture that was enacted on the prisoners. They would tie their hands behind their back and lift them up until they passed out. Immediately after they passed out, the torturers would dunk the prisoners heads in those clay jars and they would be full of human waste. This was only one of the methods that they used, and I didn't get the pictures of the others, because they were indoors.
I forgot the name of this tree, but I know why it's there! This tree is believed to provide refuge for wandering or lost spirits. Planted there for obvious reasons.
Another story I remember from the tour, is one prisoner recollecting that fruit in the courtyard (Jack Fruit and Mango were plentiful) were strictly off limits for prisoners. They only got watered down rice porridge, and that was only a small amount. If they were found picking the fruit, they would be tortured or executed for stealing from the Khmer Rouge. (This is a picture of a Jack Fruit, a favorite fruit of mine.)
Building "B" inside has pictures from the prison, documentation of people that were there, and various other depictions of what happened there. (No pictures)
Building "C" is probably one of the most discomforting places I have been to. They tried to keep the building as original as possible. They kept the cells that were built out of bricks, I tried to imagine being in one, and I couldn't lay down in one. The original cells are intact and you can walk in them. That was really creepy. From this picture you can kind of see where they put barbed wire to keep people from jumping off to try and kill themselves. That shows how dire the situation was.
The final two stops on the tour are monuments to the victims of S-21. There was also a person selling books. I talked with her for a little bit and bought a book. After that I asked her if she had success in her day of selling (boy that sounds bad translated but you get the idea.) She said that this month is usually the worst for selling because it is the rainy season. So I am glad I picked up a book (it's really good too.) Anyway, I sat at this monument for quite sometime just taking in what I had heard on the audio tour. I thought to myself, how could such a thing happen. I have some other thoughts that aren't very nice which I will keep to myself, but one thing said on the audio tour by a German gentleman, I can't remember his name or his position, but he helped set up the museum and such. He said we need to remember these events (both the holocaust and the Khmer Rouge) to prevent them from ever happening again. He said something along the lines of when a leader doesn't have respect to human life or basic human needs, that is a reason to step in and stop that leader.
I took this picture and thought about what it would have been like here. Not knowing if you would ever see your family again, and not knowing if you will ever know freedom again. All around me (now and on my mission) are people struggling still from this 3 and a half year event. The Khmer Rouge believed that an enemy was like a weed, that they needed to pulled up root and all. Pol Pot believed that the educated were his enemy (for good reason.) So children of wealthy, educated, or military backgrounded individuals were taken and killed. This shook and continues to have dramatic consequences to this day. As I stood there and imagined what it would be like, I came to the realization that I would never know truly what it was like. All I can do is learn what happened in this country and do all I can to help. I am really grateful for this opportunity to do just that. With the Cambodian Oral History Project we will take stories just like these and broadcast them on a website that will be available to all.
I hope you all do some research on this, and I hope you enjoyed this section of my blog. If you have any questions about this or just want to talk feel free to email me at tjorgen05@gmail.com, and make sure to subscribe to my blog for more Cambodian adventures. There will be one more blog post later on about the Killing Fields, and I will post that up as soon as I go and get some pictures there.
This other monkey found a dragon fruit husk. I thought it added some flavor to the picture! Silly monkeys.
