At last, I got a chance to see a glimpse of the horrific past of Cambodia. Pol Pot, the man behind it all, is also called ‘Hitler of Cambodia’. Almost 1/4th of then population of Cambodia was wiped out during his rule. At least two million people were killed.
Whole families were wiped out including kids so that they could never stand up to take revenge against them for their parents’s deaths. There is a tree at Choeung Ek which was used to kill these kids. The kids were killed by having their heads bashed against its trunks. There is another tree called the ‘Magic tree’ on which a loudspeaker was hung and and made sounds louder than the moans and cries of people who were executed.
It’s an experience to be at this place.
More than 8000 corpses have been excavated from more than 80 graves.
Still there are more than 30 mass graves left un-excavated.
These skulls and other bones are kept at different levels in the Stupa.
The chief of S-21 (headquarters of Khmer Rouge), Duch, one of the persons behind this torture is still alive! So much for the Justice!
"one of the worst human tragedies of the last century." - the Yale University Cambodian Genocide Program
Stupa, Choeung Ek, The Killing Fields
The Killing tree
2 comments:
So horrific. I can't imagine how you must have felt visiting the Killing Fields.
Sobering post. Amazingly lit and produced photos!
I was absolutely compelled by this place back when I visited it in 2009. The sad history of the place and the vibrant-friendly reality of modern day Cambodia make it a must-see place for any backpacker moving around South East Asia.
Post a Comment