Choeung EK Memorial in Phnom Penh and the Killing fields in Cambodia
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Pol Pot reigned in Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. In this short time he managed to kill a third of the population of Cambodia. A maniacal act of disgrace that was reigning this country with the acceptance of most of the world. Long time after Hitler, when the whole world knew what dictators are capable of doing, the world leaned back and watched how one individual educated in France was capable to kill a third of the population of his own country by blending and lying the public.
Mass graves of Choeung EK and killing fields in Cambodia
Choeung EK is one of the many mass graves and killing fields in Cambodia and one of the most accessible. About 15 kilometers south of Phnom Penh lays this memorial, which has a towering monument where over nine thousand human skulls are piled up and cataloged. The monument should remember visitors of 1975 when the Khmer Rouge took over the country.
When walking around the place you get an audio guide that explains the story. Survivors and people who were in charge back then tell their side of the story. A very touching story and very detailed. You will pass the many mass graves where you can still see cloths from the victims and you will pass many other travelers who are crying their eyes out while listening to their stories.
The Khmer Rouge slaughtered more than 17.000 of their countrymen in this “killing field” within 4 years.
The Killing Tree: Infants were thrown against the tree to break their head
Pol Pots was so paranoid that he ordered to kill the whole educated class from Cambodia – doctors, teachers, lawyers, professors, engineers and many others – which was targeted with precision. Anybody with glasses was on the list. The killing of millions is a loss from which the country still suffers.
The past is history, today is more important!
I am happy that I went to see this place and that I learned more about this country and its past. It makes you appreciate it much more. Anybody over 40 nowadays has experienced this tragedy and when you talk to them they agree that it was a terrible time but that it belongs to the past and that only today is important. They somehow accepted what happened and are ready to move on. They are happy and love to laugh. An incredible folk these Cambodians and just being around them for a few days taught me a lot about how to see things in life.
The many graves of Choeung EK
Have you ever been there? How was it for you? Were you also traumatized afterwards?
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Choeung Ek is so impressive, in a dark way. It really leaves a feeling of all that can go wrong in the world, much like a WW2 concentration camp.
Have you visited the Tuol Sleng prison as well? Well worth a visit.
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I didn’t visit anything afterwards. I was too devastated that I went to a nice restaurant by the river and read and thought about the history of this country!
Choeung Ek in combination with a visit to Tuol Sleng Prison (which was even more devastating for me) was a deeply touching experience. I am ashamed, I did not really know anything about it before…
same here, I didn’t know much about the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot before I visited Phnom Penh…
Cambodia was one of my favorite places to visit because it was such a great history lesson for all those of us who didn’t grow up knowing a thing about Pol Pot. At the same time, just thinking about the sites we visited makes me want to cry.
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All my life I have been able to sense things. Sometimes strongly, sometimes not at all. I have been to many places where many died unnecessarily; where innocent people were slaughtered. I take my kids with me to see these places so they can learn the barbarity of man and what they must never be a part of. However, nothing prepared me for the killing fields. Perhaps it is because it is a place where you don’t see instruments of torture; of imprisonment. It is just a field and little more. I felt so much that I could not control the energy that emitted from that place. I know many can’t feel this kind of energy but can understand and sympathise because they know the history. It was overpowering. I began to shake and sob, so badly my kids were afraid. Even I was. What I felt was this: absolute acceptance. A resignation that they could do nothing. There was pain, and there was despair, there was fear but mostly there was just an acceptance. In the end I had to pull myself together for the kids but I just wanted to sit and weep there until I could cry no more. Since then I have seen many pictures of the killing fields and felt a sadness in the memory of what I felt then but now as I look at the photograph of the grass above I feel it again, a lesser degree of course but it’s there. There is no mistaking it is there.
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I had a similar experience as you had… I was crying for an hour on a bench near the small lake and couldn’t believe what I was hearing from the audio device. All their stories were just incredibly touching!
I’ve been to Phnom Penh twice ans still haven’t made it to The Killing Fields, which is a disgrace. I will have to return someday.
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It’s a very sad story Alex, be ready for it when you do visit! I think if I would have been prepared at least a little bit I wouldn’t have been that devastated!
I was there and it did have a strong effect for me, specially as I too went to Tuol Sleng right after being here. Didn’t you notice how even the earth smells strange in Choeung? Best decision after visiting these two places was to visit an orphanage- the kids were so happy to see visitors, totally cheered me up.
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While I understand the importance of places like this (I went to the Hiroshima War Memorial), I’m wrecked for DAYS after.
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I found this a very difficult place to visit but so important to see.
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I’ve heard about the tree; even hearing about it was horrifying. What people do with for the power, amazes me.
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When I was there and I read that sign on the tree and walked on that soil, mixed with human bone fragments, I couldn’t say a single word, and when I think about it I cannot even express the feeling of sadness and desolation that I have.
I really haven’t been to any sites like this yet, but I think they’re important. Travel isn’t just about having a good time, it’s about learning and understanding our world.
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Nice shots you have here. Good thing you have visited Cambodia, i’ve been dreaming ever since to come to this place. Good luck to your future travels.
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Thank you Naomi. If you ever make it to Cambodia. Make sure you go to Choeung EK!
Nice pics. And beautifully written. It almost made me see it through your eyes. Places like this, however eerie, I think are must visits to truly get a sense of a place’s history. Everything, from the beautiful to the morose make it what it is today. Kind of reminds me of my audio guide walk through Ayutthaya in Thailand. They really brought it to life, and I felt myself flinch when I heard the swish of the sword as they enacted a scene of a beheading. Thank you for this article. It is food for thought.
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Thank you for your nice words Revati. I’m glad you like it!
We have been there as well and it is a very heavy place to visit.
It is good to have these memorials around so that people don’t forget what happened and so that they never let it happen again. Cambodia is such an incredible country and the people are so warm and so beautiful despite what happened to them not to long ago.
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I was in two minds about whether to even go here. Was it moral to visit? Did I really want to see it? But I’m glad I did. It’s something everyone should see, to even attempt to comprehend what people can do to each other.
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