Today was a tremendously sobering day. The horrors humanity is capable of inflicting on itself is at times beyond belief. Today was a day to remember what happens when human dignity is removed from political policy. In 1975 the Khmer Rouge won the Cambodian Civil War by capturing Phnom Penh and overthrowing the government in power. In an effort to make the country a completely self sufficient collectivist agricultural state thousands perished from famine and disease. As the country fell into turmoil the paranoia of its new leaders would result in the regime murdering hundreds of thousands of perceived political opponents. By 1979 1.5 to 3 million people had perished, roughly 25% of the Cambodian population. For more information on this devastating period of Cambodian history wikipedia is a good start: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khmer_Rouge
We absorbed the history at two locations. We started the day at the Killing Field of Choeung Ek. This site is setup as a memorial exhibit with an audio tour that walks you around the property explaining the horrors that occurred. The tour ends at a commemorative stupa that has hundreds of skulls, dug up from the surrounding mass graves, displayed seven levels high. Due to the expense of bullets the victims were killed via various blunt objects, the display of skulls clearly indicated what object was likely used to kill them.
The next stop was more informative and much more personal. The former Tuel Sleng prison, a high school turned into a prison used by the Khmer Rouge, is now a museum and memorial to the victims of the genocide. Known as S21 (Security Prison 21) an estimated over 17000 people were taken through this interrogation facility before all but a couple dozen ending up dead at Choeung Ek. The museum contains hundreds of photographs and stories of the victims that passed through here.
"Altogether, a visit to Tuol Sleng is a profoundly depressing experience. There is something about the sheer ordinariness of the place that make it even more horrific; the suburban setting, the plain school buildings, the grassy playing area where several children kick around a ball, ousted beds, instruments of torture and wall after wall of harrowing black-and-white portraits conjure up images of humanity at its worst. Tuol Sleng is not for the squeamish." https://www.tourismcambodia.com/travelguides/provinces/phnom-penh/what-to-see/20_toul-sleng-genocidal-museum-s-21.htm
The horrors we were reminded of today were sobering. The message of survivors is one of peace and to never let politics outweigh human dignity. We as humans need to speak up and be brave when policies and politics take away people's rights and liberties. The slope is too often a slippery one. May the victims rest in peace.
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