A country mode of transport and the History of the Khmer Rouge regime

The next day was a difficult day for many of the visitors as we knew we were in for a sobering time to see the "killing fields" of the terrible internal war that was the Cambodian tragedy of the Khmer Rouge regime.... but before we saw that, we were in for a treat with a convoyed trip by Brahmin cow powered cart rides along a dirt road....! 

The Cambodian country folk are used to making transportation out of almost any opportune moment. As tourists, we were presented with a rather unusual form of transport - being transported on a thinly veiled cushioned cart being propelled by two Brahmin cows and a cart master. We were loaded two at a time on to a cart, ladies first then the man. Once assembled the convoy of 16 or so carts started to to traverse the route, with the cart master making various cow-like noises in an attempt to relay the route in cow-talk. I'm not sure who was having more fun.... the tourists on the carts or the locals laughing at how stupid these tourists could be! We had to avoid the "cow landmines' (piles of cow dung) that were strategically located along the road in addition to ensuring we held on to the cart as we leisurely made our way along the dirt road. We waved to the children who looked on in laughter and bewilderment as 16 cow drawn carts passed them. We finally made our way to our pre-arranged bus pick up.

The Khmer Rouge 

Arriving back at our boat for lunch, we were in some trepidation at the prospect of visiting the killing fields of Cambodia. What we learned was sobering to say the least, with a real life experience recollection of his life during the Khmer Rouge era by our guide, Sean. 

This part of the Cambodian history is almost too painful to write. I will leave those who have both experienced and witnessed the atrocities committed during this painful time to give their recollections in more detail. I will, however, at least give my own impressions of this dark time in Cambodian history.

At first I did not want to visit the sites that had been selected to inform us of what had happened in the years under the Khmer Rouge. However, having heard the painful memories from our guide Sean, it made me realise that I would be both insulting and disrespectful of those who had bravely agreed to share their horrific terror and sadness under this oppressive regime. So I did indeed visit the sites of the torture and eventual demise of those interred during this time.

The categorisation of persons into age groups, intelligentsia and farmers was the main way of identifying who the Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot saw as his main way of maintaining order and suppressing any potential uprising against his rule. This led to separation of children at age 8 from their parents, amongst other awful things and thus began a series of events that appeared to brainwash children into a et of beliefs inline with the identifying those, including their relatives and parents who might be educated or seen as a threat to the regime. I cannot begin to imagine the terror and psychological toll this has had on the current population that is today aged 45 years and upwards.... But I can only relay how the residence of those I have met is awe inspiring. 

We visited an infamous site called S21 (Tolerations Sleng Genocide Museum) which was originally a secondary school that was used as a security prison by the Khmer Rough regime from 1975-1979. It imprisoned an estimated 20,000 people during this time. During their incarceration, inmates were subjected to horrific psychological and bodily torture. I cannot bring myself to relay what I was told. Suffice to say it was truly horrific. 

We also visited the Choeung Ek Genocidal Center in Cambodia, also known as the "killing fields" of Pnohm Pehn, Cambodia. These killing fields were in operation between 1975 and 1979 and were the location of where the Khmer Rouge regime carried out the extermination of those deemed to be opponents or potential undesirables. No guns were used to commit the killings, instead farm tools and other sharp or blunt everyday farming objects were employed. It is not know exactly how many were slaughtered in these fields but estimated to be around one million in this site alone. There were other sites around Cambodia where similar killings were perpetrated. To say this was a graphic memorial would be an understatement - the central of the Choeung Ek Genocidal Center was a glass sided brick tower displaying around 8000 human skulls excavated from the site. The remainder of the site was left in tact as a reminder of the human tragedy.

The resilience and determination of the Cambodian people can be clearly seen as they try to rebuild and re-stock lost vast swaths of society that include doctors, teachers, policemen and other professions. The positive attitude, considerate culture and caring nature is a testament to the people of Cambodia.