Beauty and horror
Trip Start
Sep 17, 2007
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145
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Trip End
Oct 08, 2008
Phnom Penh,
Cambodia
Friday, March 28, 2008
Tuol Sleng is a monument to the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge, which had control of Phnom Penh from 1975-79. In one of the more horrific manifestations of Communism, the Khmer Rouge decided to kill off most of its population, particularly the educated. They tried to turn back the clock (1975 marked Year 0) to a time when a hardened core of peasants ran a small society. They drove almost everyone out of the city and relocated them to camps in the countryside. There they were forced to plant rice which was traded for weapons to fight the Vietnamese
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. People began to starve. Anyone who was educated was considered expendable, and many of these people were killed. When the regime turned paranoid, the educated and suspicious Khmer Rouge members alike were sent to prisons for interrogation. Very few of them were ever seen again. Tuol Sleng was the central prison and interrogation center. It is estimated that more than 14,000 people were sent there during the four years of the Khmer Rouge. Some absurd number like 7 survived. Most of the people sent here were later moved to the Killing Fields outside the city for extermination. We visit that cheery place tomorrow.
We started with a documentary about the Khmer Rouge. It involved a series of letters between husband and wife. They were both killed before they could be reunited after the liberation of Phnom Penh by the Vietnamese. Even better was the book, "The Killing Fields" written by a journalist about his experiences (and more importantly those of his Cambodian assistant) during the revolution. A sad but inspiring read.
I think the fact that Tuol Sleng was a high school, a place of learning, before it's corruption makes it even more terrible
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. In fact, the compound is very beautiful, covered with flowering trees. The "artifacts" in this museum are very simple. In some rooms there is little more than a bed frame and a picture. A terrible picture. Some rooms have pictures of prison staff and their views of their work. All of these pictures are covered in graffiti. Some have paintings of the methods of torture used at the prison. One particular room has hundreds of black and white photos of inmates of the prison. The Khmer Rouge kept meticulous records of the people they killed. Men, women, and children, none of them show any hope or defiance. Just sadness. This exhibit had been opened not long after the Khmer Rouge were defeated. Many people learned the fate of their family members by seeing their pictures in this room.One of the buildings had individual prison cells. A hallway had been smashed straight through the classrooms. Tiny wooden cells were built in rows. I think the most striking part was the yellow and white tiles. It reminded me of a school cafeteria, not a prison. Light was coming through the windows. The whole place was eerily quiet. It felt like a crypt. Even worse were the torture chambers. They often had a large photo showing the inevitable result. A plaque outside posted the rules at the prison. It did not sound like a cheerful place. Signs posted outside show a laughing person with a red line through it. It was unnecessary. Most people didn't even whisper.
We left Tuol Sleng and walked silently towards the Royal Palace. It was probably as beautiful as Tuol Sleng was horrible. Golden buildings rose up everywhere. In between were wonderfully sculpted gardens and bright flowers. Monks on field-trips flitted by with their brilliant orange robes, pausing to take pictures with their cellphone cameras
barbed wire to prevent suicide
. Take a look at the pictures and you can see the distintive... barbs ...that cap the temples. It looks almost alien. Inside the main temple is a green emerald buddha (jade in truth) and a buddha adorned with enormous diamonds. Behind it is a large model of Angkor Wat. The emerald buddha and the model of Angkor Wat also grace the Royal Palace in Bangkok as well. Thailand sacked Angkor and brought back many of its treasures (and Cambodian culture). For my part, although both palaces are impressive, I liked Phnom Penh. We walked back along the lake to our guesthouse. After Vietnam, where satellite TV is standard, it was a bit of a shock. The staff generally forgot to bring you any food you ordered, there was one toilet for, it seemed, the entire hotel, and our light decided whether or not it wanted to work. Back to basics.
~Travis
Comments
The World Map Via you two.
Erin and Travis, Great timing departing southern China. Thanks for the remarkable and comprehensive information on Viet Nam. Your energies are amazing; Um, well, maybe Erin has a little of my legendary resting disposition! Warmest wishes...L, Dad.