“I feel extremely pained.
Without the Pol Pot regime,
I would have met my grandfather, my grandmother, my uncle, and my aunts.
Pol Pot’s group were such beasts.”
This is a quote from one of many Cambodians living today. Imagine never meeting your grandmother or grandfather or your aunt or uncle because they were killed…brutally killed with thousands and thousands (and millions) of other Cambodians.
It’s been almost two months since my return from Southeast Asia and the images from the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh, Cambodia are still fresh in my mind. How could they not be when you’ve seen photo after photo similar to the one above? Whether it was the years under the dictatorship of Pol Pot/Khmer Rouge or Vietnam or Henry Kissinger’s sanctioning of the illegal bombing…all have had such a horrific impact on this country.
But, you know what’s amazing? My encounters with the Cambodian people during this visit were filled with gracious, friendly, hard working, forgiving people. Always smiling…smile after smile…young and old. Ones that understood the history and the ones that had no clue.
Why no clue? Because this portion of the history of their country isn’t taught in school. Children won’t learn what Pol Pot and others did to their country. It will be only what their parents choose to tell them…if they can.
It was this visit that allowed me the opportunity to meet two of the few survivors known today. I was honored to have met them and to walk away with their story about what they endured during this time period.
far left – chum mey and third from right – bou meng
chum mey
“I consider them victims just like me, because they had to follow other people’s orders.” “How can I say I would have behaved differently? Would I have had the strength to refuse to kill, if the penalty was my own death?” Chum Mey
bou meng
They were both so adorable and such bright spots after touring room after room of the high school turned prison in the heart of Phnom Penh.
The graveyard above houses 14 gravestones, the remains of the last 14 prisoners who died when the Vietnamese invaded the prison in 1979. The wooden frame with the pots underneath? Originally used by the high school students to exercise…but the Khmer Rouge used it as an interrogation area by hanging the prisoners upside down until they lost consciousness. Then they would dip the prisoners heads into pots of filthy, smelly water until they would gain consciousness in order to continue their interrogation.
Why all the photographs? To prove to the Khmer Rouge leaders that their orders had been carried out…
I asked our guide why on earth would some of the prisoners have smiles on their faces. “They didn’t know what was about to happen to them. To them it was a photograph at that moment. Nothing more.” Little did they know…
nuon chea of the khmer rouge
Their smiles and determination truly touched the very core of my soul…and will never be forgotten. The spirit of the people…this is why I fell in love with Cambodia.
When I read Ms. Shire’s poem, it reminded me of all the places in the world that have (and continue) to endure pain and suffering, but most definitely the people of Cambodia.
later that night
i held an atlas in my lap
ran my fingers across the whole world
and whispered
where does it hurt?
it answered…
everywhere
everywhere
everywhere.
Oh my, Robin. What an experience to see this with your own eyes and meet those gentlemen and hear their stories. I know it will stay in your heart and mind forever.
So very sad and so very scary that these genecides happened to so many people, so many countries and still goes on today.
I still do not have the courage to visit any Holocaust museum. I am of Jewish decent and know that the images will affect me deeply. I was a teen when the movie Roots came out and I still think about it and can’t get those images out if my mind.
Being a teacher in the past, I really love the inspirational teaching movies. One of my favorite is Freedom Writers.
It is so important for everyone to know these horrific events, to teach our children, to make a difference and stop it and never let it happen.
If we Americans think it can’t happen to us, we are sadly mistaken. There is so much going on at this moment that our government keeps from us. Especially what is happening to our military in Iraq and Afganistan.
I admire your courage and your heart. Thank you for sharing.
xoxo
So enjoyed reading your thoughts…thank you for sharing! I find that I need to experience these types of situations, as I was never much into history during school. Now it has so much more of an impact on me. Now I’m off to research Freedom Writers! Thanks for that tip!
Oh, yes…I did see that movie! As soon as I saw Hilary Swank I remembered! Excellent movie!
Words escape me… the haunting photos, the rooms where unspeakable horrors must have taken place, the pots under the wooden frame… so much sadness and heartache… and still it goes on today in our world… I pray everyday for anyone who is being held captive or being abused in anyway throughout the world that they will be delivered from their captivity and abuse be it here in our country, communities, or anywhere in the world… Though my heart and soul aches for those who endure this kind of pain, I am so impressed with the photos of those you show who can smile and say “they were just following orders..” THANK YOU for sharing this post with us. XoXo
It certainly had more impact than I could’ve ever imagined…thanks my dear, always for your comments! xoxo
I have been to the same school and the “Killing Fields” -images which still haunt me. i went to Cambodia 10years ago and true people were open and smiling….but were still struggling with their past and coming to terms with it.And the question of felling responsible….as a German I could utterly understand their inner conflicts.
I did not take pictures while visiting the school….but am glad you did!
Karen, I can’t even imagine ten years ago..so much closer to the time of all their pain and suffering…I can see why you couldn’t photograph it. Thanks, I’m glad I did…because I think so many people are/were clueless as to what really happened in that part of the world. I know I was one of them. Thank you!!
All I can think to say is “Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God.” (Bob Pierce)
Beautiful. Thanks Ginnie!
I’ve got goose bumps all over, literally. So much cruelty, so much beauty, so much wisdom. So very Robin,
I know…It just lingers in my mind…
After my visit to Auschwitz, I was numbed. After seeing this post, I have that same feeling. Like Karen, I was not able to take pictures. But I am so glad you showed your pictures. They show the terror. These pictures say more than a thousand words, if you can even put it into words, what happened there.
I’ve yet to visit Auschwitz, but I can only imagine… I agree, I really think it takes the photos to really share what is happening in this world…
Robin, thank you for taking these photos, for re-telling the story through your lens. We must never forget this. We must tell the story over and over, in hope that perhaps one day we will learn to be better people and to value every life. Every. Life.
I so agree Deborah! Thanks for stopping in!
Thank you for sharing Cambodia with us Robin. My heart is filled to bursting. I had to share this with my son. I do not agree with their not teaching this part of their country’s history. I understand but I don’t agree. It’s similar to what we did with our own history books by omitting discoveries made by African Americans until 1968.
So very powerful. An now you have illuminated the past for many more.