Today, we had a day off and decided to visit the killing fields here in Cambodia. I had no idea of the history of this country and the devastation that has taken place in such recent years. It is kind of hard to believe that the country is still going on after such hurt and turmoil have taken place.
In 1975, the Khmer Rouge click tried to create a perfect and pure society by wiping out the country and pretty much starting from scratch. Three million adults and children were brutally beaten and killed during this time and their country has suffered greatly because of it. The killings ended in 1979 but the torture of the people’s hearts continues to dwell within everywhere you look.
It was hard coming to this country after leaving the Philippines and seeing such joy and happiness everywhere you looked. The Philippines people were very loving and affectionate just like me which is the completely opposite of Cambodia. I guess I had never ventured to think about the fact that there might be a society in the world that was truly oppressed as a whole, truly broken to pieces and be able to feel their pain and notice the differences in societies right away. Had I not been in the Philippines the month before, I doubt I would have ever been able to notice the state of pain that hovers over this country but I thank God that I am able to feel for the people here. God is so amazing in every little detail of the purpose He has planned for our lives and it is just so cool to recognize and witness how every step of the process works out so often.
The brutal deaths that this society has experienced in the last thirty years have been pretty radical and the strength that they have maintained as a country is really impressive. Three million, yes, THREE MILLION LIVES were taken because of a group of people that felt they could have things their way and create a society of their own dreams or fantasy land. They were beaten, starved, tortured, terrorized and so forth before being killed. They were killed for just about anything and everything. Looking western or being educated, religion, rebellion against what they believed, etc. were all reasons for being captured and tortured to death. People were living scared for their lives and made to do things that would haunt them for the rest of their days if they even made it out alive. All of this really seems so far away when studying it from a history class or seeing it on the news but to hear that that very history was not so long ago and see it in your face to the point that it evokes emotion is pretty mind blowing and life changing to say the least.
We walked through the gates of a killing field at 8:30 a.m. this morning to see a beautiful temple and an array of greenery in all directions. We went straight for the temple to look up towards 17, yes, 17 STORIES of skulls and bones in clear glass cases on display of the actual lives that were taken during that time period. If that is not realistic enough for you then, I really don’t know what is. My stomach started to turn from the second we walked up to the building. God was stirring something inside of my heart for His people in a different way than ever before. We continued walking to see all of the holes in the ground of the millions of dead bodies that were piled around in this field and the trees that were used to bang baby’s skulls against to kill them on impact. And yes, you also read that correctly. That sentence was not an error in typing or some kind of mistake. There were still remains of bones in the ground all over the place on the dirt paths that we walked and the remains of their tattered clothing all piled up on display just representing the real lives of these people’s reality.
My heart was broken for these people and walking around with the people who took us there knowing that they probably had family members who experienced this or they may even remember it happening themselves. We read more about the people who created this genocide and my heart went through a lot of discomfort thinking about the lives they have affected and the scars they have left on an entire generation and that is also being rubbed off on the future generations as well.
After we left the killing fields, they took us to the actual jail where they would bring many victims to torture and kill before shipping them to the fields. This place was more realistic than ever and kind of hard to stomach. The first building showed graphic photos of actual people that were tortured and the rooms, beds and chains that they took place in. I was stepping foot in the actual rooms where these people lied suffering, bleeding and crying out in pain before being killed. To put it lightly, it may have been kind of a rough day in the emotions department. Moving along to the second building brought even more surprises of tons of photos of every victim brought to the premises and some more photos of their graphic and brutal suffering. My heart was pretty much bleeding for them at this point but wait there’s tons more. The third building held even smaller cells made of bricks and some of wood smaller than a child’s playhouse and chains drilled into the floors to make sure they couldn’t move around within their small area. They were numbered and some had no source of light or signs of life. Just you in a cell in the dark attached to a chain knowing you are probably going to die and maybe they have even taken your child already and hearing the screams and moans of hundreds of others in the cells next to you. Oh yea, and all of your identity has also been stripped away at this point considering you are just a number painted on the wall in blue paint. And in case for some reason you might want to try to escape or try to go ahead and put yourself out of your own misery, they have barbed wire surrounding the entire building and when I say surrounding, I don’t just mean spiraled up in circles around the top of a wall, I mean huge pieces lining the buildings to the point that there is only one small entry way that has been cut out for the murderers to walk in and out of the building through. The fourth building contained more photographs and stories of people who are still living today that were either forced to work in this prison camp or experienced family members dying during this time. Most expressing feelings on why not all of these people have even seen their court dates up until today even.
This country does not believe in God. 93% of them serve Buddha and do not have a clue what an intimate relationship with their Father and Creator even looks like. Their faces and hearts yearn to feel what true love feels like and experience true joy within themselves. They are passing down this burden of depression on the children and newer generations that are being brought up. I just want to see them belt out so much laughter from their guts that their abs are still hurting the next day. I want to be able to share the healing that God can bring to their bleeding hearts. I want them to be able to feel their Father’s sweet embrace and covering. I know God cries out for them and I want to allow Him to work through me to create change here. His heart is broken for this country and He will not give up on them. He will send His people here time and time again until He hears them belt out true laughter from the pits of their souls in His name and they embrace one another with affection again and love just breaks out all over the place like a massive flood that cannot begin to be reckoned with.
I pray for change within their country because I know their country has created change within me.
