Learning Culture

Today is our official 3rd day in Cambodia.  The last few days have been spent learning about the culture, history, etc.  I’m sad to say that before this month, I was oblivous to Cambodia’s history.  I knew it had gone through some hard times, but I didn’t know details.  On Tuesday, we received a concise briefing of Cambodia’s history.  One of the things that surprised me was that some of the things, some of the horrible things, occured in
my life time.  It is easy when things are long ago and you can blame on the “old times” or “they didn’t know any better then,” but they did.  I was disgusted as I learned more  about America’s contribution to some of the deaths.  Later that night, we watched the documentary film, “The Killing Fields.”  I began to see more of the chaos, evil, pride, and corruption that occurred. 

Yesterday, we did a tour of the city.  We started out at Tuol Sleng (S21) prison in Phnom Penh.  The place was originally a school, but was changed into a prison and interrogation center by the Khmer Rouge (a political group). We had an  hour to walk around the prison.  We first walk through 3 stories of rooms with one bed and torture equipment where  men and women were tortured for information.  They were shackled and locked in rooms with no bathroom facilities or mosquito nets.

We proceeded on to walk past the gallows which was a place where they would hang upside down and dip them into buckets of water to get information from them.  In the next building, we found room after room after room filled with faces of people that had been killed, many of them innocent, educated people killed in the mass genocide.

In these rooms, we saw paintings of people being tortured.  I think seeing those was one of the hardest parts.  An interesting fact about those paintings where that they were painted by a man that was one out of the seven survivors of 12,000 people.  We walked through rooms with small cells and you could see the tally marks on the walls from counting the days. 

We then went to the Russian market.  Its sad that we’ve been to so many markets this year and they all see the same, that some of us sat outside and drank iced coffees, the sign said the best in Phnom Penh, so we’re out to see if that’s true.  So far, so good!  After the market we ate a Cambodian meal of fried noodles and chicken.  We are back to the land of rice and unidentified chicken parts.  Oh, the joys of eating international food.  You honestly don’t ever know what you will get.

Our last and final stop was to the killing fields.  This is where the men and women would come after the Toul Sleng prison.  We saw pictures on the documentary, saw pictures at the prison, and now we were seeing them for real.  We were welcomed by a huge building filled with skulls, bones, and clothes.  We walked further in to see pools of water where bodies used to lay, inbedded in the ground is clothing from the people that has come up.  We could find teeth on the ground.  We were told that when a big rain comes, a stench enters the air and you can find more clothes and teeth as they come from deep in the ground.  It brought huge reality to the events.  I don’t think I could wipe the disgusted look off my face. 

Overall, I am thankful that we get to be students of the culture and a chance to learn and see what their history is.  I would encourage you all to do some research on these issues if you have not before.  It is interesting and will break your heart!  It has helped me to get a better idea of what the Cambodians have experienced!