Pnomh Penh

In the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, we learned a lot about the genocide that took place in Cambodia not so long ago. In 1975, the Khmer Rouge came to power, led by Pol Pot.  Until 1979, they tortured and killed their own people with the aim of preventing any uprising. 4 million people were killed, meaning 50% of the population was wiped out.

Walking around Pnomh Penh, it's quite noticeable that there aren't many old people - this is because more than 50% of the population are now under 18, with such a massive proportion of the older generation having been killed.

We visited a prison called S-21, where people were either tortured to death, or tortured until they confessed to something they didn't do, before being sent to a killing field to be executed. 20,000 people were prisoners at S-21 during the Khmer Rouge regime, all of whom were killed apart from 12 people who survived by having a talent that made them useful to the Khmer Rouge.

At the prison, we met one of the survivors, Bou Meng, who was an artist and escaped death by painting portraits of Pol Pot. Despite the horrific memories that Bou Meng has of S-21, including the murder of his wife and his own torture, he returns to the prison every day in order to make a living. He even comes face to face with ex-prison guards who carried out torture and killings, as they also return to the prison for interviews with reporters.

Bou Meng

Our tour guide informed us that many members of the Khmer Rouge have not been punished and some are still even in government, but the Cambodian people have to accept this if they want peace.

After the prison, we visited a killing field, where the tour guide told us horrible stories of how men, women, children and even babies were executed.  There were mass graves where bones could be seen below the dirt.

In case you find this blog entry a bit depressing, here's a video of some monkeys playing outside our window in our Pnomh Penh hotel room!: