As you know, in Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge (the Communist Party of Kampuchea) killed more than a million people in different places in the 1970s which we know as the killing field. It has a great historic value and is remembered by all.
And now, these places are renowned as educational markers and historic sites. If you want to understand the rich culture and history of Cambodia, then we will definitely suggest you visit the killing field.
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We admit that the ‘killing field’ is one of the darkest places and it is not that easy to visit it. Hopefully, the informative details of our article will let you know how it feels to see the killing field and what you should do after arriving there.
Guidelines to Explore the Killing Field
You may wonder how it feels to visit the killing field, or what you can see there. You’ll be able to discover the dark history and terror of Phnom Penh’s past there. Let’s discuss this in detail.
Arriving at the Killing Field
Try to arrive there in the morning. Hopefully, you will be able to meet so many visitors around the whole world. On the entry, the monument authority will provide you with an audio pack for your better understanding. On your way around, this audio pack will help to find out or know about what happened in this particular place.
The audio pack is recorded both by the narrator as well as by the people who have survived it. After arriving here, you will definitely learn a lot of things and facts. You will also learn how to be brave.
Anyone who was educated including doctors, teachers, lawyers, and people who had soft hands, and wore glasses, we mean anyone who seemed intelligent was considered for the genocide. At Tuol Sleng Prison these people were rounded and locked up and also tortured. After that inhuman torturing, they were sent to Choeung EK (now known as the Killing Fields) for immediate execution. And then, when they were killed, the bodies were dumped in a big single grave on top of each other.
That was not the end, even after dumping them into a grave, the communist party doused DDT chemical to remove the stench of the dead and was also making sure that if anyone was buried alive they were also dead by that time.
A Site with Not Much to See
If you want a place to visit, where you can see a lot of interesting things then the killing place is going to disappoint you. You will be in the places where nothing but some dark, violent memory lies. You will get an eerie feeling. No, it is not for the graveyard thing, but you will find everyone silent there and the horrifying audio guides will make you feel empathetic to the victims.
And there, you will also find so many graves where thousands of men, women, and children are yet to be excavated. So, in a word, you will be walking on the crude. It is also very common to notice floating bones here and there.
The Killing Tree
The most terrifying part of the killing field is the killing tree where the children were bashed to death. Do you want to know how they killed the innocent victims? The innocent adult victims were executed with spades, blades, poison, sharp bamboo sticks, and machetes. Because the bullets were costly for them and they did not want to waste on these innocent victims.
The process of killing innocent children was bashing. Guards were holding their legs and bashing them against the particular tree until they were dead. And the whole incident was forced to happen in front of their parents.
The main reason for killing these innocent naive children was to stop them from growing up and seeking acts of revenge against the Khmer Rouge. We recommend you not to bring your children here until they are mature enough to endure the darkness.
Constant Reminder of Murdering
Your audio guide will end when you arrive at the tall Buddhist stupa. There, you will be facing an acrylic glass that is filled with various murder weapons, and also five thousand skulls will be looking at you.
If you notice properly, you will be able to find out in which way they were being killed. If you notice a hole in the skull, then it is the rode that had been used. A crack signifies the evidence of a machete attack.
The audio guide is available in various languages. This genocide lasted for four years until the Vietnamese invaded the country to liberate it from Khmer Rouge. No other developed countries helped Cambodia without Vietnam.
Not only that, but they also did not stop recognizing the Khmer Rouge as the rightful leader of Cambodia. The leader of the Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot lived out his life in luxury with the funding of the United Nations. No members of the Khmer Rouge including Pol Pot paid for their inhuman sins.
Why Should You Visit the Killing Field in Cambodia?
Although these killing fields are not pleasant spots to visit, they are very important sites from where you can learn things. We know that it is difficult but remembering and revising history and learning from it is important for the human race.
Can you imagine, these terrifying and horrific incidents just happened forty years ago! But Yes, it does not matter when it happened, it will always touch humans as long as this history lives.
Conclusion
If you are already here, thank you so much for your patience. We are sure that you will have a very tough day as a visitor. But you will be able to learn about so many things. It is a must-do experience.
Remember that Choeung EK is not the only killing field in Cambodia. It is the most famous one but there are also many other killing fields. Hope, you will visit the killing field and will experience humans’ one of the darkest histories.
