Cambodia’s Killing Fields: What Brutal Histories Can Teach Us
The Choeung Ek Genocide Centre, Cambodia’s infamous Killing Fields, is located about a half an hour tuk-tuk ride from the centre of Phnom Penh. Of all the things I wanted to see in the country’s capital, this was top of my list. My husband, on the other hand, was less sure. He was quite keen to enjoy some down time at the pool, following a few days of intense temples in Siem Reap.
Nevertheless, armed with face masks (and following a short negotiation on price) we hopped into a tuk-tuk outside our hotel in downtown Phnom Penh.
Travelling along the broad, badly-paved boulevards on the outskirts of the capital was a precarious journey. Bicycles carrying long steel beams wove between large trucks carrying water. Dogs darted into the roads, and dust was kicked up into the passenger carriage.
At first glance the Choeung Ek Centre betrays little of its brutal history. A former orchard site, butterflies flit among the greenery and tourists amble slowly around with their audioguides. A large Buddhist stupa dominates the entrance, surrounded by a carpet of immaculate grass.
But it was on this site that between 1975 and 1979 almost 9000 people were brutally executed by the Khmer Rouge. Mainly political prisoners, these people were killed with machetes, bamboo poles and any…
