The Killing Fields

July 5, 2017
Choeung Ek is a half hour drive through dirty streets and endless traffic.  This was the journey for those in Tuol Sleng (S-21) to the Killing Fields in the late 70’s.  It is incredulous to believe that this peaceful memorial site was a place of mass execution.  Prisoners were shipped here daily after enduring torturous interrogations.  They were told they were being taken to their new home.  In the beginning all prisoners arrived at night and were immediately executed.  This was not done by guns as ammunition was not readily available, but by garden tools, DDT, and other methods.  Soon the numbers were too great to complete all executions on the night of arrival, so they were completed the following day as well.  Cindy and I censored the audio tour, always one story ahead of Nate and Levi.  The audio tour is very well done, but our boys did not need to hear how they disposed of children.  The boys noted different Pol Pot sayings to justify his ethnic cleansing.  “It is no gain to keep you, and no loss to no longer have you” and families are treated like weeds, they must be completed pulled out.  Pol Pot did not want children around to avenge the death of their parents.  The central memorial has the skulls of thousands of victims, all tagged with the type of death they would have endured.  Very powerful indeed.  The boys had many questions on why and how someone could think and follow through with such crazy thoughts.  Add to this, Pol Pot was a Novice (monk in training) growing up.
Our drive back was equally dusty and smelly.  After freshening up in our hotel, we walked down to the Central Market.  We did not go yesterday due to the rain, but felt that the boys needed to see, and more importantly smell, this place.  We arrived just in time to get indoors and stay dry, as a massive rain hit the city.  The sights and smells did not disappoint.  Cindy and I believe this is the dirtiest and smelliest city we have been to outside of India.  My nose is not as sensitive as it use to be.  As the boys and gagging, I am thinking that it does indeed smell a bit.