The Killing Fields of Choueng Ek

Phnom Pen, Cambodia
In fact whilst I'm on this less than humorous vibe, it's probably a good time to post some pictures of one of the most shocking things I have ever witnessed - The Killing Fields of Choueng Ek.

In fact if you're of an easily shocked disposition and suffer from weak thumbs at the sight of anything unpalatable...like I do...then I would be wary about scrolling down too far.

Choueng Ek was where the Khmer Rouge took political prisoners, dissidents or in fact any one deemed to be an intellectual or unwanted, even if it was simply that they wore spectacles...in fact pretty much anyone who caught their evil eye. And there they killed them. Thousands upon thousands were executed in an area the size of a large paddock. Blindfolded, they would be made to kneel by a big pit and then a member of the Khmer Rouge, quite often teenagers, would stove their heads in with a shovel or axe handle. That way they saved on bullets.

Walking around the area is a chilling experience knowing what took place there. This is made even more harrowing by the hundreds of pieces of cloth and clothing that poke out of the ground everywhere you walk - the last pieces of clothing the victims of the Khmer Rouge were wearing before they were slaughtered.

I also visited S21 Toul Sleng, a former school that became a security prison, interrogation and torture centre and ultimately death camp for thousands of Khmer Rouge victims. It's now a museum with mug shots displaying the frightened faces of the thousands that entered S21 alive but certainly didn't leave that way. Some of the torture equipment is still there with black & white photos of what carnage and pain it can cause. I didn't manage even a third of the museum without having to leave.

The depths of human cruelty and the ability to do harm in the most brutal and savage way is really an horrendous and mind boggling thing. And it continues in the world today.

The Killing Fields of Choueng Ek, the green grass and blue skies belying the attrocities that took place here. The temple in the centre is a mausoleum containing the remnants of thousands of unamed victims of the Khmer Rouge. The depressions in the ground are excavated mass graves.