Pol Pot

Ok so I'm back in Phnom Pehn again and grateful to have people around me again. Saturday we decided to delve in to Cambodia's dark history. And dark it was. We started off at S-21. The first thing that struck me about this place was that it used to be a high school before the Khmer Rouge shut it down and turned it into a tourture prison. We decided to do it properly and get a guide which was a good idea although her english was not excellant. Still, we caught every other word. I was not prepared for the first cell we walked in and sort of wished we hadn't just eaten brunch (lucky i'm a nurse - i'll explain - one of the other volunteers, whose aunt is a nurse said you can always tell nurses apart - they are able to discuss poo while eating their lunch).
Anyway they first cell still had old blood stains splattered up the wall. We also saw many pictures of the tourtured prisoners and the tourture devices themselves (apart from the scorpions - I think they're dead). In another room we saw pictures of prisoners and the story told by one of their remaining alive relatives. Sad, sad stories including one of a lady who visited S-21 after it had been turned into a museam and discovered one of the prisoners was that of her missing brother.
It also contained pictures and stories of those who were forced to work at s-21 in fear of thier lives, also very sad.
After S-21 we made our way over to the killing fields. The site is an old Chinese graveyard. Prisoners who did not die of tourture or starvation were brought here in the truck loads, often having being told they were being sent to work in an office or something to that extent. It happened in the dead of night and loud music was played so the local villagers could not hear the screams. There is a monument at the entrance housing 9000 skeletons that were first found. The other 11,000 remain in the mass graves. The largest mass grave holds 450. One grave holds just women, foung naked alongsid their babies. Babies and children were killed because they had no use and the Khymer Rouge feared revenge and retribution if they kept them alive.
Guns were not used as that would be a waste of bullets. The prisoners were blindfolded and chained to each other and one by one beaten to death. Some were not dead when thrown into the mass graves. Babies were beaten against trees infront of their mothers.
As we walked around the site we could even see the evidence ourselves. The graveyard is next to a lake and during the rainy season clothes, bones and teeth woould start to appear on the path.
I can remember a bit about Pol pot from when I was younger and remember the significance of when he died (without a trial) but now know a lot more about this horrible period of very recent history. The sad thing is the trial has only just finished for some of the main leaders and yes they have been imprisoned - only one has shown an ounce of remorse. Some have been granted amnesty by the government to try and bring some peace to the country.

Sunday we had a relaxing day by a pool we found. Much needed I think.