Phnom Penh, Cambodia: What I Heard, What I Saw, What I Felt ….
Jan. 27/13 – A big reason I decided to come to Cambodia was so that Deon could see his grandparent’s hometown. Deon’s dad is Cambodia-born Chinese. But he got to Canada when he was 8 years old and grew up there. Phnom Penh is the city Deon’s grandparents were raised in.
Without a doubt, a visit to the “Killing Fields” located half an hour from the city of Phnom Penh is a must see for every tourist in Cambodia. This site shows a very dark chapter of modern times, one that you’d never imagine can still happen at this age and time. It is horrific, sad and painful to have witnessed what went on there just 35 years ago, a terrible act that must never be done by ordinary people to other ordinary people. I will never forget what I saw and what I was told while I was there.
I felt very sad while I was walking along the pits that were used as mass graves of the Pol Pot Khmer Rouge. It is estimated that more than 2 million Cambodians were eliminated by the Khmer Rouge Regime between 1975 and 1978! Too many in such a short time! The scene where the babies and young children got killed from being dragged and their heads being banged against that tree will stay with me forever…
While I did not flinch when we were provided graphic (and horrific) details, the scenes were all very well presented. The English language audio guide that was provided with our $5 entrance ticket was truly superb and offered great stories and history on the Pol Pot regime and of the killing fields. Actually, the details were very shocking that I felt like I was not only “re-living” what went on there but more importantly, they brought me so much closer to the stories about communism and the communits I had heard from my mom and my grandfather, particularly on the torturing, war and killing they had witnessed in China and Vietnam too… all brought uncontrollable tears pouring down my eyes like many other foreign visitors there experienced… (well, I was crying harder since I took it more personally due to my background). Deon was very sad and had watery eyes as he was listening to the audio guide, too….
Even though it was all so heart wrenching, it was so worth the visit. It’s so hard to imagine how inhuman and sick man can be sometimes. Killing fields is a highly recommended place for parents to bring their spoiled teenagers to come to see; they sure will learn from what the Cambodian people went through. I wonder how many of the “privileged” Canada-raised or Canada-born 2nd or 3rd generations even know about this part of their ancestors’ history??? It would be such a moving experience for them to be here to witness what we saw today…. I wish I can just yell out loud so these fortunate children can all hear me and consider making a trip back here so that they can have greater appreciation of what their parents and grandparents went through to bring them to Canada for them to have the privileged life they live today. And I am not referring to descendants of Cambodians only but also every other descendant of people that went through rough times to have their families enjoy what they have today, like the Chinese-Vietnamese who had to escape the torments of the war.
After we got back to the hostel, Deon immediately started writing an essay on the “killing field.” I couldn’t resist making a long distance phone call to my ex-father-in-law to interview him on what happened to them back then. It turned out that he took Deon’s dad to Vietnam in 1970 so they left 5 years before the tragic event happened which is why they were fine, but most of their remaining family members became victims of the killing field. Afterwards, both Deon and I dug up documentary on this topic to watch on YouTube together. I was very sad to learn why the west did not help right away…
I felt even more sad afterwards when I saw how many people are starving and dying even after this tragedy, this time because they don’t have food, water and medicine. I think it was easier for me to relate than Deon could since I had heard many similar and related stories from my mom, my grandparents and my aunts before. After watching, I felt the urge to re-visit Vietnam and China but this time, to explore more on the history of how all these tragic events happened and if they are related to each other.
We are off to Seim Reap now to see the amazing Angkor Wat …..
Yet, can’t help but express the realizations I had after this experience…
1. I am very grateful for my privileged life in Canada and the freedom that I have, thanks to the choices my parents made to escape back then.
2. I feel it is important for people to see the killing fields to warn them not let this terrible history happen again
3. I think it is so important for people not to forget to pay tribute to our parents and grandparents for being brave enough to risk everything they got to trade for freedom for their children. I noticed that many Canada-born or raised kids really take life in a free country for granted
Originally posted in Amy’s travel blog: TravelwithAmy.ca