Genocide

*Warning: This post is disturbing.*

I am ashamed to admit that I have absolutely no idea there was a genocide in Cambodia in the 1970's. Please tell me someone else was unaware. How could I not know? We decided to visit Phnom Penh solely because of Erik's interest in this particular bit of history. During our brief stay in Phnom Penh we visited two sites, Choeung Ek and Toule Sleng.

Choeung Ek was used as a killing field during Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge's reign in Cambodia. An audio tour was provided and we silently walked around the mass graves that littered the landscape. We heard about the brutal murders that occurred on the site.

There were two things I found especially disturbing. The first was that of the estimated 20,000 people murdered, none were killed with bullets. Bullets were too loud and too expensive so victims were bludgeoned to death using whatever materials the Khmer Rouge had on hand. Bamboo sticks, shovels, palm knives, garden hoes, chains, and hammers were among the weapons used to end the lives of the innocent. I know murder is always inhumane, but the brutality of these murders seems even more evil.

The second thing that broke my heart was the Killing Tree. In the center of the killing field there was a particularly large grave and a large tree. When the grave was exhumed over one hundred naked women and children were discovered. Bones, blood, and brains were found clinging to the bark and at the base of the nearby tree. The Khmer Rouge forced women to watch as they beat their children's heads against the tree. They would toss the battered child into the grave before murdering the mothers and throwing them in after.

Choeung Ek, the Killing Field, was certainly eye-opening and horrifying and our second destination was equally so.

Toul Sleng was a primary and a high school prior to the Pol Pot coming into power. When he gained control in 1975 he ordered Phnom Penh to be evacuated and within three days the capital of Cambodia was completely deserted. At some point he converted the school into a secret prison that was used for interrogations, torture, and murder. When an individual was arrested his/her entire family was brought to prison along with him/her. Pol Pot did this so there would be no one to seek revenge or to revolt against the Khmer Rouge.

Prisoners were subject to various kinds of torture until they were forced to confess to crimes they did not commit before being tortured some more or being taken to Choeung Ek and murdered. Pol Pot targeted intellectuals, doctors, professors, and anyone who could possibly stand in his way.

Each individual imprisoned at Toul Sleng (also known as Office 21 or S.21) was documented with a photo. Copies of these photos were displayed around the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum. It was heart-breaking to look at the photos, into the eyes of these individuals, and to know the end they faced. Some had the hint of a smile left, some looked like ghosts already, some held sleeping children, some looked crippled with fear, and some looked defiant.

We quickly walked past some of the devices used for torture, barely stopping long enough to discern how such device was utilized. We walked through the rooms that held so many against their will. Some cells, poorly constructed from brick and wood, were barely large enough to house a human being.  Some were larger, reserved for Khmer Rouge who Pol Pot no longer trusted.

When the Khmer Rouge fled the site, the liberaters found seven adults and a handful of children still alive. There were 14 individuals found tortured and murdered chained to their beds in the larger cells. The bodies were so mutilated and battered that they were unable to identify the individuals. As we walked through the cells, photos of how these people were found were hung on the walls. These were truly disturbing and humiliating to see. It was an impossible situation as I neither wanted to look at or look away from the photos.

I was reminded yet again of the terrible potential of human beings. Our ability to do truly evil things. It was disgusting. It is disgusting. I couldn't believe that anything like this would ever happen again and then there were bombings at the Boston Marathon.

We live in a broken world. In a world where it is difficult to have hope. But there is hope. There is hope in Jesus Christ who is gracious, merciful, forgiving, just, and loving. And we are given the task to be like Christ; to learn from Him and to reach out to our neighbours.  We are called to play an active role in human history. Figuring out what that looks like in each of our lives is the tough part, but we are part of this broken and beautiful world.