The Horrors of the Khmer Rouge

I am embarrassed to say that before coming to Cambodia, I didn’t know much about the Khmer Rouge. I watched ‘The Killing Fields’, but it wasn’t until I read this memoir that I gained a better understanding of this act of genocide by the organization led by Pot Pol in 1975. The Khmer Rouge subjected Cambodia to a radical social reform process that was aimed at creating a purely agrarian-based Communist society, forcing over 2 million people out of the cities to work in collective farms, depriving them of their basic rights as they controlled how Cambodians acted, what they wore, who they could talk to, and many other aspects of their lives. Money was abolished, books were burned, teachers, merchants, and almost the entire intellectual elite of the country were murdered.

In addition to the relocation and forced labor, the Khmer Rouge isolated the country from foreign influence, closing schools, hospitals and factories, abolishing banking, finance and currency, outlawing all religions, and confiscating all private property. These actions resulted in massive deaths through executions and torture, work exhaustion, illness, and starvation.

About 4 million people, over half of the country’s population, were lost to the unspeakable and brutal ways of the Khmer Rouge. Pol Pot died on April 15, 1998, having never been put on trial.

‘First They Killed My Father’ by Loung Ung is a firsthand account of a five year old girl forced to flee from Phnom Penh in 1975 with her family, eventually being trained as a child soldier in a work camp for orphans. Her story is heart wrenching and horrific, and yet reminds us how strong the human spirit can be in the face of such horrors.

 

Saigon (Ho Chi Minh)

Saigon. The “Pearl of the Orient”.  With over 6 million people, Saigon is one of the densest urban areas in the World. And it feels like it. Never have I experienced so many motorbikes, mixed with the honking of horns and rattling engines, it overwhelms the senses. And yet… you could close your eyes and walk across the street with hundreds of bikes whizzing by you, but NEVER get hit. What first appears to be chaos is actually a somewhat organized fluid weaving of bikes.

I enjoyed Saigon. It has an air of a French provincial town with a Vietnamese twist. The markets and food stalls, the architecture and textures, the diversity and history. It has a story I will never fully know- only one that has lived through it… within it… could possibly understand the turmoils that plagued this city over time. And yet… it feels alive. There is an energy and a mystery to these streets. From winding alleys to dimly lit stairways, from temples to massage parlors, from the very wealthy to the very poor. This city has everything. I was always excited to see what lay around the corner, and, more often than not, it was a sight that held me in awe.  

Photos: streets of Saigon from a tuk tuk, dragon fruit, war memorabilia market, window in my hotel room, Vietnamese pop art, street checkers, opium pipes, red hallway leading to one of the coolest stores I've ever been in, coconut stand, photos from the Vietnam war, addresses painted on wall, best bowl of pho I've yet to have, Chinatown market.

Cambodia travels...

Happy New Year! I haven’t posted for awhile… due in part to being on the other side of the world, but also because it's good to disconnect every now and then. I’ve been swimming in the South China Sea, hiking red and white sand dunes that reach the water’s edge, exploring tiny alleys in old Saigon, discovering the ancient beauty of Angkor Wat, weaving through the stalls in busy markets, and now, finally, enjoying the calm turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean. It has so busy, exploring and working on my project, I’ve barely had a moment to look at photos from the past few weeks. But here is a teaser, taken at the magical Ta Prohm Temple at sunrise.

I will write more of this adventure soon! xoxo



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