An entire generation.... gone.

As much as we loved Cambodia - the people, the temples - it would be a disservice to both ourselves and the people we met if we had left and not been observers of the tragedies of the Pol Pot regime. For 4 years in the mid 1970s Pol Pot and his soldiers attempted to bring Cambodia back to the feudal age; what Pol Pot called "Year One". All urban dwellers were abruptly taken from their homes and forced to work long ours of hard labour in the rice fields. Anyone considered a threat to the regime, including anyone with education, government ties, and all of their families, were killed immediately. Others who were dissenters or in any way suspicious were jailed, tortured, and almost certainly killed within 2-4 months of imprisonment. Some Cambodians, on the brink of starvation or thinking that it was their only option, joined Pol Pot's army. Most of them were killed as well in the end. When the Khmer Rouge came to power, Cambodia's population was approx 7 million. After only four years over 3 million people, nearly half of the population, had been killed or died of starvation/illness at the hands of one of their own. On our last full day in Phnom Penh, we visited the Tuol Sleng Prison which is now a genocide museum. We saw pictures of the horrible conditions/torture and the cells were mostly left as they were when the regime fell. One of the only people to survive time in that prison, a man in his late 70s, returns there almost every day to tell his story. He asked us all to take his picture and to share his story. We all marveled at the tremendous courage that it must take to return to a place like that after what he saw and endured there. After the prison, we went to the Killing Fields. At first glance, this field and stream (formally a Chinese cemetery) looks quite ordinary.. even pretty in the sunlight. Only a 15 minute drive from the prison, this is were they took bus loads of Cambodians - men, women, and babies - and killed them in barbaric ways and buried them in mass graves. Only about half of the graves there have been excavated. That means the rest of the bodies buried there still remain. As you walked through the fields, you literally had to walk over bone fragments and pieces of clothing belonging to the dead there. At some spots, the recent rain had even unearthed a few teeth and a rope that, just below the surface, most likely had a wrist or ankle attached to it. It is absolutely astounding the things that people can do to each other. However, it is even more astounding that the Cambodian people are as beautiful and generous as they are. Almost everyone over the age of 30 has a Pol Pot horror story.... both of our guides had to work everyday in the fields away from their families. Both were around 6 years old when this happened and many of their family members died. Yet, the Cambodian people smile. Seeing these horrible testaments to the brutality of the world is not the most enjoyable way to spend travel time, but I strongly believe that to be a true traveler and a citizen of the world, you have to entrench yourself in all aspects of a culture, as often as you are able. We are grateful to have had the opportunity to learn about this important part of Cambodian history, especially since we will soon be returning to spend a month here at the orphanage.

After having that emotionally draining experience in the morning, we were happy to end our stay in Cambodia on a more positive note. We had lunch at a great restaurant (Friends Restaurant) that is staffed by current and former street children. They are taught cooking and business skills, and all of the profits go to that charity. After lunch Mars and I walked in the BLISTERING heat and humidity to see an art exhibition. The concept was that 10 street kids were given cameras and were taken to Angkor Wat to "turn the tables on the tourists". The pictures they took were fantastic.. everything from a gaggle of Chinese ladies in outrageous outfits to a small child resting on the temple steps. Brilliant idea for an exhibit. Next, in the spirit of trying to help te community, we went to the "Seeing Hands Massage". There, the blind in the community are trained to be massage therapists. It was an amazing experience, and probably the best massage I have ever received. It was fantastic to feel their hands map out your spine/hips/face and then use those contours to follow every muscle in your body to a tee. Truly a memorable experience. We will certainly be back there to see them again if we get time off from the orphanage and can make it back to the city. Our group then finished the night at the famous FCC (Foreign Correspondence Club) rooftop bar, where foreign journalists in the 60s and 70s hung out while covering the wars and struggles in the region. They make a very good Martini there :)
So it is goodbye to Cambodia for now, but we will be back soon!