The Killing Fields

On Saturday we took a break from research and interviews and spent the day sight-seeing as a group. Originally we planned to see the National Fine Arts Museum and the Royal Palace in the morning, and then in the afternoon go to Tuol Sleng (S-21) and Choeung Ek, but at breakfast on Saturday we decided to do it the other way around.

Tuol Sleng, also known as S-21, is basically known as the Auschwitz of the Khmer Rouge regime. It was a prison where "important" prisoners taken to be tortured and killed. There are only about a dozen known survivors of S-21. Before it was a prison, Tuol Sleng was a high school; the prison cells were constructed in innocent classrooms. Some cells housed only one prisoner, usually the more special and important ones, while lesser important prisoners were grouped together. In true Maoist fashion, many prisoners were required to write "confessionals" in the form of autobiographies, and were tortured until they gave an answer that was wanted. Most were falsely accused of being affiliated with CIA or the KGB; that was the biggest offense. And a lot of the time people confessed this. Really, though, it's so ridiculous, that all these people could be conspiring with the CIA or the KGB, both fierce enemies of the Khmer Rouge, and yet people got away with accusing whomever they wished as being an enemy, and there was nothing anyone could do about it; once you were accused, you were basically dead.

S-21 is chilling. I've never been to a concentration camp before, but I assume that this is what it's like. It is eerie, it is disturbing, it is horrifying, it is every emotion that will twist your stomach and make you want to curl up in a ball and cover your eyes and ears because it doesn't seem like it could have been possible. The walls are dirty, the cells are cramped and dark, and you can just feel the despair surrounding you. Some cells still had chains or the bed or torture instruments in place, I guess so one could get the feel of what it was like; you can't truly know what it's like, though, unless you've experienced it. Still, it was frightening.

On the bottom floor of one of the prison buildings there is a display of photographs of every prisoner who entered S-21. The Khmer Rouge were strict about documenting their victims. All are wearing black, as the Khmer Rouge ordered every person to do so, and all have a number, usually tied on a string around their necks. None are smiling. Some look slightly away from the camera, some look at it with absolute fear and hopelessness in their eyes, and still others hold their heads high and a steady, firm gaze into the lens. There are women as well as men. There are even children. Usually if a prisoner was especially evil according to the Khmer Rouge's principles, their children would be executed as well; there is a Khmer Rouge slogan that goes something like "dig up the grass, dig up the roots". S-21 showed no person mercy. Many prisoners were brought to S-21 but then soon shipped off to the killing fields to be executed. Others, more important prisoners, were tortured until they gave sufficient confessionals, and if they did not die from the torture (usually given by order) they too were brought to the killing fields. S-21 is the epitome of Khmer Rouge cruelty and inhumanity. They used former school exercise equipment as instruments of torture for water-boarding and hanging. There are paintings on the first floor of a prison building painted by one of the S-21 survivors, and they all depict Khmer Rouge atrocities committed both at S-21 and S-21's main killing field site, Choeung Ek. I'm not going to go into detail about what the paintings show; I got enough of a glimpse to remember what they were, but subsequently exited from the room as fast as I could.



There is a sign outside in the courtyard that lists the rules of the camp. They are (translated from Khmer):

1. You must answer in according to my question; Don't turn them away.
2. Don't try to hide the facts by making pretexts this and that, you are strictly prohibited to contest me.
3. Don't be a fool for you are a chap who dare to thwart the revolution.
4. You must immediately answer my questions without wasting time to reflect.
5. Don't tell me either about your immoralities or the essence of the revolution.
6. While getting lashes or electrification you must not cry at all.
7. Do nothing, sit still and wait for my orders. If there is no order, keep quiet. When I ask you to do something, you must do it right away without protesting.
8. Don't make pretext about Kampuchea Krom (ethnic group) in order to hide your secret or traitor.
9. If you don't follow the above rules, you shall get many lashes of electric wire.
10. If you disobey any point of my regulations you shall get either ten lashes or five shocks of electric discharge.



Significantly drained and subdued, after Tuol Sleng we made our way by van to Choeung Ek, the Killing Field of S-21. It lies just on the outskirts of Phnom Penh city; it seems rural, but it is not a far drive. Tuol Sleng was disturbing; Choeung Ek is another kind of horror altogether.

Prisoners were taken by transport to the site, where they were unloaded and taken to spots to be executed. Not all were merely shot; Khmer Rouge cadres used hoes and whatever else tools, because Pol Pot said that "bullets shouldn't be wasted unnecessarily". There are skulls on display at the museum at Choeung Ek that clearly show breaks and cracks in the skulls, clearly from being beaten. The first thing one sees after passing through the entrance gate at Choeung Ek is the large, clean white stupa, standing on small hill. A stupa is a Buddhist memorial. It is about two, three stories high, and has about eight or so horizontal rows just filled with skulls. They are the actual skulls of victims unearthed from their mass graves. Walking up to the stupa, you are required to remove your shoes if you wish to see the memorial up close; this is for respect in the Buddhist religion. You can walk all the way around; it is a mostly glass monument. Incense burns at one corner, and a large wreathe is laid at the front.



I and a few others in my group followed Professor Kosal to walk around the killing fields. They are mass graves that have been dug up, leaving patches of deep earth with grass barely growing over it and thin walking paths in between. We walked among the graves. Some things are marked, like a mass grave that had bones but no skulls, or one that held only women. There is a tree with a sign that says a loudspeaker was hung over it so that when prisoners were being killed, their cries would be amplified from the loudspeaker, and thus scare the other prisoners on their way to execution. Another tree, the most horrible, bears a sign that says "Killing tree on which executioners beat children". It's true, they did do that.

It was very hot at the killing fields. It's always hot in Cambodia, but the quiet of Choeung Ek made me much more aware of the sticky air around me and the suffocating humidity. The fields are so quiet that it is hard, though not impossible, to imagine what they were thirty-five years ago. Grass is growing over the unearthed mass graves and there are plenty of trees, and luckily there stand memorials and signs that alert you to what happened, so that it all can be remembered.



We sat under a Chinese pagoda (Choeung Ek used to be a Chinese burial ground) and rested our feet as well as our minds. I felt so drained, from the heat or the reality around me I'm not sure; it was probably a combination. Perhaps he was moved by all our emotions and the somberness of it all, but Professor Kosal told us for the first time, really, about his family and his origins. We knew he was born just before the Khmer Rouge came in 1975 in Cambodia, but beyond that not much. It was really touching to hear him talk about the earliest part of his life; he and his family really were very lucky. It was still touching to listen to, and I'm glad he told it to us.

My visits to Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek are not ones that I am going to forget, ever. In a way they made the Khmer Rouge regime more real to me than a survivor's testimony or documentary ever has. Walking through the prison cells, seeing the victims' photographs and the photographs of torture, walking through the killing fields, all of those realities seeped through my skin and made me feel. Professor Kosal half-jokingly made a comment that if it weren't for us being in Cambodia and needing to see these things, he would not want to and would not go to Choeung Ek. But it was necessary for us to see, and I'm glad we did. In a strange, twisted way I was both revolted and fascinated by Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek.

Kampong Chhang

Yesterday we traveled to Kampong Chhang to interview Muslim Cham people in their village. It was about a two hour drive north of Phnom Penh. Our first interview trip! We arrived in the morning and were instantly greeted by what seemed to be most of the village. It was so hot, but to be respectful we had to wear clothes that covered our shoulders and knees, so I wore my yoga pants and also brought along the scarf I bought at the silk village the other day in case it would be needed. We stepped off the bus and were herded to the village's mosque, which was open air with conrete floor and walls that came just above my head when I sat down. We took off our shoes and sat on mats they had placed on the ground.


For a while we just sat there. Who I assumed were the village elders (village leaders? religious leaders?) gathered around and discussed something with Professor Kosal and Kok Thay (who works for DC-Cam), probably a preamble to what exactly we were doing there, while the rest of the village sat around. The women and some kids sat just outside the mosque. After the deliberations they had us one by one and introduce ourselves to the large group of villagers. This was a Muslim village, so they knew a little Arabic. I stood up and said "Assalam alaykum, khnhom chhmous Ali", which means hello, my name is Ali. The first part is the Arabic, and they loved it! They all laughed and clapped their hands. Thanks to Fitily (who also works for DC-Cam and with us) who reassured me that I could use the Arabic!

Then came another long discussion on who was going to be interviewed by us. We had split into three groups, so we needed three interviewees. My group consisted of myself, Shoshana, and Camille. I was the interviewer, Camille was the camerawoman, and Shoshana held the audio recorder. We interviewed a woman who was about 10 years old at the time of the Khmer Rouge, so she's about 45 now. She told us about her and her family being forced to evacuate their village to another village, mixed with non-Muslims, and how they weren't allowed to practice their religion. They were even forced to eat pork, which is against Islam. She talked about how she was always scared, and how they had to work. Yet she was fairly lucky; she only lost one sister, the rest of her family survived. One thing that stood out to me that she said was that she did not feel she will ever be able to forgive the Khmer Rouge for what they put her and her family and her community through. She does not want to forgive them, because they caused so much harm.

With my interviewee

The interviewing was a lot harder than I expected. It's hard to try and keep the questions flowing with the answers of the interviewee, trying to not be too random yet trying to get them to talk about what you want them to. And I feel like our interviewee did not want to really talk about her experiences under the Khmer Rouge; she was not very extensive in her story. I guess each person will be different, and you can never push them to go where they don't feel comfortable.

We left the village and its lovely people and drove to a small area that once upon a time was the capital of Cambodia, in between when the capital was being moved from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh. We visited a pagoda that was build in the 16th century. It is now kept by Buddhist nuns. Here I was reminded just how much I love temples; I felt so incredibly peaceful and at ease, and even though it was cloudy and a bit rainy, it felt perfect. I burned incense and prayed to whoever, Buddha, God, I don't know; I just know it felt good to do so. I don't think I can be more content than when I am in a temple. There is something about the serenity of the atmosphere and the awe and beauty of the statues and murals and colorful ornaments inside that just make my soul melt with happiness and peace. We walked around the grounds for a bit before getting back in our bus and setting off on the two hour drive back to the city.


Today was another day of meetings. First we met with the Center of Justice and Reconciliation, an NGO that reaches out to victims and perpetrators alike with the main goal of achieving reconciliation. The director had a lot of good things to say that very much pertained to my topic. Then we met with the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee, another NGO that works closely with the ECCC courts and getting victims to apply as civil parties. Finally, we went to the US Embassy to meet with the charge d'affaires (the ambassador herself was out of the country). This meeting was fun and much more informal than the one at the French embassy. Also, the embassy it absolutely massive! It's like the size of a museum.

Tree ants on beef, fresh off the tree

Tonight we took Karen and went to the second Friends restaurant, mostly with a specific purpose in mind. It was at this restaurant that I, along with Shoshana, Marilyn, and Jessica, ate fried tarantula AND tree ants. The tarantula was the reason we came to this particular Friends, and the tree ants were an added bonus that we found on the menu. The tarantula was surprisingly okay, mostly salty and crunchy. The legs were better tasting than the body, even if they were a little fuzzy! Luckily they were served with a delicious lime dipping sauce, so if I doused it enough in sauce I could mask the taste a little better. I'm not sure if I'd be up for eating it again though... but hey, how many people do you know who can say they've eaten tarantula??

Here goes!

~Ali

Work Work Work

Well, we finally got down to research. Yesterday we spent all day at the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam) doing archival research. DC-Cam is the main archives for the Khmer Rouge genocide, and they are the main providers of evidence to the ECCC trials. Pretty cool that we get to work with them! The staff started their day at 7, but luckily we didn't have to be there until 9! We did get a nice long lunch break though; from 11:30-2:00! Enough time for a siesta! A few of us went to check out the infamous Russian Market, but, contrary to what I thought, it didn't end up being Russian at all. Maybe I was being way out there when I expected there to be stands selling pirushkas and other Russian food (clearly I was hungry), but it ended up being like the Silk Market in Beijing; stuffy, crowded, and touristy. Rows and rows of stalls selling pretty much the same trinkets, scarves, and bags. Oh, and did I mention how hot it was? I think it was around 110 degrees F yesterday, no joke. So we left and had Indian food for lunch closer to our hotel, Villa Langka, and then back to DC-Cam for more archival research in the afternoon! I think we all were pretty exhausted by the end of the day.

For dinner we went out with some of the staff of DC-Cam who are working with us, which was really fun. I learned some more Khmer; Chhma Khnhom Twat Na; Ah Dei, Khnhom Chong Daa; Loh Krou Khnhom Luoy Na! Ask me for the translations. I really hope I'll be able to remember all this!

Today we spent the day interviewing. First we went to interview Helen Jarvis who is the head of the Victims Support Sector, but we sort of got shanghai-ed with that one. Turns out when we got there they double booked us with another group (law students from USF...) and Helen Jarvis didn't even show up (she was sick). We did get a nice and informative talk with Paul Oertly, who works with Helen, but still.

Then we went to the ECCC court, yes, the ACTUAL court, to interview Craig Etchinson, who is a USC alum and the chief prosecutor for Case 002. Pretty damn cool. He has the awesome job of deciding who to arrest and put on trial, and according to him, there are thousands of former Khmer Rouge that he would love to put on trial, but for political and other reasons has to narrow it down. In addition to Duch, who's trial was Case 001 (and we are now awaiting the verdict of his trial) and the senior Khmer leaders who are in Case 002, Craig said that it is possible 5 specific others will be brought to trial, though he was not allowed to disclose who. Oh and during our entire interview, Duch (head of S-21 prison, Case 001), and Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Ieng Thirith, and Khieu Samphan (senior Khmer Rouge leaders, Case 002), were imprisoned in a building not 20 yards away from where we were sitting. It was pretty eerie and chilling being so close to such ruthless and heartless murderers. Just seeing the building where all 5 are being held confirmed for me that I hope they get what they deserve from the ECCC trials. What's unfortunate is Craig says they don't seem to feel remorse for what they've done and the pain they've caused; they still think they were right all along, or they blame each other. Disgusting.

In the afternoon we went to the French embassy to sit down with the French ambassador to Cambodia. First of all, the French embassy is beautiful; someone said it was like a little jungle. He even has a backyard with deer in it! One such deer made an appearance during our talk. The ambassador was very nice to speak with us.

It rained today! Even thunder and lightening. I didn't think it was supposed to rain in Cambodia! Actually it poured; it reminded me of Boston in the summer when it's hot and humid all day and then all of a sudden at 4 o'clock the skies open up for about 30 minutes, then clear. Except the difference here is that the air is still humid and hot after the rain; it might cool a degree or too, but it's still so hot!

Tomorrow is our first outing to a province for interviews. I can't wait to see what will happen!

~Ali

the Mekong River

Today we spent the day on the Mekong River!

We rented a boat and rode it up the Mekong, first to stop off at a village where people make their own silk. Of course, we all bought something :). I bought a scarf to wrap around my head to try and escape from the heat (it was around 110 degrees F), and I also wrapped it a bit around my face. Professor Kosal then proceeded to introduce me as the one "straight from Afghanistan". Thanks, Kosal.

Then we rode for about another hour up the river to an island owned by Danny, who is a friend of Kosal's that is a Cambodian genocide survivor, lived in the US, and is now retired on his private island. He welcomed us with a true Khmer lunch; we took off our shoes and sat on mats, used banana leaves as plates, and ate with our hands. The lunch was so good! We had chicken, fish caught fresh from the river, rice, beef sticks, watergrass, and then Khmer "cakes" for dessert: rice paste with either coconut, pumpkin, or purple banana inside. Soo delicious! It was extremely hot and humid today, even with being on an island in the middle of the river, so we all went swimming! We also had a small swim race, and while I won't tell you who won, I will say that I had a lot of fun with it ;).






We said goodbye to Danny and his staff on the island, and made our way back to Phnom Penh. We were all very tired, thanks to a good mix of a lot of sun, a lot of swimming, and a lot of jet lag, but the boatman had a hammock set up at the bow and I got to rest in it for a little bit. It was so comfortable, rocking back and forth. I need to get myself one of them!

Tonight for dinner we (the students) went to Friends (Lauren)!! It's this amazing restaurant where they take in street kids and train them to be waiters/waitresses and chefs, and the food is amazing! It's tapas style, so we ordered a bunch of plates to share.

Today was fun and nice to relax, and tomorrow is when work begins! We go to DC-Cam to spend I think the majority of the day doing archival research for our projects, the real reason that we're here!

Finally, HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESSIE THOMAS! I hope you have a wonderful 18th birthday all day long. I miss you and love you!

~Ali

Arrival... Finally

We've made it to Phnom Penh!! After 20 very long hours of travel from LAX to Cambodia we're finally here! Not all of it was bad, though; we had a 2 hour layover in the Taibei International Airport, which is the closest I've ever come to visiting Taiwan, so that was cool. Got to speak Chinese and eat dumplings at six in the morning!

Best part, obviously, was getting to Cambodia. We arrived at around 11:30 and, right from the start, as Kosal pointed out, we got to witness corruption first-hand (the upside of it)! We hardly went through any Customs checks; it was like traveling domestically. We did have the most amazing welcoming party, who brought flowers for all of us. Then we got in three separate cars and drove the hotel. Driving in Cambodia is CRAZY! It seems like there are absolutely no rules, and if you hesitate just a bit you're going to hit someone on a scooter or someone crossing the street with their food cart. I thought biking in Beijing was intense, but this is way different. We as a group had to practice a few times crossing the street on foot.



Our hotel is so lovely. It's called the Villa Langka, and it's right next door to a temple! It's got a beautiful outdoor seating area and check in as well as a pool! It's so serene. Right after we got settled with our rooms (the beds have canopies... or are they mosquito nets?) a bunch of us went swimming, and man did it feel good! It's so hot and humid here, more so than Boston in the middle of July. Which means my hair is having a field day and expanding to three times it's normal volume. Anyway, the pool was very refreshing, especially after all that travel.



After the pool we all went and purchased Cambodian cell phones and sim cards, so now I don't have to worry about losing Dad's GSM phone. Then we went to DC-Cam (Documentation Center of Cambodia) which houses the archives for the Cambodian Genocide and with whom we mainly work while we're here. We got a nice tour of the building and then sat down to chat with the director. Then dinner! We had real Khmer food, and it was good! Most of us even tried frog (me included!) and yes, Dad, it actually really tasted like chicken!


Now we're back and it's only 8:00 pm but I'm so tired, thanks to jet lag. Tomorrow we go on a boat ride to an island!

Peace from Cambodia!
~Ali

First Post!!

Yay I figured it out! First post... well we're finally leaving for Cambodia tonight. So so SO excited! Also nervous, but mostly excited.

So I guess that's it for the first post... next time will be when I'm IN Cambodia!

Oh and GO CELTICS

~Ali