As I Stood Under a Weeping Sky: The Killing Fields of Cambodia

[x_section style=”margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px; padding: 45px 0px 45px 0px; “][x_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” bg_color=”” style=”margin: 0px auto 0px auto; padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px; “][x_column bg_color=”” type=”1/4″ style=”padding: 10px 10px 10px 10px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 1px; “][x_text class=”center-text “]by Danny de la Cruz[/x_text][/x_column][x_column bg_color=”” type=”3/4″ style=”padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px; “][x_text]What started out 3 weeks earlier was now finally coming to an end as I sat in my 8th and final plane, this time on the tarmac of San Francisco International Airport. I was jet-lagged, no longer certain of the day and hour given all the time changes and ready for a long, hot shower and my bed back in Chicago — just four more hours to go.

I sat there staring out the window waiting for our turn to take off — it was the perfect time to reflect on the vacation I had just experienced — three countries, multiple airports, modern cities filled with unrelenting traffic of jeepneys or mopeds, provincial villages and dirt roads, glorious ancient temples, somber history lessons and what started it all – a massive family reunion.

This wasn’t just a vacation, but the adventure of a lifetime. These are the stories of my South East Asia Chronicles…

I stood under a darkened sky that was weeping heavily. It only seemed appropriate as I listened to the horrific stories of how infants were killed in various ways ranging from being torn apart at the legs or bashed into a tree. I stood there motionless as a heavy rain fell upon me.

On this day, it was not about ancient temples or quaint village explorations with countless children smiling and waving as we passed by, but a somber afternoon of learning about the dark days of Cambodia during the regime of the Khmer Rouge — this was our time to learn more about The Killing Fields.

I hesitated many times writing this story. Out of everything I experienced while traveling in South East Asia, this day was the most troubling and haunting. I decided to share it with all of you because it’s an important event in history that I think many of us are unaware of and it’s a story that must be told. Not every travel story is going to be lighthearted and whimsical, or filled with picture-perfect destinations or glorious food. As travelers, we owe it to ourselves to also share the  difficult stories so that others may learn and grow from the sharing of such experiences.

As I walked along the path that had quickly turned to mud, I could see bones protruding from the ground — made even more prominent from the rain. To the side of the muddy path were now grassy areas which where once mass graves.

I came upon a tree which had pieces of torn clothing hanging from the main trunk and strewn on the ground — now soaked in mud. These clothes, as I was told by our tour guide, Mao, were from the victims that died at this site.

As Mao led us around the complex, we came across a designated area where 166 bodies were found with no heads. I didn’t even want to think about the torture these poor individuals had endured.

The overall walk around these Killing Fields lasted about an hour and then we made our way to the center of the complex where a beautiful monument had been built – a temple with glass center panels on each side. There were several levels within the structure and as I approached, I realized that there were layers of skulls on each level — the remains of what had been found and collected at this site.

What amazed me during our tour was that our own guide, Mao, had a bigger connection to the suffering countless of Cambodians had endured during the reign of the Khmer Rouge from 1975 – 1979. His own father had been taken and his mother and his siblings, 9 of them in total, were left on their own to fend for themselves. He never saw his father again.

From what I was told, there was a desire by the Khmer Rouge leader, Pol Pot, to reclaim the majesty and glory achieved during the Angkorian period — the time when the great Angkor Wat religious complex was built. What this meant was a return to an agrarian lifestyle, not an industrial society. All individuals believed to be educated or with skills were to be eliminated, as well as presumed spies — in the end, almost 3 million Cambodians died.

While this portion of our explorations was painful to experience as a tourist, I could only imagine how difficult it was for Mao to relive the loss of his father as he shared the stories with each tour group that he led.

Our time at these Killing Fields had come to an end and finally as I stood looking at the area before me, the sky began to clear and the rain diminished to a light drizzle. It was time to board our bus and head to the next place where this tragedy continued.

We traveled next to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum once a school in the city of Phenom Pen that had been converted to a prison and place of torture.

Tiny class rooms had been divided into 12 cells via brick walls that had been erected. There was a small hole at the back of each “cell” which I assumed was for sweeping away excrement and other dirt. Shackles within each “cell” were left as a reminder of the conditions.

In another building of the 4 building complex, the rooms were lined with photos of the victims, staring back at us with empty eyes and a look of knowing that their fate was sealed. Torture devices both inside the buildings and outside in the main square were other reminders of what these people endured.

As we wound down our afternoon, our guide Mao, shared one last bit of somber news. The stories of atrocity and mass killings are not taught in the Cambodian schools. There is simply a line item in the school books of the Khmer Rouge reign from 1975 – 1979. I was shocked to hear this. The fear is that future generations won’t even know about these events  — an opportunity to learn from the past and avoid repeating history.

Special thanks to E. Cruz and D. Gans for additional photos captured during this experience.

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