Day 192 Feb 12 2015 Phnom Penh Cambodia

A tree where the Khmer Rouge smashed babies to death

Stupa containing thousands of skulls

Bou Meng one of the 11 survivors out of 20000 that did not!

Entrance to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum

In the tuk tuk on the way to the hotel

Day 192  Feb 12  2015  Phnom Penh Cambodia

Today was not what I would call an uplifting day.  I felt like I did when leaving the first Nazi death camp I visited in Poland 20 years ago.  We spent the majority of the day at the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek near Phnom Penh followed by a visit to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum.  The museum which used to be known as Security Prison 21 or simply S21 started life as a high school in the 60’s.  Entering the stupa at the Killing Fields which contains thousands of human skulls is a surreal experience.  The sculls are all cataloged as to how its owner was killed, with an example of the type of murder weapon used.  Later we came to a mass grave where women and babies were buried.  There was a tree next to the grave where babies’ heads were smashed before they were thrown in the grave.  The babies were killed in front of the mothers.  We continued the tour and came to a sign that said “don’t step on the bones”.   I was looking in pit we were standing beside and asked David if he saw any bones.  He pointed to the ground at our feet and there they were.  It was hard not to step on the bones.  After the Killing Fields we went to S21 where we hired a tour guide.  She shared some of the experiences suffered by her mother at the hands of the Khmer Rouge.  We saw one of the 4 children that survived S21, he works as a ground keeper at the museum.  We also met two of the 7 adult survivors of the prison.  They were there selling books they wrote to raise awareness of the horrors that happened at S21 and to raise money for victims of the genocide; we bought both books.  The authors requested that we read the books then donate them to a library in the country where we live.  We spent the rest of the day hanging around the pool while David read one of the books.