..to the victims of the Khmer Rouge..
We’ve lived through many atrocities in our brief time on this planet. The holocaust is our steadfast icon to which we cry ‘never again’. What happened in Europe during the Nazi reign of power was unspeakable and set the baseline for the most barbarous of human will. But what of Cambodia?
In 1975 a communist faction called the Khmer Rouge overthrew a destabilised government to take power by coup detat. A jubilious population in Phnom Penh falsely believed they were supporting a coup that would restore the power of an embattled king.
That afternoon, the Khmer Rouge began marching civilians from the capital and into the fields where they were forced into labor camps. Intellectuals and those incapable of hard labor were typically executed on the spot. Interrogation camps and torture centers were established, most notably in a Phnom Penh high school.
At the time, Cambodias population was around 8 million. When the Cambodian people were liberated by the Vietnamese army some 4 years later, the population stood at 6 million. A quarter of the Cambodian people had been murdered by the Khmer Rouge.
The publicity this atrocity received over the following years was met with skepticism and allegedly a campaign of cover up lead by a US government widely believed to have assisted the Khmer Rouge faction into power.
I encourage you all to read a little bit about what happened here, and if possible, pay the country a visit. I was thanked so many times by local people for supporting tourism and helping these people recover from one of our worst chapters in history.
This picture was taken at one of the mass grave sites. There’s a memorial temple made from the skulls of those who were exhumed here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khmer_Rouge
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peter
We’re a pretty messed up bunch us humans …
Anthony Begovic
It’s just unimaginable what the people in Cambodia went through under the Khmer Rouge. I cannot understand how one human can do this to another. It’s just WAY beyond me. I’m going to Cambodia next year and I think it will be an eye-opener.
claudia phares
I was in Cambodia and I stayed in Phnom Penh with my partner’s aunt who is a Khmer Rouge regime survivor. I didn’t bother going to any of the war museums. Deliberately, out of respect for her, and for her family who died. Needless to say, it I learned a lot about resilience while observing people in CAmbodia and in Vietnam. History can depict a lot of negativity but can also teach us about appeciating our life better. Every photo has a story, this is the beauty of this art. Thanks for sharing.
Murray Newham
Thanks for your story Claudia
micmac
Choquant et émouvant tout à la fois
BuckspalaceUK
incredible yet horrific – well carfted composition
H M Bascom
Thank you for this photograph, and for the information accompanying it. Someone must say it, and you said it beautifully. Great phogotraph.
Linda Syms
My husband and i visited the Killing Fields,i found it very emotional,we think these atrocities will end when you see such horrors but they never do.
There is a saying Mans inumanity to Man.
BenYameen
Powerful photograph and powerful commentary. Thank you for sharing this.
Lara Bianco
incrediable – well done