The Killing Fields

There are several sites around Phnom Penh which tell two stories: one of a majestic, powerful empire which ruled one thousand years ago, covering much of south-east Asia and build the temples such as Angkor Wat; and another of a period from 1965 to 1998 where first the Americans and then people of their own flesh and blood, the Khmer Rouge, systematically murdered the Cambodians.

It's hard to put any of this into words, apart from to say that today was a day where we really discovered the inexplicable evil that humans can do. Even more so than visiting the various war sites around Vietnam.

Everyone was silent as we walked around the prison S-21, now a museum, which housed Pol Pot's interoggaters and torturers. The pictures on the walls showed the place, and the bodies, as they were found when the Vietnamese finally kicked out the Khmer Rouge from Phnom Penh in 1979.

We followed the route along which the prisoners were taken to one of the nearby killing fields. A commemoration tower stands straight, filled with 8,000 battered skulls, all dug from the surrounding fields. The holes of the mass graves are still visible with the occasional bone and cloth still embedded in the hardened mud.

Surprisingly, many of the high ranking leaders of the Khmer Rouge hold government positions after defecting and have never been brought to account for their crimes.

Cambodia is still suffering, although since the death of Pol Pot in 1998 things are slowly improving. The wars destroyed much of the farmland and irrigation systems: so crucial in such a sweltering hot country. The land mines are still killing and maiming although through international efforts most seem to have been recovered.

There are beggars everywhere. Many are children and many others horribly deformed or mutilated from the war. Despite that, the Cambodians are mostly incredibly friendly and the kids, once you get past the "One dollar. You buy my postcards? One dollar." line, have a great sense of fun and humour.