Prison S-21 and The Killing Fields: Learning of The Atrocities of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia

I arrived in the capital city of Cambodia, Phnom Penh, late in the evening after a gruelling 7-hour drive in a cramped minivan. I had no real interest in Phnom Penh; it was busy and I was getting pretty sick of chaotic, polluted cities. But I was here for a reason: I was here to visit The Killing Fields and Prison S-21.

I didn’t know too much about Cambodia’s history, but I did know of the Khmer Rouge, and the horrific mass genocide carried out under their power in the 1970s. I wanted to learn about how this genocide occurred and the devastating effects it had on the Cambodian people.

My visit to Prison S-21 and The Killing Fields was heartbreaking, but I felt that it was important to visit these sites. The world must never forget atrocities such as these so that it can learn from its mistakes and — hopefully — not repeat them.

What was the Cambodian genocide?

The Cambodian genocide took place between 1975 and 1979. Upon seizing power in 1975, the Cambodian communists, known more commonly as the Khmer Rouge, inflicted a murderous regime across Cambodia. Their idea was to eradicate capitalism entirely, and under the leadership of Pol Pot, they enforced mass “ethnic cleansing” campaigns.

Throughout their reign, the Khmer Rouge built 167 prisons and 343 “killing fields” in which they tortured and killed an estimated 1.7 million people.

How did the Khmer Rouge mass genocide occur?

The citizens of Cambodia had endured war for decades. The Vietnam War had lasted from 1955 to 1975, and had left Cambodia peppered with bombs and rife with uncertainty. The Khmer Rouge promised a better future, where Cambodia would be stable and safe. And so, people supported the party, in the hope of a united Cambodia.

Upon becoming the leader of the Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot wanted to create a “new Cambodia:” a pure, communist society, where no one was rich or poor, and everyone was equal. So, on April 17th 1975, the Khmer Rouge stormed Phnom Penh and evacuated everyone from their homes. They claimed that The United States were planning on bombing the capital, and that the citizens could return to their homes once the threat had gone. This was a lie.

At “checkpoints,” citizens had their possessions and money taken from them. They were told that in “new Cambodia,” possessions and money were not needed, as owning personal items represent inequality and individuality. People were forced to move to rural labour camps, and most of the population had to work back-breakingly long days for a few grains of rice. Many people died of starvation during this time.

Anyone who opposed the regime was put into prison, where they were interrogated, tortured, and ultimately, killed. The Khmer Rouge was extremely paranoid and xenophobic, and so they ordered the torture and execution of political opponents, such as those with connections to the former Cambodian government, and ethnic groups such as Vietnamese, Chinese, Muslims and Buddhist monks.

Pol Pot’s paranoia knew no bounds. He killed all professionals and intellects (this included anyone with an education, those who spoke a foreign language and even those who wore glasses), in case they had the intelligence to defy and overthrow him. He even killed members of his own family.

The regime was eventually overthrown in 1979 when Vietnam invaded Cambodia and destroyed the Khmer Rouge’s army. A quarter of the entire population of Cambodia had been killed during Pol Pot’s barbaric regime – that’s 1 in 4 people.

Prison S-21 (Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum)

Prison S-21 was originally a high school in downtown Phnom Penh before it was turned into a high-security prison by the Khmer Rouge at the start of their regime. It’s thought that there were around 150 execution centres in Cambodia during the regime, but Prison S-21 is by far the most notorious. It’s now a museum, The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, detailing the events of the Khmer Rouge.

I have to say, the museum really did hit me hard. On arrival, I was given the option to either walk around the site alone, or rent an audiotape. I opted for the audiotape, and while it made my experience all the more upsetting, it taught me a lot about the Khmer Rouge, and helped me understand the horrors these people faced. I really recommend you do the same, as the tape was just 8 USD to rent.

The chronicling of events was extremely graphic, with bloodstains still on the floors and torture instruments laid out on display. The museum also had several rooms with images of victims accompanied by some truly heartbreaking stories.

Prisoners at S-21 were usually held there for a few months. They would be taken for interrogation and had to endure horrific torture, such as drowning, electrocution, whipping, rape, beating and more. Some prisoners had their fingernails ripped out and alcohol poured onto the wounds, and the most “difficult” prisoners were skinned alive. Medical experiments were also performed on some prisoners, whereby organs would be cut out without anaesthetic.

One story, in particular, grabbed my attention. It was of a group of sailors: New Zealander Kerry Hamill, Englishman John Dewhirst and Canadian Stuart Glass. They accidentally sailed into Cambodian waters in 1978 and were seized by the Cambodian navy – Stuart was instantly shot dead. Kerry and John were taken to be interrogated and tortured by the Khmer Rouge in S-21 and finally executed. It was speculated that Kerry and John were burned alive, although the cause of death is not certain.

Prisoners were forced to write a confession before their death. Miraculously, Kerry managed to maintain a sense of wit and wrote a ridiculous piece “confessing” to be a CIA spy, trained by luminaries such as Colonel Sanders (the KFC guy) and Ray Davies (singer of The Kinks). How he maintained a sense of humour after enduring 2 months of torture is beyond me, but he sure sounds like a guy I would have loved to have met. You can read Kerry’s confession here.

The Killing Fields (Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre)

Just like at Prison S-21, you can rent an audiotape that will narrate your experience for 8 USD. This tape also contains survivor stories, which I found particularly heartbreaking to listen to.

The Killing Fields are a number of sites scattered throughout Cambodia, where over a million people were killed and buried. It’s thought that there were 300 Killing Fields throughout Cambodia.

One of these Killing Fields, now known as Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre, is located just 30 minutes from Prison S-21. It’s estimated that about 17,000 people who had been detained and tortured at Prison S-21 were transported here to be executed.

Supposedly, at the beginning of the regime, two to three trucks would arrive every few weeks, and the prisoners were killed that night. As time went on, prisoners would arrive daily, so would be kept in holding areas until it was their time to be executed. Many died before they could be executed as a result of starvation or disease.

Each morning, the guards would be told how many people would be arriving at the site so that they could dig appropriately sized graves. Prisoners were asked to kneel in front of the graves, and were executed using blunt objects, sharpened bamboo sticks or poison. Many victims were even forced to dig their own grave. Music was played to mask the screams of the victims as they were executed.

It’s thought that as many as 300 people were killed at the Choeung Ek Killing Fields every day.

To this day, rags of clothing and bone fragments are still naturally surfacing from below the ground – keepers routinely go around to collect them. There were signs saying “if you see bones on the ground, leave them, as they will be collected.”

It’s impossible to comprehend the horrors that occurred at this site. After a while, I sat on a bench to listen to some of the survivor stories that were on the audiotape. I found this be the most harrowing experience. I listened to a mother who lost her 8-month-old baby because she was starving and didn’t have the nutrients to produce breast milk. I listened to a girl who was left to die in a field after being beaten and raped by 12 men. I listened to a man who witnessed family members die.

What devastated me the most was this tree you see in the image below. Babies and young children were killed by being bashed against it, before being flung into the mass grave beside it. The tree and mass graves have since been decorated with hundreds of charms as a sign of respect and remembrance for those who died in the Khmer Rouge.

It’s honestly horrifying to realise how recent the Khmer Rouge was. It was a despicable display of inhumanity and one that, hopefully, will never be repeated.

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