23 December 2012
A history and blood-heavy day discovering Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Pehn. An easy start: the royal palace.
The royal palace
King Sihanouk passed away only a couple of days ago so the country is mourning, and most of the palace is closed. An important political figure over the past 50 years, notably for declaring the independence from French ruling in 1954, a lot of visitors have come to pay their respect.
The palace is a nice building, colorful, with its roofs even more pointed than usual. At the centre stands the silver pagoda, home to the famous emerald Buddha: a 50-cm tall statue carved out of a single piece of emerald, through which passes a light of an unforgettable shade of green. (it is not allowed to take pictures)
A photo exhibition displays the king close to his people: after he declared the independence, the king travelled a lot through the countryside to boost his popularity – which must have been efficient given how eagerly our guide talks about him. These trips did not, however, keep the farmers from enduring particularly difficult living conditions which failed to improve under his rule.
The Museum
Another superb building, all red and pointed, housing a beautiful art collection of a kind I had never seen before. Imagination is a lot more present than in occident, with a particular focus on anything demoniac, while on the production level, sculptors are also amazing chiselers, and I am really impressed by the finesse of their works.
The Khmers rouges: how they came to power
Change of scenery; during the 10-minutes drive to the Choeung Ek death fields, our guide gives us an outline of the Khmer rouge regime.
The year after the King Sihanouk declared Cambodia’s independence from the French, he abdicates in favor of his father Norodom Sumarit as he was foreboding the end of monarchy. He then create his own political party, the communist Sankhum, which wins the -dodgy- 1956 elections. The unfolding years saw the political rise of a certain Sloth Sar, today best known as Pol Pot, a teacher who studied in Paris and took some influence away from the King. Realising that he is losing power in his own party, the King Sihanouk sacks Pol Pot, along with a number of personalities who in turn create in exile their own political party. The Communist Party of Kampuchea to be latter dubbed as ‘Khmers Rouges’ as Kampuchea is the ancient name of Cambodia and Khmers the name of its natives.
Over that period, Sihanouk brings Cambodia’s diplomatic and economic relations with the US to an end and nationalises the banking sector as well as all international trading activities. In 1966, the King makes the political mistake of paying more attention to the visit of French President Charles de Gaulle rather than prepare for the elections. As a result, a general named Lon Nol becomes Prime Minister and abolishes the monarchy in 1970. The following years are marked by corruption and great economic instability, feeding the popularity of the Khmers rouges who then plot a coup. They make a successful, and sanguinary, breakthrough to Phnom Penh on 17 April 1975, where they are welcomed as heroes. Stories of slaughtered villages had been cleverly been spun around to accuse the Vietnamese who would have attempted to circumvent then attack the Americans.
Popular liesse is short-lived though: on the day following their arrival, the Khmers rouges oust the inhabitants of Phnom Penh, burn all property titles then currency. Pictures of an empty Phnom Pehn may have inspired our post-apocalyptic blockbuster movies.
Using violence, the Khmers rouges create a society centered exclusively on rural life in which the concepts of family, wealth and status are completely abolished. The country is turned into a gigantic forced labour camp. The new government’s inability to efficiently manage the country, combined with their general lack of consideration for human life, caused the death of hundreds of thousands of cambodians who died from starvation, overwork, or illnesses which would have otherwise been benign.
For example, the regime imposed the production of three rice crops per year, disregarding the reality that the soil is not nearly as fertile as in the Mekong delta, but on the contrary particularly arid. This delusion had the opposite effect: the unique rice crop of the year was even smaller than usual. What’s more, a large part of it was sent to Hanoï‘s Communist Party headquarters instead of nourishing the farmers.
This paranoïd regime also launched an execution campaign to eliminate the ‘enemies of the party’: leaders from the army or the former communist party, anybody remotely educated or speaking another language, monks, and even those wearing glasses. Elites disappeared completely at the benefit of very young, easy to manipulate, cruel soldiers. Over the three years, eight months and twenty days that lasted the genocide, between one and two millions of Cambodians perished, representing 20% of the population.
It is the Vietnamese who eventually brought this regime to an end, as an response to the numerous Vietnamese people living close to the border who got killed. This liberation only slightly calmed down Cambodians’ anger towards Vietnam since the Khmer Rouge assumption of power had received, at least at the beginning, Hanoi’s support.
The rest of the day is dedicated to this part of history, which is showing a side of humanity I don’t usually look into. I had picked up Cambodia to visit the Angkor temples, not to throw myself into a bloody past. But I felt it was about time I confronted myself to my general aversion towards blood and war, and faced some of worst of recent history. Even if that makes me feel like horror may never be as far as it seems from any seemingly peaceful civilisation. No matter how painful that may be, I had to complete my duty of remembrance,
Choeung Ek’s death camps
17,000 victims were executed in this ancient Chinese cemetery located 10 km away from the city center. In addition to the remote location, the fact that it is Chinese tradition to play music in cemeteries helped cover up screams from the victims.
Visitors are welcomed by a tower, beautiful from afar but surprising up close as the tower is filled up from bottom to top with skulls and other bare bones that have been collected on the site. Out of the numerous mass graves present on the site, 43 are still to be excavated.
Cambodia not having sufficient funds to maintain the site, human remains rejected by earth over seasons are not collected. As a result, it is almost impossible during the visit not to stump over bones or clothes. Our guide invites us to look for some, a bit like a treasure hunt, which makes me uncomfortable. It is not for me to judge however the way in which this man deals emotionally with the past of his own country. When I ask him about his personal experience of the genocide, he explains that his mother managed to survive despite the fact that she was an English teacher. “She must have felt particularly in danger!”, I said, to which he replied with a shrug of the shoulders “Everybody was feeling in danger! They were not bothering themselves with reasons to kill people!”
It is Japanese tradition to tie handmade wristbands as a sign of prayers. Like on this tree (sensible souls may refrain from reading the sign)
As we approach this apparently harmless nice tree, a tourist wearing an audioguide lets out a bloodcurdling scream. Our guide explains that these leaves being really sharp, they were used as weapons. At the beginning, victims were killed with a bullet in their head, but when it was considered to be to be too expensive, they had their throat cut instead; this tree leaves offered a cheaper option than a metallic blade.
Unconcerned about the past, nature stubbornly keeps on being generous.
S21 – from knowledge to cruelty
S21 is an interrogation camp and prison in which ruled the infamous Duch. A documentary about the jailer had been released a couple of years ago in France, and made quite a stir: the hour-long interview portrayed the cold meticulosity of this little man. No guilt in his eyes nor in his voice; according to him, he had simply done what he had been told to do and did it to the best he could – and held a bit of pride for it.
S21 was at the beginning, a French high school, which had quite an impact on me given that it resembled so perfectly to those I had studied in back in France. It was a bit unreal to see an architecture, so ordinary to me, turned into a place for torture and imprisonment. Onsite kills are quite rare as victims were sent away from the city to the death camp we just visited. A real metaphor of this dictature which replaced knowledge by cruelty.
Only one is still alive today – and in great shape as I could see for myself since he was there to sell his book-testimony. I bought it but I haven’t had the courage to read it yet. It was a bit surreal to see that it is possible to survive both physically and mentally from such an ordeal, especially with such a wide smile! he almost forgot to take my 10 dollar note. The hero offered to have our picture taken with him, which I accepted because I could not think of turning down anything this man would have offered, but I did not feel like smiling. In the backdrop of the picture, I can see our guide flirting with an employee, it is cute, life continues. As for me, I was still feeling in shock.
As we leave the place we walk past a corridor marked by balls; young kids come out here in the evening to play football.
Carte
Photos de la ville desertee
Photos de la ville désertée (musée du génocide, S21) – nos films post apocalyptiques n’ont rien inventé.
Voitures a l’abandon … les films de zombie n’ont rien invente.
Voitures à l’abandon.
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Usine abandonnée ; les ouvriers étaient envoyés dans les champs.
Using violence, the Khmers rouges create a society centered exclusively on rural life in which the concepts of family, wealth and status are completely abolished. The country is turned into a gigantic forced labour camp. The new government’s inability to efficiently manage the country, combined with their general lack of consideration for human life, caused the death of hundreds of thousands of cambodians who died from starvation, overwork, or illnesses which would have otherwise been benign.
For example, the regime imposed the production of three rice crops per year, disregarding the reality that the soil is not nearly as fertile as in the Mekong delta, but on the contrary particularly arid. This delusion had the opposite effect: the unique rice crop of the year was even smaller than usual. What’s more, a large part of it was sent to Hanoï‘s Communist Party headquarters instead of nourishing the farmers.
This paranoïd regime also launched an execution campaign to eliminate the ‘enemies of the party’: leaders from the army or the former communist party, anybody remotely educated or speaking another language, monks, and even those wearing glasses. Elites disappeared completely at the benefit of very young, easy to manipulate, cruel soldiers. Over the three years, eight months and twenty days that lasted the genocide, between one and two millions of Cambodians perished, representing 20% of the population.
It is the Vietnamese who eventually brought this regime to an end, as an response to the numerous Vietnamese people living close to the border who got killed. This liberation only slightly calmed down Cambodians’ anger towards Vietnam since the Khmer Rouge assumption of power had received, at least at the beginning, Hanoi’s support.
The rest of the day is dedicated to this part of history, which is showing a side of humanity I don’t usually look into. I had picked up Cambodia to visit the Angkor temples, not to throw myself into a bloody past. But I felt it was about time I confronted myself to my general aversion towards blood and war, and faced some of worst of recent history. Even if that makes me feel like horror may never be as far as it seems from any seemingly peaceful civilisation. No matter how painful that may be, I had to complete my duty of remembrance,
Choeung Ek’s death camps
17,000 victims were executed in this ancient Chinese cemetery located 10 km away from the city center. In addition to the remote location, the fact that it is Chinese tradition to play music in cemeteries helped cover up screams from the victims.
Visitors are welcomed by a tower, beautiful from afar but surprising up close as the tower is filled up from bottom to top with skulls and other bare bones that have been collected on the site. Out of the numerous mass graves present on the site, 43 are still to be excavated.
Cambodia not having sufficient funds to maintain the site, human remains rejected by earth over seasons are not collected. As a result, it is almost impossible during the visit not to stump over bones or clothes. Our guide invites us to look for some, a bit like a treasure hunt, which makes me uncomfortable. It is not for me to judge however the way in which this man deals emotionally with the past of his own country. When I ask him about his personal experience of the genocide, he explains that his mother managed to survive despite the fact that she was an English teacher. “She must have felt particularly in danger!”, I said, to which he replied with a shrug of the shoulders “Everybody was feeling in danger! They were not bothering themselves with reasons to kill people!”
It is Japanese tradition to tie handmade wristbands as a sign of prayers. Like on this tree (sensible souls may refrain from reading the sign)
As we approach this apparently harmless nice tree, a tourist wearing an audioguide lets out a bloodcurdling scream. Our guide explains that these leaves being really sharp, they were used as weapons. At the beginning, victims were killed with a bullet in their head, but when it was considered to be to be too expensive, they had their throat cut instead; this tree leaves offered a cheaper option than a metallic blade.
Unconcerned about the past, nature stubbornly keeps on being generous.
S21 – from knowledge to cruelty
S21 is an interrogation camp and prison in which ruled the infamous Duch. A documentary about the jailer had been released a couple of years ago in France, and made quite a stir: the hour-long interview portrayed the cold meticulosity of this little man. No guilt in his eyes nor in his voice; according to him, he had simply done what he had been told to do and did it to the best he could – and held a bit of pride for it.
S21 was at the beginning, a French high school, which had quite an impact on me given that it resembled so perfectly to those I had studied in back in France. It was a bit unreal to see an architecture, so ordinary to me, turned into a place for torture and imprisonment. Onsite kills are quite rare as victims were sent away from the city to the death camp we just visited. A real metaphor of this dictature which replaced knowledge by cruelty.
Premier batiment, les salles d’interrogatoire
Premier batiment, les salles d’interrogatoire
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Autour du lycee: d’epais barbeles
Le lycée est entouré d’épais barbelés
First building: interrogation rooms
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Ancienne partie du gymnase converti en potence
Ancienne partie du gymnase converti en potence
Second building: Imprisonment rooms
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Education leftovers
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Cellule d’une des sept personnes qui ont survecu
Cellule d’une des sept personnes qui ont survécu
Tombes des corps qui furent retrouves a l’arrivee des vietnamiens
Tombes des corps qui furent retrouvés à l’arrivée des vietnamiens
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Genocide museum
Just like the nazis, the Khmers rouges made a point in cataloguing all their activities. All the people who entered S21 died; apart from the seven prisoners which escaped from the ultimate massacre ahead of the liberation.
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Only one is still alive today – and in great shape as I could see for myself since he was there to sell his book-testimony. I bought it but I haven’t had the courage to read it yet. It was a bit surreal to see that it is possible to survive both physically and mentally from such an ordeal, especially with such a wide smile! he almost forgot to take my 10 dollar note. The hero offered to have our picture taken with him, which I accepted because I could not think of turning down anything this man would have offered, but I did not feel like smiling. In the backdrop of the picture, I can see our guide flirting with an employee, it is cute, life continues. As for me, I was still feeling in shock.
As we leave the place we walk past a corridor marked by balls; young kids come out here in the evening to play football.
Recentes marques de ballon sur le plafond. Comme toujours, la vie finit par reprendre ses droits et les enfants viennent parfois jouer au ballon. The French brought knowledge, and subjugated the Cambodian people with it. Would that explain such hatred for knowledge, to the point of self-destruction? My French origins seem to weigh.
Recentes marques de ballon sur le plafond. Comme toujours, la vie finit par reprendre ses droits et les enfants viennent parfois jouer au ballon.
Some Khmer Rouge are still in power today, given that, as justifies the guide, the destruction of the elites had left the country without any competencies to build it back up. Some party leaders were deemed unaware of the atrocities and as such were “forgiven” and put back in their place.
Personally, I have the feeling that Cambodians were not left with much of a choice. This reminded me of the millennial rice paddies we had driven past on the way to the execution camps, which are about to be wiped out so that foreign companies – essentially Chinese – may settle and enjoy low cost labour. These companies’ custom is to stay on Cambodia for a couple of years, until the surrounding lands go up in prices which they sell above market value before fleeing overnight without warning and without paying the employees, to which they already owe a couple of months’ salaries. The government does not do anything. I had never felt such a distance between the people and their government.
A colorful end to the day
thankfully, Phnom Penh is a really pleasant city offering plenty of opportunities to reconnect to life. On the way to a temple located at the top of a hill, we pass their Cambodian “Big Ben”, a giant clock.
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At the top of the hill there are actually three temples side by side.
Statue doree avec un explorateur francais sur la gauche
Statue dorée avec un explorateur français sur la gauche
Des temples de plusieurs religions se cotoient
Bouddhiste…
Bouddhiste…
Taoiste…
Taoïste…
Super photogeniques, ces moines avec leur toge couleur saffran
Super photogéniques, ces moines avec leur toge couleur safran
Tomorrow Siem Reap the city of the Angkor temples, the big day is approaching I am feeling so impatient.