Phnom Penh

Our day in Phnom Penh can not be easily forgotten. We had a full day tour throughout the various monuments around the city. It was a long, hot and emotional day.

Although we visited the Royal Palace and National Museum, their impact paled in comparison to the Genocide Museum and the Killing Fields location.

I didn't really know a lot about the Khmer Rouge regime. I only knew that it was a genocide lead by Pol Pot in the late 70's.

The Genocide Museum is the former prison known as Security Office 21 or S-21. Before it was a prison it had been a school. It was incredibly eerie to walk through classrooms that had been turn to torture chambers and cell blocks.

Over 30,000 people were tortured and killed here, including 20,000 children; only seven people survived. People were tortured until they confessed to crimes against the Khmer Rouge. These confession were in most part false, people just hoped to be released. Once a confession was fulfilled, the victim was sent to the Killing Fields for execution. Those who did not confess were tortured to death.

We also visited one of the nearby Killing Fields were people were killed and dumped into mass graves. The atrocities committed here are unthinkable.

When I had a moment to sit quietly I realized that I was holding my breath. I was finding hard to hold back my tears for a time and a people I knew little about. But yet, you only need to know that what happened here is similar to so many other places both past and present. I have had the chance to visit Rwanda and felt the same way. My greatest fear is that in years to come more memorial museums will be built to honour those who are still dying senselessly today in places like Darfur or Zimbabwe.