Cambodia can be a mentally difficult place to vacation in if you pay attention to its history. It is a country that experienced a genocide, which left nearly a third of its population dead, and displaced all city residents to rural areas for forced labor. But it is also a country that is filled with beautiful ancient temples and inexpensive food, transport and accommodations. There are attractive elements that draw tourists, but it has a disturbing underbelly that is hard to come to terms with. After nearly a year of travel and visiting more than 25 countries in that time, Cambodia gave us the longest roller-coaster of emotional highs and lows.
Admittance photos taken by the Khmer Rouge of some of their victims inside S-21.
This is an article I struggled with writing for more than a month. After several attempts to write an historical and experiential piece, I found it neither satisfied me as a wholly accurate history nor a great recount of what we did. Cambodia’s history between 1975-1979 is simply too horrific. Even after the atrocities that were committed during this period by the Khmer Rouge, the country still has elected officials who were members of the former regime and, worse yet, it was only within the past few years that these crimes against humanity have been addressed in the form of a tribunal. If you are not aware of the horrors of the Khmer Rouge, I recommend you go to primary sources, like biographies of those who survived this era to read more about the regime.
To give a short synopsis: The Khmer Rouge came to power after a civil war – welcomed by the people – only to turn around and slaughter one in three citizens. It was a Communist party that tried to turn the country into a self-sufficient, agrarian nation. It is a sad and sickening story, but one that is somehow not well known throughout the world. Continue reading
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