Day 3: The Killing Fields

Day 3

The Killing Fields

This morning MaryAnne and I met for breakfast at 7:00am and Narith picked us up at 9:00am. Our first stop was to find a cell phone store, because MaryAnne’s phone was not working. Narith was able to bargain a cell phone on the street for $24 that she could use while she was here.

This afternoon MaryAnne brought me to see the killing fields. In the 1970s the Khmer Rouge

army led by Pol Pot forced everybody out of Phnom Penh. The government first killed doctors, nurses, teachers, and other intellectuals- leaving the country unable to care for it’s people. Nearly 1.7 million people died from the killings or starvation. MaryAnne and I had our own tour guide named Chantheng Nhim. He explained to us that he was alive during the genocide, but him and his family moved up north. Two of

his sisters died of starvation, but he survived due to breast-feeding from his mother. At the killing fields, we saw many mass graves where about 115 people were buried in each grave. In the largest mass grave, 450 people were buried. Our tour guide pointed out a tree where the soldiers would “smash babies” against the tree to kill them. To kill adults, the army used farming tools because they did not want to waste their bullets. We saw skulls of people killed and we even saw teeth that still remained in the dirt. Next we went to the Museum of Genocide Crime. It was here that people were tortured before being brought to the killing fields. The soldiers would torture people by ripping of fingernails or hanging them by their feet and letting their head drown under water in a pot below. I can’t even begin to explain all of the emotions inside of me from what I saw today. It was just so unbelievable to learn the cruel things that happened to people only about 30 years ago.

I was able to get video footage of the killing fields, museum, and an interview with our tour guide that I look forward to sharing with all of you. If you want to learn more about the genocide in Phnom Penh I would highly recommend watching the movie “The Killing Fields” and reading the book First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung.

Tonight MaryAnne and I were very busy putting together all the gifts for the Girl Guides (same as Girl Scout in the U.S) and for the teachers. We made over 100 gift bags

that included: a dental package with a toothbrush, toothpaste, and dental floss; small bags of hair accessories and bead necklaces; friendship bracelets made by Girl Scout Troops in the U.S; and small stuffed animals that I brought with me that say Western New England College. We had a lot of fun putting together the packages and I cannot wait until we can give them to the children!