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  • Day 15

    Phenom Penh killing fields

    November 8, 2019 in Cambodia ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Today was a day of contrast we are testing out a new iternery in Cambodia with Intrepid but this was a jarring day. We started the day out with a trip to the killing fields which is something I knew very little about before today. It was quite upsetting as we walked through the fields you can still see the bone fragments and clothes of those who were ruthlessly killed by the Pol Pot regime.
    Dika our tour guide told us that his father was taken from the family during this time and they never saw it heard from him again and they never found out where he ended up. His final resting place is in one of the many mass graves across Cambodia.

    We then continued onto the Phemon Penh jail where prisoners who were accused of being traitors to the regime were kept before being brought to the killing field. Some where taken here for being accused of not working hard enough in the fields. There was 4 survivors of this prison 4 kids hid in dirty laundry. We had the pleasure to meet the oldest of the kids he was 9 and took his 6 year old brother and a 3 year old girl her younger 18 month old brother and a 6 month old baby to hid in the washing. They hid for so long that the 6 month old baby died of dehydration. The remaining 4 are all still living. The 3 year old girl was adopted in Germany but the whereabouts of her younger brother is unknown.

    Its hard to believe this happened so recently.

    I didn't feel comfortable taking photos here but one of the trees growing at the site. They were such big trees and i thought it was nice to think that all these people have nourished the growth of these trees so there death wasnt completely in vain.
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