Phnom Penh, Cambodia
July 4, 2017
Some places in the world have been deemed a UNESCO world heritage site to preserve the culture or historical buildings. The Killing Fields 15km outside Phnom Penh do not have any lasting buildings, but have been given this merit because it its felt everyone should be aware of what happened in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge reign during the late 1970s. We debated taking the boys to visit this site but after some research and discussion we felt it was a worthwhile learning opportunity albeit some very heavy content.
We took a tuk tuk with Ans and Evert through some other parts of the city to reach the Killing Fields.
It is difficult to comprehend the atrocities committed by Cambodians to Cambodians on the now peaceful grounds.
A few years ago I read the book When Broken Glass Floats; a memoir written by a woman who survived the tragedies from 1975 - 1979. It is difficult to learn more with the realia present.
Pol Pot was the leader during this time and seemed to want to set his country back to that of the stone age. He wanted to create a completely agrarian, communal society. To achieve this, 3 million people were either brutally murdered or starved to death.
The area is respectfully silent as people listen to the audio guide giving explanations of the parts of the fields and translating stories told by survivors. These are not easy stories to listen to and we previewed what Nate and Levi would hear.
Bracelets left to show respect for those that died. Bones and pieces of clothing still surface from the mass graves after the wet season.
This opens up some good discussion about how some people get into power and why people hate.
July 4, 2017
Some places in the world have been deemed a UNESCO world heritage site to preserve the culture or historical buildings. The Killing Fields 15km outside Phnom Penh do not have any lasting buildings, but have been given this merit because it its felt everyone should be aware of what happened in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge reign during the late 1970s. We debated taking the boys to visit this site but after some research and discussion we felt it was a worthwhile learning opportunity albeit some very heavy content.
We took a tuk tuk with Ans and Evert through some other parts of the city to reach the Killing Fields.
It is difficult to comprehend the atrocities committed by Cambodians to Cambodians on the now peaceful grounds.
A few years ago I read the book When Broken Glass Floats; a memoir written by a woman who survived the tragedies from 1975 - 1979. It is difficult to learn more with the realia present.
Pol Pot was the leader during this time and seemed to want to set his country back to that of the stone age. He wanted to create a completely agrarian, communal society. To achieve this, 3 million people were either brutally murdered or starved to death.
This opens up some good discussion about how some people get into power and why people hate.
