It's so hard to describe the types of emotions i felt today as we ventured into the heart of Phnom Phen here in Cambodia. It's definitely an experience that i will take with me for the rest of my life.
We met with our Tuk Tuk driver, Polly, today at 10:00am sharp and he started taking us around the city. Our first stop was at the Genocide Museum which was an old primary school turned into a prison called "S-21" during Pol Pot's regime. All of us were overcome with emotions after being here b/c in each room you would imagine what crimes against humanity were committed. It's unbelievable how one group can change the face of history forever and generations to come. The initial reason for the regime was legitimate in that they wanted to make a better life for the people of Cambodia. But the longer time went on, the more paranoid the leaders were about the "enemy" and the more people were massacred. It was so hard to walk into some of the displays b/c there were even pictures of the cells. It was eerie and so overwhelming. I think of the worst torture methods was that they would rip off people's fingernails and then douse it with alcohol. Our second stop was the killing fields and it was fitting that there was lightening and rain while we were there. We saw sites that held 100+ people. The saddest part was that the majority of people murdered were those that had education and could give the country a better future. Even when you look around Cambodia today, there are not very many older people... they need to rebuild a whole generation from scratch. It's very similar to what happened during the Chinese revolution, but literally 1/2 of the population was killed (2 million people). We were also talking about how in 20 years, we will be asking the same question of "how could this happen, and why didn't anyone do anything to stop it" with Darfur and Somalia. It makes you think how things can be better... the good news is that Cambodia is in its early stages of rebuilding the country. So now, there is a chance for it to get better with peace and rebuild itself. You can see programs all around which advocates against child poverty and human rights.
Another highlight of my day was that we took all the Tuk Tuk drivers out for lunch. They took us to this really cool restaurant that served Khmer Rouge dishes. It was really cute how appreciative they were that we paid for their meals even though it was only 4USD. It's unbelievable how hard they need to work to make a livelihood for themselves. One of the drivers told me that he works from 9am to 6am and sleeps 3 hrs a day. He rarely sees his children b/c they're asleep when he comes home. But it's good that they're receiving an education and they can make a better life for themselves.
Anyways we're leaving for Siem Riep tomorrow to see Ankor Wat. I can't believe we haven't even seen the most massive temples in the world and it's already been such an awesome experience. Can't wait!!!
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