Day 2, Wednesday 20th February - Phnom Penh

Lost identity..... After a good night's sleep, I again obtain some hot water for coffee. Yesterday while travelling around Phnom Penh's city streets I looked for evidence of this city's troubled past. Perhaps significant in itself, is the fact that I can't see any. Most of the buildings are new. There is little that I can see that predates 1979, ending a period of colonial rule, the effects of the Vietnam War and the genocide under Pol Pot. What is still noticeable to the visitor is a lack of transport policy, traffic control and road maintenance but that is not unique in south-east Asia. Policing of this chaos is, however, evident as private enterprise takes over, usually to good effect. As I take dinner on Sisowath Quay another thing becomes apparent: This is a cosmopolitan city. The authorities here have actively encouraged foreign investment which has attracted immigrants from China, India, USA, Europe, Australia and from other Asian countries. This is probably good for Cambodia in the future but unlike many of its neighbours its cultural identity is far from evident. The physical evidence of Cambodia's troubled past is hard to find. The psychological evidence is even harder to decipher as people diligently carry on with their daily lives. Perhaps today some of the evidence will present itself.
Genocide..... My transport is waiting for me outside the hotel; it's not yet 10 am. Within the city limits there are a number of tourist sites I would like to visit but only one is on my list for today. Added to this is a further site some 17 kilometres south-west of the city which, linked to the former relates to one of the most tragic events in Cambodia's history if not of the recent history of the whole world. In the southern suburbs of Phnom Penh lies the former Tuol Sleng primary school and the Toul Svay Prey high school which in 1975 was to become Office 21 (known as S-21), designed for the detention, interrogation and inhuman torture of detainees. However Toul Sleng was not used for mass murder. After confession, detainees were moved to a more discrete location away from the city, known as Choeung Ek now known as the Killing Fields.
I had already decided to concentrate my efforts today on just these two locations. I figured that this would be enough for one day with the risk of an emotional hangover which I last experienced at Auschwitz some years ago. However, what has happened here occurred in my lifetime and in the lifetime of Cambodians in my age group. Even more shocking is the fact that my country did nothing and even recognised and supported the regime that caused this. But to be fair, with borders closed and mined, no access was possible and Cambodia's only allies were Vietnam and Soviet Russia. The consequences of war can have catastrophic side effects.
I expend a good four hours between the two centres initially without emotion but as I view and read about the exhibits at Toul Sleng and move on to Choeung Ek where the stupa houses countless human skulls and other remains, the sheer tragedy of all this begins to sink in. It is certainly not for the squeamish! As I proceed through the Killing Fields at Choeung Ek I wonder how I should present this on my website. I can only summarize it at best and refer to the mass of published material that now exists which endeavors to explain what happened here. I think it best I present my material in photographic form with simple captions. These will appear in due course. My material concentrates on the two site I visited but from the museums and other sources it is easy to establish the situation nationally in the period leading up to and during the terror years between 1975 and 1979.
I return to Lucky Star Hotel in mid-afternoon. It's been a hot day again and I only need a filled roll and a beer right now. I spend a while just reflecting on the day's events and work on my notes. For dinner, I wander across the road noting festivities under way in the hotel opposite. There is a lavish wedding taking place a sign that some prosperity at least has returned together with broad smiles in stark contrast to what I have witnessed today. I take dinner nearby, happy with my portion, pork and green peppers with rice. Soup and a green banana are included in the price. That should do it for today as I spend another hour on my notes not bothering about the Champions League game going on in the background.
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