The Killing Fields

The Killing Fields of Cheung Ek are 15 kilometers south-west of Phnom Penh and made famous by the film of the same name "Killing Fields". It was a place where more than 17,000 civilians were killed and buried in mass graves; many of them transported here after detention and torture in Toul Sleng. This place is a chilling reminder of the brutalities of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime. In the center of the area is a 17 story glass stupa which houses 8000 skulls exhumed from mass graves.

Although this place is an extremely poignant reminder of the past I felt it was worth the visit, not only to pay respects to the victims but also to educate the rest of the world. Their website states "Only through awareness will the world remember the lessons of the genocide, honor the memories of the 2 million killed, and promote peace and tolerance so as not to relive the same dark days"

We took a fair few photos of this now very calm and peaceful place, however we felt it disrespectful to show some of them. For example the stupa is made of the many skulls of victims lost and a there is beautiful tree covered in prayer beads which was once where children and babies were killed. This particular spot really affected us both. So instead I have simply put up a picture of some of the thousands of prayer beads and friendship bracelets that people leave alongside the mass graves.