Morning glories have forever changed their meaning for me. Instead of reminding me of a sunny day, I’ll remember our tour guide in Cambodia. He was a child when Pol Pot liberated Cambodia in 1975. Pol Pot’s regime soon took him from his parents to work in the fields. When the fields were flooded, the soldiers would boat him and other children out into the fields where they would grab a banana leaf with one arm to keep from drowning while they cut morning glories with the other. Our guide ate banana stems that he salted to fill his stomach as he was given almost nothing to eat.
The story of the Killing Fields began when the Khmer Rouge liberated Cambodia. Two hours after entering Phnom Penh, the new regime under Pol Pot ordered the evacuation of all cities and towns, sending the entire urban population out into the countryside to till the land. Everything the people owned was confiscated—homes, housewares, eating utensils, clothing—everything belonged to the state. Thousands starved or died of disease during the evacuation. The people were allowed to own nothing. Everyone was given a black shirt and pants to wear, ate in a communal kitchen, ate exactly the same thing and same amount, and at the same time. If you didn’t like the food it meant death.
The reign of Pol Pot is described by the U. S. Department of State.
Many of those forced to evacuate the cities were resettled in new villages, which lacked food, agricultural implements, and medical care. Many starved before the first harvest, and hunger and malnutrition–bordering on starvation–were constant during those years. Those who resisted or who questioned orders were immediately executed, as were most military and civilian leaders of the former regime who failed to disguise their pasts.
Agriculture was collectivized, and the surviving part of the industrial base was abandoned or placed under state control. Cambodia had neither a currency nor a banking system. The regime controlled every aspect of life and reduced everyone to the level of abject obedience through terror. Torture centers were established, and detailed records were kept of the thousands murdered there. Public executions of those considered unreliable or with links to the previous government were common. Few succeeded in escaping the military patrols and fleeing the country. Solid estimates of the numbers who died between 1975 and 1979 are not available, but it is likely that hundreds of thousands were brutally executed by the regime. Hundreds of thousands more died from forced labor, starvation, and disease–both under the Khmer Rouge and during the Vietnamese invasion in 1978. Estimates of the dead range from 1.7 million to 3 million, out of a 1975 population estimated at 7.3 million.
Seeing the Killing Fields was difficult but necessary. Grass-covered ditches marked the places where mass graves were found—over 20,000 graves have been uncovered. Signs throughout the fields insure visitors will know what was found and what was done in this place.
The Genocide Museum is in the prison where people were imprisoned and tortured in rooms smaller than a twin bed, and victims were made to live in their excrement and brought out only to endure the most horrific torture. The museum has a photo of the day the Khmer Rouge entered Phnom Penh. The joy of the people is evident as the troops entered the city but soon their joy was replaced with fear as Cambodia became a land of atrocities.
The oppression of Cambodia is a significant reason for the extreme poverty today. With a yearly average income of $270, there are few options for employment. Children sell silk scarves, journals, bookmarks, purses, throws, photos, and other items of interest to tourists. Along most roads are makeshift markets where everything and anything is sold to passersby.
Companies like WorldCrafts can make a huge difference in places like this where there is almost no job potential. We can help develop a nation as we partner to bring both physical and spiritual hope to the people of Cambodia. Be sure to visit the WorldCrafts Web site and join us in bringing dignity to the impoverished.
