The Killing Fields (Cheoung Ek)
Cambodia was ruled by the Khmer Rouge under the brutal dictatorship of Pol Pot between 1975 and 1979. During this time, an estimated 1.75 to 2.5 million (out of a 1975 population of eight million) died. Though many died of disease or starvation, it’s believed that more than one million were murdered. Their bodies were scattered in Killing Fields across the country, the most infamous of which is at Cheoung Ek.
Cheoung Ek
Following the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime, some 8,895 bodies were found at Cheoung Ek in Dangkao, about 17 kilometres south of the capital Phnom Penh. There are many excavated and un-excavated sites here, with a central memorial consisting of a Buddhist stupa surrounded by glass with more than 5,000 human skulls.
You can purchase a head set which will provide details in many languages about the brutality that took place here. Next to the small museum there is a room showing film footage on the brutality that took place here.
This is a place of the utmost respect, make sure you dress appropriately and consider Cambodian culture at all times.
Cheoung Ek is just one of a number of Killing Fields dotted around the country.
Dark Tourism and S-21
The Killing Fields has become a major tourist attraction, with most tuk-tuk drivers offering to take you there, as well as most travel companies. However, you really should be prepared for a traumatic experience, akin to visiting one of the holocaust sites in Germany or Poland. A visit to Cheoung Ek reveals the darker side of humanity and is not something you should embark upon lightly, or take children.
You can combine a trip to the Killing Fields to Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, or S-21, in the centre of Phnom Penh. It is here that Cambodians were held and torutured. In many respects it is even more shocking than Cheoung Ek. Having said that, visiting either or both sites provides you with much insight into the darkest part of Cambodia’s history.
Killing Fields the Film
The Killing Fields is a 1984 film directed by Roland Joffé and produced by Sir David Puttnam, who later became the UK Trade Envoy to Cambodia. It tells the story of Cambodian journalist Dith Pan and American Pullitzer prize winning journalist Sydney Schanberg. It is a quite remarkable film, and one we recommend you watch before visiting Cheoung Ek.
