Culture Post #1 - Khmer Rouge

While in Penom Penh, we were able to indulge into a portion of Cambodia's disturbing past.  To summarize, this dick named Pol Pot came to power around 1975 and turned the country into a communist state.

For the record, I absolutely hate communists.   If you simply look at the history of all previous communist regimes, it is clear that is one of the worst ideas of all time.  Commies are bastards.

Anyways, believe it or not, the Cambodian communist regime was evil and began killing anyone who was viewed as an opposition of the regime.  They went on to brutally murder anyone not of pure Cambodian descent, people with college degrees, and anyone viewed as intelligent enough to know that Pol Pot was a genocidal prick.  To save bullets, the victims were killed by bludgeoning (beaten to death with blunt objects, knives, or whatever was available).  Then, believe it or not, the country began suffering from famine, shortages of necessities, and not having access to lifesaving medicines.  This happens under every commie regime. Finally, the Vietnamese came in and liberated Cambodia in 1979.

A photograph of remains of victims that were bludgeoned to death.

The entrance to one of the buildings of S-21.  This was a high school that was converted into a torture chamber/prison for Khmer Rouge opposition.  People suspected of having capitalist ideals were taken here to be tortured until they said they were guilty.  They were then taken to the "Killing Fields".

Above is the memorial erected at the Killing Fields 15 kilometers outside Penom Penh.  The memorial is filled with bones of Khmer Rouge victims that were excavated from the site.

Above are skulls inside the memorial.  There are 17 levels of bones inside the building.

As the above sign indicates, this tree was used to execute small children.  Executioners would grab the children by their ankles and smash their heads against the tree trunk.

An estimated 1.7 to 2.5 million people were killed during the Khmer Rouge.  The effects are still evident throughout Penom Penh today.  A final disgusting fact is that Pol Pot died in his sleep in 1998, never having to be found guilty of the heinous crimes he committed.  To learn more, here is the Wikipedia link, or contact Andrew Scott.  Being so emotionally touched by the historical sites, he purchased a book on the subject and supposedly read it.