Babies in the Killing Fields
Last modified: September 20, 2019
Imagine holding a baby girl
…grasping her ankles in your hands
…listening to her cries for her mother
…smashing her against a tree.
This was the Khmer Rouge.
The Khmer Rouge arrested entire families, and while they could indoctrinate children, they considered babies of little value. When I came upon ‘The Tree’, I broke down. The audio guide explained in excruciating detail how this was ‘The Tree’ against which they smashed babies.
I had to turn away; uncontrollable tears were washing down my face. All I could think was; Babies? Babies?!
Killing Tree (front) 
Killing Tree (back)
This was only halfway through our tour of Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre, a killing field with multiple mass graves of victims of the Khmer Rouge. A friend asked if I was ready to continue the tour not noticing my breakdown. I just motioned that I needed a minute.
Khmer Rouge reign of terror
The Khmer Rouge wanted to create a society free from classes by destroying every class except the peasants who worked the land. They removed children from their parents, moulding them to be loyal, obey orders, and become soldiers. They forced evacuations of cities, which led to death marches. People died of exhaustion and starvation.
Mass grave of 100 women and children 
Mass grave of 166 victims without heads 
Mass Grave of 450 victims 
Glass case filled with victims’ teeth
The tour ends at a Buddhist Stupa, which is magnificent on the outside. Inside, it displays 5000 skulls of victims. Since 2005, they no longer exhume the graves so the victims can rest in peace.
Buddhist Stupa in the centre of Choeung Ek (outside) 
5000 skulls on display inside Buddhist Stupa 
Duch, head of the S-21 prison, and first member of the Khmer Rouge leadership to be prosecuted for crimes against humanity 
Close up of victim skulls
Anyone could be a threat
The Khmer Rouge arrested, tortured, and killed anyone suspected of supporting the “enemy”. Doctors, lawyers, teachers, engineers, and anyone educated – was a threat to their regime. If you knew a foreign language, or even wore glasses, you were condemned. They deemed city dwellers guilty of economic sabotage since they had no agricultural ability.
They also arrested other Khmer Rouge members. Those under arrest, no matter how much they begged and pleaded, would not find out for what crime were they being punished.
Between 1975 and 1979, the Khmer Rouge massacred about 2 million victims, or 25% of the 1975 population of Cambodia.
Keeping the memory alive
It shocked me; I had to travel across the world to learn this history. I, like many in the West, learned nothing of this in our schooling. I grew new respect for the Cambodian people. This tragedy affected the entire population, yet they endure.
Leaving the Genocidal Centre in my tuk-tuk, I glimpsed two Cambodian children stealing glances at us foreigners. These cute children – smiling, laughing, they reminded me that while this world can be grim, there is always hope.
For more history on the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia see my supplemental post: A Complicated History of the Khmer Rouge
– amo
Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Visited Tuesday April 23, 2019
