MY TRIP TO CAMBODIA
Hi everyone, it is me, Tisha. Sorry that I did not write the blog for a long time because I went to CAMBODIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I went to Phnom Penh first and after that I went to Siem Reap.
In Phnom Penh, there were so many people selling fishes, chicken, and even a pig in the market and I also saw a pig’s head! Yikes! That was frightening.
THE ROYAL PALACE – JEWEL OF
CAMBODIA KINGDOM
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| My family and I in front of the Royal Palace |
First, let me tell you about the Royal Palace. In the Royal Palace, the King’s Throne is made of gold, and on the right you will see the statue of King Monivong and the left is the statue of King Sisowat. In the palace grounds, there is a very big hall called The Chanchaya Hall. I think royal functions are held there. There are so many things to see in the Royal Palace. In the Royal temple, I saw the jade Buddha, the gold Buddha, and the emerald Buddha. And outside the Royal temple, you will see a statue on a horse, that statue is King Norodom.
THE KILLING FIELDS – HELL ON EARTH
Next, we visited The Killing Fields of hell or also known as Choeung Ek. It is a very, very sad place because thousands and thousands of Cambodians were killed there during the Khmer Rouge Regime led by Pol Pot. I was given an audio set and as we walked around the field we pressed the number that was shown on each check point and I listened to the sad and horrifying story that took place there.Altogether there are 19 check points and the saddest check points are:
PT.15 The Killing Tree
The Killing Tree was where the bloody Khmer Rouge soldiers snatched the babies from their mothers and smashed their heads on the trunk of the Killing Tree and then thrown into the pit to be buried.
PT.17 The Magic Tree
The Magic Tree is a very huge bodhi tree where many loudspeakers are hung by the Khmer Rouge soldiers. Then, loud music was played over the loudspeakers at night to drown the cries of the victims that were being killed by the soldiers.
THE GREAT STUPA- THE FINAL RESTING PLACE FOR THE VICTIMS
At the last check point, stands a huge stupa which is the final resting place for all the victims in this Killing Fields. Obviously, 129 mass graves and about 8,000 human skulls at the site bear testimony to this unspeakable crime.
I felt very sad and I asked myself why did the Khmer soldiers carry out this atrocious and cruel act of torturing and killing their very own people? Why did the Khmer soldiers make them naked and then they kill them? I pray that the victims in this Killing Fields will go to Baha’u’llah’s home and ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s home too and may their souls rest in peace. I also pray that this will never happen again.
TUOL SLENG – TORTURING PRISON OF HELL
VICTIMS TORTURED HERE THEN SENT TO THE KILLING FIELDS TO BE KILLED!!!
The next depressing place is called Tuol Sleng, a security office 21 aka S-21 which was created on orders of Pol Pot. It was formerly a school, but it was turn into a torturing prison of hell. S-21 was designed for detention, interrogation, inhuman torture, and killing after confession from the detainees were received and documented.
When I walked into Tuol Sleng, 14 white graves greeted me and the visitors solemnly. They were the last 14 victims found in the torture rooms by the United Front for the National Salvation of Kampuchea, on January 7, 1979.
THE TORTURE ROOMS OF HELL
There was quietness as the visitors walked around the compound and they walked into the buildings quietly and into the torture rooms that were was upon a time classrooms. I too walked silently as I went into the rooms of hell and I saw photos of victims that were tortured by the cruel and senseless Khmer Rouge interrogators. It was so inhumane and cold-blooded of the Khmer Rouge soldiers and they torture their own people.
I felt very sad and my heart was torn into pieces upon seeing the faces of the victims. My eyes bled for them as I saw their eyes staring into my eyes as I looked at their expressionless photos that were exhibited in the Tuol Sleng Museum.
Why did the Khmer Rouge soldiers kill their people like this? If they are still living today, I wonder if they regretted their past actions?
I hope this will not happen to anyone in the whole world. To the victims, I pray that they find peace in heaven.