Black Lilies in Tears

Currently Listening to: When You Look Me In The Eyes by The Jonas Brothers.


At last, after much editing, procastination, and time, I've decided to post on Day 4 on my Trip in Cambodia. By now, we would've been in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia and the touring all begins! One of the must see and 'prominet' places to visit for tourists is the Toulseng Genocide Museum and Choeungek Genocidal Centre.

Just to brief you with a little Cambodian History and the protagonist who enslaved it:

Saloth Sar (May 19, 1925 – April 15, 1998), also known as Pol Pot, was leader of the communist movement known as the "Khmer Rouge" (which roughly means "Red Khmer Tribe", from Rouge, the French for red, and Khmer, the name of a tribe of ancient Cambodia). He was the Prime Minister of Cambodia (officially renamed Democratic Kampuchea under his rule) from 1976 to 1979, having been de facto leader since mid-1975. During his time in power Pol Pot imposed a version of agrarian collectivization whereby city dwellers were relocated to the countryside to work in collective farms and forced labor projects with the goal of restarting civilization in "Year Zero". The combined effect of slave labour, malnutrition, poor medical care and executions had an estimated death toll of 750,000 to 1.7 million (approximately 26% of the population at that time).[1]

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pol_Pot)


Let's just say this Pol Pot guy was a mean, cruel and malicious dictator that murdered millions of people 30 years ago. Why? Go read wikipedia....haha. Or in my own words, he is just plain crazy!!! He ordered a mass genocide and killed many innocent lives including babies in the name of civilization. Literate and educated people were tortured and killed then as well as every family member. It was a dark time for Cambodia and what I am about to blog and post (pics) may deem to be grim and morbit. So be warned.

This post will only be part one of day two (too many pics) specially focusing on Toulseng Genocide Museum. The next post on part 2 will be on Choeungek Genocidal Centre. This two places are linked cause the museum is where people were tortured (now turned into a museum) and the centre is where they were killed and mass buried.

Usually, I would say "enjoy" but since this is a sad post, I ask you to please 'appreciate' the pictures and the suffering it carries. Try to be a little empathetic and know that we are very blessed to be born in a time of peace and harmony. So here goes:


Day 4 in Cambodia: Toulseng Genocide Museum

This place was originally a school. Yes, a primary school where children were educated. They turned it into a jail and torture place where many people suffered and died. After the end of the Khmer Rouge Regime, this place was turned into a Museum for tourists and to served as a reminder to the Cambodian people that such tragedy has once took place.

I humbly ask you to please click and enlarge the image to read.... It may seem 'mah fan', no care or nonchalant, but it does matter. And we should not ignore cruelty and malice but learn to install more kindness after reading such tragedy. Please do so for the other 'reading' pictures. Thank you.

What was used for students to exercise was used to hang and torture people. Innocent people.

A raw picture hung in a 'classroom' where a man was tortured badly. Yes, this was how it looked like in every 'classroom' (a torture chamber) then. And there I was, standing in there....

How it looks like now. Imagine what it was 30 years ago.... you can actually still see blood stains on the walls...

Another cruel thing about the Khmer Rouge Regime is that they forced young and uneducated youths to torture and kill the victims (educated people). Yeap, if they refused, they would be killed and hence, many did it in order to survive. These are the pictures of the infortunate teenages that were forced to inflict harm to others.

GUYS

GIRLS

This men however are the victims that were photographed before being tortured... (Note, if one kena, the whole family kena also)

I took many pictures hung on the wall (real pics of the torture then)

And this is where they photograph victims being tortured by electric (through their head)

Must hurt!

I took many pictures of this woman (in the museum, this pic was really big) because it really touched me. Maybe it was the size of the photo hung on the wall, or the baby she was carrying, but somehow, her sad eyes attracted me and pity just ran through me like a flood. I could practically see the despair and cries in her eyes. If you click and enlarge it, you will see... what I mean.



What's special bout this picture is that this is a little girl, probaly aged 6-8. She was one of the innocent and uneducated youths who were forced to inflict torture upon the people she knew (victims).... How sad is that? :(

The Victims clothes

Bars used to 'cage' the legs and hans of the victims.

Tools used to torture the victims.

Every classroom... turned into a nightmare of torture rooms...

Visitors and tourists are permitted to leave some words in the museum....

My words...

Confessions of the victims...

A poem on the Khmer Rouge Regime.... please read it.

********

The next post will be on Choeungek Genocidal Centre where the victims who were tortured (in the school turned museum (Toulseng)) were brought there to be brutally killed and mass burried.

p/s: this post and the next will be in black (unlike the usual colourful fonts) in respect to the those who have suffered and died in the cruel reign of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge Regime.