In Phnom Penh, we had a chance to learn about the Cambodian genocide in ways that were all too real and tangible. I learned very little about it in school, and only knew what I had picked up on the internet, so this experience was incredibly eye-opening. First, we visited the Killing Fields, where over a million people were secretly held and killed. We listened to audio tours that gave background information and personal survivor accounts, making the walk through bones and mass graves even more chilling.
Later, we went to the Genocide Museum, where we listened to another audio tour of the S-21 prison, where over 12,000 people were secretly tortured and killed. Only seven survived. The prison was once a high school, which is hauntingly fitting, considering Pol Pot’s goal of eliminating educated people. We saw instruments of torture, and the actual, impossibly small cells in which prisoners were held, as well as photos from the prison and of prisoners.
Visiting these horrific places made the country’s history incredibly vivid, especially since it was so, so recent. It made me view Cambodia from a whole new perspective—every single person’s life was affected by the cruel actions of the Khmer Rouge. Many, or even most, have lost parents, grandparents, siblings, and children.
Our experience in Phnom Penh was given a hopeful twist during our time volunteering at Water of Life. I participated in two events, first an outreach on an island on a river, where we sang songs with children from the village, and then assisting English classes at Water of Life. They offer free English classes to over 300 people! I especially loved this, of course, because I am an English Education major. It gave a greater sense of purpose to my chosen career path, and reminded me of the joy that educatio
n can bring. It is too often taken for granted in the US.
I was grateful to have been given the chance to brighten a few days in Phnom Penh, because after learning about the country’s recent history, I wanted to do anything I could to make a small difference. Interacting and helping with children kept our time in Phnom Penh from feeling hopeless and dark—there is still so much joy in the country, and in the world, that always transcends tragedy.