Phnom Penh hides in plain sight. On one hand “Under construction” signs and levelled land, promising development and economic growth, dominate the Cambodian capital’s landscape. On the other hand, the city’s troubled history finds a way to narrate itself through the city’s periphery to the Killing Fields, and the absence of historical buildings in its proximity. As I walked around Phnom Penh this weekend, all I could see was a people trying to live the “Cambodian dream” and overcome their traumatic past.
For those unfamiliar with Cambodian history, by traumatic past I refer to the genocide that took place in Cambodia by the Democratic Kumpuchea’s leader Pol Pot. Almost 1/4th of the Cambodian population was systematically wiped out through brutal killings between 1975 and 1979. Many were brutally tortured and most continue to bear physical if not mental scars from that period.
One of them was my tuk tuk driver, Mr. Chan Tou. On the way to the killing fields, he told me his own story. Mr. Chan Tou’s father, a well educated man, was a teacher. The Khmer Rouge branded him as a traitor and convicted him for crimes he did not commit. Mr. Chan Tou’s father and mother did not survive the genocide.
If you have a chance to visit the killing fields, please do. They are heartbreaking reminders of our human tendency to be cruel to our fellow humans. Thousands of bodies, in various states of decay, were first found by unsuspecting locals. Apparently, so many people had been dumped in these graves that earth had swelled into small mounds as the decaying bodies released gases. Today, bones, teeth and pieces of garments still resurface from the ground. All these pieces are collected and reverently stored in the memorials.
S21 is another grave reminder of the brutality of the Khmer Rouge. The museum chronicles the genocide and is housed in an old school building, which was later converted into a prison and torture center by the leaders of the Khmer Rouge. There are hundreds of thousands of photos of the people who were housed here, about 20,000 at one point.
Yet, modern Phnom Penh starts as soon as you step out of the museum. With its KFCs, Bonchons and casinos, it seems to be a ghost of its old self. Investment from China, South Korea and other countries has led to the growth of the country’s manufacturing culture, and everyone seems to know at least one female employee, who is employed in these factories.
Porche, Mercedes, and Land Rovers navigate the streets of Phnom Penh alongside a barrage of tuk tuks. Backpackers have started flocking to Phnom Penh’s chic dormitories and homestays that line its river fronts, and seedy transactions are rampant in the city as well. Internet is everywhere too, and it is CHEAP!
However, when a tuk tuk got stuck and created a traffic jam, Mr. Chan Tou jumped in and with many others pushed the tuk tuk from the pothole it was stuck in.
“You are lucky to ride my Indian Tuk Tuk!” Mr. Chan Tou said, referring to his new investment - a brand new white Indian auto-rickshaw, when he returned. And life went on on Phnom Penh.