The Killing Fields, Phnom Phen, Cambodia

The Killing Fields (or “Choeung Ek) in Phnom Phen, Cambodia have a dark and bloody history. Located about 17 kilometers from the city center, this was the burial site for the thousands of innocent victims tortured and executed during the Khmer Rouge genocide, which lasted from 1975 to 1979. According to the historical accounts, men, women, and children were forced from their homes and imprisoned in concentration camps, where they were tortured into giving the names of anyone they knew before many of them were driven to sites like this one, murdered, and thrown into mass graves.

The story of the Cambodian genocide, as horrible as it is, serves as a lesson and example for us in the present, and today the Killing Fields and the nearby Toul Sleng Prison are open to the public.

It’s certainly very educational, and definitely worth a visit, but it is perhaps a bit grim for those with younger children.