AlexMasterley
The Killing Fields
Ratana at the Killing Fields. Why is it called the Killing Fields (with capitals)? It's not the only one.
This is the killing fields at Cheung Ek, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh (Ratana had never been there - too far). But there are killing fields like this all over Cambodia. There have to be, since it takes time and space to do this to 2 million human beings.
Not quite true - only a fraction of KR victims were killed at places like this. Most just died in the countryside, from overwork, starvation and lack of medical care.
Read this, from Christopher G. Moore, better known for thrillers (he wrote Zero Hour in Phnom Penh way back in 1993, and has just come back this year for his first visit since then - I expect to hear more).
www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011120853233/National-ne...
Anyway, Ratana was a bit more sombre than usual. He's 15, born long after it was all over. I have no idea what kids his age think of this. Another boy, Socheat, the most intelligent of the group, talks about "the Pol Pot time" as something that affected his parents and has no real meaning for him. And for all the fuss that's made about the KR trials (which is what Chris Moore is writing about), I think Pol Pot time has little relevance these days to anyone under 30 - which is more than half the population.
An architect friend of mine, rather older than Ratana and Socheat (both now in their 20s - this is an old photo), is working on a new Killing Fields memorial. The idea is to ... um ... ok, to be brutally frank, the idea is to commercialise the bloody thing. Don't tell anyone.
The Killing Fields
Ratana at the Killing Fields. Why is it called the Killing Fields (with capitals)? It's not the only one.
This is the killing fields at Cheung Ek, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh (Ratana had never been there - too far). But there are killing fields like this all over Cambodia. There have to be, since it takes time and space to do this to 2 million human beings.
Not quite true - only a fraction of KR victims were killed at places like this. Most just died in the countryside, from overwork, starvation and lack of medical care.
Read this, from Christopher G. Moore, better known for thrillers (he wrote Zero Hour in Phnom Penh way back in 1993, and has just come back this year for his first visit since then - I expect to hear more).
www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011120853233/National-ne...
Anyway, Ratana was a bit more sombre than usual. He's 15, born long after it was all over. I have no idea what kids his age think of this. Another boy, Socheat, the most intelligent of the group, talks about "the Pol Pot time" as something that affected his parents and has no real meaning for him. And for all the fuss that's made about the KR trials (which is what Chris Moore is writing about), I think Pol Pot time has little relevance these days to anyone under 30 - which is more than half the population.
An architect friend of mine, rather older than Ratana and Socheat (both now in their 20s - this is an old photo), is working on a new Killing Fields memorial. The idea is to ... um ... ok, to be brutally frank, the idea is to commercialise the bloody thing. Don't tell anyone.