We’ve arrived at Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. The Royal Palace is located here, and on the palace grounds, the Silver Pagoda. An excursion has been arranged for us to visit Tuol Sleng prison — an infamous vestige of the Khmer Rouges. I had mixed feelings about going. I had done my homework, so I knew what Tuol Sleng was about, at least in a general way. Of course, seeing it in person would take that knowledge to a whole new level.
The 24-Hour Cambodian Flu — or Something
But I had come down with some kind of bug, so I wouldn’t be going, anyway. I wasn’t terribly sick, but I didn’t dare stray any further than say, a thirty-second run to a toilet. I wasn’t confined to quarters, but I was confined to the boat. That’s for sure.
The good news is that the medical care I received on board was outstanding. It was provided by the boat’s bartender-turned-doctor. The “doctor” part was unofficial, but she was a doctor to me. She took one look at me that day and made an immediate diagnosis. (Did I look THAT bad? I hadn’t thought of that until just now).
The antidote was a concoction of ginger tea and some secret ingredients. They’re secret to me, anyway. I do know that there were pieces of fresh, raw ginger in the mug. It was so good. And it seemed to bring almost instant relief. I had two mugs of her ginger tea each day for the rest of the trip.
Tuol Sleng and the Khmer Rouges
But let’s get back to Tuol Sleng and Cambodia’s darkest days. In 1975, Cambodia’s civil war had been raging for five years. In April of that year, it was over for the Cambodian government. Communist Khmer Rouges fighters entered Phnom Penh and took over without a fight. The civil war was over.
A lot of people, (maybe most people?), were relieved and even optimistic. No one knew much about the Khmer Rouges, other than that they were communist. When entering the city, they seemed friendly enough.
But things changed fast. The first major action of the Khmer Rouges leadership, whoever they were, (no one knew), was to order the complete evacuation of Phnom Penh. Evacuation orders were urgent. It was an emergency. Never mind what emergency. No packing. No getting ready. “You can take what you can carry and leave the rest. Now! Or else!”
Chaos. And then Worse
Go where? No one knew. Every person in the city had to get out or face the consequences. It was total chaos. No one knew it then, but the Khmer Rouges leadership did have a plan. Evacuation of the whole country’s population from the cities into the countryside was Step One. It was a fast way of separating people from their possessions.
According to communist beliefs of the day, the basic idea was that everyone, (except those in charge), should be equal in just about any way you can think of. Personal property was a no-no.
This was back in the 1970’s, and at the time, a substantial part of the world shared communist ideals. But the Khmer Rouge leadership intended to take Cambodia to a level not yet seen in any other communist country. They believed that the best way to get there was to start with a blank slate. Everything people owned or believed in – religion, Cambodian traditions, history, all knowledge other than that required for farming and survival – had to be erased.
The New Endangered Species
Therefore, businessmen, religious people, anyone with an education, (especially teachers), became Public Enemy Number One. Just owning a pair of glasses could be a death sentence. Suppose you were a teacher that wound up on a work farm somewhere. If the local Khmer Rouges found out, you would disappear. It was madness.
They usually showed up at night. There would be no explanation. You’d have to go with them for questioning, or whatever. Resistance always made things worse. And as far as your family would know, that would be the end of you. You might be sent for special, years-long “re-indoctrination,” or you might just “disappear.”
Phnom Penh, where we are now, became Khmer Rouges headquarters. But other than buildings occupied by Khmer Rouges, the city was deserted. This huge city was a ghost town.
But let’s take a break from those days. Thanks to the ginger tea, I’m sure, I started feeling better — good enough to try to find a pharmacy and get some real meds. After getting advice, directions, and a marked-up little map, we went to look for a tuk-tuk to take us to a pharmacy.
As soon as we came to a busy street, a tuk-tuk driver pulled over and stopped. He spoke zero English, apparently. We said, “pharmacy? pharmacy?” and pointed to our little map. We didn’t get a “yes” that we were aware of, but he did motion for us to hop in. Then he took off in the opposite direction of the route drawn on the map. Uh-oh. Here we go…
To be continued…
Feature Image photo credit: Phnom Penh Sunset. A photo taken by Dmitry A. Mottl/Wikimedia Commons
