Thailand Travel Pages – The Killing Fields at Choeung Ek, Cambodia

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The Killing Fields at Choeung Ek:

The Killing Fields are actually a large number of sites situated throughout Cambodia where, at least 200,000 men, women and children were detained, tortured and executed by the Khmer Rouge regime.

Immediately following the Vietnam War the Cambodian communist movement known as the Khmer Rouge came into power. Lead by the infamous Pol Pot, the regime attempted to 'cleanse' the country of anyone connected to the former government or with foreign governments, as well as any professional or intellectual Cambodians. During their years in power (1975 – 1979) it is estimated that the Khmer Rouge either through execution, disease or starvation, killed up to 2.5 million people out of a population of around 7 million.

In 1980, some of the many mass graves were exhumed. The most visited monument of the Killing Fields is in Choeung Ek, situated some 15km south of Cambodia's capital city Phnom Penn. Today, it is the site of a Buddhist memorial to the terror, and Tuol Sleng has a museum commemorating the many thousands of victims that are buried there. Some 8,000 skulls are visible in the memorial stupa.

If you pay a visit to any of the Killing Fields, please recognize that they are mass graves and not tourist attractions. Pause for a moment and consider the horror that these poor victims witnessed and the pain they must have suffered during these terrifying massacres. Many of the graves still lie untouched and so after periods of heavy rain it is not uncommon for bones, teeth or clothing to surface. If you see anything of that nature during your tour of the memorial park please notify your guide.

Getting there

The Killing Fields of Cheung Ek is situated 15 kilometers south-west of Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh.