Heading
On our first full day in Cambodia, we enjoyed amazing coffee and breakfast, met for orientation as a team, and then travelled to experience a piece of Cambodia's painful and recent past: the genocide of the Pol Pot era from 1975-1978.
When we passed through the gates of the Choeng Ek Genocidal Center, we were greeted by several puppies lounging on the warm pavement. I didn’t expect to see beauty in this place, one of the Killing Fields. The lush greenery and the tree-lined lake along with chipmunks, birds and butterflies dancing over the flowers felt like tiny glimpses of hope and healing in a place that had been the site of such inexplicable horror. The audio guide had true stories from survivors of the regime and though overwhelming, it was deeply moving to listen to their voices while walking the boardwalks built around the mass graves and the boxes of collected bone fragments, clothing and teeth. I stood alone on the far side of the lake with the anguished voice of a mother who had watched her baby die of starvation in my ears and it was almost too much to take. Looking at a fenced off piece of ground that holds the remains of so many senselessly tortured and murdered Cambodians, I cried out in my spirit “Why God?” The many ribbons and beaded bracelets left in respect all along the fence posts was just one of many, many heart-wrenching scenes from the day. Through tears later, it was a balm to repeat together “Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy” as we shared our feelings of incredulity, sadness and rage in our reflection time. I thought of all the genocides past and present and appreciated that the Center spoke to that heartbreaking reality.
The plaque on the statue of a mother and child clinging to each other with fearful faces said :“ Never will we forget the crimes committed during the Democratic Kampuchea Regime. 17-04-1975 to 07-01-1979”
I was 15 years old when the regime ended… a child far away in Canada living a life of ease. I remember hearing about Cambodian refugees on the news. I remember the country being cut off from the rest of the world. I feel amazed that I have been given the gift of being here today all these years later, viscerally experiencing this troubled history along with the hopeful beauty of this place and these people.
Christ have mercy on us all.
