A Buddhist stupa towers over the site and is usually the first stop for visitors passing through Cheoung Ek, though there is competition from the souvenir shop to the left of the entrance. During the Khmer Rouge era, Pol Pot sought to eliminate all forms of religion and murdered most of the country's monks and religious minorities.
Visitors to Choeung Ek, Cambodia's most infamous Killing Field, learn about the Khmer Rouge's murderous past in graphic detail, but locals don't benefit.
By Simon Roughneen
18 May, 2011
CNNgo.com
From 1975 to 1979 an estimated 1.4 million Cambodians were killed under the despotic rule of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.
The executions took place on what have become known as Cambodia's Killing Fields. The best known of these is Choeung Ek, 17 kilometers from the center of Phnom Penh. Here, an estimated 17,000 men, women and children were butchered by the Khmer Rouge.
It is a suitably grim and eerie memorial to those who died, an Auschwitz-Birkenau for Asia.
But unlike the Holocaust memorial, Choeung Ek is not a UNESCO World Heritage site and today questions are being raised about the benefit of Killing Field tourism for local inhabitants.
Choeung Ek is run by Japanese company JC Royal, which pays the Cambodian Government an annual US$15,000 levy for the site. Meanwhile, the five million survivors of the Khmer Rouge era appear to derive little benefit from it.
Many live on less than US$1 per day, an injustice that adds to the upset caused by delays in punishing the perpetrators behind Cambodia's darkest era.
getting there
Choeung Ek is a 17-kilometer drive from the heart of Phnom Penh. A taxi or tuk-tuk should do a return trip for US$8-10, depending on how long you want to spend at the site. The journey takes about 45 minutes, depending on traffic.
Simon Roughneen is a southeast Asia correspondent for several publications. Find him at www.simonroughneen.com and his Twitter name is @simonroughneen.
The executions took place on what have become known as Cambodia's Killing Fields. The best known of these is Choeung Ek, 17 kilometers from the center of Phnom Penh. Here, an estimated 17,000 men, women and children were butchered by the Khmer Rouge.
It is a suitably grim and eerie memorial to those who died, an Auschwitz-Birkenau for Asia.
But unlike the Holocaust memorial, Choeung Ek is not a UNESCO World Heritage site and today questions are being raised about the benefit of Killing Field tourism for local inhabitants.
Choeung Ek is run by Japanese company JC Royal, which pays the Cambodian Government an annual US$15,000 levy for the site. Meanwhile, the five million survivors of the Khmer Rouge era appear to derive little benefit from it.
Many live on less than US$1 per day, an injustice that adds to the upset caused by delays in punishing the perpetrators behind Cambodia's darkest era.
getting there
Choeung Ek is a 17-kilometer drive from the heart of Phnom Penh. A taxi or tuk-tuk should do a return trip for US$8-10, depending on how long you want to spend at the site. The journey takes about 45 minutes, depending on traffic.
Simon Roughneen is a southeast Asia correspondent for several publications. Find him at www.simonroughneen.com and his Twitter name is @simonroughneen.
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