Killing fields how many people died

The Khmer Rouge created labor brigades, assigning groups depending on age and gender. This policy resulted in hundreds of thousands of Cambodians starving to death. Religious and ethnic minorities faced particular persecution. Christian and Buddhist groups were targeted for repression but it was the Cham Muslim group that was most affected by the genocide.

Because the Khmer Rouge placed a heavy emphasis on the rural peasant population, anyone considered an intellectual was targeted for special treatment. This meant teachers, lawyers, doctors, and clergy were the targets of the regime. There is difficulty establishing a definitive number of victims of the Cambodian Genocide. The Cambodians kept methodical records of prisoners and executions. In addition, estimating the total number of people who starved is difficult. Estimates range from 1.

He was born Saloth Sar to farmers in rural Cambodia in Pol Pot was a bright student and spent time studying in France, where he became involved with communist groups in the early s. After returning home in , Pol Pot joined clandestine groups in Cambodia.

It was during this time that he began combining Stalinist and Maoist models with a returned focus on an agrarian society. With support from rural Cambodians, North Vietnamese, and Chinese, Pol Pot was ultimately able to take control of the country in Although he would be overthrown four years later by an invading Vietnamese army, Pol Pot avoided capture.

He maintained some level of power for nearly two decades. However, Pol Pot would die in , before the trials took place. Although tried in absentia, he was never punished for his crimes and remained unrepentant until the end.

The Cambodian Genocide represents a complicated time in history. In the early s, US diplomats raised concerns about the potential for mass atrocities in Cambodia. Comparison between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union were made. From the outside, Tuol Sleng could be a school anywhere in the world. But inside are weapons of torture, skulls, blood stains and photographs of thousands of people who were murdered. The scene just outside is also heartrending.

Amputees of all ages beg near refreshment and souvenir stands where tourists congregate. The Khmer Rouge may be long gone, but many of the land mines they laid are still killing and maiming. As taxis full of tourists arrive at the killing fields, guides and beggars approach. Horror, memory, education and livelihood commingle at the site.

All rights reserved. The sight of 8, human skulls in a glass shrine stuns visitors into silence. Outside, where cattle usually graze, human bones sometimes come unearthed after heavy rains. Tuol Sleng Museum of Genocide "It's good tourists are coming here interested in Cambodia's past," says Stephen Bognar, a liaison officer for WildAid Cambodia, a nonprofit conservation organization.

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Tuol Sleng — S — was the main political prison, and was where suspected enemies of Angkar were sent. Once inside, prisoners were either tortured to death or sent to nearby Choeung Ek for re-education — meaning execution. An estimated 12, were detained at S, with only seven known survivors. Those sent to Choeung Ek made the 17km 11mi journey crammed into the back of trucks. Once there, many were blindfolded and, not wanting to waste bullets, soldiers smashed spades into their heads before pushing them into pits containing the dead bodies of thousands.

It is thought that about 17, men, women and children were executed at the site. In , the remains of almost 9, people were exhumed from the mass graves that litter the former orchard. Many of these skulls now sit in a memorial stupa that was created in and forms the centrepiece of the site, serving as a reminder of the bitter past and helping to ensure the lives lost are never forgotten. Birdsong rises from the trees, the gentle breeze wafts through manicured fields, flowers bloom, shimmering paddies surround the site and life goes on.

Of the communal graves, 43 have been left untouched. The many bone fragments, teeth and scraps of bloodied cloth retrieved sit in glass containers for visitors to see.

An audio tour guides visitors around the site, with compelling stories from survivors, guards and executioners. A visit to the Killing Fields is harrowing, emotional and draining, but it offers a compelling insight into a fraction of the atrocities that took place across the country under the genocidal regime.