Genocide Trial 002 at the ECCC, the Documentation Center of Cambodia, and Cambodia Living Arts

Today, Rotary Fellowship Class 21 went to the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) to watch witness testimony in case 002. The victim/witness recounted his story of attempted execution as summarized below:

The witness was a teenage boy of 14 when he was called in to participate in a "study program" by district officials of the Khmer Rouge. He reported in to the local officials and his hands were soon bound and he was transported in a horse cart with six others until he got to a clearing station where a truck picked him up. In the truck there were approximately 40 people, including four women. Many were topless and some people had blood on them. This terrified the witness and he felt his heart beating very fast. Before getting to the the destination, they blindfolded him and then when it was his turn, the witness was kicked off the truck. They brought him to a location, still blindfolded. The last thing he knew he was struck with an axe behind the head. He lost conciousness and in this state, the witness said he remembered talking to his parents that he had been tricked to going for the study program and that in fact the Khmer Rouge had called him in to be executed. The witness woke up in a well covered by dead bodies above him and bleeding from his head. In the well others were screaming for help to their parents. The Khmer Rouge soldiers threw two grenades down the well to quell the screams of the survivors. At this point, the witness was the sole survivor left in the well. After he had heard vehicles departing, the witness started piling bodies in the well to attempt to climb upon them so he could escape. He then heard someone above outside the well and quickly moved the stacked bodies back and hid under them. The witness then heard a voice say that it seemed like there were still survivors down there and a Khmer Rouge soldier threw another grenade. Luckily, the witness was protected from that grenade by the other bodies that he had hidden under. He then prayed to the souls of the dead to give him the strength to get out so he could help bring justice to their plight. He then made a deal in his head to try three times to get out, and if he weren't successful, he would yell up to the Khmer Rouge to come over to kill him with another grenade. He tried to climb out again, but fell atop the other dead bodies. He then got frustrated and finally tried one more time and then he said he felt the spirits of the dead lift him out of the well. When he got to the top of the well, he noticed it was not a well at all, but a French toilet. About 100 meters away, the witness saw two Khmer Rouge soldiers chatting. He started backing up and then went into a banana orchard nearby on his quest to get back home. On the way, he washed his wounds on his head in a stream and by then he knew there were worms living in his wounds on his head from the other bodies that were rotting in the French toilet. He ran into a boy along the way who was hearding cattle who then went on to report his presence to the Khmer Rouge, so the witness had to continue running. Along the way, he got very hungry and found a clearing by a bean farm and started eating some beans. While eating the beans, he saw a vision of his mother telling him he must not stop and to start running as the Khmer Rouge was after him. After a couple of days, he got back home, where his stepmother gave him food and his father treated his wounds with petrol. The witness' father also made a sleeping area protected by a mosquito net where he could hide in the house from the Khmer Rouge. In order to feed the witness, his stepmother went to the common cafeteria to ask for an extra serving of food using the excuse that it was for the "dog", so as to not raise suspicions. After he got better, he and his father were then forced to flee into the forest with others to hide from the Khmer Rouge. In the forest, his father fell ill and died.

After the witness testified, we had a chance to hear presentations from those working in the Prosecution Unit, the Defense Unit, and the Victim/Witness Unit of the ECCC. The ECCC was authorized to hear cases related to the crimes against humanity/genocide occuring in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. Trial 002 is still examining the acts of Nuon Chea, the former "Brother #2" of Cambodia (Brother #1 was Pol Pot who has since died) as well as Khieu Samphan, the former foreign minister of Cambodia.

In the afternoon we went to the National Institute of Education where we met the director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC CAM, http://www.dccam.org/) who recounted his own personal experience of his family members who had died in the genocide. DC CAM published the textbook that was distributed to all the schools in Cambodia regarding the genocide. We were able to discuss how the textbook came about and the political challenges of getting it published and distributed. This was especially true as even today, elements of the Khmer Rouge run the current government in Cambodia.

We then stopped for a drink at a local coffee shop (http://javacambodia.com/) and later met with the director and staff of Cambodia Living Arts (CLA, www.cambodianlivingarts.org) in their studio before watching a live traditional dance show. CLA has worked diligently in perserving the local arts by identifying throughout the country and diaspora the artists who still were the "keepers of the flame" so they could be empowered to teach and pass on their knowledge to future generations of Cambodian artists. During the genocide, Cambodians lost 90% of their artists.

When one walks the boulevards of Phnom Penh lined with cafes filled with scooters (https://www.facebook.com/tipsyseafood/) alongside large construction projects, there is a glimmer of hope and a testament to the resilience of the Cambodian people. As a visitor, one can sense that there are challenges in their service industry, arts, political development, and other missing elements as evidenced by the 4000 NGOs operating in country. Yet the radiance of the many smiles and the excitement of the people to engage in conversation foretells that there is much more Cambodia has to offer as it creates its future.