Semper Ubi Sub Ubi: April 2020

Saturday, April 11, 2020

Around Phnom Penh

Well, how about this 2020 so far? Not quite what we were expecting way back around the new year, eh?

Mark and I are on authorized departure - a form of evacuation in State Department Speak. We left Phnom Penh at the end of March and are safe havened (another State term) in Charleston, South Carolina. An eerily quiet, tourist-free Charleston.

Mother Emanuel Church on Calhoun Street

View up King Street

Further down King Street

Washington Square Park

View of Ravel Bridge from the Aquarium

Fort Sumpter Info Center

Colonial Lake

View over Ashley River from behind Citadel area

View over Ashley Marina from Riverfront bike path

Back in February, Mark and I helped out American citizens who were on the Holland America Westerdam cruise ship leave Cambodia to return to the USA (we also helped other nationalities leave Cambodia). This may be the closest I get to actual consular officer work. It felt good to help fellow Americans during a time of stress.

Mark all set for work at the airport

Mark and I with one of the Holland America employees at the Phnom Penh Airport

Mark and I with the head of Cambodian Immigration and the last two American Citizens from the Westerdam to depart Cambodia.

Before that, we had a friend come visit us for a weekend and together went to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (also called S-21) and the Choeung Ek Genocidal Center (aka The Killing Fields). These were very moving and sobering visits to a very dark period of Cambodia's history. It reminded me of visiting Dachau way back on a high school European summer tour. However, this felt more real to me because it happened while I was alive and growing up in the USA. These centers are definitely a must if you visit Phnom Penh.

The layout of S-21, a former high school in Phnom Penh before becoming a center of torture and murder.

One of the interrogation rooms

The "rules" for incoming prisoners

The cells have period photographs in them...very haunting.

Ground floor, A Building of S-21

More "rules" in French.

A memorial

Memorial Stupa at the Killing Fields

One of the sign-posted stops along the route...

Looking out from the Killing Fields...it was a former longan orchard.

The "Children's" or Chankiri Tree

One of the mass grave areas.

The Memorial Stupa houses bones of the victims.

Another view of the Memorial Stupa at Choeung Ek Genocidal Center

Two movies about this period are The Killing Fields and First They Killed My Father. Both very good.

Otherwise, until the Westerdam and authorized departure, we were just out and about in Phnom Penh. We did do a long weekend on the island of Koh Rong, but that's a separate post.