Cataract Chronicles-25 years
As I celebrate my 25th year volunteering as an eye surgeon in Southeast Asia. I am delighted to share photos and stories about the vision challenges and the people and cultures of India, Nepal, Cambodia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Vietnam. - Dr. Gary Barth
Chronicle 9 - Memorial of Unfathomable Suffering: Not Intended for Tourists
One afternoon in Cambodia, my wife and I left the eye clinic in the city of Battambang and walked to a Buddhist monastery in a forest. Full disclosure: I lived at the San Francisco Zen Buddhist Center, where I rented a typewriter(sic) and applied to medical school. I cherish monastic communities.
Once we reached the forested off-the-beaten-path monastery, we were surprised to find this two-story monument.
On closer inspection, we were horrified to see the skulls and femurs in each window on all four sides.
The Pol Pot-led Khmer Rouge had taken over the Buddhist monastery. On these monastic grounds, they executed thousands of citizens, including children.
Unlike other National Museums and Killing Field cemeteries in the tourist city of Phnom Penh, this monument was funded by Cambodian communities throughout the world as a remembrance of the tragic period of the Khmer Rouge.
