Today we all took part in the 11am silence to remember those that died for us in battle. It's a day that has always marked me and make me reflect upon how lucky my generation is for not having had to experience war on our doorstep. I couldn't ever imagine having to let my little girl go to live with strangers in the country, wondering if I'd ever see her again. To see complete destruction and devastation in my own street and to witness friends and neighbours' lives destroyed is unimaginable.
The closest I came to experiencing such suffering was when we travelled to Cambodia's Killing Fields. The fields are where, between 1975-1979, inconceivable numbers of people were killed and buried in mass graves by the ruling regime, the Khmer Rouge. I've never in my life felt so humbled. The fields are now a poignantly beautiful, peaceful place of remembrance, with long grass, trees and flowers, Yet the haunting echoes of death and torture fill the air, to the point that you can almost hear the screams if you shut your eyes. What is especially moving is the huge Stupa filled with the skulls of those that died there. It is estimated that 1,386,743 met with their death at the Killing Fields.
So today please do spare a thought not only for all those that have died fighting for our freedom, but those that died as a consequence.
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