Sites where people died and were buried in mass graves became known as the Killing Fields.
One of the only permanent memorials outside of Cambodia to the Killing Fields can be found in Ravenswood. It’s a vast mural along West Lawrence Avenue that’s part of the National Cambodian Heritage Museum and Killing Fields Memorial, which is tied to the Cambodian Association of Illinois.
The mural depicts a statue — surrounded by palm trees and tropical flowers — that’s a replica of one of the 216 faces at the Bayon, a Cambodian Buddhist pyramid temple that’s one of that country’s most popular tourist destinations. Built in the 12th century, the Bayon epitomizes Jayavarman VII, one of the country’s first devout Buddhist kings.
