Cambodia: Tuol Sleng (S-21)

As I mentioned in my Battambang post, there are many memorial sites for the genocide that occurred under Pol Pot's regime in Cambodia. One of the most well-known is Tuol Sleng, also called S-21, which was formerly a high school in Phnom Penh. Here, more than 20,000 people were tortured, interrogated and forced to confess to made-up crimes against the Khmer Rouge (often saying they were spies for the CIA or KGB) before being killed.

"And we also want the younger generation not to forget this regime and
not to allow that kind of regime to happen again in Cambodia and other countries."

Now the high school stands surrounded by homes (some built on top of mass graves therefore having cheaper rent) and shops catering to the tourists that come here on the typical Cambodian holiday comprised of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap and the Genocide Museum/Killing Fields in Phnom Penh.

The Security of Regulation: rules given to each prisoner.

S-21 was led by Comrade Duch whose predecessor was removed after some inmates escaped the prison. Learning from this, Comrade Duch kept impeccable records of each prisoner to enter the prison, including photos from the front and side, so they could find anyone who might escape. The museum has rooms filled with these photographs.

Prisoners at S-21.

Prisoners at S-21.

One of the main buildings where prisoners slept with cuffs on their hands and feet. They installed barbed wire to enclose the balconies after a prisoner jumped over.

Building at Tuol Sleng.

View from within the barbed wire.

Having previously been a high school, the classrooms at Tuol Sleng were divided up into smaller enclosures to make rooms for the prisoners - about 3x5feet each.

Row of "rooms" for the prisoners.

Where they hung the keys for the prisoners' cells.

While I wouldn't say I wanted to go to this Genocide Museum, I would say I felt a need to acknowledge the atrocities that occurred here. I think it's important to recognize and face head-on the terrible crimes of the past in order to educate the public and ensure that something like this never happens again. Walking on the same tile floor that thousands of people did in the days before their death is surreal and shocking when you see spots of their blood beneath your feet.

With 70% of the population under 35, many Cambodians don't remember the Pol Pot years. They are reminded with the memorial sites and stories of the few survivors. From my experience, the Khmer people are warmhearted and sincere. Their recent history is tragic, but they seem to be optimistic about the future.