Khmer Rouge Torture Prison Toul Sleng

Today as part of our orientation to the volunteer program, we were taken on a tour to Toul Sleng, also known Prison S-21. From 1975 to 1979 the Khmer Rouge brutally killed 2 million Cambodians. Toul Sleng, a former high school, was converted into a interrogation torture prison, where inmates were kept for 1-6 months then taken out to the killings fields to be executed. When walking around the corner and seeing, this once flourishing high school, wrapped in barbwire you could already visualize the horrors that have happened behind each and every worn classroom wall. Some rooms had only a bed with shackles and torture devices on it, while the others had been broken up into 8 small holding stalls dimensions being 1 x 2 meters. While viewing these rooms you can still see the blood stains on the tiles. Disgustingly graphic images that were recovered, originally taken by the Khmer Rouge for documentation and pleasure, were displayed. Our guide was 15 years old during the time of the Khmer Rouge and lost 2 brothers, and 3 cousins during this genocide. There were only 7 survivors at S-21, and only 2 left alive today. We were extremely lucky as we were able to meet one of the miracle survivors, Buo Meng. The experience was very sobering... seeing each victim's photo that was taken when they arrived at the prison, you feel extremely connected and their eyes telling their horrifying story! You could feel the pain as you walked through the prison grounds, yet we can't even fathom what really happened there. It was very uncomfortable knowing that such evil took place right where you were standing and so unbelievable to think this happened not long ago. -Jer & Ken

To learn more about Toul Sleng and the Khmer Rougr go to:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuol_Sleng_Genocide_Museum