Tuol Sleng

I'm afraid, this is not among the nice issues about Cambodia, but among the most important. After having watched a play about the Khmer Rouge era and how it is or should be handled today ("Breaking the Silence") - an impressive play by a Dutch playwright performed in traditional Cambodian theatre style - we visited Tuol Sleng the other day.

This is a small selection of pictures from the Tuol Sleng genocide museum. The site, a former school, was in the Khmer Rouge era (1975-79) transformed into a central place for internation, interrogation, torture and murder, the S21 prison. Much of the place is still in its original state, like the cell in the last picture, with only some pitures and texts on the walls serving as information. In other rooms, there are exhibitions or texts of information.

Among the most impressive/disturbing experiences in the museum were the countless photographs of the prison's victims. When you see these faces, from children to elderly, you can be sure, that all of these lifes were destroyed.

As you may have noticed, this visit took place while we were still in Phnom Penh. Due to the fact, that only now I found a possibility to upload pictures I am now retelling some episodes from the Phnom Penh time, which I can now illustrate.